I Got My Attention Back (2017)(craigmod.com)
craigmod.com
I Got My Attention Back (2017)
https://craigmod.com/essays/how_i_got_my_attention_back/
187 comments
This is very cool! I’ve recently started using my wife’s old Kindle for reading the pfSense book and the Google SRE Handbook and have been loving the fact that it isn’t a bright screen or filled with distractions.
This is a great idea that I’ll be trying out with a couple technical blogs.
This is a great idea that I’ll be trying out with a couple technical blogs.
Awesome! Yeah I tested this out on my mom's old kindle (one with a keyboard) and it renders really well. Not the same as how it looks on the newer Kindles but they still have special support for the newspaper format on the old Kindles and it looks great.
I love the idea, will have to try it out. Not so thrilled about yet another service that wants to collect a monthly rent, but maybe the free tier will suite my needs
Ha no worries. I've tried to find a good balance with the free tier. It's actually a bit more generous than what the copy on the marketing site says so I'll go ahead and update that today. Would love to hear any feedback that you have.
I will be trying this out later! One of the first thoughts I had was creating a middle tier, you have a big gap between what the free tier and $8 tier offers. Assuming it works well for me, I could see myself going for something in the $1.99-$3.99 range that offers 5-10 newspapers, 1 delivery per day, 10-20 articles/delivery, etc. Congrats on receiving the HN hug of death!
Perfect, thank you. This is really good feedback. I am still very much in the early stages of figuring out a pricing model.
Love it :) Will try to remember to report back here when I get around to it!
This is something I never even considered but I love the idea of leaning more on my Kindle Paperwhite and less on my iPad. Going to give it a shot!
Love the service - I've just signed up to give it a go.
I also use the "send to kindle" chrome extension which takes the web page page you are looking at and sends it to your kindle.
I find it really useful for long reads I need to pay attention to and I like having a queue of them on my kindle.
I also use the "send to kindle" chrome extension which takes the web page page you are looking at and sends it to your kindle.
I find it really useful for long reads I need to pay attention to and I like having a queue of them on my kindle.
Thanks! Yeah I've used that extension. If anyone's curious here's the official Amazon one:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/send-to-kindle-for...
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/send-to-kindle-for...
I tried using Kindle this way earlier… but it only worsened for me. :-(
I think the issue is with scrolling itself. Scrolling erodes the attention span because it kinda goes against the grain of saccadic perception. As opposed to that a page turn on a physical book transitions to the next page and stays there in a state of rest until we have comfortably absorbed all of the content on page and are ready to move on to next.
I think the issue is with scrolling itself. Scrolling erodes the attention span because it kinda goes against the grain of saccadic perception. As opposed to that a page turn on a physical book transitions to the next page and stays there in a state of rest until we have comfortably absorbed all of the content on page and are ready to move on to next.
This looks amazing - and for folks like me with a Kobo, it instantly lead me to https://github.com/koreader/koreader.
Amazing.
Don't apologize. Feel proud to have built something that people find so useful to bring your servers down. Good users know that you deserve a little patience.
That's very kind of you. Thank you!
How do you actually build the Kindle file with the articles?
I've tried a couple times to hack together something similar for personal use but I could never figure out how to create the newspaper file.
I've tried a couple times to hack together something similar for personal use but I could never figure out how to create the newspaper file.
This looks terrific. It seems to be exactly the service I have been looking for. I too found myself easily distracted and addicted to my phone when browsing the news. To help combat my addiction, I wrote a script that'll parse my favorite news websites and email them to my Kindle. It's been "life transforming". I can now read my news addiction and distraction free. Plus, I have always preferred reading walls of text on an e-ink display, especially before going to bed. The only downside of my approach is that it takes a lot of time to write my scripts. Every website is different and some websites don't provide APIs. For example, the WSJ provides no APIs to consume their content even as a paying member. So I find myself resorting to selenium to do the parsing work for me. There are many other websites and blogs that I'd like to have sent to my kindle, but I dread the effort needing to do that. So I'd happily pay a small fee, such as your site, to have this work done for me.
Yeah you've touched upon one of the key value adds I think. I've put a lot of work into trying to support as many sites as possible. There are multiple processing stages and fallback paths that are used to ensure that the article is parsed correctly. It's an ongoing challenge but it seems viable as it stands currently. If you run into any issues please let me know. I'm relatively quick at improving the support for any site when I become aware of a potential for improvement.
I launched something similar in 2014 - a few years too early, I guess: https://betalist.com/startups/thedailycrunch
Good luck with your service :) officially supporting apps on the Kindle would open up a very interesting (if niche) market - I'd love to see "the slow web" become a thing.
Good luck with your service :) officially supporting apps on the Kindle would open up a very interesting (if niche) market - I'd love to see "the slow web" become a thing.
"The slow web" is already there :) It's also called "write a paper letter to a friend".
It's amazing how much more satisfying reading an article can be, if you got it as a slightly crumbled paper printout mailed to you by a trusted friend, who is awaiting your thoughtful comments on it in the upcoming weeks.
It's amazing how much more satisfying reading an article can be, if you got it as a slightly crumbled paper printout mailed to you by a trusted friend, who is awaiting your thoughtful comments on it in the upcoming weeks.
Thanks! That looks really nice. Yeah there's a surprising amount of challenges in creating a service like this that targets the Kindle. If you end up signing up, let me know and I'll add some some special access flags to your account.
I'd actually appreciate anyone's opinion or advice on this...
I grew up on computers and the internet (absent, technophile parents made that very easy) and by the age of 13 or 14 my computer really just felt like an extension of myself. When I was in undergrad, I realized that the only way I'd ever actually properly study is if I had someone on my dorm floor take my computer from me and refuse to give it back for some designated period of time.
After undergrad, I "relapsed" a bit in the sense that I would be on my laptop for 14+ hours a day every day, constantly context switching and never really getting any good work done. I'd still accomplish my work but would never really get to the things I wanted to get done, like practicing piano or reading a book.
I started a new job in October and was able to start 'fixing' myself a bit by leaving all my electronics at the office after work, and by December I could actually feel a tangible difference in how I was thinking and making decisions. Unfortunately, after COVID hit, the office closed, and now I've had the least amount of separation between my physical life and digital life, between work and leisure (as I'm sure is the same for all of you).
Do any of you have any systems that work for you in terms of a path towards self-control? I have very little self-control and a very addictive personality and I really don't like the way I spend my time at the moment. At this point I'm even considering finding Adderall or something similar as I don't feel capable of accomplishing this on my own.
I grew up on computers and the internet (absent, technophile parents made that very easy) and by the age of 13 or 14 my computer really just felt like an extension of myself. When I was in undergrad, I realized that the only way I'd ever actually properly study is if I had someone on my dorm floor take my computer from me and refuse to give it back for some designated period of time.
After undergrad, I "relapsed" a bit in the sense that I would be on my laptop for 14+ hours a day every day, constantly context switching and never really getting any good work done. I'd still accomplish my work but would never really get to the things I wanted to get done, like practicing piano or reading a book.
I started a new job in October and was able to start 'fixing' myself a bit by leaving all my electronics at the office after work, and by December I could actually feel a tangible difference in how I was thinking and making decisions. Unfortunately, after COVID hit, the office closed, and now I've had the least amount of separation between my physical life and digital life, between work and leisure (as I'm sure is the same for all of you).
Do any of you have any systems that work for you in terms of a path towards self-control? I have very little self-control and a very addictive personality and I really don't like the way I spend my time at the moment. At this point I'm even considering finding Adderall or something similar as I don't feel capable of accomplishing this on my own.
We use digital devices for distraction from our anxieties when what we need is calm. I recommend something compelling, work-related, and thoroughly analog: get a really nice engineering notebook and give yourself permission to write all over it. Close the lid of the laptop when you do this, and put the phone aside. Write one paragraph that describes the problem you're working on, or draw a diagram. Allot ten minutes to this. You can afford to go dark for ten minutes. No one will notice. Pay close attention to the physical act of creation. This focus on a single thing is a gift you give yourself; turn to it selfishly. It feels like you're slacking off, to ignore the screens and do just one thing, to doodle in a notebook instead of being available on chat. Indulge yourself in this and banish the feelings of guilt that come from tuning out all of the people who need your attention. All of them can wait ten minutes.
I find this practice is easier to engage in than meditation, but it brings some of the same benefits. It quiets the squirrel-in-a-wheel spinning of your thoughts and takes the edge off the need to engage with whatever is distracting you. It's important to do this during work hours, especially at first, because taking time out from what you see as your free time is a lot harder.
I find this practice is easier to engage in than meditation, but it brings some of the same benefits. It quiets the squirrel-in-a-wheel spinning of your thoughts and takes the edge off the need to engage with whatever is distracting you. It's important to do this during work hours, especially at first, because taking time out from what you see as your free time is a lot harder.
> We use digital devices for distraction from our anxieties when what we need is calm.
I think everyone has the cause and effect backwards. I believe that we're not distracted because we have these magical distraction devices. Rather, we invented the distraction devices because modern life is so devoid of meaning and purpose that distraction is a survival adaptation. The higher quality the distractions, the higher quality of the modern life.
> It quiets the squirrel-in-a-wheel spinning of your thoughts and takes the edge off the need to engage with whatever is distracting you.
I know it's an unpopular opinion, but what's wrong with functioning as a squirrel-in-a-wheel with constant distraction? I don't want myself to be calm, and neither do my family, friends, or employers. Everyone wants me to have the appearance of calm, but they actually need the squirrel on the wheel to get the output that everyone expects from me.
Being truly "calm" unleashes a deep existential anxiety about how life is precious and I'm wasting all of it with work and other meaningless obligations. I keep that crisis under control by smothering it with more distractions. I think this is a perfectly valid and sensible response to the modern world.
My plan is to be at peak-distraction until I've made it through the corporate grinder. I hope I'm able to reassemble myself once I can retire.
I think everyone has the cause and effect backwards. I believe that we're not distracted because we have these magical distraction devices. Rather, we invented the distraction devices because modern life is so devoid of meaning and purpose that distraction is a survival adaptation. The higher quality the distractions, the higher quality of the modern life.
> It quiets the squirrel-in-a-wheel spinning of your thoughts and takes the edge off the need to engage with whatever is distracting you.
I know it's an unpopular opinion, but what's wrong with functioning as a squirrel-in-a-wheel with constant distraction? I don't want myself to be calm, and neither do my family, friends, or employers. Everyone wants me to have the appearance of calm, but they actually need the squirrel on the wheel to get the output that everyone expects from me.
