[HN Gopher] Finding Flow: Escaping digital distractions through ...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Finding Flow: Escaping digital distractions through deep work and
       slow living
        
       Author : articsputnik
       Score  : 163 points
       Date   : 2025-02-16 11:40 UTC (11 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.ssp.sh)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.ssp.sh)
        
       | isodev wrote:
       | Nice post. It really is a challenge to find time and mental space
       | for one's creative moments when everything around us is literally
       | optimised to maximise engagement. Even places like
       | Netflix/Prime/AppleTV where we're supposed to go for recreation,
       | would rather you quickly flick through several "shallow"
       | productions than invest in something deep and meaningful.
        
         | rednafi wrote:
         | Don't pay for those--problem solved. No one is forcing us to do
         | any of these things.
         | 
         | Yelling at the cloud will rarely solve this. Blaming profit
         | mega-corps for our woes is like trying to warm up the Earth to
         | battle winter instead of just getting a thermostat or moving to
         | a warmer climate.
        
           | memhole wrote:
           | I really appreciated this line on the Vaticans' thoughts on
           | AI:
           | 
           | The twentieth-century philosopher Nicholas Berdyaev observed
           | that people often blame machines for personal and social
           | problems; however, "this only humiliates man and does not
           | correspond to his dignity," for "it is unworthy to transfer
           | responsibility from man to a machine."
        
             | rednafi wrote:
             | Spot on. I say this every time someone complains that they
             | can't stop scrolling Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube Shorts.
             | Just don't install those apps. Browsing them from a mobile
             | browser is awful without the apps, and if you can manage to
             | live like that for a few days, you'll stop doing it.
        
           | isodev wrote:
           | > Don't pay for those--problem solved
           | 
           | Ah yes, the dream where "vote with your wallet" was supposed
           | to be a thing. The reality is though, these corporations are
           | so big and have so much unbounded power in real life stuff
           | (including legislation and policy) that my wallet is
           | meaningless to their existnace.
           | 
           | Also, not paying for them just means they will try to find me
           | whever I'm (through ads, notifications, related products) and
           | push some emotional buttons so I will join them, or at least
           | sign up for something that gives them data points.
        
             | kasey_junk wrote:
             | The parent isn't suggesting not to buy things to influence
             | what the corporations are doing. They are suggesting that
             | if you, yourself, are unhappy with a services impact on
             | you, then the first and most obvious step is to stop paying
             | for it. That's a reasonably surefire way to remove that
             | distraction.
             | 
             | Conversely, if you don't like the impact of something on
             | your life, but cannot bring yourself to remove it, that is
             | almost exactly the definition of addiction and you should
             | probably go looking for help.
        
           | lithocarpus wrote:
           | While we do have agency to decide not to use addictive
           | technology, it's not always that simple.
           | 
           | For many of us, the addictive technology is tightly
           | integrated with technology that we want or need to use. For
           | example, I use local facebook groups for certain things, I
           | use youtube to learn how to do things, I sometimes use
           | instagram to communicate with certain people who prefer that.
           | All of these have integrated those horrible short videos that
           | can become very addictive - I've seen myself get stuck there,
           | and many people I know who were never tech or phone addicts
           | before this technology came around, including my mom.
           | 
           | I could and maybe should radically change my life and just
           | not use these things - facebook and instgram I could get by
           | without, but youtube would be difficult - I am a musician and
           | use it for finding music, and also for how to do or fix
           | anything.
           | 
           | I finally three months ago got a combination of firefox
           | extensions and android apps to make it impossible for me to
           | see these short videos, as well as all social media feeds
           | etc, unless I specifically go change the settings to bring
           | them back. And I've managed to avoid doing that. So in total
           | over the last three months I've spent about 10 minutes
           | watching the horrible short videos (when some slipped through
           | the cracks) compared to before where I often found myself
           | stuck there for an hour or two. I do still waste time on the
           | internet often, but it's usually in a specific online
           | community that's stuff I want to read and not random crap the
           | algorithm gives me.
           | 
           | I think it's like trying to quit a sugar addiction while
           | having a donut strapped to your hand at all times. It really
           | makes it easier if you can get rid of the donut. But when the
           | donut is tied to your work or hobbies and there's no way to
           | do the work or hobbies without the donut being there, it's
           | hard. It can be done, and many people do it, but there are
           | also many people who would choose to never see the donut if
           | that option was easily available, but it's not.
        
