Thank you HackerNews for providing the `noprocast` flag! I was meddling with my account settings and I noticed the flag. I activated it and then HN said me to go to work. I really am grateful this feature exists within HN.<p>Thanks for wonderful feature!
If you're a fan of the noprocrast flag, I'll also recommend reading HN through <a href="https://serializer.io/" rel="nofollow">https://serializer.io/</a> which shows you only what's new on the top list since you last visited. It lets you "clear" HN much faster and helps you avoid burning another 20 minutes reading threads you've already read.<p>I'm not affiliated with serializer but it's totally changed my life.
Another protip: Use Hacker News 'favorites' extensively to bookmark things to read later.<p>It forms a nice reading queue from interesting stuff on HN. I also submit (appropriate) articles and favorite them for reading later.
I’m just going to plug LeechBlock NG which is a fantastic extension for cutting down on procrastination on doomscrolling sites.<p>Not affiliated just a happy user.<p><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock-ng/" rel="nofollow">https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock-ng...</a><p><a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/leechblock-ng/blaaajhemilngeeffpbfkdjjoefldkok" rel="nofollow">https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/leechblock-ng/blaa...</a>
I've been using the Hacker News API[0] and Python's Flask web server to create my own curated version of the website. Not only does it place new articles, since the last time I refreshed, at the top of the list and marks them with an asterisk but it also features a carefully considered blocklist of terms and combinations of terms that I tend to fall into a rabbit hole on. Also some subjects, particularly highly charged political content that while important and deserving of careful consideration I would simply prefer to discuss elsewhere, do not show up in my feed.<p>[0]<a href="https://github.com/HackerNews/API" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/HackerNews/API</a>
I have it set to allow only 1 visit in 100-ish years. But, since it still allows posting, and you can read the site while not logged in... Well, it doesn't really stop me.<p>Honestly, I'd much rather that HN would just allow me to delete my account. That would help more.
I have my noprocrast set to something insane (462?) and I don't even know what it means. So it shows up from time to time and I say to myself, oh. What? But then the minaway is only 2 minutes.
I subscribe to a weekly hacker news newsletter (<a href="https://hackernewsletter.com/" rel="nofollow">https://hackernewsletter.com/</a>) and find that helps me tame the urge to keep checking the website during the day.