Being truly "calm" unleashes a deep existential anxiety about how life is precious and I'm wasting all of it with work and other meaningless obligations. I keep that crisis under control by smothering it with more distractions. I think this is a perfectly valid and sensible response to the modern world.
My plan is to be at peak-distraction until I've made it through the corporate grinder. I hope I'm able to reassemble myself once I can retire.
> Rather, we invented the distraction devices because modern life is so devoid of meaning and purpose that distraction is a survival adaptation.
I'd argue it is the other way around. What we call "distraction" is simply super-salient stimulus that we don't benefit in the long run but can't help being drawn to. It is like addiction. And addiction sells very well. Addictions can be designed to serve the market.
We don't ever get distracted with long pleasant walks, watching the sunset, home-cooked whole-food meals, deep reciprocal conversations, rich thoughtful books, sensual bonding love-making. But all have their marketable, superficial versions we can get addicted to like fast food, porn, hookups, twitter, youtube etc. I think the sense of meaninglessness and purposelessness is created because we get stuck in consuming these surface forms without getting anything that can genuinely nourish and grow us as people.
I'd argue it is the other way around. What we call "distraction" is simply super-salient stimulus that we don't benefit in the long run but can't help being drawn to. It is like addiction. And addiction sells very well. Addictions can be designed to serve the market.
We don't ever get distracted with long pleasant walks, watching the sunset, home-cooked whole-food meals, deep reciprocal conversations, rich thoughtful books, sensual bonding love-making. But all have their marketable, superficial versions we can get addicted to like fast food, porn, hookups, twitter, youtube etc. I think the sense of meaninglessness and purposelessness is created because we get stuck in consuming these surface forms without getting anything that can genuinely nourish and grow us as people.
Thanks for a response that cuts right to the premises of my comment! Your approach is incredibly bleak, but if you reject the premise that being able to focus is desirable, then your conclusion is spot-on. I hope my response gives you the hit of distraction you need to get you through the next five minutes!
> Being truly "calm" unleashes a deep existential anxiety about how life is precious and I'm wasting all of it with work and other meaningless obligations. I keep that crisis under control by smothering it with more distractions.
https://i.imgur.com/o8uP11q.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/o8uP11q.jpeg
I am in the same boat.
I noticed that mindless browsing is a form of procrastination. The small trickle of dopamine from mindless browsing prevents me from starting more rewarding activities.
I learned two things: don't use your computer without a purpose, and turn it off when your task is done.
Computers make you fine with being bored. I found that just shutting the computer off and doing nothing for a few minutes is enough to spur me into action. The first step is to catch yourself browsing mindlessly, and stepping away from the computer.
Sometimes, I'll get busy with other things and spend days away from the computer. I'm always surprised by how few messages and notifications I missed.
I noticed that mindless browsing is a form of procrastination. The small trickle of dopamine from mindless browsing prevents me from starting more rewarding activities.
I learned two things: don't use your computer without a purpose, and turn it off when your task is done.
Computers make you fine with being bored. I found that just shutting the computer off and doing nothing for a few minutes is enough to spur me into action. The first step is to catch yourself browsing mindlessly, and stepping away from the computer.
Sometimes, I'll get busy with other things and spend days away from the computer. I'm always surprised by how few messages and notifications I missed.
1) Even very minor changes, like leaving electronics in a different room, help.
2) The best website blocker for me isn't one that that blocks me from Facebook/reddit/etc for a week -- I just start to rebel against it and eventually uninstall. The one I use is called "Focus" and blocks me out for 20 minutes. Enough to get work done, but also not enough for me to start resenting it.
3) I figured out that I could actually read books again if I biked to the park without my cell phone and read in a hammock. To get internet again, I have to bike all the way home and I'm too lazy for that. It worked great until it reached 1000 degrees in Texas -- maybe you're in cooler climes.
2) The best website blocker for me isn't one that that blocks me from Facebook/reddit/etc for a week -- I just start to rebel against it and eventually uninstall. The one I use is called "Focus" and blocks me out for 20 minutes. Enough to get work done, but also not enough for me to start resenting it.
3) I figured out that I could actually read books again if I biked to the park without my cell phone and read in a hammock. To get internet again, I have to bike all the way home and I'm too lazy for that. It worked great until it reached 1000 degrees in Texas -- maybe you're in cooler climes.
I used to bike to the library after work, about 4 km each way. It started out as a form of exercise (the library happened to be along the bike path), but eventually I was going almost every night just so I could pick a magazine from the library's large selection and read for 30 minutes or an hour. I still had my phone, but because I set out to go to the library, and the form of transport was so focused and meditative, when I got there I was able to just read without being distracted, something which was very difficult at home.
I don't know if you have ADHD, but I do. (Maybe you have it and it's undiagnosed.)
I've found that rather than worrying about my own motivation or lack thereof, it's better to focus on sleep, exercise and diet. Get those things and "motivation" will come. If I'm not motivated, I try to improve those factors.
I guess I'm saying that because it sounds like exercise is important to you as well.
I've found that rather than worrying about my own motivation or lack thereof, it's better to focus on sleep, exercise and diet. Get those things and "motivation" will come. If I'm not motivated, I try to improve those factors.
I guess I'm saying that because it sounds like exercise is important to you as well.
It is insane that we consider it a matter of personal responsibility to have an on-demand carnival in our homes but to have the restraint to barely use it. We light our houses daylight-bright with ceiling-mounted lights at night, and can press a button to have world-class entertainment of all sorts instantly, at any hour. That's an awful way to live.
It's nuts to think most people can live in an environment like that and not suffer negative effects. If people complained they were having trouble sleeping and difficulty focusing, what with the celebrities having a conversation the next room over, the opera in the room on the other side, the orgy in the room accessible just next to that, and their favorite band playing sets in their bedroom itself, all at once, every. single. day and night, nonstop, we'd tell them they needed to move somewhere those things weren't happening, because how could one possibly live healthily in such an environment 24/7? OK to visit, but a terrible place to live. And if anything the Internet is worse than that because there are people paid to get you to engage with it even more. It's like that scenario but also there's a promoter constantly telling you all the cool stuff going on, who will not shut up.
There's no living with our modern tech & Internet in one's house and not having serious problems. Not for the vast majority of people. The medium is the message and the message of the Internet is poor sleep and soul-sickness.
It's nuts to think most people can live in an environment like that and not suffer negative effects. If people complained they were having trouble sleeping and difficulty focusing, what with the celebrities having a conversation the next room over, the opera in the room on the other side, the orgy in the room accessible just next to that, and their favorite band playing sets in their bedroom itself, all at once, every. single. day and night, nonstop, we'd tell them they needed to move somewhere those things weren't happening, because how could one possibly live healthily in such an environment 24/7? OK to visit, but a terrible place to live. And if anything the Internet is worse than that because there are people paid to get you to engage with it even more. It's like that scenario but also there's a promoter constantly telling you all the cool stuff going on, who will not shut up.
There's no living with our modern tech & Internet in one's house and not having serious problems. Not for the vast majority of people. The medium is the message and the message of the Internet is poor sleep and soul-sickness.
Others have given good replies about how to fill the void, and I encourage you to explore those. I’ll stick to commenting on blocking.
It sounds like you went completely cold turkey, and it worked fairly well. You truly had no electronic use outside of work?
If you can manage that, and you live alone, there is a simple solution: unplug your router and modem after work. Plug it back in before work. Then put your devices in a drawer.
This has actually worked for me, where other blocking systems have failed. The physicality and totally of the unplug do it. But it is usually difficult as most people need some access at home. If you truly don’t, this total block option opens for you. You’ll prob have to temporarily give up your data plan as well.
There are other options to block in software, or at a technical level on the router.
You can track your success with this plan on paper. Maybe one piece of paper always on your desk. Write a description of why you’re doing it, then make a “don’t break the chain” calendar and mark it off for each day. You can use this as a log too of how it’s going.
The advantage this system has is you have to consciously choose to plug in, unlike digital systems where you can sort of drift into disabling it. If needed, you can also keep a physical log book on the router to write your checkins, or have a friend try calling you to see if it’s working. (You can keep a voice plan on your phone. Without data or wifi the phone won’t be very addictive most likely)
It sounds like you went completely cold turkey, and it worked fairly well. You truly had no electronic use outside of work?
If you can manage that, and you live alone, there is a simple solution: unplug your router and modem after work. Plug it back in before work. Then put your devices in a drawer.
This has actually worked for me, where other blocking systems have failed. The physicality and totally of the unplug do it. But it is usually difficult as most people need some access at home. If you truly don’t, this total block option opens for you. You’ll prob have to temporarily give up your data plan as well.
There are other options to block in software, or at a technical level on the router.
You can track your success with this plan on paper. Maybe one piece of paper always on your desk. Write a description of why you’re doing it, then make a “don’t break the chain” calendar and mark it off for each day. You can use this as a log too of how it’s going.
The advantage this system has is you have to consciously choose to plug in, unlike digital systems where you can sort of drift into disabling it. If needed, you can also keep a physical log book on the router to write your checkins, or have a friend try calling you to see if it’s working. (You can keep a voice plan on your phone. Without data or wifi the phone won’t be very addictive most likely)
I think the issue here is that it's so easy to make excuses to plug it back in, and it's so easy to walk over to the router to do so.
When I left my devices at work, whenever I had the urge to go on the internet at home, I would realize it would take me another hour commute to get there and back, and that wasn't worth it.
When I left my devices at work, whenever I had the urge to go on the internet at home, I would realize it would take me another hour commute to get there and back, and that wasn't worth it.
Right. That sounds fairly severe. Addiction level.
And yet, some people do manage to go cold turkey. And cold turkey is generally easier than a approach based on limitation.
Your one strength here is you know you don’t really need the access, as you already did it. If you want to google something or message someone you can write it down on paper, and handle it in the morning.
Perhaps this truly won’t work. In which case, would any software/hardware restriction work? They can all be circumvented, and fairly easily for someone technical. If you can find one will hard time based limits, that might work. Freedom, or Cold Turkey may be that, I’ve never looked into circumvention difficulties.
But then again, if you really want to try, could you treat yourself as an addict, say there are no real excuses, and force yourself to call someone if you desire to plug it in? Or even say you will plug it in for 10 min for a true emergency but unplug and tell them you did?
I don’t know. All of us have different psychologies. You’ll have to consider what has a chance of working for you. But I’ll end by saying that with a conscious choice it is possible to make a change, and it is often perversely easier to do this at a low point.
Edit: actually, the other commentor’s suggestion of a timer box seems extremely promising. You may want a dumb phone or a landline for emergencies if you do that though. But it has two elements: 1. Impossibility to circumvent 2. Physical separation
Edit 2: one thing that might work is Beeminder. You pay if you fail to meet the goal. And they have a weasel mode.
