I had an unusual experience this weekend while I was sick. After laying around for 2 days with brain fog, I woke up early Sunday morning and watched TV, checked social media, etc, but was sick of consuming information and had the strangest feeling that I wanted to work on something productive but my body aches wouldn't let me concentrate. I also felt like.. playing video games? I haven't had the urge to play video games since my first semester of college in 1995 before I discovered partying and dating.<p>I was bored.<p>It finally hit me that I haven't been bored in over 25 years. I've been hopeless, exhausted, overworked, financially destitute, depressed, burned out, lost in countless ways. But never bored.<p>Now, I meditate often, I've learned a great deal about the higher self on neurodivergent TikTok, and I'm mindful of my contribution in service to others. But I can't really emphasize enough how much this shook me. I'm still processing it.<p>I wonder if getting life goals done could be as simple as carving out large blocks of time where you aren't allowed to work on them. I don't mean filling the time with something else like work or other obligations. But literal you-time, with a rule that you can't exert yourself in any way or you'll risk relapsing into nonprogress. This is more like transmuting one form of attentive energy (negative) into another (positive) by dwelling on the opposite thing than you're used to.<p>For example, I perceive every stoplight as being red. Since I started commuting a half hour to work a few days per week, I've been bringing coffee. Now I find that I never get a chance to drink it, because every light is green.
> The goal is to have moments of clarity where you’re able to see “ah that’s what’s going on in my mind right now”.<p>I think this is valuable advice, and it applies not only in this productivity context but in any day to day situation.<p>I feel worked up, angry, disappointed with those around me in certain situations. Whereas 5 years ago, I might get worked up and complain about all of it to my manager, I’ve learned to recognize my own emotional state. I feel X because of Y reasons.<p>In 30 minutes after I’ve had a snack or maybe just a glass of water, I’ll feel significantly better and will want to take back anything I say now. Not because I’m wrong or that what someone did or didn’t do is actually right, but because I need to control my emotion and how I respond. There’s a correct way to approach the problem.
As of lately I've found a useful insight in the opposite direction: getting 'in the zone' is never instantaneous. Just like many other activities (e.g. social, or sport), you can't go from 0 to 100 just like that.<p>And that transition period sucks. Your brain was over-stimulated and now has to focus. It's crying like a child who's been deprived of his favorite toy.<p>It sucks and there's no way around it. But: being aware of it is liberating! If you remain aware that starting work <i>is</i> painful, you won't be waiting for a later moment where it will magically become more enjoyable.<p>Best of all, the hard first few minutes are just that, a few minutes. Maybe 10, which again are painful, because one is under-performing and mentally dispersed. If you are aware of the transient nature of this state, it will be less frustrating.<p>Embrace the suck.
I disagree that programming isn't done well in robot mode. Lots of things like test coverage & braindead text editing doesn't require analytical thinking.<p>Hell, analytical thinking is overrated. Just pick a direction and go!
Hmm, finally some tricks that I could actually see myself use! Especially the healthy intellectual “snacks”. I mean I can get stuck on HN for a long time, but to be honest I could also do a course that just requires me to listen and eat a (physical) snack or something.<p>I'm still hoping that a some point this leads to a control over the states, but maybe I should give up that dream :)<p><i>"I also made so many mistakes that the next day I often spent hours finding and fixing them."</i>
Reminds me of what Rocky says to Grace (in the Hail Mary Project): "Sleep first, humans turn stupid without sleep." It's better to recognize it and surrender to it.
This is great and also what I practice. I've tried to explain it to people with limited success, but I think you do a good job here. This type of awareness has a long tradition. Ancient Sanskrit scholars and Buddha discuss this, as well as Western philosophers.<p>“An unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates<p><a href="https://www.civilsdaily.com/mains/an-unexamined-life-is-not-worth-living-socrates-what-does-this-quotation-mean-to-you-10-marks/" rel="nofollow">https://www.civilsdaily.com/mains/an-unexamined-life-is-not-...</a><p><i>Mahatma Gandhi’s examination of self through his autobiography ‘My experiments with truth’ highlights the significance of reflection on life. Mahatma Gandhi was not only able to map his weaknesses and vulnerabilities through the examination but was also able to question his prejudices and understand his strength as a human being.</i><p><a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Finding_Fran/8CZr_HxkKscC?hl=en&gbpv=0" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.com/books/edition/Finding_Fran/8CZr_HxkKs...</a><p><i>To both calm and stimulate the self, Gurdjieff devised two main practices: a series of movements and an exercise called "self-observation." Some of the movements draw from yoga and ancient Sufi dances and are strenuous, while others, more controlled, resemble tai chi. "Self-observation" involves focusing all one's awareness throughout the day on one's thoughts, emotions, facial expressions, and body movements. The goal is to figure out the drives, as well as the contradictions, between the mental centers, in order to pull them together into some sort of harmony. Then one is on the way to finding the elusive spiritual center in the self that remains uninfluenced by social conditioning.</i><p>Osho<p><i>Man lives like a robot: mechanically efficient, but with no awareness. Hence the whole problem! There are so many problems man has to face, but they are all by-products of his sleep. So the first thing to be understood is what this sleep consists in — because Zen is an effort to become alert and awake.</i><p>Steve Jobs<p><i>Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they've had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.</i>
I loved the article!<p>Over the years and after burning out I’ve learned observe my state of mind, but mostly for the distracted mode, and when I finding in it I’ll just stop whatever focus work I’m doing because very few good things come out during that mental mode, and a ton of frustration is built.<p>The part that I haven’t been able to accomplish is a good use of the low filter mode. For me in this mode I have little to no brain power left, and thus anything that is not effort than a YouTube video is a chore. I’ve curated my YouTube so is not completely full of trash and have chosen things that I don’t feel like I just burned a few hours of my life… but still, I’m trying to figure out how to use low filter mode better.<p>Again, good writing, thanks!
