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Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

alexand.ro

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Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#71

Post by arez »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #61
arez wrote: post #44

One aspect nobody mentioned so far is, why do I have to focus so much on my dreams and "work on the next rocket to mars"? Why isn't it okay anymore to just do my job, have friends and watch movies? Why does everyone has to be an entrepreneur and do a successful side-project? Why can't I just have a hobby that doesn't pay off at all, like playing an instrument alone in my room, without any pursue to ever play a concer…

Selection bias. Nobody says you have to be like that. Just ignore the article and move on. For me, it resonates, because the perspective of "doing my job, having friends and watching movies" sounds depressingly empty to me. I want to work on the next rocket to Mars (yes, I really do want to work on space rockets - because I care about space rockets). I don't buy into the pressure you're seeing either. If your heart d…

it's not just this article. I feel the pressure in my every day life. I already have a job that fulfills me and where I give 100%, does that mean I will be the next CTO, no probably not, so I can't even claim to push my career that much.

It's just that you read online about all these people that do open-source stuff, create their own website/business, build tools, do research etc. that you feel left out and the big pressure to do something meaningful. In addition nowadays you have to do something meaningful for the world, but it's hard to impress the world or the community, because in your community (like the hacker-news, reddit, indie hacker) there are now thousands or millions of people, you have to do something very substantial to actual get noticed.

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#72

Post by yesenadam »

300bps wrote: post #51
bearer_token wrote: post #48

One tactic I've learned is to set aside time to focus on relaxation. Ambitious people assume intention should be applied towards productivity, but relaxation is required for us to function at high capacity. Do not assume idle or distracted time is rejuvenating. Plan it. I've found that you can't rush relaxation, but you can enjoy higher quality relaxation. Watching youtube videos, reading reddit, or playing a videoga…

One tactic I've learned is to set aside time to focus on relaxation. I got the exact opposite advice from "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1319.The_War_of_Art The entire book is how to overcome what he calls "resistance" which is what prevents you from getting creative work done. He says the belief that you need relaxation is false and just another way your mind keeps you fro…

I looked at that book too, but I've never had his problem of feeling blocked, procrastinating (not about my art anyway!) etc. Evidently a lot of people do, and the book is advice for them. But for me it dealt in detail with problems I've never had, in my many years of musician, composer, artist, programmer, so I didn't bother finishing it. I did however like the same author's Nobody Wants to Read Your Shit: Why That Is and What You Can Do About It

One major problem I did have years ago was a lot of negative self-talk. Being so mean to myself, in ways I never would have come close to treating other people. I dealt with that with a lot of self-help books, working on my issues from childhood, learning to love myself etc.

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#73

Post by celticmusic »

theIV wrote: post #40
newnewpdro wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I use a stick phone. What is a stick phone? I presume you're not referring to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlestick_telephone

I think they might be referring to what some call the candybar form factor. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Form_factor_(mobile_phones)#...

Are you able to buy a reasonably modern version of these that comes with GPS?

Literally the only things I use my phone for is calls, SMS, GPS, and eeeeeeevery great once in a while I'll google something at the store.

I'd love something like this, but it would really have to have GPS on it.

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#75

Post by TeMPOraL »

bearer_token wrote: post #54
300bps wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One tactic I've learned is to set aside time to focus on relaxation. I got the exact opposite advice from "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1319.The_War_of_Art The entire book is how to overcome what he calls "resistance" which is what prevents you from getting creative work done. He says the belief that you need relaxation is false and just another way your mind keeps you fro…

Interesting. I tend to structure my day around goals and work so much that I don't leave enough time for relaxation. I likely mistakenly assume most HNers are overly ambitious, perfectionist, neurotic types like myself. I have no trouble getting started, I have trouble stopping.

N=1, but this HNer seems almost opposite from you. My biggest problem is getting started, and maintaining focus for the initial period of 15 minutes to one hour (for some reasons I get really anxious; despite a decade of trying, I still haven't learn how to manage it). But once I get past that hurdle, I can get a lot of high-quality work in short time.

I'd trade my issues for yours in a heartbeat ;).

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#77

Post by TeMPOraL »

bearer_token wrote: post #52

> A wasted day may lead to a wasted life This smacks of anxiety and FOMO. Thinking like this would drive me absolutely paranoid. Life is much more stochastic than this. Yes, it is likely that in retrospect a few select hours of work may have unlocked huge value. You don't know which hours in advance. It is highly unlikely that one missed day will derail your life. It's highly more likely that a wasted day was necessa…

It's not the one wasted day that will derail your life. It's one wasted day after another, after another, after another...

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#78

Post by bsanr »

asjw wrote: post #43
s3tz wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A simple test for people is to get used to working 3 hours straight without any distractions. Give it a try. You can get a whole day's work done this way.

This! It's what I've been doing in the past few years, nobody noticed that I stay at work a lot less than the others and the quality of my work has improved

This would be nice, if most workplaces valued efficiency. They don't, especially at the low end. Instead, they'd rather have face-time, regardless of how productive that time is. It's literally in the nature of the pay structure.

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#79

Post by arez »

save_ferris wrote: post #59
arez wrote: post #44

One aspect nobody mentioned so far is, why do I have to focus so much on my dreams and "work on the next rocket to mars"? Why isn't it okay anymore to just do my job, have friends and watch movies? Why does everyone has to be an entrepreneur and do a successful side-project? Why can't I just have a hobby that doesn't pay off at all, like playing an instrument alone in my room, without any pursue to ever play a concer…

Because our society has an unhealthy obsession with wealth and status, and we’ve convinced ourselves that the only way to be happy in life is to amass both. The irony is that some of the wealthiest people I’ve met seem the least happy and settled. It’s so strange. The concept of having “enough” is fundamentally incompatible with the hyper-growth startup, social-media driven society that we’re creating. Because having…

thanks, yes, that's kinda how I feel. Your comment somehow made me feel better, at least I know I'm in a rat race and that takes pressure off of me. Even when I'm staying in, it's better to have the view from the outside once in a while to get grounded and make sure one does not go mad

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#80

Post by runeks »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #20

As someone that is "on the spectrum," I can report that focus can be pretty awesome. I generate vast amounts of code, in relatively short time, and am an insanely obsessive debugger. However, it don't come for free. If I get "roused" from my "fugue" (what I call "the zone"), I can be cranky. This has not always been helpful in my marriage. Also, I find that I can be "vocabularily challenged" for a few minutes after I…

> However, it don't come for free. If I get "roused" from my "fugue" (what I call "the zone"), I can be cranky. This has not always been helpful in my marriage.

I recognize this.

I figure we need to practice unfocusing as well as focusing. Being able to look closely at an issue is an important skill, but so is “zooming out” and seeing the bigger picture.

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