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When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better

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Re: When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better

#31

Post by appplication »

Izkata wrote: post #26
keyle wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone does this. Otherwise you'd go bat sh*t crazy trying to remember every intricate details of common tools. also using ctrl+r and filter through older commands (ctrl+r to cycle) is also necessary for good mental health. for example alias ll="lsd --icon never -l" alias lla="lsd --icon never -l -a" # all alias llr="lsd --icon never -l -r -a" # reversed alias lls="lsd --icon never -l -r -a -S" #by size alias llt="…

I actually find it easier to memorize the flags than to memorize the commands I created myself, because they're a lot more descriptive than short commands like in your examples. The few times I do come up with my own stuff, it's a 2+ line function (or full shell script) that can't be duplicated in a single command and can't be done as an alias.

The problem is some stuff I just don’t do often enough to remember. Like clean up my old git branches.

Re: When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better

#32

Post by stephen_cagle »

pdmccormick wrote: post #20

Over the past year, I’ve made a deliberate effort to improve my “personal computing”, which for me is about how I use the shell. I start by trying to notice when I’m doing the same task multiple times and getting tripped up on the specific syntax or sequence of commands (i.e. what’s the Git command again to split certain files out of a previous commit into a separate one?) I will then create an alias, a shell script…

That's an interesting idea. Did you write a script to identify commands that you use repeatedly? I wonder how that could best be done?

Re: When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better

#33

Post by jihiggins »

jakeinspace wrote: post #17
jihiggins wrote: post #16

I think "self-optimize" is the wrong term to focus on. Imo, it's more about self-compassion / a more personal version of "psychological safety." Anecdotally, a few years ago I made a decision to run with my (ADHD driven) impulses when deciding what to spend my time on. It was difficult to let go, but I decided to let myself just fall behind with projects / work for a year or two (or until I was fired.) Long term, the…

If you don’t mind, I’d love to hear a bit more. I feel like I’ve been pushing hard against my ADHD tendencies as well, very curious what it means and looks like to give in and flourish.

For me, the more I'm able to avoid productivity related guilt / shame / "catch up" behaviors, the more energy I've had for addressing underlying issues.

Some things have just sort of worked themselves out. I've ended up with what I think of as a "procrastination ouroboros." Most of the projects I rotate through have various interesting parts that are in various states of completion. The big difference for me, though, is that it _is_ a rotation. I actually return to projects now, because I don't completely burn through all of my enthusiasm in the first go. One of these is a project that I've been working on for several years now, which is a first for me.

I still don't love losing days on something nonsensical because I hyperfocused. I still end up stuck on boring tasks, and it's hard to not feel like it's all laziness, etc. After years of that, though, it feels like pushing _directly_ against those impulses isn't really sustainable. It's pointless wasting extra time on self-flagellation.

I don't know that this level of granularity will actually apply to anyone else, but I think it's worthwhile to at least give yourself the space to explore things like this when you can.

(Also, I take an SSRI, a prescription stim, working from home helps, and I'm sure there are a myriad of other things / factors. I think, if nothing else, "giving in" would have helped me try some of those things earlier, and it has helped me avoid short circuiting thought processes that prevent attempts at actual change.)

Re: When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better

#34

Post by keyle »

cosmojg wrote: post #28
keyle wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone does this. Otherwise you'd go bat sh*t crazy trying to remember every intricate details of common tools. also using ctrl+r and filter through older commands (ctrl+r to cycle) is also necessary for good mental health. for example alias ll="lsd --icon never -l" alias lla="lsd --icon never -l -a" # all alias llr="lsd --icon never -l -r -a" # reversed alias lls="lsd --icon never -l -r -a -S" #by size alias llt="…

Fish's autocomplete makes life a lot easier, too. It's delightfully well designed.

I head great things about Fish but I never took the dive.

Re: When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better

#35

Post by sertsa »

keyle wrote: post #24
pdmccormick wrote: post #20

Over the past year, I’ve made a deliberate effort to improve my “personal computing”, which for me is about how I use the shell. I start by trying to notice when I’m doing the same task multiple times and getting tripped up on the specific syntax or sequence of commands (i.e. what’s the Git command again to split certain files out of a previous commit into a separate one?) I will then create an alias, a shell script…

Everyone does this. Otherwise you'd go bat sh*t crazy trying to remember every intricate details of common tools. also using ctrl+r and filter through older commands (ctrl+r to cycle) is also necessary for good mental health. for example alias ll="lsd --icon never -l" alias lla="lsd --icon never -l -a" # all alias llr="lsd --icon never -l -r -a" # reversed alias lls="lsd --icon never -l -r -a -S" #by size alias llt="…

How did I not know about ctrl+r? Feeling slightly more optimized

Re: When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better

#36

Post by dehrmann »

Izkata wrote: post #26
keyle wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone does this. Otherwise you'd go bat sh*t crazy trying to remember every intricate details of common tools. also using ctrl+r and filter through older commands (ctrl+r to cycle) is also necessary for good mental health. for example alias ll="lsd --icon never -l" alias lla="lsd --icon never -l -a" # all alias llr="lsd --icon never -l -r -a" # reversed alias lls="lsd --icon never -l -r -a -S" #by size alias llt="…

I actually find it easier to memorize the flags than to memorize the commands I created myself, because they're a lot more descriptive than short commands like in your examples. The few times I do come up with my own stuff, it's a 2+ line function (or full shell script) that can't be duplicated in a single command and can't be done as an alias.