         | politelemon wrote:
         | Indeed. Even the deep and meaningful are part of the same goal,
         | ecosystem retention. The aim is to keep serving slop and
         | convincing you that you necessarily need entertainment of this
         | specific type and no other.
         | 
         | The only answer is to not engage. Entertainment can be of many
         | kinds, some simple kinds too.
        
         | Aurornis wrote:
         | > Even places like Netflix/Prime/AppleTV where we're supposed
         | to go for recreation, would rather you quickly flick through
         | several "shallow" productions than invest in something deep and
         | meaningful.
         | 
         | That's not my experience at all.
         | 
         | I rarely watch TV, so when I sit down I'm often looking for a
         | good movie to watch. Much of the content these days is long,
         | multi-episode shows that they want you to get invested in for
         | 5-10 hours per season.
        
       | rednafi wrote:
       | I don't have any subscriptions except for rent, transportation, a
       | cloud VM, and a domain for my blog, and that has made an
       | incredible difference.
       | 
       | This doesn't mean I don't watch movies or have fun--it's just
       | that watching movies requires jumping through a few hoops for me,
       | so I plan carefully before settling in to watch something.
       | 
       | Also, not owning a device to play games and waste hours was
       | another conscious decision I made a while ago. Kicking the TV out
       | of your bedroom is a neat trick that works for many.
       | 
       | I still get distracted and doomscroll sometimes, but usually
       | those are planned sessions. Not reading the news or caring about
       | strangers' opinions has done wonders for my psyche.
       | 
       | After a few years, all of this comes naturally to me, but when I
       | talk to people, the first thing they're amazed by is how I manage
       | to live like this.
        
         | FollowingTheDao wrote:
         | Can you keep going? Because if you met me I am sure you would
         | ask; "How do you live like that?"
        
           | rednafi wrote:
           | Depends on what you mean by "keep going." Does a decade and a
           | half mean I became successful? Then yeah.
           | 
           | I come from a middle-class SEA family, where education and
           | frugality are bolted into our DNA, even when we can afford
           | nice things. So it's a bit easier for me.
           | 
           | However, I see my left-brained Western friends struggle with
           | this quite a lot. Many self-diagnose as having ADHD, need
           | therapy, and can't seem to win the fight against all the
           | nonsense large corporations throw at us. So I understand that
           | it's probably difficult.
        
             | FollowingTheDao wrote:
             | I mean can you keep going.
             | 
             | Every one under heaven says that our Way is greatly like
             | folly. But it is just because it is great, that it seems
             | like folly. As for things that do not seem like folly --
             | well, there can be no question about their smallness! Here
             | are my three treasures. Guard and keep them! The first is
             | pity; the second, frugality; the third, refusal to be
             | 'foremost of all things under heaven'. For only he that
             | pities is truly able to be brave; Only he that is frugal is
             | able to be profuse. Only he that refuses to be foremost of
             | all things Is truly able to become chief of all Ministers.
             | 
             | At present your bravery is not based on pity, nor your
             | profusion on frugality, nor your vanguard on your rear; and
             | this is death. But pity cannot fight without conquering or
             | guard without saving. Heaven arms with pity those whom it
             | would not see destroyed.
        
               | chrisweekly wrote:
               | attribution?
               | 
               | (please and thanks)
        
               | david_allison wrote:
               | Three Treasures (in Taoism)
               | 
               | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Treasures_(Taoism)#Ta
               | o_T...
        
