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I think the worst thing about this is that it tricks you into thinking that dipping into emails at the park or piddling around in a spreadsheet while you're pid
by SCdF 10y ago
I think the worst thing about this is that it tricks you into thinking that dipping into emails at the park or piddling around in a spreadsheet while you're piddling is actually working.
It's not. It's an addiction. It's shovelling snow, it's a quest for feeling accomplishment without effort. It's more fuel for being constantly connected, for constantly thinking you're progressing and accomplishing by hitting that email archive button, or scrolling through reams of meaningless text, or fiddling with your spreadsheet layout. It's no better than scrolling through reddit, then closing it to scroll through twitter, then opening up reddit again.
It's really hard honestly, but these days I open up email and slack, clear them, then close them. Both my phone and my computer are permanently on DND, so no notifications bother me. When I'm done with the work day I make sure that nothing work related stays open and that no one can contact me unless it's an emergency. I'm considering splitting my one login on my laptop into two, a work and a personal, and hard-blocking HN etc on the work one, and hard blocking work on the personal. Or using Bootcamp and moving all my personal computer use to Windows.
My Dad always told me that you should have an hour a day and a day a week to yourself. When I was younger I laughed that off. These days I struggle to make it my minimum ideal.
- bicx 10y agoYour dad's a smart man. I have an hour or so to myself every morning, and some days, I'm fairly certain that's the only thing that keeps me sane.
- elros 10y agoCould you (also GP) elaborate on what do you do in this "you" hour? Genuinely curious if it involves primarily things away from screens or not.
- Saanti 10y agoGo for a run/hike or play the guitar, depending on weather and mood.
- bicx 10y agoIt sometimes includes screens, sometimes not. I usually sit in a coffee shop before work and read, pray, think, write, or whatever I feel like doing. Sometimes I work on a side project. The point for me is to have time to sift through my own thoughts, rather than going through the whole day simply reacting to outside forces.
- dagw 10y agoPersonally when I get my hour (not necessarily every day) there is a 50/50 chance I'll use it to watch something 'dumb' on TV (currently Westworld and Black Mirror).
- gk1 10y agoTwo relevant books I recommend: Deep Work (an article by the author was recently on HN): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X47ZVXM/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X47ZVXM/ Essentialism: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G1J1D28/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G1J1D28/
- sundvor 10y agoThanks, the first one was less than $4 on Kindle / Amazon AU. Will read with interest. Meditation also helps to quiet the mind and reduce the mental clutter, but it's not quite enough.
- pfortuny 10y agoImagine you miss your child's goal just because you were checking your oh-so-important Excel spreadsheet. Addiction, as you say. Lack of freedom (as any addiction is). Plain stupid.
- Mithaldu 10y agoIs that better or worse than if you miss it because your boss wouldn't let you go at all? I've had friends from the USA eat the cost of a plane ticket because their supervisor told them they'd get time off for a visit to Germany, but then got dunked on two weeks before the flight by their supervisor's supervisor, precisely because they wouldn't have been able to react to emergencies in Germany, and this entirely due to technological policy restrictions.
- hueving 10y agoThis is a good point. I've had jobs where I could work from anywhere, and I would rather work visiting relatives and friends rather than not visit them at all.
- skrause 10y agoSpeaking of Germany... Here in Germany your employer can only cancel already approved vacations if a real emergency happens (e.g. the company will go bankrupt if you leave) and you haven't started your trip yet. And your employer also has to eat all costs you have because your delayed trip.
- smartbit 10y agoThat seems quite resonable for German standards. Last year the court decided that German Amazon employees were entitled for their free days during Christmas https://heise.de/-3049616 https://heise.de/-3049616 (de) and that Amazon had no urgent business need to lift the need for weekends and holidays. Have you seen the latest movie of Michael Moore "Where to invade next?" http://wheretoinvadenext.com http://wheretoinvadenext.com ? Hilarious and insightful regarding this and many other topics where Europe and USA differ.
- pqs 10y ago> My Dad always told me that you should have an hour a day and a day a week to yourself. When I was younger I laughed that off. These days I struggle to make it my minimum ideal. Precisely, yesterday I shared this article on Facebook and I wrote that it is not by chance that religions require, roughly, one hour a day and a day a week for prayer. This is for a reason and the reason is not God. The reason is health of the human soul. There is no need to believe in god to learn from old religions.
- flour_power 10y agoAt least shoveling snow is exercise.