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Using a list to manage executive function

drmaciver.substack.com

31–40 of 64 posts

Re: Using a list to manage executive function

#31
post #12

I've been (semi-)intentionally unemployed for a little over a year now, and I reached a point a couple months ago where I just LOST IT at the prospect of having to continue to make decisions at every moment of every day about what to do next. I even have a daily checklist of about 15 things I need to do every day to keep making at least minimal progress toward my goals, but because none of them had assigned times, I…

This site is insane. I can't imagine being unemployed for over a year. If I were unemployed for a month I'd be fucked.

Your life sounds incredibly difficult, my heart goes out to you, I'm so glad you are coping with gliding through life.

Edit: After reconsidering, it's true. Given a year of reflection, we can all better ourselves. Let us all realize it's only a year of not working that can fix us.

Re: Using a list to manage executive function

#32
It is funny how these methods get rediscovered and reinvented over and over again. I believe that it is absolutely necessary for each to have their own "framework" for this kind of things, but it also falls into the category of things somewhat missing from our education. I wish someone had explained to me, earlier in my life, some basic psychological principles and some practices that are tried many times by different people in this domain. The works that filled it in for me were: The 7 Habits (I cringe at the writing style, but the ideas are real good), GTD (the concepts, not to the letter), Atomic Habits, and Thinking Fast and Slow (the core idea). I highly recommend these.

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P.S. On that "missing from our education" bit. My kids are in school now and I can make my adult conclusions. To be just, the school emphasizes and teaches autonomy, self-organization, etc. It does that, however, for the school's own needs and prepares the kids for one very specific way of working, which just cannot be applied in every situation.

Re: Using a list to manage executive function

#33
post #12

I've been (semi-)intentionally unemployed for a little over a year now, and I reached a point a couple months ago where I just LOST IT at the prospect of having to continue to make decisions at every moment of every day about what to do next. I even have a daily checklist of about 15 things I need to do every day to keep making at least minimal progress toward my goals, but because none of them had assigned times, I…

This site is insane. I can't imagine being unemployed for over a year. If I were unemployed for a month I'd be fucked. Your life sounds incredibly difficult, my heart goes out to you, I'm so glad you are coping with gliding through life. Edit: After reconsidering, it's true. Given a year of reflection, we can all better ourselves. Let us all realize it's only a year of not working that can fix us.

Taking a year off is wonderful and I recommend it for everyone

Re: Using a list to manage executive function

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This site is insane. I can't imagine being unemployed for over a year. If I were unemployed for a month I'd be fucked. Your life sounds incredibly difficult, my heart goes out to you, I'm so glad you are coping with gliding through life. Edit: After reconsidering, it's true. Given a year of reflection, we can all better ourselves. Let us all realize it's only a year of not working that can fix us.

Taking a year off is wonderful and I recommend it for everyone

Mmm, yes, I love summering in the North of Italy, I don't know why more people just don't do that.

Re: Using a list to manage executive function

#35
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought the GTD book. But then I went on to misplace it and didn't find it for over a year. I might be a hopeless case.

True story: I bought a book on overcoming procrastination over 20 years ago. Still haven’t read it.

Just one? That's not bad! My tsundoku tower has 10k+ pages, and that's after agrresive pruning I did a year ago.

Re: Using a list to manage executive function

#36

It is funny how these methods get rediscovered and reinvented over and over again. I believe that it is absolutely necessary for each to have their own "framework" for this kind of things, but it also falls into the category of things somewhat missing from our education. I wish someone had explained to me, earlier in my life, some basic psychological principles and some practices that are tried many times by differen…

I think German school system tried to teach me these systems, or at least offered optional courses to learn about them. As a pretentious 16 year old I couldn't have cared less. Maybe it's hard to educate people about it before they experienced the struggle themselves.

Re: Using a list to manage executive function

#37
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought the GTD book. But then I went on to misplace it and didn't find it for over a year. I might be a hopeless case.

True story: I bought a book on overcoming procrastination over 20 years ago. Still haven’t read it.

The funny thing is I did finish reading it. But I wanted to go back and reference something and that's when I couldn't find it. Thus proving I had learnt nothing.

Re: Using a list to manage executive function

#38

It is funny how these methods get rediscovered and reinvented over and over again. I believe that it is absolutely necessary for each to have their own "framework" for this kind of things, but it also falls into the category of things somewhat missing from our education. I wish someone had explained to me, earlier in my life, some basic psychological principles and some practices that are tried many times by differen…

> Thinking Fast and Slow (the core idea)

By this, I assume you are referring to “System 1 and System 2” thinking. My problem with “Thinking Fast and Slow” is that it seems as though almost all of the research has been caught up in the “replication crisis”, and I can no longer trust any of the content.

Re: Using a list to manage executive function

#39

It is funny how these methods get rediscovered and reinvented over and over again. I believe that it is absolutely necessary for each to have their own "framework" for this kind of things, but it also falls into the category of things somewhat missing from our education. I wish someone had explained to me, earlier in my life, some basic psychological principles and some practices that are tried many times by differen…

[deleted]

Re: Using a list to manage executive function

#40

It is funny how these methods get rediscovered and reinvented over and over again. I believe that it is absolutely necessary for each to have their own "framework" for this kind of things, but it also falls into the category of things somewhat missing from our education. I wish someone had explained to me, earlier in my life, some basic psychological principles and some practices that are tried many times by differen…

> Thinking Fast and Slow (the core idea) By this, I assume you are referring to “System 1 and System 2” thinking. My problem with “Thinking Fast and Slow” is that it seems as though almost all of the research has been caught up in the “replication crisis”, and I can no longer trust any of the content.

> research has been caught up in the “replication crisis”,

You mean current apparent difficulties in replicating the results of many published studies; I assume ...

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