               | itronitron wrote:
               | " the wise will laugh at me, but the foolish will
               | understand "
        
               | FollowingTheDao wrote:
               | The wise will downvote me, but the foolish will certainly
               | upvote. :)
        
               | apsurd wrote:
               | the hell are you on about
        
         | Thorrez wrote:
         | >I don't have any subscriptions except for rent,
         | transportation, a cloud VM, and a domain for my blog, and that
         | has made an incredible difference.
         | 
         | Amazon Prime is a tricky one: bundle shopping deals with
         | streaming video. Youtube is also tricky: it's free.
         | 
         | But despite having Amazon Prime and Youtube, I almost never
         | watch movies, TV, play games, or doomscroll? How? I had a baby.
         | No more time for any for any of that. Once he's old enough to
         | want to watch movies or play games, then maybe I'll watch/play
         | some with him, but he's too young currently.
        
           | rednafi wrote:
           | Watching movies with your baby is spending quality time in my
           | book.
           | 
           | Doomscrolling, buying random shit you don't need, not having
           | the headspace to think clearly are the issues we were talking
           | about.
        
           | Carrok wrote:
           | It is pretty easy to not subscribe to a service run by an
           | objectively evil oligarch, but maybe that's just me.
           | 
           | I'd rather support local retailers and not receive a fraud
           | product.
        
           | Aurornis wrote:
           | > How? I had a baby. No more time for any for any of that.
           | 
           | I actually got back into TV shows and books when we had kids.
           | Lots of downtime holding and feeding the baby.
        
         | rpastuszak wrote:
         | > This doesn't mean I don't watch movies or have fun--it's just
         | that watching movies requires jumping through a few hoops for
         | me [...]
         | 
         | A little bee told me that VLC + most torrent trackers are still
         | a better UX than most Netflix/Apple TV/Prime video.
         | 
         | None of them will crash after 30s of playback because your
         | postcode changed for a week, because you have an ad blocker
         | installed, or because you just plugged in an external display
         | and some DRM magic kicked in. Just find the file, download it
         | and double click.
        
           | Aurornis wrote:
           | > A little bee told me that VLC + most torrent trackers are
           | still a better UX than most Netflix/Apple TV/Prime video.
           | 
           | I can never understand these claims as anything other than
           | mental gymnastics. There is no way you can convince me that
           | it's better UX to navigate torrent sites, take all the time
           | to download the file, hope it's a good copy, and launch it in
           | VLC.
           | 
           | Most of us have something like an Apple TV or other streaming
           | box plugged into a TV. I can power it on and get to the show
           | I want in seconds. It picks up where I left off. I don't have
           | to worry about quality or subtitles or torrents.
           | 
           | > Just find the file, download it and double click.
           | 
           | The idea of just finding torrents, waiting for them to
           | download, then fiddling with everything to get it in my TV is
           | in no way a superior UX to the streaming services. I think
           | these claims are just attempts to justify piracy as being
           | superior UX, but it doesn't make sense.
        
             | snailmailstare wrote:
             | I wouldn't call VLC friendly UI, but it is the same UI I
             | used when Netflix the DVD service began and the same UI I
             | taught family members. When someone shows me Netflix, every
             | year or two, I have no idea what I am looking at.
        
             | MathMonkeyMan wrote:
             | It helps if the search is integrated into the torrent
             | client (qbittorrent) and if the computer is plugged into
             | the tv (long hdmi cable).
             | 
             | The UX benefit is that I figure out what I want to watch by
             | browsing the web, then pick a download (lots of seeds,
             | decent size), and before long I can start watching. Usually
             | I queue up a few options in case my mood changes.
             | 
             | It doesn't matter which service owns the rights, or which
             | devices I'm using, or anything. I can watch the downloaded
             | content whenever I want, forever. No trailers or
             | unskippable notices. I'd pay money for this flexibility if
             | I could.
        
