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Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've Done

• WheelsAtLarge 10y ago
  Interesting how I never considered this option. It never even hit my horizon. I'm actually in the process of increasing speed since faster speed equals faster access and better productivity. Right? After reading this article, I suspect I'm wrong. Thinking about how easy it is to get distracted when I'm online 100% of the time, no access is probably a good choice. It's going to hurt but this is something I'm going to try. Good article.
  • osdiab 10y ago
    Yeah, I found this article since my girlfriend's internet got cut off once her roommate who was paying for it moved out—she never got around to setting it up again, and now that I've observed her habits change during this period, I was pretty impressed! I'm definitely considering trying this out for a bit, as I find I have more than enough time in the office on the web, and it's a pretty good excuse to get out and about.
  • brandon272 10y ago
    But if you cut off your internet access, how do you keep in touch with your coworkers after hours?
    • WheelsAtLarge 10y ago
      I've found that it was too easy for my co-workers to ping me on things that can wait until the next day or stuff I can't do anything about until I get to work. I've asked them to call me if there's an issue that I have to fix. So far I've gotten zero calls and it's been over a year. If ever it becomes an issue I've got internet access within 5 mins from me. I suspect it's the same situation for most people.
    • ams6110 10y ago
      Why would you need to do that? If they are also friends, fine -- make after-work plans face-to-face. Otherwise, talk to them at work tomorrow.
    • magic_beans 10y ago
      What do you mean? If they are your friends, they can call you. If they need to talk to you about work... well that's not what "after hours" are for!
      • brandon272 10y ago
        Sorry, I forgot to append /s.
  • gukov 10y ago
    >I'm actually in the process of increasing speed since faster speed equals faster access and better productivity. Right? YouTube will load faster, yes.
• omarforgotpwd 10y ago
  Great idea, but probably won't work for most of us unfortunately...
  • deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
• brian-armstrong 10y ago
  Some people are alcoholics. They can't exist near an open can of beer without their life going to shambles. But most people aren't and don't have the urge to binge drink. I'm not sure how this is any different. The author of this article is an Internetaholic, therefore I should cut my tether to the Internet? And what of my LTE connection?
  • unlmtd 10y ago
    Alcohol is a poison. Not a fitting allegory.
  • Trundle 10y ago
    I see it a lot particularly with regard to facebook. People take "I have a problem" and turn it in to "this thing is a problem".
    • edoceo 10y ago
      This
    • kakarot 10y ago
      But Facebook is a problem. Social media has its place somewhere in society but Facebook in particular is definitely a problem, for a multitude of reasons.
      • hilbertseries 10y ago
        Care to list some?
        • nkristoffersen 10y ago
          As a digital nomad for the past several months, Facebook has been crucial in keeping in touch with friends and family back home, but also a perfect platform for staying in contact with new friends I make on my travels :-)
• daylightyotei 10y ago
  I did something similar when I was in college to fix my bad grades - I didn't have a laptop or a computer at home, and didn't own a smartphone. I did all my school related work at labs in college, and this made me much more productive at home - instead of mindlessly surfing the internet, I actually did the school work. As a result, my grades shot up to summa cum laude levels and there is a distinct step function between my freshman/sophomore year grades and the junior/senior year grades. Unfortunately, living with a girlfriend who adores Netflix, I am back into my procrastinating self when I am at home.
  • osdiab 10y ago
    If your girlfriend is at all receptive to it, maybe you can try to move things in that direction—sounds like you appreciated a bunch of aspects of that lifestyle!
• Aeolun 10y ago
  The votes indicate that people like this idea, it's just that it's impractical for most people whom like it.
• emodendroket 10y ago
  More to life than productivity.
  • osdiab 10y ago
    The title is not the greatest, but the article mostly talks about how the guy is living his life more fulfillingly, not a micro-optimization of productivity.
    • emodendroket 10y ago
      Yeah, I guess, but it seems like there's a conflation of the idea of getting stuff done and being fulfilled. Playing games online (or just sitting around and chatting with my wife, for that matter) doesn't really serve to help me get anything done but I derive enjoyment from it.
  • therealdrag0 10y ago
    More to life than browsing reddit and getting on the rage-train with the latest injustice spreading through facebook like wildfire.
    • emodendroket 10y ago
      Well who says that's what I do online?
      • therealdrag0 10y ago
        Fair. That's just where many of us are coming from, and I think what makes "cold-turkey" appealing.
• randoaccount108 10y ago
  I get this, I really do. I wish I could dump the Internet for some of my home life. But unfortunately my home life is polluted by work. I'm a web developer who maintains an entity with multiple domains. One of them is a 24/7 uptime service. So I'd love to follow this advice, but I don't think it is applicable to many viewers at HN, as many of us need to follow our job. What good advice would any viewer give to a life I just described? How could anyone (I) separate the Internet from a home life when being off that grid for a weekend could cause catastrophic failure without the dev leader their to fix it?
  • Ductapemaster 10y ago
    I struggle with some demons when it comes to the internet, mostly in terms of distractions and time wasting. Alcohol problems run in my family, and while I have no problems with it now or in the past, I find my addictive tendencies come out in regards to the internet and its content. I've learned that I am very sensitive to physical spaces in my life, and I have made an effort to set "space boundaries" for myself to help with my tendencies. For example, I got rid of my desktop computer, replaced it with a laptop, and got rid of my desk in my room. It was calling me every day to sit down and use my computer for hours on end. It's been that way since childhood - the habit is deeply ingrained. Now, I use my room for relaxation and I try to keep it that way. I'm not perfect, but when I have to work from home I make sure I don't do it in my room. I sit at the dining room table most times, and that has become a "work space" for me. I've trained myself to not work in my room, and, while I still use my computer and the internet in there, I only use it for personal things. This solution is still in flux for me. So far it has been successful in turning my room into a relaxation space, which was a real lack in my life before. I hope that helps!