And yet, some people do manage to go cold turkey. And cold turkey is generally easier than a approach based on limitation.
Your one strength here is you know you don’t really need the access, as you already did it. If you want to google something or message someone you can write it down on paper, and handle it in the morning.
Perhaps this truly won’t work. In which case, would any software/hardware restriction work? They can all be circumvented, and fairly easily for someone technical. If you can find one will hard time based limits, that might work. Freedom, or Cold Turkey may be that, I’ve never looked into circumvention difficulties.
But then again, if you really want to try, could you treat yourself as an addict, say there are no real excuses, and force yourself to call someone if you desire to plug it in? Or even say you will plug it in for 10 min for a true emergency but unplug and tell them you did?
I don’t know. All of us have different psychologies. You’ll have to consider what has a chance of working for you. But I’ll end by saying that with a conscious choice it is possible to make a change, and it is often perversely easier to do this at a low point.
Edit: actually, the other commentor’s suggestion of a timer box seems extremely promising. You may want a dumb phone or a landline for emergencies if you do that though. But it has two elements: 1. Impossibility to circumvent 2. Physical separation
Edit 2: one thing that might work is Beeminder. You pay if you fail to meet the goal. And they have a weasel mode.
Cold turkey works, it worked for me dozen of times. Of course until i relapsed:)
Something that I've heard of people doing is getting a timer box. Basically what it is, is something that locks for a designated period of time.
When you're done work you can pop your stuff in it, set a timer for 16 hours or whatever is necessary then you can't access these things at all.
Here's a rough link to what I mean (https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Safe-Locking-Container-Height...)
When you're done work you can pop your stuff in it, set a timer for 16 hours or whatever is necessary then you can't access these things at all.
Here's a rough link to what I mean (https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Safe-Locking-Container-Height...)
Amusingly, I tried this approach. What I found is that I would make up any excuse to not lock my device in the timer box.
Seems like my addiction runs very very deep.
Seems like my addiction runs very very deep.
It sounds dumb and it's not how addiction works, but it might be worth just will powering yourself into it the first time then going with the calendar chain approach to try and not break your streak.
Even if you fail every once in a while, it'll be an improvement to what you're describing now.
Even if you fail every once in a while, it'll be an improvement to what you're describing now.
It’s not a “quick fix” but meditation really does help build focus, attention, and awareness. If that sounds like it would be impossibly hard, you can definitely start small with something like 10 breaths where you really just pay attention to breathing in and out, and then gradually work up to longer stretches.
I find that meditation has a spillover effect into my life — I’m less likely to be tempted by junk food, let’s say, on the days where I meditate.
I find that meditation has a spillover effect into my life — I’m less likely to be tempted by junk food, let’s say, on the days where I meditate.
Interesting... I've read that but perhaps chose not to believe it. Would you mind sharing how often you meditate and for how long?
Every day for sure. There's a good amount of evidence thay 20 minutes provides a benefit, maybe as little as 15 or 10 can provide a benefit.
For a while I was doing 20 minutes a day. I found that hard to maintain, I switched to 12 minutes, and did it every day for 2019. I found the shorter time easier to keep up, and so perhaps more beneficial for me over the long run.
There are stretches where I’m inconsistent for days or weeks, and I try to gently bring back the routine. Or I’ll apply the same focus to something like exercise or stretching.
I use a simple timer app on iPhone called “Timeless”.
There’s a quote that goes something like, “one mindful breath is better than an hour of mindless meditation.”
There are stretches where I’m inconsistent for days or weeks, and I try to gently bring back the routine. Or I’ll apply the same focus to something like exercise or stretching.
I use a simple timer app on iPhone called “Timeless”.
There’s a quote that goes something like, “one mindful breath is better than an hour of mindless meditation.”
It works, but usually people have a wildly unrealistic expectation of “works”.
When you meditate regularly, you’re building this tiny sliver of ability around awareness. In practice, it may be that you build a fraction of a second of awareness before you fall into old habits. So it doesn’t feel like you’re making any tangible progress, because a half of a second of awareness doesn’t feel tangible.
But it’s a massive lever. It can help avoid getting back on the computer, or losing your cool, or any number of reactive, destructive habits. Avoiding even one of those, once in a while, can be a huge win that starts a snowball effect of positive change.
When you meditate regularly, you’re building this tiny sliver of ability around awareness. In practice, it may be that you build a fraction of a second of awareness before you fall into old habits. So it doesn’t feel like you’re making any tangible progress, because a half of a second of awareness doesn’t feel tangible.
But it’s a massive lever. It can help avoid getting back on the computer, or losing your cool, or any number of reactive, destructive habits. Avoiding even one of those, once in a while, can be a huge win that starts a snowball effect of positive change.
Here are some guided meditation recordings that I found very helpful for getting started (if you’re on mobile, scroll to the right for the play button): https://www.uclahealth.org/marc/mindful-meditations
Of these, I have listened to the Breathing Meditation (5 min) and the Body Scan for Sleep (13 min) the most and would recommend them. Maybe keep the 5 minute one open in a tab, and if you find yourself in a procrastinatory tab-switching vortex, break and listen to it.
Here are some longer and more “themed” guided meditations from the meditation guru Tara Brach. She also does weekly livestreams if you’re into that: https://www.tarabrach.com/new-to-meditation/
If you want to learn about the science behind how meditation changes your brain, look at “The Science of Mindfulness” from The Great Courses (it’s on Audible): https://www.amazon.com/The-Science-of-Mindfulness-audiobook/...
Aside from meditation, as a gold medalist procrastinator and long-time (~20yrs) Adderall user, I’d caution you against seeking that out to help you with the problem you describe. It can send context-switching behaviors into overdrive and cause a host of other problems. That said, there’s no shame in taking them if they’re right for you (definitely would encourage you to find a doctor that’s comfortable treating ADD etc, possibly a specialist).
For managing tasks, this the only method that’s effective for me: get some {red, yellow, green} post-it notes (color = priority) and a sharpie. Write down every task that is weighing down your mind (this is the basis of the GTD method). One task per post-it, and write down the estimated time in minutes to complete. If it’s a long task (refactor script.py), I convert it into X number of 30 time blocks that I want to spend on it, not necessarily expecting completion by the end of that time. Use the pomodoro method to knock out tasks, and draw a big ass check mark on the post-it when you finish one (feels great!). I also organize the tasks on a whiteboard with the following rows as categories: {health, life, work, finance, education, projects/other}.
This is my procrastination eradication method. There are many like it, but this is mine.
Of these, I have listened to the Breathing Meditation (5 min) and the Body Scan for Sleep (13 min) the most and would recommend them. Maybe keep the 5 minute one open in a tab, and if you find yourself in a procrastinatory tab-switching vortex, break and listen to it.
Here are some longer and more “themed” guided meditations from the meditation guru Tara Brach. She also does weekly livestreams if you’re into that: https://www.tarabrach.com/new-to-meditation/
If you want to learn about the science behind how meditation changes your brain, look at “The Science of Mindfulness” from The Great Courses (it’s on Audible): https://www.amazon.com/The-Science-of-Mindfulness-audiobook/...
Aside from meditation, as a gold medalist procrastinator and long-time (~20yrs) Adderall user, I’d caution you against seeking that out to help you with the problem you describe. It can send context-switching behaviors into overdrive and cause a host of other problems. That said, there’s no shame in taking them if they’re right for you (definitely would encourage you to find a doctor that’s comfortable treating ADD etc, possibly a specialist).
For managing tasks, this the only method that’s effective for me: get some {red, yellow, green} post-it notes (color = priority) and a sharpie. Write down every task that is weighing down your mind (this is the basis of the GTD method). One task per post-it, and write down the estimated time in minutes to complete. If it’s a long task (refactor script.py), I convert it into X number of 30 time blocks that I want to spend on it, not necessarily expecting completion by the end of that time. Use the pomodoro method to knock out tasks, and draw a big ass check mark on the post-it when you finish one (feels great!). I also organize the tasks on a whiteboard with the following rows as categories: {health, life, work, finance, education, projects/other}.
This is my procrastination eradication method. There are many like it, but this is mine.
A- make a mental or physical note of your busy mind, how busy?
B- put on noise cancelling headphones if you have them. Otherwise sit someplace without visual noise in your cone of vision.
C- breathe in for 5, hold for 5, exhale for 5, wait 5, repeat 4x
D- note if you get pleasant feelings in your head, above eye level, tingles. This may be a physical manifestation of stress being relieved.
E- review your busy mind, are thoughts holding more strongly?
B- put on noise cancelling headphones if you have them. Otherwise sit someplace without visual noise in your cone of vision.
C- breathe in for 5, hold for 5, exhale for 5, wait 5, repeat 4x
D- note if you get pleasant feelings in your head, above eye level, tingles. This may be a physical manifestation of stress being relieved.
E- review your busy mind, are thoughts holding more strongly?
Here are some things that have worked for me:
1. Keep your phone on silent (or shut off) in a different room than your office (or wherever you're trying to work)
2. Install an app like Refine on your phone and block all social media and sites that you open up frequently (HN would possibly be an example)
3. Keep your phone in a different room before going to sleep.
4. If you like listening to audiobooks, consider getting an Amazon Echo. I like to listen to audiobooks before falling asleep and with the Echo you can set a sleep timer and then play an audiobook and it will stop playing after the sleep timer expires.
5. On your laptop (assuming you use Mac or Linux) add social media and other frequently visited non-productivity related sites to your /etc/hosts file.
Personally I try to avoid drugs for these kinds of things. In my view it's a matter of self improvement and self-discipline which are things that can be developed with effort.
1. Keep your phone on silent (or shut off) in a different room than your office (or wherever you're trying to work)
2. Install an app like Refine on your phone and block all social media and sites that you open up frequently (HN would possibly be an example)
3. Keep your phone in a different room before going to sleep.
4. If you like listening to audiobooks, consider getting an Amazon Echo. I like to listen to audiobooks before falling asleep and with the Echo you can set a sleep timer and then play an audiobook and it will stop playing after the sleep timer expires.
5. On your laptop (assuming you use Mac or Linux) add social media and other frequently visited non-productivity related sites to your /etc/hosts file.
Personally I try to avoid drugs for these kinds of things. In my view it's a matter of self improvement and self-discipline which are things that can be developed with effort.
> On your laptop (assuming you use Mac or Linux) add social media and other frequently visited non-productivity related sites to your /etc/hosts file.
NT has a hosts file, they just stuck it somewhere in system32.
NT has a hosts file, they just stuck it somewhere in system32.
c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Had to stick reddit and hackernews in there on my work PC long ago.
