[HN Gopher] Ask HN: What methods do you use to focus and stay re...
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Ask HN: What methods do you use to focus and stay relaxed?
I'm fairly certain that I have ADD. I partly feel like it started
to get worse over time when utilizing certain platforms designed
for to capture peoples attention with short content. I have since
stopped using things like Twitter (for various reasons) and any
platform that encourages short form content. What methods are you
using outside of avoiding social media? Thank you for ... oh
what's that over there?
Author : codemonkeysh
Score : 18 points
Date : 2022-04-15 19:18 UTC (3 hours ago)
| rg111 wrote:
| I limit my social-media use to 30 minutes a day- each day at a
| particular time. In other times, I rather stare at a wall or
| eyeball the floor, even if I am waiting in a queue. This somehow
| improves my cognitive tasks a lot. I don't know why. I learned it
| from Cal Newport's "Deep Work".
|
| I also use Pomodoro timer. It works well with me. Without
| Pomodoro, I can do really focused work for maybe two hours a day
| max.
|
| With Pomodoro, that increases to five, sometimes (very rarely)
| six hours a day.
|
| I listen to music. Especially Bach. I cannot not do some good
| work when I am listening to that good music. It's just me, I
| know.
|
| I exercise 4/5 times a week (~30 minutes a session). It really
| helps with mood, energy, and concentration. I am sure this is not
| placebo.
|
| I meditate for 30-45 minutes each night. Without fail.
| Significantly improves concentration, focus. Meditating has made
| me realize, for the first time in my life- what I actually want
| with my life. I am much more calm, composed, and relaxed.
|
| Routine helps and so does timeboxing. Doing specific things at
| specific physical places at specific time- and having set time-
| that helps immenesely. So, it's not JUST pomodoro, but
| timeblocking + time-tracking w/ pomodoro.
|
| I also learned from Deep Work to have clear work-life boundary.
| Made my life much better. I turn off from work at a certain time.
| Knowing that I will _have to stop working_ at that time makes me
| more focused as well. Where blurry or non-existent boundary b /w
| work and life makes you think you can slack " now" and work
| "later". Happened with me.
|
| I am trying time-logging now. Too much friction, but I am
| sticking with it.
|
| I am still bad with interactive decisions in my life, like
| providing in-place answer, seeing into several steps into the
| future, etc. I was always considered very intelligent, but an
| average person could always wipe the chess-board with me. I want
| to master Chess. I think it will fill a gap in my life.
| Surprisingly, Factorio has been a blessing. It improves my
| thinking, and I plan to play it more.
|
| GTD method did not work well for me. I guess it is more geared
| towards suits, MBAs, managers, etc. Not for intellectual
| knowledge workers working on the cutting-edge.
|
| Two books that immensely helped-
|
| 1. _Deep Work_ by Cal Newport
|
| 2. _Pragmatic Thinking and Learning_ by Andy Hunt
|
| Two books for meditation-
|
| 1. -The Mind Illuminated* by Culadasa et. al.
|
| 2. _Mindfulness in Plain English_ by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
|
| Learning about Buddhism and Buddha's teachings have also made me
| an overall better human. I would recommend _What The Buddha
| Taught_ by Walpola Rahula.
|
| Remember that reaching peak focus is a trial-and-error experiment
| that lasts for months or years. Many habits that I have today- I
| found them through deliberate, vigilant trial and error. Keep
| with it. Answers for different people are likely different.
|
| Btw, also listen to Huberman Lab Podcast.
| Sohcahtoa82 wrote:
| Having some gentle music helps me a bit. Something without
| lyrics. Orchestrated video game music works well, as does the
| famous "lo-fi beats to relax/study to" playlist on Spotify [0]. I
| like classic late '90s era Trance music as well, but after about
| an hour or so of it, the regular bass kicks start to grate.
|
| [0] https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vvXsWCC9xrXsKd4FyS8kM
| nso95 wrote:
| Read the books Deep Work and Digital Minimalism, look into
| mindfulness meditation and Stoicism. Breathe.
| codemonkeysh wrote:
| I'll check out "Digital Minimalism"
|
| I've been employing a daily breathing method I feel it helps
| clear my mind a bit and relaxes me. I think I need to cut out
| Coffee but yea... not sure I want to :)
| W00kasz wrote:
| bigChris wrote:
| Go outside to the park and just sit. No technology. Just sit down
| and cry.