  • cmurf 10y ago
    Have two dev leaders. Also, more/better automation and fallbacks, an employee to cover all these extra shifts you're working, or trade out time with a colleague where you cover for each other which brings you back to having two dev leaders. Either the business is successful and you can hire another 2nd leader; or can merge with a competitor to gain the 2nd leader and more resources of some sort (you have too many customers too little infra, so look for a company with underutilized infra). Or it's actually not that successful and is using your life 24/7 as life support for itself and it's past time to cut it loose.
• stagbeetle 10y ago
  What the author suggests is highly impractical, and makes adopting this way of life all the more challenging. I suggest for people who have a serious problem, to try out time-managers and site-blockers. When I was going through a highly unproductive phase, I used ColdTurkey. The software's not too good and if you're really craving for a fix, you'll find a way to get past it. But, for the regular procrastinator it does wonders for productivity. Don't be rash and cut out one of the most important utilities there is just because you're having some issues. Do be intelligent and work around the issue.
  • ams6110 10y ago
    I think the view that the internet is "one of the most important utilities there is" is seriously influenced by what most of us do for a living. The fact is that it's mostly used for idle, time-killing entertainment and gossip. I've been so tempted to cut my home service but like others have mentioned it would be a really hard sell to the rest of the family.
  • mbrock 10y ago
    The author suggests that if you assume that not having an internet connection at home is highly impractical, you should take a moment to really think about whether you're assuming too much. I agree. As for me, I'm a remote worker but I rent a desk in a coworking space, which means I can use their high speed internet for hours every day. That's a lot of time to acquire information and do chores. So the consequence of not having internet at home would be, basically, that I'm offline between 7 PM and 9 AM, or whatever. When I've lived without internet before, I've spent a couple of hours on weekend days in cafes checking my websites. It's not necessarily a horrible austerity. For me, I've always experienced an offline home as very relaxing, nice, and peaceful. (Of course there are many factors which can make it impractical, e.g. family.)
    • stagbeetle 10y ago
      > The author suggests that if you assume that not having an internet connection at home is highly impractical, you should take a moment to really think about whether you're assuming too much. Perhaps it is my young age, but all the people I know are effectively lepers if they're not, atleast, connected to the internet. I was rash in assuming everyone was similar. Now that I think of it, there are older people that wouldn't miss a beat if they took time away from the internet.
• RoboTeddy 10y ago
  I keep my internet off most of the day (via kernel firewall). Have a command that gives me a few minutes of internet so I can look up docs, then shuts everything back down.
  • retreatguru 10y ago
    Can you say more about how you set it up? This sounds like a balanced solution: you avoid the long time sucks but can still look up needed info.
    • chrisper 10y ago
      Sounds like a script with iptables. I believe many consumer routers also support time based internet access
  • halokonrad 10y ago
    If you're on a Mac then i can recommend Dash app for offline docs libraries. For me it's completely different experience to code offline (very enjoyable). More thinking involved - less Google/SO.
• vcool07 10y ago
  I don't think this is the correct solution. It's like chopping off your nose to avoid cold. Rather, try more self restraint or self control. - Install a nanny software to block time-sink sites at specific time (chrome nanny was an awesome tool) - Schedule appointments in advance with your friends/relatives to keep the relationships active - Enroll in social events to be around with people and work for a cause you care - Go for group studies/writing workshops/book clubs etc to rekindle your passion of reading/writing There're a hundred other hacks which you can use to ensure you're productive/social !
  • thr0waway1239 10y ago
    A famous author once made the following observation - When faced with the option of either doing more exercise or less eating for losing weight, take the option which requires you to a) spend less time and b) not add anything new to your life (i.e. the cognitive overhead). Apparently, people who tried to eat less were also more successful in losing weight. Cutting off home internet is the option of less eating. Seems more drastic, but is actually more tuned to how our brains work. Your suggestion is similar to doing more exercise. It can also work, but it is just a whole lot more work and cognitive overhead. Besides, its not like the author is asking people to go off the grid.
    • osdiab 10y ago
      To be fair, the amount of exercise you need to overcome even small amounts of excessive eating can be disproportionately difficult and time consuming—but while the example may have some logistic holes, I still generally agree with your idea :)
• hota_mazi 10y ago
  Sure you can do that. Or you can just use the Internet responsibly, like an adult. How old is the author of this article, 16?
  • osdiab 10y ago
    I think you give the average person a bit more credit in their self control than they perhaps deserve—lots of people have issues with addiction to the internet, based on typical Netflix binge habits or the infamous Reddit timesink.
    • teach 10y ago
      Agreed. I'm 42 and I spend more time on the Internet than I probably should.
• jonbarker 10y ago
  Did they mean "thing" in the title?
  • osdiab 10y ago
    Yep, my bad
• jordache 10y ago
  dude is milking the minimalist marketing.. there is only so much stuff one can eliminate.. killing the home internet is an obvious click bait.
  • doctorshady 10y ago
    I don't have a source for it - if you're interested enough, you're welcome to verify it independently, but supposedly a fifth of the country no longer has wired internet anymore.