Had to stick reddit and hackernews in there on my work PC long ago.
I tried that but I'm such an addict I changed it back.
A better solution for me is a chrome extension that blocks it for 20 minutes at a time. Long enough to make decent progress and get started on work, but no so long that I resent it and give up.
A better solution for me is a chrome extension that blocks it for 20 minutes at a time. Long enough to make decent progress and get started on work, but no so long that I resent it and give up.
Yes I agree, Drugs are point of last resort since from I have inquired in the field and apparently going one can lead to a stack of them later on in life as the loose effectiveness and way they work.
I would not be so quick to throw away "drugs" as they have the strongest efficacy compared to any method shared here.
Anecdotally, I used to follow a lot of these methods described here, but more specifically:
- Keeping a journal
- Reducing blue-light before bed
- Diet & excercise
- Meditations
I do agree that there is merit in each one of them, but absolutely nothing worked better than the "drugs" that was prescribed to me.
In fact, when first speaking to a specialist, it was like he already knew me. He knew my problems better than I did (goes to show that your problems aren't unique after all).
I do wish I had sought help sooner - my life changed dramatically in the time span of initial treatment to now.
Anecdotally, I used to follow a lot of these methods described here, but more specifically:
- Keeping a journal
- Reducing blue-light before bed
- Diet & excercise
- Meditations
I do agree that there is merit in each one of them, but absolutely nothing worked better than the "drugs" that was prescribed to me.
In fact, when first speaking to a specialist, it was like he already knew me. He knew my problems better than I did (goes to show that your problems aren't unique after all).
I do wish I had sought help sooner - my life changed dramatically in the time span of initial treatment to now.
It's been hard for me, but I've got physical spaces in my home (helps to have a house for this) that I use for different things. Upstairs loft (which will be a space for kids later) is my office right now. Living room is time with my wife, sitting room is my reading room. If I take a book to the sitting room, I can actually read it and get something done. I usually leave my phone in another room.
Another thing that used to work really well (recovering from a pulled muscle so I can't presently) is to leave the office and go for a run. With WFH, I started doing that again 3 days a week after work, another day was lawn work. It's not something you can choose to focus on or not, you're out there and have nothing else to do but move. It creates a clean separation between my workday and the rest of my day.
Another thing that used to work really well (recovering from a pulled muscle so I can't presently) is to leave the office and go for a run. With WFH, I started doing that again 3 days a week after work, another day was lawn work. It's not something you can choose to focus on or not, you're out there and have nothing else to do but move. It creates a clean separation between my workday and the rest of my day.
I'm similar so here are some thoughts - I found myself in a situation where I had limited internet access. I still had access to all the files related to me "to do" project list. I instantly felt more motivated to work on them. Knowing that my connection to the internet was gone and there was nothing I could do about it for the time being caused that constant nagging in the back of your mind "whats the next funny meme" or what ever to disappear. I didn't feel compelled to mindlessly browse because I couldn't. I would suggest finding a way to severe this connection (pun intended) and it will set your mind at ease. It solves the FOMO feeling when you KNOW you can't do something.
/ramble.
I have very similar issues. Two things worked for me:
- have a daily tracking system where you have clear simple goals (such as going to bed at a certain hour, the first thing you do in the morning should be productive...) and try to have "winning streaks". I use an google sheet for this and color red/green tiles based on success/failure.
- Find a buddy to work with. Since I started working with a cofounder next to me, my productivity shot up simply because I feel bad doing crap while he is working.
- have a daily tracking system where you have clear simple goals (such as going to bed at a certain hour, the first thing you do in the morning should be productive...) and try to have "winning streaks". I use an google sheet for this and color red/green tiles based on success/failure.
- Find a buddy to work with. Since I started working with a cofounder next to me, my productivity shot up simply because I feel bad doing crap while he is working.
Sounds like you’re aware of the problem, and already know what you want to do about it. Now time for that daunting next step, doing something about it.
Start with something small, take a walk outside every day. It sounds stupid but it is guaranteed time away from a computer and the barrier of entry is non-existent.
At the end of the day, nothing will change until you change it. Nobody will come fix it for you, it’s on you.
Hope this helps, you got this fellow person struggling with indefinite WFH :)
Start with something small, take a walk outside every day. It sounds stupid but it is guaranteed time away from a computer and the barrier of entry is non-existent.
At the end of the day, nothing will change until you change it. Nobody will come fix it for you, it’s on you.
Hope this helps, you got this fellow person struggling with indefinite WFH :)
> I started a new job in October and was able to start 'fixing' myself a bit by leaving all my electronics at the office after work, and by December I could actually feel a tangible difference in how I was thinking and making decisions.
Yup, one of the best things you can do is leave your work at work. I know that is easier said than done though especially now that our "offices" and homes are one and the same thing.
Yup, one of the best things you can do is leave your work at work. I know that is easier said than done though especially now that our "offices" and homes are one and the same thing.
I’d recommend searching for an addiction therapist. Most will revolve around alcoholism, but there are many that specialize in more general forms of addiction.
I want to throw my phone away and switch to a "dumb" phone so I can rid my addiction to it, but I have become dependent on several core apps such as Google Maps. I wish Android would allow me full control to delete every app on there but the ones I most need. But unfortunately, its restrictions prevent me from doing so. For example, I want to delete all web browser apps so I am not tempted to the addiction of the internet, but Android won't let me. Does anyone here know how I can bypass this? I am close to purchasing the Light Phone 2 as a means to address my addiction, but again, it is missing Google Maps which I am heavily dependent on.
A simple solution is to:
1. set up parental-control restrictions that lock you out of these apps;
2. hand your phone to someone you trust, and tell them to set the unlock password for the parental-control restrictions (so that only they will know it);
3. ask that said person also does you the service of typing the password to disable the restrictions when requested—but only with 24 hours' notice. (I.e. you ask, and then 24 hours later they'll do it.)
That way, you'll never be tempted to unlock the restrictions for trivial things; but you can still e.g. reset the phone if you want to sell it. (You just need to wait 24 hours first.)
1. set up parental-control restrictions that lock you out of these apps;
2. hand your phone to someone you trust, and tell them to set the unlock password for the parental-control restrictions (so that only they will know it);
3. ask that said person also does you the service of typing the password to disable the restrictions when requested—but only with 24 hours' notice. (I.e. you ask, and then 24 hours later they'll do it.)
That way, you'll never be tempted to unlock the restrictions for trivial things; but you can still e.g. reset the phone if you want to sell it. (You just need to wait 24 hours first.)
Brilliant. This might be the way I'll do it.
Solo tech fun:
- Set a long parental control password, you won't remember.
- Write it into some file.
- Put that file into an encrypted container, with a short to medium generated random password you won't be shown .
To access the phone you have to brute-force the container password.
- Set a long parental control password, you won't remember.
- Write it into some file.
- Put that file into an encrypted container, with a short to medium generated random password you won't be shown .
To access the phone you have to brute-force the container password.
Makes me picture a person who wants to learn lock-picking, putting randomized locks on internal doors between rooms in their house :)
There are dedicated GPS devices (by TomTom, Garmin, etc) which are much cheaper than smart phones. In the past they provided a far better experience too, I'm not sure how they compare to Google Maps nowadays though.
I got myself a Garmin device for exactly this purpose. Put your own OpenStreetMaps on it and you‘re good to go. Perfect GPS reception and much longer battery life included.
But note that it‘s not the same als Google Maps/Apple Maps. If you want to test it out first, use an OSM-based app for a while, like OSMand, and see if it fits your bill. You get better hiking maps, but you might miss the integration of business opening hours, Yelp, traffic, etc. But for me it‘s worth it, for GP‘s reasons.
People used to live without all these features before, after all.
But note that it‘s not the same als Google Maps/Apple Maps. If you want to test it out first, use an OSM-based app for a while, like OSMand, and see if it fits your bill. You get better hiking maps, but you might miss the integration of business opening hours, Yelp, traffic, etc. But for me it‘s worth it, for GP‘s reasons.
People used to live without all these features before, after all.
Try using the LessPhone[0] launcher. I have used it off and on and had some success with it. It locks you down to a slim set of apps (configurable), in a plain black and white interface. It's not perfect, but it's helpful.
[0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.aswinmohan....
[0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.aswinmohan....
Thank you! This is close to what I am looking for. I'll give it a shot and see if it addresses my problem.
update1: Hmm. So it doesn't exactly address the core problem, which is I can still easily access those other apps that I wish to uninstall. So in a way, this app helps by making the UI less enticing to click on, but it doesn't address the core problem, which is to fully uninstall.
update1: Hmm. So it doesn't exactly address the core problem, which is I can still easily access those other apps that I wish to uninstall. So in a way, this app helps by making the UI less enticing to click on, but it doesn't address the core problem, which is to fully uninstall.
On Android if you have Digital Wellbeing you can set a timer for each app. Just set it at 1min for Chrome
I haven't seen anybody else mention it, but there is a method you can use. I've used it on my (unrooted) BlackBerry KeyOne to remove all Google apps, including Chrome and the Play Store.
The Android Debug Bridge allows disabling packages and APKs. There's a walkthrough on XDA Developers [1] that (I assume) is more than enough for any HN reader. If not, shoot me a message and we can walk through it together :)
[1] https://www.xda-developers.com/disable-system-app-bloatware-...
The Android Debug Bridge allows disabling packages and APKs. There's a walkthrough on XDA Developers [1] that (I assume) is more than enough for any HN reader. If not, shoot me a message and we can walk through it together :)
[1] https://www.xda-developers.com/disable-system-app-bloatware-...
I can advice you the Nokia Tough 800, I got it for exact the same reason. it’s a decent device that runs kaiOS, has maps, whatsapp and browser. The browser is so slow that it doesnt really become a time sink, (The bulk of websites are clearly not made for this screen size) so, I just check what i need to and that’s it. Maps works really nicely on it.
You could block internet access for your browser. There are a lot of apps that let you do that (and in some cases I think you can also manage internet access in your settings).
I look up directions before-hand and draw maps. It works most of the time as long as you plan to be a little late "snoopin" around.
Reviewing your route and drawing it out beforehand works amazingly. You learn the route pretty damn well, and hardly have to even look at the map. This makes your whole drive safer as you're not looking at a screen watching the countdown to the next intersection. You learn how to actually get where you are going, and you learn your way around town better as a result. Using GPS with turn-by-turn directions forces me to rely on it, as I don't tend to remember the route for the next time I go to that location.
I also find that if you look at the map and review it before you go, you can simplify most directions. Turn-by-turn directions tend give you every little detail that you may not need to remember to get to where you're going.