             | bravura wrote:
             | Depends. That's true WHEN streaming services just work. But
             | when they don't work, you're SOL with them and they just
             | won't take your damn money.
             | 
             | e.g. you live in EU but the account home is the US, or you
             | live in Portugal and the streaming provider thinks you're
             | in Spain, etc
        
       | FollowingTheDao wrote:
       | If you have to do as much as he does to get in the flow then you
       | have no idea what flow is nor how to enter it. Much of what is
       | says is a great help to seeing flow however.
       | 
       | To find flow all you have to do is look around you because you
       | are already in it.
       | 
       | Flow is always happening and it is not personal to any one being.
       | 
       | To get in the flow of a river you just have to jump in it. The
       | minute you try to make the "perfect" river to jump in, that is
       | man made flow, and not natural flow.
       | 
       | One can even be in the flow while using social media.
       | 
       | All you have to do is let go.
       | 
       | Anyone looking for flow I would advise they read Zhuang Zhou:
       | 
       | http://nothingistic.org/library/chuangtzu/
       | 
       | "Horses can with their hoofs tread on the hoarfrost and snow, and
       | with their hair withstand the wind and cold; they feed on the
       | grass and drink water; they prance with their legs and leap:--
       | this is the true nature of horses. Though there were made for
       | them grand towers and large dormitories, they would prefer not to
       | use them. But when Po-lao (arose and) said, 'I know well how to
       | manage horses,' (men proceeded) to singe and mark them, to clip
       | their hair, to pare their hoofs, to halter their heads, to bridle
       | them and hobble them, and to confine them in stables and corrals.
       | (When subjected to this treatment), two or three in every ten of
       | them died. (Men proceeded further) to subject them to hunger and
       | thirst, to gallop them and race them, and to make them go
       | together in regular order. In front were the evils of the bit and
       | ornamented breastbands, and behind were the terrors of the whip
       | and switch. (When so treated), more than half of them died."
        
         | itsalwaysgood wrote:
         | Maybe there are different ideas about flow. But to me, flow is
         | about eliminating distractions, and being creative without
         | requiring too much pondering.
         | 
         | Our brains are always looking for distractions. Having your
         | phone nearby, or working in an area where distractions are
         | easily accessible prevents flow. Your brain is always looking
         | to be distracted, it's akin to how you are tuned to pay more
         | attention when you hear your name called. Even if you think to
         | yourself: I'm not going to touch my phone while I work, it's
         | always there calling for your brain's attention.
         | 
         | So step 1 to flow is removing distractions. Going to a library
         | helps because you're cut off from many distractions and your
         | brain stops "listening" for a bit.
         | 
         | And then, you must be able to create something from what you
         | already know. Fluent writing, art, programming can then "flow"
         | directly from you into the real world without requiring looking
         | up info, or taking tutorials.
         | 
         | Flow has little to do with the "true nature of things", imo.
        
           | FollowingTheDao wrote:
           | > Maybe there are different ideas about flow. But to me, flow
           | is about eliminating distractions, and being creative without
           | requiring too much pondering.
           | 
           | You are missing out on so much!
           | 
           | > Our brains are always looking for distractions.
           | 
           | They are? Then why resist your natural state? Horses have
           | hooves for a reason
           | 
           | > Having your phone nearby, or working in an area where
           | distractions are easily accessible prevents flow.
           | 
           | If you include "distractions" into the flow, then they are
           | not distractions, but they are also part of the flow. It is
           | called it "flow" because it is ever changing and ever moving,
           | and it is something you unite with, not something you try to
           | control. You want the river to bring you in a certain
           | direction, and that is not flow.
           | 
           | People who understand flow can see that flow happens when I
           | pick up my coffee cup, or when I write this response. I am
           | just writing, it is coming out, I do not care about the up or
           | down voting.
           | 
           | > Flow has little to do with the "true nature of things",
           | imo.
           | 
           | Can you move past opinions and get to the true nature of
           | things?
        
             | itsalwaysgood wrote:
             | Yikes, sanctimonious drivel
        
               | aquariusDue wrote:
               | Eh, I'd say there's Flow(tm) and flooow as in surfer dude
               | "Be one with the waves, brah" type of thing.
               | 
               | I'm more of an "Ass in Chair, First Click is the Hardest"
               | paradigm to Flow advocate.
        
               | FollowingTheDao wrote:
               | It is! Thank you!
        