    • magic_beans 10y ago
      "No longer" or "never had"? Because I can certainly believe that a fifth of the country simply never had wired internet to begin with.
• peterburkimsher 10y ago
  My ISP (Chunghwa telecom) delivers such terrible service that my life basically works this way. I spend much more time in the office, because the Internet connection works. But that makes me use office time to live my online life, instead of doing company work.
• jimmies 10y ago
  Oh man, oh man, this is so close to my experience. I went lo-fi since the beginning of 2017. Real testimonials of a drug/facebook/internet addict who has the problem out of control here. I killed my Facebook account 3 months ago, and switched to a dumb phone (from a Pixel phone ;-) since the beginning of the year. Now I'm rocking a webOS phone and no IM account except for hangouts which I check on my computer when I want. I no longer reach my pocket to check for message or anything when I enjoy my meal or go travel somewhere. There is no push or anything I can play when I wake up in the middle of the night to keep me up. Also, looking up and navigating to places by instinct sucks, and is fun at the same time. I no longer have any idea how highly rated any place is before I walk in, and I had plenty of surprises since then. Just last weekend I traveled somewhere and interacted with the locals because the only place in town was closed - I wouldn't have if I had a smartphone to "OK Google." Without the smartphone, I now carry a big, beaten up mirrorless camera in by bag, so I am more or less have to do more "proper" photography now, instead of disposable instagram stuff to get likes (this I have to credit the Pixel, it was an incredible camera for how thin it is). Learning photography with a camera is super fun, although the end result seems to be the same. I'm an immigrant. Other than the Trump stuff my liberal friends were talking about here, there was another alternative flow of stressful/irrelevant celebrities news from my home country. I realized that without Facebook, I actually extremely rarely check or care what's going on, about who is fucking who and who is getting fat. The amount of stuff getting in my brain is dramatically reduced. I thought I would miss Facebook, and it turned out I don't. The benefits far, far exceeded the negatives. Without Facebook and a constant smartphone influence to consume, I write way more, about what I like and what actually matters to me, not to get likes from my friends and to appear intelligent. I get downvotes from Hacker News when I say something stupid, which I don't get from Facebook. It's alright :) I honestly feel I learn everyday. I get so much better sleep, way less stress and I have so much free time since then. It was like an enlightenment for me to be taking control of my life. I will try to cut back the internet also as the author suggested. Now excuse me, I have to get back to work on my writing.
  • brightball 10y ago
    Sometimes things just get ingrained as impulse and habit. I tried a lot of things before finally deactivating Facebook. Downgraded to a dumbphone briefly but it just wasn't feasible with work - especially the hotspot for when I'm on call. Tried scheduled site blockers like Freedom.io but the problem is I know how they all work so it was easy enough for me to disable them for a second. Tried blocking news sources that were usually associated with political-rant-shares but the algorithm just keeps roping you back in. I generally try to stay off the web after work unless there's something I NEED to do after hours (right now I'm just finishing a database upgrade) and that easy enough. Killing Facebook ended up being the real cure for me. Any other sites I check I'm generally done after about 15 minutes...for the day. Facebook is just constant though. It's just such an easy go-to. Like the author of this post, I find myself reading books a lot more (for a really interesting read, check out The Undoing Project btw). I see some other comments on here being critical of the decision but the real key is just identifying an acknowledging when you have a real, legitimate time sink problem. When you do and you can get to the bottom of it, it's like a weight off of your shoulders. Some people are better at moderation than others. Others are much better at quitting cold turkey. When you really identify how much time you're wasting per day / week of something that's in short supply, especially when there are things you keep wishing you could find time for...the decision to do something like this gets really...really easy. And once you do it, it feels pretty great.
• janwillemb 10y ago
  I really like the idea. But I think the author needs to be super transparent to his audience and be honest about when he re-enables his internet connection. Otherwise it is just socialmediaing the audience with nice pictures of his "life", building a façade that is not truthful.
• daxfohl 10y ago
  Cute. Kind of like a paleo diet. Check back in in 2018, let me know how that's going for you. I mean, I get it, you have to rebalance, which sometimes calls for going overboard. Just don't get too excited about it being the One True Way. 50 years from now?
  • ergl 10y ago
    Just so you know, this was written in 2011.
• rootkea 10y ago
  s/Think/Thing/
• marcus_holmes 10y ago
  his suggestion to hide my modem would just drive my phone data use through the roof :( I remember the days before the internet and mobile phones. They weren't better (well, apart from being young and fit and knowing I was immortal, obviously). We like these things for a reason.
  • ido 10y ago
    I used to watch a lot more tv before I had 24/7 Internet access.
  • ams6110 10y ago
    I remember those days too. I had a lot more fun.
• nabilt 10y ago
  Implementing this exact solution probably won't work for most people, but I found the idea of digital fasting a productive one. Try some less extreme variation of this like getting a dumb phone or switching to a paper magazine for your general interest reading for sometime. I found I built better habits offline that also translated online.
• jim-jim-jim 10y ago
  This almost makes sense for me, but I don't know if I can pirate music on coffee shop wifi.
  • therealdrag0 10y ago
    I was about to say "what, streaming services aren't good enough for you?" Then realized you can't stream without home internet >_<. Ah well, I bet you can buy cheap CDs and rip them :)
    • mbrock 10y ago
      Spotify Premium lets you download something like three thousand songs for offline play.