I also find that if you look at the map and review it before you go, you can simplify most directions. Turn-by-turn directions tend give you every little detail that you may not need to remember to get to where you're going.
Duh. Get two.
[deleted]
Is it so difficult to practice self-control?
He did mention he's addicted, so yes.
It seems that the american/OP mindset is all about throwing dollars to the problems. No, you don't need to buy another phone so you reduce phone usage.
Why do you assume that OP is American? Consumerism is a worldwide problem.
You say that but can't provide any alternate solutions/suggestions/strategies?
Not spend money in yet another phone and try to limit the usage of the current one?
Nothing like telling an addict that they just need to stop being addicted. Simple answer, problem solved, right?
Another way to look at it is: stop context switching (all the time).
Personally a lot of context swithing is giving me stress and is draining my energy. It also makes me less productive. So I believe the article is spot on.
Personally a lot of context swithing is giving me stress and is draining my energy. It also makes me less productive. So I believe the article is spot on.
My problem is way too much context switching, definitely. I have done at least 20 different things since I opened the tab to read the article. Still only 1/3 of the way through the article though.
In broader strokes: Verify your assumptions, especially about yourself.
Self-discovery was an important part of becoming an independent young adult. What am I good at, what am I bad at, what do I want/need to be good at? But your brain will continue to change through your life, for better and for worse. Just because you were good at multitasking at 24 doesn't mean you still are at 34. And coping mechanisms you used to deal with other limitations might not be helping you anymore.
I've heard a lot of adults say that they still see themselves as 30, and so it's a shock when someone calls them sir, defers to their experience in a tough situation, or when they see how much grey is looking at them in the mirror. If our sense of self gets set in stone, we start to miss things.
Self-discovery was an important part of becoming an independent young adult. What am I good at, what am I bad at, what do I want/need to be good at? But your brain will continue to change through your life, for better and for worse. Just because you were good at multitasking at 24 doesn't mean you still are at 34. And coping mechanisms you used to deal with other limitations might not be helping you anymore.
I've heard a lot of adults say that they still see themselves as 30, and so it's a shock when someone calls them sir, defers to their experience in a tough situation, or when they see how much grey is looking at them in the mirror. If our sense of self gets set in stone, we start to miss things.
This is absolutely true and shocking difficult.
You can disable every notification on your phone, mute all non urgent email, change the way you read news, block social media for a day or delete it permanently... all the small things help.
But the worst interrupters are the hardest to tame. If anyone has a Slack containment strategy, I’m all ears.
You can disable every notification on your phone, mute all non urgent email, change the way you read news, block social media for a day or delete it permanently... all the small things help.
But the worst interrupters are the hardest to tame. If anyone has a Slack containment strategy, I’m all ears.
I just turned slack off and check it every couple of hours.
No one has shouted at me yet.
No one has shouted at me yet.
Yes. Desktop app/web app only. If you can't ignore blue, shut it down. If you get lots of red, shut it down.
Helping others is one thing. Doing it at the expense of your own productivity is another.
Silent phone is easy for me. You can always make the bosses VIP. Also I have never installed email or Slack on my phone. My current workplace is relatively low volume (50 or so staff). I can't imagine how it must be with a lot more.
Helping others is one thing. Doing it at the expense of your own productivity is another.
Silent phone is easy for me. You can always make the bosses VIP. Also I have never installed email or Slack on my phone. My current workplace is relatively low volume (50 or so staff). I can't imagine how it must be with a lot more.
It's basically that.
I block out chunks of time and disable all distractions during those blocks, I don't have a phone on my desk.
When I started they said to open a ticket with IT to get a phone installed and I simply didn't.
If it's urgent, like production is out - come find me otherwise wait until I reach a natural stopping point and I'll reply, you'll get a better more thoughtful reply then me throwing a reply your way desperately trying to get back to actual work.
It's weird to me how many companies seem to go out of their way to create an environment where developers can't get their best work done.
I mean there has to be a degree of balance between working together and working alone but the ratio in my opinion is 20/80 for what we do, meet up, make a plan, bugger off and work on the plan, reach out of something is a problem.
Versus the type of environment I'm currently in where it's death by a thousand distractions if you allow it, which I simply don't.
I block out chunks of time and disable all distractions during those blocks, I don't have a phone on my desk.
When I started they said to open a ticket with IT to get a phone installed and I simply didn't.
If it's urgent, like production is out - come find me otherwise wait until I reach a natural stopping point and I'll reply, you'll get a better more thoughtful reply then me throwing a reply your way desperately trying to get back to actual work.
It's weird to me how many companies seem to go out of their way to create an environment where developers can't get their best work done.
I mean there has to be a degree of balance between working together and working alone but the ratio in my opinion is 20/80 for what we do, meet up, make a plan, bugger off and work on the plan, reach out of something is a problem.
Versus the type of environment I'm currently in where it's death by a thousand distractions if you allow it, which I simply don't.
use slack like email. all notifications off and check a few times a day
I turned off notifications at the top level except @mentions, and then specifically turned back on just the super important channels (operations type stuff). I even explicitly mute a lot of channels that don't need my daily input, and people know that they need to @mention me if they need attention in that channel. And making sure to put the right quiet hours, and time zone in to shut them all down.
If we say distraction is actually caused FOMO, then how do you treat that? I think we are dealing here with emotional management
I believe it is more than the Fear Of Missing Out.
We are very curious creatures.
It can be caused by not liking your job and looking for a way out.
It can be a dopamine addiction.
Most distractions are very easy to process so when you are doing hard work it might be tempting to look for something more easy on the brain.
'Social' is designed to distract us. So unless you turn off all knobs it is hard to ignore.
I believe treatment is done step by step. For most people cold turkey is very hard to do. But the first step is to see for yourself if distractions cause a problem (why change if it is not a problem?).
We are very curious creatures.
It can be caused by not liking your job and looking for a way out.
It can be a dopamine addiction.
Most distractions are very easy to process so when you are doing hard work it might be tempting to look for something more easy on the brain.
'Social' is designed to distract us. So unless you turn off all knobs it is hard to ignore.
I believe treatment is done step by step. For most people cold turkey is very hard to do. But the first step is to see for yourself if distractions cause a problem (why change if it is not a problem?).
I really like this comment. It's almost like distraction is a symptom of escape from something in our everyday lives.
I think one part is curiosity like the other commenter said, but I also think that part of it is seeking distraction from something. Like we want to take up the space in our mind, so there isn't room for something else.
I think one part is curiosity like the other commenter said, but I also think that part of it is seeking distraction from something. Like we want to take up the space in our mind, so there isn't room for something else.
Here's the problem I see with unplugging to work; maybe it's an actual problem, maybe I'm just fooling myself.
I work on software. I want the finished product, to build something useful for myself or others. I don't necessarily want the "journey". When I work, my concern, or fear, is that I'm going to work on some library or method, multiple days, then find that someone else did it better in a library I can just import. As I work I also look for these libraries, and look at questions on StackOverflow. I don't consider that time wasted. Between that, and docs that are all online nowadays, I don't see how I can work while disconnected.
I work on software. I want the finished product, to build something useful for myself or others. I don't necessarily want the "journey". When I work, my concern, or fear, is that I'm going to work on some library or method, multiple days, then find that someone else did it better in a library I can just import. As I work I also look for these libraries, and look at questions on StackOverflow. I don't consider that time wasted. Between that, and docs that are all online nowadays, I don't see how I can work while disconnected.
Scrape the doc sites with httrack or something. Don't turn the internet on unless you actually hit that library problem, I think it's generally pretty clear when a significant problem has already been solved. Or move on and solve that problem tomorrow, and go do deliberate research on it and download everything at night, and then work on it again offline the next day.
FWIW I've used offline docs via Dash[0] when working away from network access before. It works great!
MacOS only though.
[0] https://kapeli.com/dash
MacOS only though.
[0] https://kapeli.com/dash
> then find that someone else did it better in a library I can just import
If it involves working with some common standard or protocol, chances are it's been done before and you probably shouldn't attempt to do it yourself unless the existing implementations don't work for you.
But otherwise, why stress over it? The amount of "great" programmers in the world is tiny, so while the chances that someone did something already are high, the chances that it will be significantly better than anything you can make yourself are low.
Unless it's impractical because of the sheer size of it, the time investment involved, or some other reason, building something yourself gives many long-term benefits for the upfront investment. Owning the code, not having to deal with the community/politics, developing at your own pace, not having to worry about maintaining a fork, minimizing external dependencies and the associated risks, avoiding licensing concerns, etc.
Saying that you should use an existing library because "someone probably did it better" is F.U.D. If you're not confident in your abilities to do something better than an imaginary programmer you've never met, then you probably need to write more code and gain more confidence; and a great way to do that is to reinvent the wheel from time to time.
If it involves working with some common standard or protocol, chances are it's been done before and you probably shouldn't attempt to do it yourself unless the existing implementations don't work for you.
But otherwise, why stress over it? The amount of "great" programmers in the world is tiny, so while the chances that someone did something already are high, the chances that it will be significantly better than anything you can make yourself are low.
Unless it's impractical because of the sheer size of it, the time investment involved, or some other reason, building something yourself gives many long-term benefits for the upfront investment. Owning the code, not having to deal with the community/politics, developing at your own pace, not having to worry about maintaining a fork, minimizing external dependencies and the associated risks, avoiding licensing concerns, etc.
Saying that you should use an existing library because "someone probably did it better" is F.U.D. If you're not confident in your abilities to do something better than an imaginary programmer you've never met, then you probably need to write more code and gain more confidence; and a great way to do that is to reinvent the wheel from time to time.
> I don't see how I can work while disconnected.
I'be been programming for many years almost completely offline. It has changed the way I develop in ways that are very powerful.
Having local copies of all of your needs allows for things that you just cannot do with online resources, such as locally index.
Having instantaneous (not internet fast, FAST!) fuzzy search through my entire collection of doucmentation AND all source code was a game-changer for me.
Especially when learning a new language, its powerful being able to immediatly find example uses of functions from within your local collection of libraries without having to hit on google (and wait, and click, and read, and ...).
I'be been programming for many years almost completely offline. It has changed the way I develop in ways that are very powerful.
Having local copies of all of your needs allows for things that you just cannot do with online resources, such as locally index.
Having instantaneous (not internet fast, FAST!) fuzzy search through my entire collection of doucmentation AND all source code was a game-changer for me.
Especially when learning a new language, its powerful being able to immediatly find example uses of functions from within your local collection of libraries without having to hit on google (and wait, and click, and read, and ...).
> I don't necessarily want the "journey".
Aside: The 'journey' is typically structured wrong, dramatically speaking.
With development, the product is released at the end of the 'journey'. Boom, it's done, the end, Fin.