             | dasil003 wrote:
             | This could be valuable advice for someone who is beating
             | themselves up about not being perfect at controlling their
             | focus (if they are ready to hear it).
             | 
             | However it's also stated in a way that's disrespectful to
             | the discussion. It's okay for people to have goals, and to
             | strive and struggle towards them, resisting instinct that
             | could undermine their efforts, and sometimes falling short
             | and being disappointed. This is a natural part of the
             | higher level reasoning we are blessed with.
        
               | FollowingTheDao wrote:
               | Talking about disrespect to someone who follows the Dao?
               | It could be compassion for all you know!
               | 
               | Talking about reasoning to someone who follows the Dao?
               | Even more foolish! Reason only pulls you further from the
               | Dao and so further from flow.
        
               | dasil003 wrote:
               | If you didn't see the Daoist angle in what I wrote then
               | you're not as far along as you think
        
               | FollowingTheDao wrote:
               | It was not Daoist, it was Confucian.
        
               | dasil003 wrote:
               | Classifying a comment in that way is pretty much the
               | opposite of Daoist
        
         | aquariusDue wrote:
         | Personally I use the hammy package in Emacs with the "Flywheel"
         | timer from the examples to get into a flow, these days it's
         | enough to just start it and unless I get distracted by outside
         | forces I keep hammering away at my task(s) while disregarding
         | the timer. In this way the timer itself serves as more of a
         | Pavlovian trigger rather than an actual device with utility by
         | itself.
         | 
         | https://github.com/alphapapa/hammy.el
        
       | crims0n wrote:
       | Tangentially related, I finished "You Should Quit Reddit" by
       | Jacob Desforges yesterday, at the recommendation of a fellow HN
       | user. Definitely worth a read if you are leaning that way already
       | and just need a few well-reasoned arguments to seal the deal.
        
       | wayoverthecloud wrote:
       | On a side note, I find that this flow state has it's addiction of
       | it's own. I find myself doing whatever I can to find time for it.
       | I feel like the reason mathematicians, physicists and artists of
       | the past produced such great results is, they found the flow
       | state so addictive, more addictive than balancing your health or
       | family life, and thus dedicated almost entirety of their lives on
       | it. Just have to be careful on that one. After all, our purpose
       | is (I think) is not just working.
        
         | TeMPOraL wrote:
         | It is addictive, because it feels like living life at its
         | fullest. It feels like life should _always_ feel.
         | 
         | > _After all, our purpose is (I think) is not just working._
         | 
         | Agreed, but I think that our purpose is _also_ not just
         | experiencing, nor is it just eating, pairing up, multiplying,
         | and dying (like all life on Earth does, + /- the pairing up
         | stuff).
         | 
         | I also feel that "working" != "working", specifically working
         | for money usually stands _in opposition_ to the kind of work
         | you 'd find fulfilling and that benefits from the state of
         | flow.
        
           | hinkley wrote:
           | We associate things and people with the experiences where we
           | encountered them.
           | 
           | Once I made the same observation that GP did, I reflected
           | back on conflicts over code. The most vitriolic arguments
           | I've gotten into about design decisions at work have all,
           | almost to a man, boiled down to the person who authored it
           | having done so in flow state and how fucking dare you
           | question the beauty of the output of that effort. They make
           | it personal because the experience was deeply personal.
           | 
           | Flow state cannot make nuanced ethical decisions. It's right
           | in the characteristics. And both DevEx and maintainability
           | come down to thinking about the people who have to deal with
           | your code for the next four years.
           | 
           | The only way I've been able to avoid this trap myself is to
           | spent more effort on refactoring, taking notes, taking
           | breaks, and saving up the Deep Work for special occasions
           | where I have choreographed much of it ahead of time. So I
           | know exactly what to do and why. Exploratory dev in flow
           | state leads to all of these sins. Because you get the bear to
           | dance and then you stop.
        
         | sepositus wrote:
         | I, for one, can do heavy bodily harm to myself if I attempt to
         | live in this state for long periods. It turns out my mind is
         | much stronger than my body. Perhaps the flow state removes the
         | regular messages the body sends when it's had enough.
         | 
         | Either way, life without play is dangerous for me.
        
