Ask HN: How do you find motivation to do stuff?

Not sure how to put it better but the more I read about AI the less motivation I have to either keep up with the tech advances or to try doing new things... I wonder how others keep or even foster the kind of motivation necessary to try new things and actually stick to doing them long enough? I would appreciate input on this in the most general sense possible.

For me, it was accepting that I will never be the smartest guy in the room and never know the most about a topic. I decided to play to the strengths that come from ADHD, and have cultivated broad knowledge, with only a few points of depth. I work with AI/ML, and I transitioned into it from web dev. I make a point to learn what I need when I need it, rather than trying to stuff my head full of stuff that may or may not be relevant. Changed my focus to "be good in the current situation" rather than "be good at everything." Over time, that fosters learning that sticks.

I think feedback cycles and compounding effort are important.

Feedback meaning you have definitive endings (post it, journal it, etc) to your period of “doing stuff”. Cycles meaning you repeat this over time.

Compounding effort meaning that “doing stuff” in one cycle lets you do new or more complicated things in the next cycle.

Motivation is often just the momentum you get from succeeding. For independent work, you can define your own success criteria. The methods above are helpful for feeling successful.

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If you're spending more than 15-20 minutes a day on "social" media the problem isn't generally AI, it's specifically the AI that makes the media addicting. The more attention you give media the harder it is to give your attention elsewhere.

If you're protecting your attention and still facing motivation issues, then I'll need to know more about you to understand the root of it.

All we can do is stab in the dark/speculate given what you've shared. I only pointed at media because these days it's the most likely culprit.