• mikenew 10y ago
  I wish there were better ways to regulate your own access. It's easy enough to make good decisions about where you spend your time when you're in a good frame of mind, but it's almost impossible to do that every minute of every day. It's a bit like eating I think. It's not too hard to buy healthy food when you're at the grocery store, but it's hard to say no to a plate of cookies every time you walk past when they're sitting on your table. I wish there were good software solutions, like a way to schedule a blacklist of websites on your phone and computer that you simply couldn't get around. Almost everything I've seen is set up to block access for children, or is easily bypassed. I feel like it's an area that could be a huge benefit to a lot of people. Completely killing your home internet is extreme. I'd have to change careers, hobbies, and it would even interfere with friendships. But there's no reason why it has to be all or nothing.
  • Arete3141 10y ago
    I tried living totally without internet access, and while I felt a lot better overall, I eventually had to give in. Nowadays phone books aren't usually delivered to homes anymore, so if you want to get in touch with a store or find a doctor's office, you need internet to search for it. Since I wasn't driving at the time, I couldn't just head out to an internet cafe when it was something important. For similar reasons, I've had trouble detangling from Facebook. 10 years ago, if a friend was getting married they'd send out announcements -- now they just "announce" it on Facebook, and if you don't log in that week, you don't find out about it. So part of the reason it's hard to disconnect is because the previous methods of staying in touch have atrophied in favor of these new, more toxic systems. Nevertheless, I'm trying a couple of things (with varied success -- I really do much better cold turkey): - Trying to reward myself with internet time after I score enough points in Habitica (aka HabitRPG) - Trying to turn off the modem at a certain time of night like 10 pm (I find I sleep better too -- might be coincidence but I've noticed the difference many times) Ultimately what would help me would be a pay-per-use internet plan versus an "always on" internet plan. If I know that my plan fee increased after 20 hours / month, I'd have access when I needed it, but then I'd have to "save up" for special occasions like streaming a show. As of yet I haven't found an external limit that doesn't also make life too logistically challenging.
• jghefner 10y ago
  > I need the Internet for ...workwork... > You probably don’t, and maybe it’s time to look in the mirror and be honest with yourself. That's where I stopped reading as obviously this article is not directed at me. Unless there is a way to troubleshoot and fix remote servers in the middle of the night without internet.
  • mastazi 10y ago
    Yes I agree with you and I think, for people with our type of needs, a more sensible approach would be to switch from smart to dumb phone, in fact I have been thinking about that for a while now.
    • jghefner 10y ago
      That would probably be a better way to improve productivity since I rarely use my phone for phone calls but it is still always by my side.
    • kranner 10y ago
      Sorry that doesn't sound sensible to me at all. How about we keep the tools and learn to discipline ourselves better?
      • grzm 10y ago
        Part of learning self-discipline is learning what triggers or facilitates undesired behavior and modifying one's environment to increase desired behavior. This can include limiting internet access, such as removing home internet, or switching to a dumb phone. This isn't weakness; it's learning about oneself and working with what you have. Certainly, there are ways to increase will-power, but relying purely on will-power can be difficult for many people.
        • kranner 10y ago
          I didn't say it was "weakness". I meant it seemed like unnecessarily crippling oneself. It might be valuable for many people to investigate why they can't stop themselves from overusing their smartphones. Sure if they end up realizing that they can't manage to stop themselves, it would make sense to change the environment, but why give up without even trying? This really seems like the opposite of learning self-discipline.
• unlmtd 10y ago
  HN is my only fix. It's simple: delete the FB, twitter, Google, etc. Done! And when the browser opens it goes directly to work related pages. It's all about starting on the right foot.
• dplgk 10y ago
  A less extreme idea embedded in here, that I'd like to try, is writing things down that you'd like research instead of impulsively Googling stuff. I think this wil have at least two benefits. 1. This will prevent you from impulsively interrupting what you're doing (like work or eating dinner) 2. Will filter out things you don't actually care about. When you sit down to go through your research list, you might discover you don't actually care about half of them thus saving you time and effort.
  • Gormisdomai 10y ago
    I have tried this and it works great for me. Here are two extra things I now do: Keep two or three parallel lists for different kind of internet use (e.g. research, message a friend, check for news about x, buy y). Keep writing tools nearby always, even if it's just a pen and a scrap of paper in your pocket.
  • Hasknewbie 10y ago
    I really wish I could do that, but the problem is that note-taking/text-entry on current smartphones (i.e. the only item you're likely to have with you at all time) is such a dreg. How do you solve that, by carrying a notebook and pen with you everywhere?
    • Gormisdomai 10y ago
      Have you tried Google Keep? If not I would definitely recommend it vs built in notes apps.
      • Hasknewbie 10y ago
        I know Google Keep and use it, but I'm talking about physical text input. Virtual keyboards for non-daily-vocab are awful, and devices with physical keyboards are getting rare, plus they're not getting better -- I've tried multiple Blackberry models, what a disapointment, it's hard to believe they had such a following for so long. I miss my Nokia E70 and Droid 3 :-/ And before someone weighs in with the inevitable "but virtual keyboards are totally cool, bro": I get it, they can be quick, but no they're not. Not when you switch between languages, not when you use a lot of technical or uncommon terms, and not when you appreciate a low typo-oops-correction rate.
• reacharavindh 10y ago
  I think I should do something similar to my addiction to HN. I find myself glancing HN feed several times in the day with insatiable need to know the shiny new things. I'm going to try to restrict myself to one time a day visit to HN. Lets see if that can get my lazy ass to finally make more contributions in GitHub and do something more productive.