           | hinkley wrote:
           | One of my tricks is keeping a glass of water at my desk.
           | Filling the glass is a break. So is emptying my bladder. The
           | break lets you reflect, and decide if you're chasing your
           | tail or doing something questionable.
           | 
           | Drinking is also a work appropriate fidget. Sip of water
           | instead of tapping a pen or bouncing your leg. And easier on
           | your kidneys than overdosing on caffeine all day.
        
       | atoav wrote:
       | Like with food one aspect to realize is that you can nudge
       | yourself one way or another by making certain decisions in front.
       | 
       | It is harder to eat unhealthy if you don't buy groceries that
       | allow you to make unhealthy food. And you buy unhealthy food when
       | you enter the grocery store hungry.
       | 
       | Similar frontloaded decisions affect digital consumption. This is
       | mostly about how we design the places where we consume, how we
       | set up our devices etc.
       | 
       | A good way to start is to switch off notifications for certain
       | classes of apps and setup an automatic do-not-disturb based on
       | your schedule (e.g. between 22:00 and 10:00). Don't put
       | distracting apps on Desktop and home screens, those should only
       | be opened by you if you actively decided to do so -- adding
       | multiple steps to doing so is a feature, not a bug.
       | 
       | If you really wanna go hardcore you could DNS block certain apps
       | during certain times, forcing you to read a book instead.
       | 
       | In the end it is just about creating an environment for yourself
       | where the things you want to do are easier choices than the
       | things you want to avoid.
        
       | FrustratedMonky wrote:
       | I agree with everything in this post, and have had similar
       | reactions to changing environment.
       | 
       | BUT. I think it is easy to lose sight that these practices only
       | work for a small segment of society that have high paying jobs
       | and a lot of freedom. And software engineers make up the bulk of
       | them.
       | 
       | I really do dig the Software Engineer = Artist Comparison. SE do
       | 'create', use creativity to solve problems. And also 'creative'
       | like a writer or poet, painter. And Flow is important.
       | 
       | But also, there is a reason a lot of artists don't make a lot of
       | money. And, sadly, the 'creative drive' to do Open Source
       | projects, also does not pay.
       | 
       | So, follow your dream to hang out in coffee shops writing code,
       | but know that is a luxury that can end any minute, like with the
       | first major illness.
        
       | andai wrote:
       | I found it difficult to work when connected to the internet.
       | (Unmedicated ADHD.)
       | 
       | So I'd turn it off before sleep (as part of basic "hygiene"), and
       | keep it off (router and phone) for at least the first hour the
       | next day.
       | 
       | I'd wake up and begin working immediately. Usually I'd get so
       | much done this way, that I'd choose to stay offline for a few
       | more hours voluntarily.
       | 
       | This routine I developed to deal with a disability is now being
       | promoted by YouTube influencers as a productivity secret used by
       | billionaires, which I find endlessly amusing!
        
       | Temporary_31337 wrote:
       | I recently got back into coding (thank you LLMs!) and I find this
       | is much more isolating lifestyle. If I didn't find the problem
       | solving so rewarding and money was not a consideration I would
       | actually prefer a more social job with MORE distractions even
       | though I consider myself introvert. A social job forces
       | interactions on you. You may not become a better coder but you
       | will become a better communicator and arguably a person that's
       | easier to live or work with. So isolating and living distraction
       | free is just a spectrum that you don't want to overdo in either
       | direction.
        
       | asdf6969 wrote:
       | Why don't posts like this ever explain what the end goal is? The
       | biggest problem in my life is that all this work and productivity
       | feels meaningless. Everyone is always writing as if these goals
       | are common knowledge but I don't even know why I work anymore
       | other than I can't retire yet.
        
         | neogodless wrote:
         | > This is also what I find most rewarding and experienced as an
         | author: writing in the flow state
         | 
         | The idea is that "finding flow" or spending your limited and
         | valuable time in the flow state is an ideal way to live your
         | life. It's enjoyable.
         | 
         | By definition, it's not an "end goal", but a life goal.
        