In a 3-act drama, the 'crisis' occurs at the midpoint of the story. It's the turning point. The iceberg hits the Titanic halfway through, Obi-Wan dies halfway through Star Wars, MacBeth kills Banquo halfway through, etc.
The product should be released at the halfway point of the 'journey'. It's the turning point for the humans in this story. We finally have the elixir and we've used it for the first time (ie. we get real feedback from the market and customers for the first time).
We're missing the rest of act 2 and the whole of act 3: the 'flight' part of act 2, the 'crisis point' at the end of act 2, and the 'synthesis' part that is act 3.
Those missing elements exist for the actual product, it's just that they are not included in the 'story' of the product. The humans in the 'journey' only make it to the intermission. It's then handed off to another team, typically. Hence, there is a lot of frustration with these 'journeys'. We don't get any synthesis.
To fix it, view the release as the halfway point in the 'journey', not the end of it. Keep the team a part of the product through the end of the dramatic 'journey'.
Aside: The 'journey' is typically structured wrong, dramatically speaking.
With development, the product is released at the end of the 'journey'. Boom, it's done, the end, Fin.
In a 3-act drama, the 'crisis' occurs at the midpoint of the story. It's the turning point. The iceberg hits the Titanic halfway through, Obi-Wan dies halfway through Star Wars, MacBeth kills Banquo halfway through, etc.
The product should be released at the halfway point of the 'journey'. It's the turning point for the humans in this story. We finally have the elixir and we've used it for the first time (ie. we get real feedback from the market and customers for the first time).
We're missing the rest of act 2 and the whole of act 3: the 'flight' part of act 2, the 'crisis point' at the end of act 2, and the 'synthesis' part that is act 3.
Those missing elements exist for the actual product, it's just that they are not included in the 'story' of the product. The humans in the 'journey' only make it to the intermission. It's then handed off to another team, typically. Hence, there is a lot of frustration with these 'journeys'. We don't get any synthesis.
To fix it, view the release as the halfway point in the 'journey', not the end of it. Keep the team a part of the product through the end of the dramatic 'journey'.
Keep in mind that this is not mainly a technological problem, it's a problem caused by technology; which means that technological solutions will only go so far.
I've spent several months in similar or more extreme forms [0] of isolation, and I'd recommend anyone to consider trying it out just to get a taste of what's possible.
These days I don't even carry a smartphone anymore, as I've found the sum of it's effects to be negative.
[0] https://www.yogameditation.com/retreats/the-3-month-sadhana-...
I've spent several months in similar or more extreme forms [0] of isolation, and I'd recommend anyone to consider trying it out just to get a taste of what's possible.
These days I don't even carry a smartphone anymore, as I've found the sum of it's effects to be negative.
[0] https://www.yogameditation.com/retreats/the-3-month-sadhana-...
> These days I don't even carry a smartphone anymore, as I've found the sum of its effects to be negative.
I'm pretty close to this point myself. The big thing that keeps me from just ditching the phone entirely is Google Maps. I guess I could just chuck the thing in a drawer until I need to use it to go someplace.
I'm pretty close to this point myself. The big thing that keeps me from just ditching the phone entirely is Google Maps. I guess I could just chuck the thing in a drawer until I need to use it to go someplace.
I carry a CAT phone with KaiOS that has Google Maps but not much more. That being said, I've never felt the urge to use it yet since it's a serious pita and I'm on a cash card which means data traffic is REALLY expensive.
You could buy a standalone GPS device, I know Garmin make ones for hiking, I'm sure there are other probably cheaper options out there.
For all the people up and down this thread saying “just buy a dedicated GPS”, realize that Google Maps is not a GPS device. It has restaurant reviews and information about parks and bike paths and parking lots and busy hours and traffic data and street closures and pictures/menus and so much more.
If the question is “what restaurant do we want to go to after we leave the theater, within walking distance or public transport, that’s open right now and accepts credit cards but also has vegetarian options”, a simple GPS isn’t going to answer that question in a way even remotely similar to Google Maps.
If the question is “what restaurant do we want to go to after we leave the theater, within walking distance or public transport, that’s open right now and accepts credit cards but also has vegetarian options”, a simple GPS isn’t going to answer that question in a way even remotely similar to Google Maps.
Did you consider simply asking a local on the street?
From my experience you'll get better information that way, and as an added bonus you get to interact with a real live human being.
I traveled through most of Italy by bus last autumn, with an ancient Nokia phone. As a result I was completely dependent on real humans, which turned out to be a blessing.
The thing is, most people are more than happy to help once they get over the hump of suspecting you for whatever. A friendly smile goes a long way.
From my experience you'll get better information that way, and as an added bonus you get to interact with a real live human being.
I traveled through most of Italy by bus last autumn, with an ancient Nokia phone. As a result I was completely dependent on real humans, which turned out to be a blessing.
The thing is, most people are more than happy to help once they get over the hump of suspecting you for whatever. A friendly smile goes a long way.
If maps is the only thing, you could easily replace it with a cheap dedicated GPS device?
The text starts with "there are a thousand beautiful ways to start the day that don’t begin with looking at a phone. And yet so few of us choose to do so.".
Is it really so? I'm only a single datapoint, but checking my phone is the last thing I do in the morning. Getting children up, coffee, shower, planning some today's work in my head - if the phone isn't ringing then I may well not fiddle with it until later in the morning or even the day.
Is it really so? I'm only a single datapoint, but checking my phone is the last thing I do in the morning. Getting children up, coffee, shower, planning some today's work in my head - if the phone isn't ringing then I may well not fiddle with it until later in the morning or even the day.
Unfortunately my phone is literally the first thing I do when I wake up, and last thing at night. Is sometimes an hour on the phone before actually getting out of bed. I had to quit Reddit years ago because of the addiction. Don't really use Facebook. But Twitter currently has its hooks in me. It is a news source to me, about the pandemic, election, protests. But it manages to suck me in to reading extra comments and stuffs. I have been realizing it more lately, and don't want to give it up because I do think it helps me stay informed, but I need to find a way to change my usage habits because its not good.
> Unfortunately my phone is literally the first thing I do when I wake up
If this is true, like if you use your phone as an alarm clock, you’re screwing yourself.
BJ Fogg’s book Tiny Habits walks through this exact example, and spoiler: it’s hopeless unless you physically separate from your phone. The only levers you have to manipulate your behavior are prompt, ability, and motivation.
Your phone prompts you reliably, it’s easy to stay in bed and easy to look at social because your notifications are right there, just move one finger, and you’re motivated at a visceral level to look at social because of that dopamine hit.
The only solution he provides is removing the prompt. Get an old style alarm clock and put your phone in the other room at night.
If this is true, like if you use your phone as an alarm clock, you’re screwing yourself.
BJ Fogg’s book Tiny Habits walks through this exact example, and spoiler: it’s hopeless unless you physically separate from your phone. The only levers you have to manipulate your behavior are prompt, ability, and motivation.
Your phone prompts you reliably, it’s easy to stay in bed and easy to look at social because your notifications are right there, just move one finger, and you’re motivated at a visceral level to look at social because of that dopamine hit.
The only solution he provides is removing the prompt. Get an old style alarm clock and put your phone in the other room at night.
I do, but with the whole current WFH thing it doesn't do a whole lot, since I am awake before it anyways. Its actually nice to naturally wake up without an alarm most days.
I also don't have any notifications on from social media. Texts, important email, and important slack. Almost nothing else, mostly stuff that I need to go clean up and turn off the notification permissions anyways.
But I totally get your point. Its right there and accessible. I woke up early today, rather than going back to sleep for another hour spent it on the phone for some reason. Definitely have some work tonight to try and figure out some better habits.
I also don't have any notifications on from social media. Texts, important email, and important slack. Almost nothing else, mostly stuff that I need to go clean up and turn off the notification permissions anyways.
But I totally get your point. Its right there and accessible. I woke up early today, rather than going back to sleep for another hour spent it on the phone for some reason. Definitely have some work tonight to try and figure out some better habits.
I'm with you wrt Twitter.
It is an amazing source of information, but much of it is daily drama that is a form of entertainment -- a modern Jerry Springer.
These tweets and videos serve as a conversational currency of sorts. Not sure it's worth it.
It is an amazing source of information, but much of it is daily drama that is a form of entertainment -- a modern Jerry Springer.
These tweets and videos serve as a conversational currency of sorts. Not sure it's worth it.
I feel this way too. I think you can still get access to a lot of the "conversational currency" by just checking it less frequently. Making highly curated lists helps a lot too, since you can isolate a lot of the more drama/entertainment-focused users to particular feeds.
[deleted]
Yesterday I spent 9h 31m on my phone (according to the built-in screen time tracker on my iPhone). It doesn't make me happy, but I can't stop scrolling. I think I have an issue.
While I just had to check if there was such a "time tracker" on my iPhone. Yes there is and I had not activated it.
> Yesterday I spent 9h 31m on my phone (according to the built-in screen time tracker on my iPhone). It doesn't make me happy, but I can't stop scrolling. I think I have an issue.
What are you scrolling, which app has that hold?
What are you scrolling, which app has that hold?
I'm not the person you replied to. However, when I used to browse reddit - my phone logged an unhealthy amount of time spent on that app (in roughly the same ballpark).
I don't use an app to browse reddit, so it usually went like this: close reddit tab. Open new tab. Automatically type in reddit.com.
And I'm sure, 100% sure, that I'm not the only one with that problem...
And I'm sure, 100% sure, that I'm not the only one with that problem...
You know I've had times in my life where I've had this issue as well. I personally think our inability to turn off the deluge of pixels is a real problem. But I want data to back up the thought. In 2017 Youtube users watched a billion hours of video a day. [1] Some rough numbers show that in 2018 Facebook users spent about a billion hours on facebook every day [2].
Multiply these numbers across reddit, tiktok, the various international social media giants. Are the >2 billion hours a day people spend glued to their screen limiting social progress? Is it fear mongering and ignorant to even ask? One thing I know for certain is there will be a growing group of people seeking help to limit their watch time on these services. The algorithms are simply too addictive.
[1]: https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/02/you-know-whats-cool-b...
[2]: https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/06/people-still-spend...
Multiply these numbers across reddit, tiktok, the various international social media giants. Are the >2 billion hours a day people spend glued to their screen limiting social progress? Is it fear mongering and ignorant to even ask? One thing I know for certain is there will be a growing group of people seeking help to limit their watch time on these services. The algorithms are simply too addictive.
[1]: https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/02/you-know-whats-cool-b...
[2]: https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/06/people-still-spend...
Same here.