  • shakna 10y ago
    Check noprocrast in your profile. From the FAQ: In my profile, what is noprocrast? It's a way to help you prevent yourself from spending too much time on HN. If you turn it on you'll only be allowed to visit the site for maxvisit minutes at a time, with gaps of minaway minutes in between. The defaults are 20 and 180, which would let you view the site for 20 minutes at a time, and then not allow you back in for 3 hours. You can override noprocrast if you want, in which case your visit clock starts over at zero.
    • reacharavindh 10y ago
      Ah cool. I updated my profile with noprocrast. Now going to check back again after a while to see if it works ;-) Thanks for the tip.
  • teh_klev 10y ago
    Did you know your profile has a "noprocrast" setting which might help you there?
  • bamboozled 10y ago
    Subscribing to the weekly newsletter / digest might help, you still get hacker news, but only once a week ;)
  • therealdrag0 10y ago
    I use http://hckrnews.com http://hckrnews.com and ONLY view the Top 10 per day. After the first visit or two all subsequent visits last only a second as a realize there's nothing new.
• a_c 10y ago
  I total agree with the sentiment. I stopped using facebook for about 3 years. It was almost instantly obvious how much time was wasted on people's whining, fake news and dog photos. It is easier to do when it only affects yourself. However it is a whole different story when things, like a cable tv, affects every member of your family. I was faced with fierce objection when I brought out the idea to cut out cable tv, and removing all TV from home. It seems to me that the market value of "media" is how much time people are willing to waste instead of doing other stuff. For instance facebook now worth about 400B. What happens to global economy if facebook doesn't exist and people divert their attention to do whatever they interested in?
• gremlinsinc 10y ago
  Hard to do when you're a web developer, and you work from home.. but good luck with that..
• spenvo 10y ago
  In college I had tried to get into programming (including taking a CS class) and had, each time, bounced off (not because I couldn't get it, but tutorials seemed boring and a passion wasn't ignited). Fast forward to after college, I found myself at a career-y job I disliked. Each lunch break I loaded up my (shiny new 2011) Macbook Air with a few tabs-worth of chapters of How to Think Like a Computer Scientist [0] and headed to a Wendy's that didn't have an internet connection. So, for 45 minutes I could eat my spicy chicken nuggets and apply what I was learning from the book in console at a Python command line. It was so simple and fun, I was hooked. Within a month I was taking on programming-related responsibilities at work, soon thereafter auditing a class at Uni (I specifically chose cause it interested me), and within 4-5 months was being paid by my professor (from audited class) for web dev grant work, and a few more months and I was being paid as a developer by the University directly. The rest is history. I think one key part of why it stuck the fourth time was because my routine allowed for 45+ minutes of time away from the internet each day with learning materials. The satisfaction of learning is incredible but more of a "slow drip" compared to the kind of instant satisfaction one can get by opening Netflix, Facebook, or whatever. Going without the latter during a key period I think changed my life. [0] - http://openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english3e/ http://openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english3e/
  • hyperpallium 10y ago
    > tutorials seemed boring and a passion wasn't ignited > job I disliked ... How to Think Like a Computer Scientist [0] ... and apply what I was learning from the book in console at a Python command line. It was so simple and fun I'm struck by how the right guidance was also helpful. Actually making something new happen is rewarding (py console), you experience your progress. But it can be tricky to divide a topic into bite-sized things, that can be experienced. That's where guidance helps. Unfortunately, some topics have so many layers, they're difficult to break down into these learnable, rewarding chunks (e.g. computational fluid dynamics). So (if you don't mind a reframing) while the slow drip of a consistent routine over a long period was crucial, each drop gave fairly quick (though not immediate) gratification.
• JacobJans 10y ago
  I haven't dealt with my laptop based computer addiction, but I have solved my cell phone addiction. It's important to understand how much behavior around technology is based on ingrained habits. My goal with dealing with my phone was to "short-circuit" the habitual/addictive behavior. To do this, I did two things. 1. I turned off all automatic notifications on my phone, as well as all background updates of apps/email/etc. 2. I created a simple rule: I can use my phone whenever I want, but I have to wait five minutes after 'thinking of using it.' Combined, these two rules have been effective in short-circuiting the addictive properties of my cell phone. The five minute wait time gives me the chance to have deliberate/conscious thought about my phone use. The lack of automatic updates happening in the background gives me a chance to catch myself, if I unconsciously start using my phone. For example, it takes 20-30 seconds to load email. If I unconsciously open the email app, nothing has changed. Sure, I can tell it to load the email, but the time it takes to load the email gives me the chance to realize I'm breaking my five minute rule. I feel like I'm able to use my phone as a tool again. After around a month of this, I'm no longer scared of my phone's power over me. Sadly, I haven't figured out an effective system for my computer yet.
  • orschiro 10y ago
    For me, the solutions are bookmarks. I keep a folder "Daily". Several times a day, I open all bookmarks inside that folder and go through the opened tabs one by one. Moreover, I unsubscribed from any kind of impersonal email.
  • hbosch 10y ago
    The "set Do Not Disturb for 12:00AM - 11:59PM" trick has been amazing for me the past month or so I started the experiment. I set it to allow texts and calls from my Favorites through (e.g. wife, mom, dad) -- but essentially every other type of notification is non-urgent and likely even non-important. By far the best app to silence has been my email. I consider it a luxury that I can come home and not worry about it. I highly suggest it to anyone who thinks they have a screen addiction.