           | asdf6969 wrote:
           | I want to know where their goals and favourite source of flow
           | come from. Do any of these bloggers know what they're writing
           | or does it just sound good to other people who are also
           | aimlessly playing on the computer? I want more depth.
           | 
           | It's a lot more enjoyable and "flow"y to get stoned and watch
           | YouTube all day everyday but I know that's not what he's
           | talking about. I want to know what's so great about the work
           | and personal lives of these productivity guru guys. Seems
           | like they all just make another data analytics tool, AI toys,
           | or write blogs for each other.
        
             | neogodless wrote:
             | I think you're mixing up concepts.
             | 
             | Sure there are people that make a living from marketing
             | self-help. Some of them might even really enjoy it.
             | 
             | But _flow_ as defined in the book  "Flow: The Psychology of
             | Optimal Experience" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi[0], is "a
             | state of concentration or complete absorption with the
             | activity at hand and the situation." In the book, it gives
             | a few guide rails. Just enjoying something is different
             | from it being in the sweet spot of challenging you,
             | triggering growth, enabling you to learn something new or
             | achieve something.
             | 
             | Of course that could come from selling your book or making
             | a YouTube video, but instead of focusing on other people,
             | and their motivations, and what _they_ get out of whatever
             | they 're doing, the whole point is to figure out where
             | _you_ are really in a _flow_ state that you personally find
             | fulfilling, and would want to repeat. If you can 't find
             | that, then forget about, ignore all the information out
             | there, and find a different life goal to pursue.
             | 
             | [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66354.Flow
        
               | asdf6969 wrote:
               | > focusing on other people, and their motivations, and
               | what they get out of whatever they're doing
               | 
               | I want to focus on this because I don't believe in the
               | idea of an authentic self and I want to know how anyone
               | can find something that makes them feel this way, or at
               | least how they can trick themselves into thinking some
               | boring topic like writing productivity advice blogs can
               | feel meaningful. Put this guy's birth in 1800 and I'm
               | sure he won't feel any sense of loss because he can't
               | write anymore.
        
         | Aurornis wrote:
         | Work and focus aren't limited to your paid job. Focus states
         | are helpful in everything to hobbies to inconsequential things
         | like doing a puzzle alone or with friends.
         | 
         | These techniques can be applied anywhere. The goals are
         | entirely personal, so you can't expect to find them listed for
         | you in someone else's blog post.
        
         | purerandomness wrote:
         | > The biggest problem in my life is that all this work and
         | productivity feels meaningless.
         | 
         | This is an entirely different, more high-level problem (like
         | software architecture vs. specific algorithms)
         | 
         | Commonly, some may have a short-term goal (get a promotion /
         | climb the next step of the career ladder / finish university)
         | which gives them intrinsic motivation in such a way that they
         | can't rationally explain why they are attracted to that goal.
         | 
         | Motivation might be derived from responsibility towards others:
         | Trying to get more done to have more time for kids / elderly
         | parents / partner / hobbies / side-project startup idea.
         | 
         | "Feeling no purpose" however is a very common problem. There
         | are coaching programs, retreats, therapy programs and books
         | revolving around this topic.
         | 
         | It tends to be complex, and could be a learned behaviour
         | pattern where one neglects their true intrinsic interests;
         | undiagnosed depression; being in a field your parents forced
         | you into which you have no intrinsic interest in, or a mixture
         | of those and some others.
         | 
         | I agree that generally, the low-level optimization of flow
         | states only makes sense once you have found your true calling.
        
         | hinkley wrote:
         | I'm reading The Choice right now. I can't tell you if it makes
         | sense without having read at least The Goal, but I suspect not.
         | But that book still sells 100k copies a year despite used
         | copies being everywhere, because it's worth reading. The Choice
         | may offer you some notions about the silver linings in failure.
         | Eli loved when things failed because they helped him find the
         | boundaries of the problem. Like a human SAT solver.
        
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