I've found many tricks that help. For example, erasing some urls from autocompletion (fn mayus backspace for chrome in mac) helps fight against the muscle memory, when you have to type the whole thing. There are also extensions like stayfocusd that help. In a smartphone, switching the icons (for example putting ibooks or spottify in place of the broweser) helps.
It's basically a reverse UX problem: you try to create as much friction as possible.
My problem is that it works for a few weeks or so. Then for whatever reason I get to a point where reddit is super useful (like buying a specialized products, where the communities can help get somewhat unbiased opinions and reviews) and I'm back to square one.
This site produces the same effect btw. It's just that the content is at least somewhat limited to a point where checking more than once or twice a day isn't worth it.
I've found many tricks that help. For example, erasing some urls from autocompletion (fn mayus backspace for chrome in mac) helps fight against the muscle memory, when you have to type the whole thing. There are also extensions like stayfocusd that help. In a smartphone, switching the icons (for example putting ibooks or spottify in place of the broweser) helps.
It's basically a reverse UX problem: you try to create as much friction as possible.
My problem is that it works for a few weeks or so. Then for whatever reason I get to a point where reddit is super useful (like buying a specialized products, where the communities can help get somewhat unbiased opinions and reviews) and I'm back to square one.
This site produces the same effect btw. It's just that the content is at least somewhat limited to a point where checking more than once or twice a day isn't worth it.
I stopped reddit cold turkey 6 years ago for that reason. I’m sure there is a healthy way to use that site but I don’t want any parts of it. Its ability to provide fresh content every second of every day is not good for me.
[deleted]
The time in itself is not bad. It could have been 10 hours of important reading for your study or whatever. So do not get hung up on numbers, that will only lead to negative double-bashing of yourself. I observed myself trying to avoid using the phone for obvious things like navigation and weather forecasts because I wanted by all means to reduce the screen time. That is as irrational as anything.
Focus on what you want to do instead and use the time on that. Start reading books, go for walks, dance, play an instrument whatever it is. Focus on that instead of narrow focus on screen time.
Focus on what you want to do instead and use the time on that. Start reading books, go for walks, dance, play an instrument whatever it is. Focus on that instead of narrow focus on screen time.
Why do you keep scrolling on the phone instead of a proper PC with a bigger monitor? (or at least a laptop)
I am in a similar boat. I am a software engineer and I can't ditch it.
Well, you have external constraints that prevent you from doing so. The suggestion is that, without such external constraints, it's fairly likely that you would be waking up with looking at your phone. But even if you didn't, it wouldn't be particularly relevant. Looking broadly across everybody I know, and that I know of, the use of electronic screens is ubiquitous throughout their lives.
Your statement basically amounts to "Well, I don't look at my phone in the morning, so clearly most other people also don't look at their phone in the morning". Which is obviously false (at least in the sense that one doesn't follow from the other).
Your statement basically amounts to "Well, I don't look at my phone in the morning, so clearly most other people also don't look at their phone in the morning". Which is obviously false (at least in the sense that one doesn't follow from the other).
Yeah. Seems like you are a big exception. Good for you. Tell us how we can learn from you
You're one of the few.
I try to avoid it so much, but too often find myself checking emails and the news on my phone when the alarm goes off.
Do you use a dedicated alarm clock? I use the alarm on my phone, so the first thing I do in the morning is look at my phone to turn off the alarm.
Yes, dedicated alarm clock indeed. However I wouldn't count "swiping the alarm off" as a valid case of "looking at my phone first thing in the morning" if you just stick to turn off the alarm.
That's the way to do it. It's easier said than done to stick to just the alarm when the phone is already in your hand with an active display. Especially if you have new notifications.
I use it effectively to wake up - the flash of blue light and notifications often work better than a cup coffee.
I installed a small switch from Home Depot in line with the power to my router so I can turn it off at any point and it takes a few minutes to power back on (which is good that it takes a bit). No signal in the house at night. Easy way to control access for all parties in the house. I like his idea of no internet till after lunch.
If curious see also from 2017:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13392292
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13457580
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13392292
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13457580
Meatspace hobbies help a lot with this. If you're knitting or gardening or painting or planing a piece of hardwood it's a heck of a lot easier to keep going than to switch back to your Skinner Box devices.
I get properly irritated when I'm doing yardwork and my phone blows up, because I have to stop what I'm doing, pull off the gloves, check for how much dirt got through/into the gloves, then pull out the device and deal with the glare to see that... nobody is dying, they just wanted to show me something funny. God. Damnit.
I get properly irritated when I'm doing yardwork and my phone blows up, because I have to stop what I'm doing, pull off the gloves, check for how much dirt got through/into the gloves, then pull out the device and deal with the glare to see that... nobody is dying, they just wanted to show me something funny. God. Damnit.
The book Walden by Henry David Thoreau would be a nice read for anyone interested in additional experiences from this article. I wanted to start gardening at a local club, but due to the situation it has been hard to do so. I encourage anyone who might not want to travel to participate in community organizations that involve gardening or related activities. Or alternatively, taking long walks also helps! Thank you for sharing!
At age eight I was persuaded into taking a job as a newspaper carrier, which I kept until I was 16. I regularly wonder how much those few hours, six days per week, to let my mind wander during those formative years, gave me, me.
Exactly! Before the virus hit I would walk long distances just wandering, mostly because I liked to move from place to place. I think of a lot of things while walking, but even more, it's a great and easy way to benefit the body and mind.
I'm constantly amazed how often I step outside to smoke and a problem I've been grappling with is immediately answered without even much thought, the answer arrives. Perhaps many of us don't realise how much attention is stolen from looking at the screen.
Nicotine also has nootropic properties
I've found that the most effective way of regaining focus, is to find something real to do or think about, and write them down as a list. When a time of idleness comes, check the list and occupy the mind with it.
My phone easily distracted me when I'm idling in the middle of some task, for example, waiting for a compilation to finish. But when I'm practicing music, despite my phone being always on as the metronome, I don't get tempted at all. There's no need to fight an urge of browsing the internet.
I have found that the addiction to internet is not really that strong; it cannot compete with what I really want to do. So, as long as I don't let the idleness creep in, I can keep my modern smartphone with me.
My phone easily distracted me when I'm idling in the middle of some task, for example, waiting for a compilation to finish. But when I'm practicing music, despite my phone being always on as the metronome, I don't get tempted at all. There's no need to fight an urge of browsing the internet.
I have found that the addiction to internet is not really that strong; it cannot compete with what I really want to do. So, as long as I don't let the idleness creep in, I can keep my modern smartphone with me.
This idea is expanded in “Bullet Journal”, which I highly recommend to try.
https://bulletjournal.com
https://bulletjournal.com
What stuck out for me was the bit about farmers in Myanmar playing Clash of Clans. This is something I noticed when I was in South Korea for work a few years ago, everyone was constantly playing CoC and similar games. Of course these are very different countries, but I wonder if there's a cultural factor at play that makes these games popular in East Asia? I live in a developing country but I never see people playing games on public transportation, usually people browse Facebook or Instagram or whatever.
As for the rest of the article, `echo "0.0.0.0 twitter.com" >> /etc/hosts` works for me.
As for the rest of the article, `echo "0.0.0.0 twitter.com" >> /etc/hosts` works for me.
Families I know in India 10-ish years ago used to be against the whole technology wave and were concerned with the effects of electronics. Now that they have gotten their hands on smartphones and other devices: oh man they will put the American stereotype of being obsessed with the screen to shame. 24/7 Whatsapp, Instagram, and mobile games. They will come to the same realization as we are though. Just a matter of time.
It isn't just the phone. We as a species seem to be mesmerized by visual screen-based media of any kind. For example, here's an article about a Russian family that retreated deep into uninhabited parts of Siberia during the Stalin years and lived a Middle Ages lifestyle until they were discovered in 1978:
>> "Karp Lykov fought a long and losing battle with himself to keep all this modernity at bay. When they first got to know the geologists, the family would accept only a single gift—salt. Over time, however, they began to take more. They took knives, forks, handles, grain and eventually even pen and paper and an electric torch. Most of these innovations were only grudgingly acknowledged, but the sin of television, which they encountered at the geologists’ camp,proved irresistible for them…. On their rare appearances, they would invariably sit down and watch. Karp sat directly in front of the screen. Agafia watched poking her head from behind a door. She tried to pray away her transgression immediately—whispering, crossing herself…." <<
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/for-40-years-this-rus...
>> "Karp Lykov fought a long and losing battle with himself to keep all this modernity at bay. When they first got to know the geologists, the family would accept only a single gift—salt. Over time, however, they began to take more. They took knives, forks, handles, grain and eventually even pen and paper and an electric torch. Most of these innovations were only grudgingly acknowledged, but the sin of television, which they encountered at the geologists’ camp,proved irresistible for them…. On their rare appearances, they would invariably sit down and watch. Karp sat directly in front of the screen. Agafia watched poking her head from behind a door. She tried to pray away her transgression immediately—whispering, crossing herself…." <<
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/for-40-years-this-rus...
Great share, thanks
This is a great-looking website. It made reading this article a delight. It's a great choice of fonts and spacing that's very pleasing to the eye.
I'm the worst about this, but I found a trick: bike to the park with a book. Leave your cell phone at home.
In order to get my hit of internet I have to bike all the way home again, so I'm forced to focus.
In order to get my hit of internet I have to bike all the way home again, so I'm forced to focus.
> I walked Brooklyn. At best, everyone was funereal. At worst, in tears, inconsolable. It’s impossible to overstate just how dour the world felt at that moment.
> The entire city — country? world? — had been infected by a terminal disease, the prime vector of which was memes.
> Simone Weil writes, “Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. It presupposes faith and love.” Then is the lack of attention the opposite? Does it presuppose fear and hate?
- - -
I think there’s really something to this. I have to admit there have been a number of times I’ve been caught up in something “tragic” on the internet, generally some political battle, and felt like the world was falling apart. But then if I step away from the computer and go for a walk in the nearby park, I see hundreds of people just relaxing and enjoying life, not caught up in the daily trivia. I often bring my kids along and watch them just run and play, carefree.
And I sometimes wonder: if we just turned it all off, shut down the internet, radio, and TV... would we be happier?
I’ve lived through a few long power outages as well, (1 day or longer), and on those days, rather than things feeling dire, things felt light and playful. The neighbors all came out and chatted, the kids all played up and down the street. It was nice.
I realize that our world would not function very well without the mass communication systems that link us together. But I also wonder if something like a scheduled, controlled, power outage every Saturday would be really good for us all.
> The entire city — country? world? — had been infected by a terminal disease, the prime vector of which was memes.
> Simone Weil writes, “Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. It presupposes faith and love.” Then is the lack of attention the opposite? Does it presuppose fear and hate?