| acquiremoney wrote:
| lol I do this except crying, it works. I do cry in shower
| though.
| codemonkeysh wrote:
| I normally just cry in the shower with a bottle of whisky. Are
| you saying, I should just do that outside? ;)
| brailsafe wrote:
| On particularly boring work days, I give myself like an hour to
| play some intense video games, and then just start with a small
| task again that you'll feel good about getting done. Instead of
| trying to jmcut out time sinks, just make them more deliberate.
| Rather than blowing it on mindless Twitter that isn't actually
| all that stimulating, spend it doing something else that you want
| to do for a while, and find a way to hard cap that so you can get
| back to the task. Also drugs.
| Elyra wrote:
| > Instead of trying to jmcut out time sinks, just make them
| more deliberate.
|
| I agree with this 100%. I was so much more productive and
| relaxed when I was on my own. My parents, and now my
| girlfriend, always berate me for playing too many games,
| watching too much anime, etc, and when living with them find
| myself browsing mindlessly a lot more.
| nso95 wrote:
| Sounds like you need a new gf
| nabaraz wrote:
| Headphones and Audible for me. One hour a day keeps me focused
| and energetic.
| dlahoda wrote:
| no coffeine and other stimulants, doing nothing, fish instead of
| meat, adhd add autism(yep) music on youtube, burn incense,
| timetagger, minutes yoga, doing nothing, do not overeat, again do
| nothing, brilliant, khan academy, read one big non fuction book
| end to end, fast walk or slow run, no video games, no shows, no
| orange web site, write something with old school ink on old
| scholl paper each day, drink water with lemon through tube all
| day long, do yoga before sleep, if you want to sleep do yoga
| before, buy smart watches with esim, make watches tell you good
| quality of sleep
| runjake wrote:
| I massively reduce my sensory inputs: no social media, no news,
| no TV, no podcasts or audiobooks.
|
| Just exist in silence. Let your thoughts wander and observe. It
| works wonders and I'm currently doing it on my commutes, on runs
| and walks, and at home.
| efxhoy wrote:
| I just found the Min browser, if you're on Mac it has great UI
| for staying focused. Not showing frequently visited sites when I
| open a new tab helps a lot. Less clutter in general also helps.
|
| The same is true for my physical space, for me a messy room and
| desk is distracting.
| yakubin wrote:
| When I work on a side project, I pull out the Ethernet cable of
| my computer from the switch. Unfortunately, I can't do that in
| dayjob thanks to the tyranny of Slack.
|
| When something doesn't involve a computer, I don't have the
| slightest problem staying focused. So when part of my job
| requires doing some maths on a piece of paper/window/whatever,
| when I want to read a book, when I engage in a hobby etc., I
| don't need to try hard to focus. It's only those bloody
| computers.
| msteffen wrote:
| Instead of trying to prevent myself from getting distracted, I
| try to encourage myself to refocus on the goal right away. E.g.
| if I'm googling a random question, I write it down for after I'm
| done. If I'm reading an article, I note it for later. Social
| media, just close.
|
| First lesson of meditation is that you can't prevent random stuff
| from popping into your head, but you can practice refocusing as
| soon as you notice
| sparklingmango wrote:
| For big tasks, I break them down into really small tasks.
| Crossing things off of a list really motivates me to continue.
|
| I use the Pomodoro technique. I work for 25 minutes and then take
| a 5 minute break. My 25 minute stretch of work is actual work -
| no looking at my phone, the NY Times, or Twitter. Then my break
| is an actual break. I'll leave my office, sit on TikTok or walk
| around my yard.
|
| I use noise canceling headphones and listen to electronic music
| or make a nice blend of white noise on Noisli.com
|
| I block off my calendar for 4 hours at a time so I'm not
| disrupted by meetings. I close my Slack/Teams/Email apps. I put
| my phone in a different room.
|
| These all work for me, but I found them through trial and error.
| Keep trying stuff until you find something that works for you.
| Good luck! And remember to not be so hard on yourself.
| bspear wrote:
| Take a walk. Set a 30-minute timer to get something done.
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(page generated 2022-04-15 23:02 UTC)