    • k-mcgrady 10y ago
• macawfish 10y ago
  I did this last year and it was amazing. I got so much done. I became way more fluent in git, started using syncthing to back stuff up, and began printing things I wanted to read.
  • therealdrag0 10y ago
    Are you still doing it, or?
    • always_good 10y ago
      Aside, you don't need to end a question with "or". It's assumed. It's a non-committal way of writing that I've been seeing lately. As if you need to pre-empt and soften the possible "no" answer to your yes or no question.
      • Dylan16807 10y ago
        People like to vary their language to apply different tones to what they're saying. Pointing out the obvious fact that it's not necessary doesn't serve any purpose.
      • therealdrag0 10y ago
        Actually, it's more of saying "This is NOT a yes/no question, if it's "no", I want you to elaborate." Think of it as "..., or what happened?"
    • macawfish 10y ago
      I'm not anymore. My house went for about 8 months without internet, but many of the lessons learned seem to still apply. I've been able to cut out a large amount of cruft from my browsing habits. I still struggle with news websites (i.e. HN), and twitter, but it's an ongoing journey. I actually block a lot of stuff in /etc/hosts, and that helps temper habits. Deleting Facebook is up there in the top 10 greatest things I've ever done with my life. It re-expanded my whole universe, reintroducing such things as mystery and intrigue. There was a kind of perpetual 'wavefunction collapse' that Facebook imposed on my social and spiritual outlook. I really needed to let that one 'decohere' permanently. When I say delete, I mean delete, as in https://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=224562897555674 https://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=224562897555674 Pro-hacker-trick: If you want to get all of your activity off of facebook, open your activity page and put a heavy object on your keyboard's 'down arrow' key. Then wait for an hour or two while it loads the entire endless scrolling page. Once it finishes, use your browser's save feature to save a web archive. Now you have a record of all the links you've posted on that damn thing. I wish it was easier to extract content off of facebook. Going through the process of doing it myself really drove home how parasitic the platform really is.
• myrandomcomment 10y ago
  Okay I am reading this and some of the comments and well..... Have some damn discipline. Grown up and be an adult. Problem solved.
  • kluck 10y ago
    I have to agree.
  • mbrock 10y ago
    I'm curious, do you think you would you have the same reproachful attitude if the author had limited his text to describing his own experience rather than talking about what others should do?
    • myrandomcomment 10y ago
      Interesting question. Thank you. The answer is maybe. Personally I have a very hard time with people in general that are unable to sort the fundamental things needed to control their life without resorting to this type of drastic behavior (unless there is a proven medical reason). I think a large number of people in the last 2 generations have a hard time with being discipline. I was born in the early 70s. Also you are right the story was a bit on the "do this now side" of things.. So sure my reaction is a bit of how it was written along with own personal view point. But you know it could just be me screaming "get off my lawn!"
• linker3000 10y ago
  All that illustrates is the author needed a bit of help with time management and found it difficult to tear themselves away from their on-tap Internet comfort zone without taking firm action to remove the temptation.
• nicklaf 10y ago
  May I suggest that the problem is one of quality much more so than of quantity, and that a solution that takes a more fine-grained approach than just shutting off your ISP altogether can give you the best of both worlds? "How Technology is Hijacking Your Mind — from a Magician and Google Design Ethicist" https://journal.thriveglobal.com/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds-from-a-magician-and-google-s-design-ethicist-56d62ef5edf3 https://journal.thriveglobal.com/how-technology-hijacks-peop... Once you see how subtly dark patterns borrowed from advertising and casinos tap deeply into your subconscious impulses without your knowledge, you will likely jettison any cavalier conception of things like Facebook, smartphone notifications, etc., and begin to treat them like the subversive, profit driven intrusions that they are. Let's as well not forget that just about 100% of the web used to look like it would today if you disabled all Javascript and CSS. The change is not a coincidence, and it's important to recognize who benefits from the intrusive web, and what we lose when our scenic view of the historic part of town has been blocked by the new casino development.
  • jackiebrowne 10y ago
    A really good comment.
• franciscop 10y ago
  I recently (2 months already!) closed my FB account and I have a mixed feeling about it. Part of the time I spent on facebook now I spend on things I want to do, but other part now I'm using HN and Twitter more, so maybe declaring internet-free time would be a good idea for me too.
• zepolen 10y ago
  Sure let's go back to the dark ages because we lack the self control to do things in moderation. No thanks. Removing internet from my home won't make me more productive, in fact it will make me less productive, as I won't be able to get information instantly, like a recipe for the things that are soon about to go off in my fridge.
  • chrisper 10y ago
    I have to agree with you. Why don't we just lock ourselves away to become productive. At one point or another every little thing becomes distraction and harming productivity. At what point becomes productivity and efficiency an addiction as well? Don't we already call those people workaholics?
  • mbrock 10y ago
    Having to walk to a cafe in order to use the internet is not really a return to the middle ages, you know.
• toast42 10y ago
  I'm having a similar experience travelling through Melbourne as almost all of my internet access is metered. My mobile plan has 3GB/month and is almost my sole source of internet. I just discovered the public library which is great for getting work done, but I have to leave my room to get there. Most cafes either don't have wifi or impose a time limit w/ a user/pass login (so changing mac address won't defeat it). I'm mostly finding it makes me more productive, though it's sometimes frustrating if I need to search for a quick Stack Overflow answer.