- - -
I think there’s really something to this. I have to admit there have been a number of times I’ve been caught up in something “tragic” on the internet, generally some political battle, and felt like the world was falling apart. But then if I step away from the computer and go for a walk in the nearby park, I see hundreds of people just relaxing and enjoying life, not caught up in the daily trivia. I often bring my kids along and watch them just run and play, carefree.
And I sometimes wonder: if we just turned it all off, shut down the internet, radio, and TV... would we be happier?
I’ve lived through a few long power outages as well, (1 day or longer), and on those days, rather than things feeling dire, things felt light and playful. The neighbors all came out and chatted, the kids all played up and down the street. It was nice.
I realize that our world would not function very well without the mass communication systems that link us together. But I also wonder if something like a scheduled, controlled, power outage every Saturday would be really good for us all.
man, growing up in brooklyn during certain long power outages. i loved it. no tv's. playing cards with my family or going outside to sit on a porch alongside everyone else. candles lit up everywhere. beautiful times
> I think there’s really something to this. I have to admit there have been a number of times I’ve been caught up in something “tragic” on the internet, generally some political battle, and felt like the world was falling apart. But then if I step away from the computer and go for a walk in the nearby park, I see hundreds of people just relaxing and enjoying life, not caught up in the daily trivia. I often bring my kids along and watch them just run and play, carefree.
That daily trivia is mostly useless, because news cycles aren't capable (of willing) of sustaining attention for long. I think the current coronavirus situation in the US is a great example, where the news switched focus to the BLM protests and relaxed the covid coverage despite the issue not being fixed. now they are already moving away from blm even though the issues that sparked the protests are obviously not solved either, and covid isn't any less of a threat than it was before. The same has happened countless times: the focus is not a reflection of important issues because each issue gets only it's 15 minutes of fame.
That daily trivia is mostly useless, because news cycles aren't capable (of willing) of sustaining attention for long. I think the current coronavirus situation in the US is a great example, where the news switched focus to the BLM protests and relaxed the covid coverage despite the issue not being fixed. now they are already moving away from blm even though the issues that sparked the protests are obviously not solved either, and covid isn't any less of a threat than it was before. The same has happened countless times: the focus is not a reflection of important issues because each issue gets only it's 15 minutes of fame.
From the article:
>Returning to those (mythical?) halcyon minimalist information days: You could read all of the news in a single day. Grab the two or three papers and read. The information had edges; it could be understood by a single human over one cup of first-wave coffee. Were you insatiable, the library was available to dig deep on the topics of the day.
I wrote this comment in 2018, I think it's relevant here:
>I think we've tipped over to the other side of the "convenience/humanity" pyramid. We climbed to the top some years ago where the lack of excess convenience gave us the opportunity to make things our selves and interact with other people face to face (which I think are very important human qualities) while being comfortable. Now we are sliding down the convenience side of the pyramid, unable to grasp what is important and fundamental. We are literally snowballing (e.g. obesity epidemic).
>Returning to those (mythical?) halcyon minimalist information days: You could read all of the news in a single day. Grab the two or three papers and read. The information had edges; it could be understood by a single human over one cup of first-wave coffee. Were you insatiable, the library was available to dig deep on the topics of the day.
I wrote this comment in 2018, I think it's relevant here:
>I think we've tipped over to the other side of the "convenience/humanity" pyramid. We climbed to the top some years ago where the lack of excess convenience gave us the opportunity to make things our selves and interact with other people face to face (which I think are very important human qualities) while being comfortable. Now we are sliding down the convenience side of the pyramid, unable to grasp what is important and fundamental. We are literally snowballing (e.g. obesity epidemic).
Choosing "dumber" technology has drastically helped my ability to stay focused when reading longform articles (including this one!) while retaining more useful information. I wrote an iOS Shortcut that converts a web page to PDF and sends it to my reMarkable tablet. It works very well.
I'd love instructions on how to set this up for myself. I've ordered the reMarkable 2 and this is definitely the use-case I have in mind.
The ironie of reading this on HN. Just think about it.
And think about reading this comment too.
Not really; it's exactly where people who need to read it are most likely to be found. Reminds me of an old British TV series called "Why Don't You...?" that was made for kids during the school holidays and was all about doing something other than watching TV. The full title, which was sung over the opening titles, was "Why Don't You Just Switch Off Your Television Set And Go Out And Do Something Less Boring Instead?"
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I've been living in a beige box for so long that I honestly don't even know what to do without a computer in front of me. How do you occupy the time?
Take a walk, cook, read a book, talk to a friend, build a birdhouse... all options, I guess, but it seems really easy to find yourself with large chunks of time with nothing to do. Just ate, it's too hot outside, eyes are tired, friends are busy-- now what?
I know this is a failure of imagination on my part. Has anybody made a database of offline activities? (See, I need my beige box to even figure out what to do without it...)
It makes me feel sad and pathetic that I don't know how to actually live life outside of the internet.
Take a walk, cook, read a book, talk to a friend, build a birdhouse... all options, I guess, but it seems really easy to find yourself with large chunks of time with nothing to do. Just ate, it's too hot outside, eyes are tired, friends are busy-- now what?
I know this is a failure of imagination on my part. Has anybody made a database of offline activities? (See, I need my beige box to even figure out what to do without it...)
It makes me feel sad and pathetic that I don't know how to actually live life outside of the internet.
Buy/acquire a whole load of books and have a large bookshelf in your house/apartment. These books should be on a range of subjects that interest you. When you find yourself with spare time, pick up one of the books that takes your fancy. I find just reading will improve my world-view, feed my imagination, and provide inspiration.
Of course without access to a library of book store, you might have to use the internet to buy the books in the first place!
Good luck!
Of course without access to a library of book store, you might have to use the internet to buy the books in the first place!
Good luck!
> Nintendo recently released their first iPhone game, Mario Run.
> The edges are clear. You pay once, and there’s no other way for Nintendo to extract money from you. No single player is a mark. There are no whales.
Nintendo didn't make Super Mario Run, nor is it the first game with their name on phones. Their first two games, Pokemon Go and Fire Emblem Heroes, are both very much unbounded and, especially Fire Emblem, there are certainly whales and in-app purchases and all that. I burned well over a thousand dollars on it before I decided enough was enough.
> The edges are clear. You pay once, and there’s no other way for Nintendo to extract money from you. No single player is a mark. There are no whales.
Nintendo didn't make Super Mario Run, nor is it the first game with their name on phones. Their first two games, Pokemon Go and Fire Emblem Heroes, are both very much unbounded and, especially Fire Emblem, there are certainly whales and in-app purchases and all that. I burned well over a thousand dollars on it before I decided enough was enough.
I was pretty sure this was wrong, because there was a lot of hubbub about it being the first Nintendo-made game on phones, so I checked. From Wikipedia:
> Super Mario Run is a 2016 side-scrolling platform mobile game developed and published by Nintendo for iOS and Android devices. The game is one of Nintendo's first games developed for mobile devices, and one of the few instances that a game in the Mario series was officially released on non-Nintendo hardware.
Pokemon Go was developed (and published) by Niantic, and Fire Emblem Heroes came out over a year later than Super Mario Run did (and is also not a Nintendo game).
> Super Mario Run is a 2016 side-scrolling platform mobile game developed and published by Nintendo for iOS and Android devices. The game is one of Nintendo's first games developed for mobile devices, and one of the few instances that a game in the Mario series was officially released on non-Nintendo hardware.
Pokemon Go was developed (and published) by Niantic, and Fire Emblem Heroes came out over a year later than Super Mario Run did (and is also not a Nintendo game).
I've started instituting a new rule of no internet on Sunday. in practice this means i dont look at anything that requires a web browser. I still make use of internet based service such as tv streaming apps etc. I usually start out the day feeling anxious about not looking at my phone, and then end the day feeling a lot more relaxed than usual and I usually did something fun because i wasnt just reading crap on my phone all day to fill the void.
Everyone has their hacks, heres mine:
I imagine all the interfering as an itch. Once can practice not minding an itch, that skill can be transferred over for example for not springing for some food. So the idea is to take stock of current state of mind and whatever "itches", tag it and apply skill. This goes for those dopamine related "itches" as well.
Of course everyone is different and everyone's situation is different.
Of course everyone is different and everyone's situation is different.
I wish there were an actually-good newspaper that was actually just news, without dozens of pages of opinion and ads, that I could subscribe to/read IRL.
axios.com is the most similar that I have seen
One trick that worked for me:
* Don't keep my phone in my bedroom. I keep it several rooms away and now wake up to an analog alarm clock. Out of sight, out of mind, for me at least. I've seen my phone screen time drop from several hours a day to generally < 1 hour (of course some of this has been diverted to more computer time, but on net, it's less screen time overall).
* Don't keep my phone in my bedroom. I keep it several rooms away and now wake up to an analog alarm clock. Out of sight, out of mind, for me at least. I've seen my phone screen time drop from several hours a day to generally < 1 hour (of course some of this has been diverted to more computer time, but on net, it's less screen time overall).
- Ditch social media
- Forget tabbed browsing, try Surf/Vimb + Unbound under Linux/BSD
- Try Gopher, visit HN thru gopher://hngopher.com
- If you do Reddit, don't comment, check it under gopher://gopherddit.com
- Avoid multitasking
- Forget tabbed browsing, try Surf/Vimb + Unbound under Linux/BSD
- Try Gopher, visit HN thru gopher://hngopher.com
- If you do Reddit, don't comment, check it under gopher://gopherddit.com
- Avoid multitasking
Great read thanks for posting.
"Attention must be paid" - Arthur Miller
> That was the first thought I had the morning after the election. I woke. The crushing weight of a new reality reimposed itself on my mind. And then: I want my attention back.
Articles that begin like this always sadden me. I find myself unable to to continue from this point.
Articles that begin like this always sadden me. I find myself unable to to continue from this point.
"That was the first thought I had the morning after the election."
Which election? Is this set in 2020?
Edit: N/M, I see it's from 2017.
Which election? Is this set in 2020?
Edit: N/M, I see it's from 2017.
It allows you to read blogs (RSS feeds) and email newsletters on your Kindle. I originally started working on this to help me read financial news without needing my phone which I find to be a really distracting environment. I would find myself mindlessly opening up and scrolling through reddit or HN and in my experience, repeatedly doing that has a tendency to destroy ones ability to concentrate. It's super nice to be able to wake up without your phone near you and still be able to read long form content.
I just launched it out of beta but any feedback would be great.
Edit: HN is currently hugging the database to death. The site is still working fine but I apologize for any slowness. I will upgrade the database tonight.