In the same vein, here’s a fun illustrated guide to procrastination (and fixing it) by Tim Urban:<p><a href="https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html" rel="nofollow">https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrasti...</a><p>And accompanying TED Talk: <a href="https://youtu.be/arj7oStGLkU" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/arj7oStGLkU</a>
I enjoyed the article, but I disagree. Back in the day, the Getting Things Done book said to organise tasks by energy level. That does make things easier; however, easy to procrastinate by saying I'll do it later when I have energy.<p>I have taken to the more disciplined, priortized approach pushed by the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger/Jocko Willink/David Goggins... the items that are a priorty or important get done first. Hammer through the first 2-4 hours, then you can have flexibility in the rest of the day. Even if you're not feeling it, go through the motions, make it a habit to make it easier.
I think the most important advice in this article is "Be aware of your current mental state". This goes a long way with not just being productive but being aware of how to address any emotional state. The easiest way I've been able to do this is just to journal every-time I find myself going distracted.
<p><pre><code> You need to learn to observe what’s going on in your mind almost like a third-person observer.
This is difficult and requires a lot of practice.
</code></pre>
Oh it requires patience. It also needs "vocabulary" to refer to things with, and a framework to help achieving it if you will. A while back, I randomly found some video from Jiddu Krishnamurthi. I was in the right mood so watched a few and at the end of it tried to actually observe my thoughts. I was only able to do it because the mind was sufficiently wound down and JK really helped. It was a bunch of videos and I have not taken note of it. But I had the following in a playlist.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZlkYPlS5s0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZlkYPlS5s0</a><p>Hope that's the important one and it helps someone.
Whatever the author mentions is part of meditation. But observing the mind requires concentration too otherwise it will wander away with thoughts.<p>Anyway, if you feel connected with such kind of things then I'll heavily recommend to do meditation.
> “ I use Telegram to take quick notes during the day by sending messages to myself. ”<p>Beware that, unless explicitly setup, you are most likely also sending a copy to Telegram.
I had the same 50 tabs open on Chrome for about a year. Just articles and videos that I was supposed to skim.<p>They were important enough that I couldn't close them without skimming. But for some reason, sitting at my home desk, I just couldn't skim them.<p>Then I started going through them while laying in bed trying to get to sleep. Cleaned them out in 3 nights.<p>Not sure if this is the same thing the author is talking about, but it's something.
I would recommend the book "Peak Mind" for those looking to get into meditation to improve their mental awareness and tame the monkey mind. It goes over some of the science and research behind how attention works (in simple terms) and outlines a clear meditation regime you can implement (just 12 minutes a day, 5 days a week).
There are really two concepts that I have been trying hard to master:
1. As the OP, learning to recognize the state of your mind, and picking a task that's appropriate to it
2. Learn to enter and exit the desired state of mind at will. Like switching off the lights in one room, and entering another instantly.<p>The latter is imho harder because it requires the metacognition from the former as well as discipline. But discipline itself is not sufficient. Need to build in sufficient downtime as well and fight the urge to be productive during that phase. Let it all sink in. This might be the hardest.
I've always thought of discipline as a sort of negotiation between the co trolling mind and the commanding mind. To succeed in accomplishing your goals, the commanding mind should learn how the controlling mind works. And that includes knowing what states the controlling mind is in.
Understanding the Monkey Mind with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (Tibetan teacher and master of the Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism)<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-JiQubfMPg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-JiQubfMPg</a>
Terry Tao has a somewhat similar method <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/batch-low-intensity-tasks-together/" rel="nofollow">https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/batch-low-inten...</a>
“The great thing, then, in all education, is to make our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy. It is to fund and capitalize our acquisitions, and live at ease upon the interest of the fund.”<p>— William James, The Principles of Psychology (1890)
The problem, for me, is to become aware that I'm procrastinating. Once I realise that, I can apply the kind of thinking as in the article, but sometimes hours of stupid Internet clicking have gone by by then.<p>I find note taking on paper helps with that, if only because it's something I can make part of my routine without it being on a computer.
"You need to learn to observe what’s going on in your mind almost like a third-person observer."<p>This mindset reminds me of Vipassana. Observe your feelings (or "modes" as OP said), and avoid trying to force yourself to switch from one mode to another because it is unlikely to work.
I consider myself highly meta aware (and recognise all of the modes the author mentions), but have not been good enough at guiding myself to perform the right action for each mode.<p>I'll have to try his suggestions, seeing what works for me.
Not sure about this. The productive people I have studied don’t do this. Instead they are very disciplined - in other words they train themselves and arrange their life so the mind is in the right mode at the right time.
<a href="https://archive.is/AyTbf" rel="nofollow">https://archive.is/AyTbf</a><p>Doesn't display on my phone. Well done meta master.