• cwyers 10y ago
  Something about the headline nags at me. I don't really like the idea that being "productive" all the time is a positive thing. My brain is for more than achieving things. It is in point of fact okay to use it for watching silly YouTube videos for half an hour, an hour, whatever.
  • mbrock 10y ago
    During the time periods when I haven't had internet at home nor on my phone (three months times two in different cities) it hasn't made me more "productive", it's primarily made me more relaxed, grounded, and happy. Coming home to a house without internet is a very special feeling to me, aside from concerns about time management or getting stuff done. It's just peaceful. I come home and can immediately focus on, for example, cooking, reading a book, meditating, exercising, etc.
• sharun 10y ago
  For devs who want to go offline for a bit I recommend Zeal (offline docs) + kiwix (Offline Wikipedia app that also parses stackexchange/stackoverflow dumps) Check their github page. The entire stackoverflow dump is about 10 Gig.
  • djaychela 10y ago
    Is that (kiwix) really going offline? I don't think it's the 'active internet connection' that's the crux of the problem, it's the trawling through pages and pages of stuff, which Wikipedia is very good at allowing. Obligatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/214/ https://xkcd.com/214/
    • sharun 10y ago
      I mostly use it for offline stackoverflow. Open ended offline wiki journeys have happened but I personally think much less. When online there are many more triggers to send one off on these random walks.
• ArtDev 10y ago
  I have disabled certain sites in my windows hosts file. It helps as it is a hassle to find it and edit it again. When I actually do visit Facebook, I use a private window. That way I won't forget to log out.
• vans 10y ago
  It's so sad to see such techniques just because people can control themselves. Ok, a life with a full list of friends on facebook is fake, but the opposite is fake too. It's just another hypster minimalist move. Some tortured guy looking for meaning in his life, as all of us, but with enough paternalistic arrogance to pretend he knows better than us what's good for us, usual story.
• kneel 10y ago
  I watched the documentary on these guys; my takeaway is that they have some sort of environment control OCD issue. Their minimalist tendencies are extreme.
• mcv 10y ago
  But... but... I need the internet for online gaming and aimless browsing! It's true. This stuff is addictive, and I've known that for over two decades now. And I've been addicted ever since my older brother told me about the Internet when he went to university. I don't fool myself that I can stop anytime; I clearly can't. I don't want to. But it's true that it's sucking up way too much time. I don't read books anymore because I read HN and Google+. I have trouble of focusing on boring administrative chores because there's always this info-driven dopamine boost within reach.
• sunilkumarc 10y ago
  This definitely will not work for Software Engineers, especially developers. We constantly go online looking for solutions to problems we face in everyday work.
• veddox 10y ago
  > Earlier this year I made the conscious decision to remove all Internet service from my home. It ended up being the best productivity decision I’ve ever made. Yep, can confirm that. I haven't had any Internet in my student flat in the past 1 1/2 years and am thriving on it :-) I have Internet at university and when I go home for the weekends, so I'm not cut off from the world; but I do need to much more deliberate in how I spend my time online. One of the biggest advantages: I have time to read books again. As a kid I was a voracious reader, but that decreased in high school, partly because I was spending the time on the web instead. Giving myself the opportunity to go back to books has been tremendously satisfying. (HN and the Internet is great, but you learn so much more through books.)
• mattlondon 10y ago
  Hmm. Not sure I agree with this entirely. Sure, facebook/twitter/social media et al are obviously utter dross, but why cut yourself off from learning & knowledge like some sort of troglodyte? People say books are great - and sure they are, but I have yet to find a book that 100% answers every question I have right there on the page as I am reading it. I frequently find myself thinking "hmm interesting - I wonder...." and look up stuff on the internet for more background/context/history/examples/whatever. In my opinion curiosity is something that should be encouraged and not put on a rationed list of "things to do later, if you have the time" My advice would be: - delete all social apps - star your immediate family contacts so that all other calls/notifications etc are silent - stay observant and curious, and embrace the pursuit of knowledge & learning
  • laughingman2 10y ago
    Exactly, I have vast wealth of contextual knowledge because of browsing Internet regarding multiple stuff from philosophy, computer science, history etc. This has resulted me to find and appreciate connections between various stuff, things I never would have in a analog fashion of only reading books(which I do as that deepens the knowledge). The internet expands and augments our perspective with that of so many others in a searchable fashion with element of serendipity & discovery to it. Social media may contain lots of irrelevant noise, but that doesn't define the internet, like reality shows don't define existence.Te web in general has been a extremely positive gift to me, and to spurn it is not a option for me at least.
• digitalshankar 10y ago
  I use Pomodoro Technique (search for Tomato Timer for online version).
• ensiferum 10y ago
  Moving to Germany did this for me. Thank you Vodafone! No more internet yay!
• adamconroy 10y ago
  I scratch around passing time on the internet, but then if I'm not doing that I'm passing time watching cable tv, passing time playing chess, passing time smoking pot, passing time reading novels, passing time playing golf, passing time laughing frivolously, passing time sleeping, passing time day dreaming, passing time eating, passing time shopping, passing time chatting on the phone...... Basically, I pass my days in my idle ways, and I don't think it matters what the medium. I can say that I don't pass my days on social media, its tedious.
• JofArnold 10y ago
  On my iPhone I use the content blocker to block every site I frequent (as I do on my Mac with /etc/hosts). I then allocate 2 hours on a Sunday going through the best articles of the week.
• Zelmor 10y ago
  Or you could use plain old self discipline and not touch electronic devices past x PM.