I memorize the flags because it means I'm comfortable on any machine. Issue in production, and your aliases aren't there? No problem.

Re: When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better

#37

Post by evilc00kie »

keyle wrote: post #24
pdmccormick wrote: post #20

Over the past year, I’ve made a deliberate effort to improve my “personal computing”, which for me is about how I use the shell. I start by trying to notice when I’m doing the same task multiple times and getting tripped up on the specific syntax or sequence of commands (i.e. what’s the Git command again to split certain files out of a previous commit into a separate one?) I will then create an alias, a shell script…

Everyone does this. Otherwise you'd go bat sh*t crazy trying to remember every intricate details of common tools. also using ctrl+r and filter through older commands (ctrl+r to cycle) is also necessary for good mental health. for example alias ll="lsd --icon never -l" alias lla="lsd --icon never -l -a" # all alias llr="lsd --icon never -l -r -a" # reversed alias lls="lsd --icon never -l -r -a -S" #by size alias llt="…

Ctrl+R is insane but sometimes I have a hard time remembering flags due to overusing it. Especially when crafting new pipelines/solving new problems.

But I'd always alias some uncommon tasks and usages. Especially my quirky git ones:

  # get default branch
  alias gdefault='git remote show origin|grep -E HEAD|cut -d" " -f5'

  # cd to git root
  alias groot='cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"'

  # Revert last unpushed commit to the state before commiting
  alias uncommit="git reset HEAD~1 --soft"

  # Show all commits between head and main as one-liner
  alias gl1="git log --reverse --oneline HEAD...\`gdefault\`"

Re: When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better

#38

Post by runjake »

Izkata wrote: post #26
keyle wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone does this. Otherwise you'd go bat sh*t crazy trying to remember every intricate details of common tools. also using ctrl+r and filter through older commands (ctrl+r to cycle) is also necessary for good mental health. for example alias ll="lsd --icon never -l" alias lla="lsd --icon never -l -a" # all alias llr="lsd --icon never -l -r -a" # reversed alias lls="lsd --icon never -l -r -a -S" #by size alias llt="…

I actually find it easier to memorize the flags than to memorize the commands I created myself, because they're a lot more descriptive than short commands like in your examples. The few times I do come up with my own stuff, it's a 2+ line function (or full shell script) that can't be duplicated in a single command and can't be done as an alias.

  alias lsa=“grep ^alias $HOME/.zshrc | sort”

Re: When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better

#39

Post by pdmccormick »

cosmojg wrote: post #27
pdmccormick wrote: post #20

Over the past year, I’ve made a deliberate effort to improve my “personal computing”, which for me is about how I use the shell. I start by trying to notice when I’m doing the same task multiple times and getting tripped up on the specific syntax or sequence of commands (i.e. what’s the Git command again to split certain files out of a previous commit into a separate one?) I will then create an alias, a shell script…

Welcome to Unix! :)

Thanks, 25 years in and I'm still learning new things. But I don't think I was specifically shouting out the Unix philosophy. My comment was more in response to the OP article, that rather than "trying" to optimize in the sense that you already know what you need to optimize for and towards, instead thinking of self-improvement as being a by-product of being able to think new thoughts, thus the upfront emphasis on the acquisition of new language (with a big nod to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis). This could be through collecting good terminology, best practise and patterns, and learning the philosophies of systems such as Unix and languages like Go and Python. However, with aliases and scripts, it becomes something you can actually "speak" in an effective sense, which ultimately can lead to improvements over earlier capabilities that go beyond what you could have envisioned as possible from the start.

I took a handful of math courses in school, and what I didn't realize till later was that learning how to rigourously prove things mathematically had dramatically reshaped my mind. I am left wondering what it must be like for the minds of those who have traversed that tower far higher than I ever have or will.

Re: When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better

#40

Post by pdmccormick »

stephen_cagle wrote: post #32
pdmccormick wrote: post #20

Over the past year, I’ve made a deliberate effort to improve my “personal computing”, which for me is about how I use the shell. I start by trying to notice when I’m doing the same task multiple times and getting tripped up on the specific syntax or sequence of commands (i.e. what’s the Git command again to split certain files out of a previous commit into a separate one?) I will then create an alias, a shell script…

That's an interesting idea. Did you write a script to identify commands that you use repeatedly? I wonder how that could best be done?

I have not tried that yet, no. For me the goal isn't just about shortening often repeated commands, as though the limitation were purely about character input speed, it's more of a contemplative practise of learning how to notice and respond to that internal prompt that says "I wish I could say that more succinctly" or "There has to be a better way to do this". And then either telling my mind work on those questions, or being open and receptive to coming across something relevant on the topic, or seizing a moment of inspiration to write a time-saving script or come up with a meaningful (to me) alias.
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