• sigi45 10y ago
  That's what i don't like from theminimalists. I'm a minimalist but it doesn't mean that i have nothing in my flat. I enjoy watching stuff on netflix or playing computer games. Being a minimalist and have basically nothing is just another form of 'hi i'm peter and i did something to an unnecessary extreme, please look at me'. No internet at home no one will do this. Lots of people will try it but will stop doing it and haven't learnt anything from it. Being a minimalist means having that mindset and evaluating all the time but being content with the status quo. If you have the feeling that you are using the internet too much, reduce it somehow but not by removing it completely. It is the same with diet: No one will keep there weight when dieting. Change your eating habbits instead.
• tokumei_74 10y ago
  -posted on the internet.
• multani 10y ago
  People of my generation around me, myself included, tend or tended to boast how we are living without any TV at home compared to our parents or the time we spent watching TV when we were younger. Now, people in my flat sharing were watching series on their own laptops most of the evenings, otherwise spending their time on internet. In retrospective, I wonder if we will have the same "relationship" with Internet our parents have with the TV, and if our children will behave the same with Internet as we do now regarding our pride not to use a TV anymore.
  • Latty 10y ago
    If something better comes along, sure. This is hardly new. People complained about individuals wasting their lives reading books all day too.
• cjdell 10y ago
  I forced my phone to use 2G (GPRS/EDGE) which means it still functions as an internet connected communications device, but I'm far less likely to go browsing Twitter on it because of the slowness. I save money too.
• ungzd 10y ago
  Why dedicate all your life to making money? All these "productivity" things, working 20 hours each day. To show others that you are not "loser"?
  • jackmott 10y ago
    If I may play devil's advocate: 1. to retire early 2. if you are in america, to ensure you can afford to live someplace where the schools are good for your kids. A sad state of affairs but it is what it is. 3. assuming you enjoy your work, to make some positive difference in the world before you inevitably die. 4. if you do not enjoy your work, then so you can get your hateful work done sooner, and then have time to do what you actually want to do.
    • ungzd 10y ago
      But why even give birth to kids? To doom them into the same miserable life of working 20 hours a day?
      • magic_beans 10y ago
        It's not for everyone, that's true. Some of us want to experience the joy of nourishing a new life, even if it's ungodly expensive.
      • jackmott 10y ago
        dont know
  • jpttsn 10y ago
    Money can be exchanged for goods and services.
    • ungzd 10y ago
      Goods and services to consume while sleeping? All wake time is dedicated to work.
• jaddood 10y ago
  What about self-taught programmers that get all the materials from the Internet?
• wonderwonder 10y ago
  If you have kids and ever go to some sort of school function like a play etc. Look around at all the parents watching the play through the phone screen recording instead of just putting it down and looking at their kids as they perform. I noticed I did that and decided to just leave my phone in my pocket and watch it directly with my eyes. You feel so much more connected with the moment and your kids value the eye contact.
  • kerbalspacepro 10y ago
    Next time strap a go pro to your head and you'll be able to record it while you watch it. The fish eye lens will also let you record other people watching it through their phones, and you can feel even better about being more connected in the future too.
    • wonderwonder 10y ago
      Only problem with that is that after that my kids wont want to talk to the strange guy at their play with a camera strapped to their head :)
• cponeill 10y ago
  I haven't had home internet in well over five years and it is absolutely fantastic. I did it while in school so I could focus on getting reading and homework done and found that I really enjoyed it. I still use a smartphone but will leave it in another room if I want to read or focus on something other than tech.
• DandyDev 10y ago
  I have an unpopular opinion about this, but here it goes: I think the whole article is based on false premises. Mostly two of them: - Productivity is the be all, end all of life - It's somehow wrong to "waste your time" with things like Netflix, Gaming, etc. What does "productivity" even mean? To be able to work more? I don't want to work more. And what is wrong with gaming, or watching TV shows on Netflix? I would consider some games and TV shows as works of art, and to me there's nothing wrong with experiencing more art in one's life. I do agree with some of the less extreme sentiments here on HN that it's good to be more conscious about how you use your "internet time". I quit Facebook, and it has gained me more time to use for other stuff, and it strengthened the most important relationships in my life.
• pgalic 10y ago
  this article is complete shit
• pgalic 10y ago
  this article is complete new age shit. something works for one person, something works for someone else.
• sealub 10y ago
  I am still trying to find the perfect balance. Not too long ago I did not own a cell phone - only a landline. Now I have a Nexus 5, but no cell service. I can already feel the addiction setting in.
• 97s 10y ago
  I have recently stopped playing video games. Uninstalled them all. I also cut off netflix, hbo, and tv in general. It was hard at first, but I am so much more productive. Creating things is so much more satisfying than consuming them. I am also getting healthier/working out and cooking better food. I was thinking about cutting off internet, but the other members of my family would go bonkers.
• laughfactory 10y ago
  I just wish our devices were designed with the recognition that we users of them, yes, even adults, may want some help limiting our usage of them. Something like granular parental controls, but for the average adult user. I'd love to be able to set a time limit, at the system level, on my ability to use my phone or computer. Or limit what apps and programs and sites I have access to. I.e., I want my computers, tablets, and phones to be mostly TOOLS, with reliable limits on how addicted I can get to 1) reading news, 2) watching YouTube, 3) watching Netflix/Prime, 4) browsing the web. Of course this is not going to happen because there's a lot of money in peddling addiction. Apple and Google make a lot of money serving ads, selling games and content, etc. So we really need another option who builds a really good TOOL which has limited entertainment potential.