5 ms·

Ask HN: How do you reduce cognitive load?

12 points by yewenjie 8y ago

rcarmo 8y ago
I stopped wasting time on trying to keep track of _everything_. For news: Given the relatively low depth of most news these days, I mentally keep track of relevant headlines and wait until one or two sites write more in-depth commentary. I also don’t watch TV news anymore. For books: I use Goodreads as a collaborative filter and wait until people I follow rate specific books, then shortlist ten a month, and eventually pick out two or three (technical or non-technical). I do read a _lot_, though. For social media: I very aggressively trim down on Twitter follows, ignore Facebook, and even though I skim HN daily, I only sit down and _read_ through it on quiet (rainy) mornings. :)
- WheelsAtLarge 8y ago
  > I also don’t watch TV news anymore. Bravo, this is what most people should do. I think the daily news cycle is as toxic, if not more than, facebook. The pressure to produce daily news gives us a dose of daily useless fluff. I think the news channels are the main contributors to the political division in this country. They feed one side and make sure they position viewers against the other. Good entertainment but toxic to the well being of the country. It's really entertainment - newsteinment, to coin a phrase.
  - rcarmo 8y ago
    A little clarification: I don’t live in the US, but we get enough trash talk about US politics (in betwixt our own) to establish a baseline, and believe me, I feel your pain.
Regardsyjc 8y ago
I have a simple wardrobe of mostly black clothes that I feel very comfortable in. I eat pretty much the same 10 dishes that I love. I try my best to not worry about things that I have no control over and I avoid drama. I don't tolerate whining so I skip whining and go straight to problem solving. I am very intentional about who I spend my time with and how I spend my time. I journal every day, write when I need help processing, and/or ask for help when I need to. I am always conscious about what I'm working towards and what I need to improve on. This helps me make decisions easily and prioritize. I only focus on one thing at a time. When I need to do something I get it done so I don't have to worry about it and move on to the next.
sethammons 8y ago
I keep a list of things that need doing. I use alarms to give me a heads-up when something is supposed to happen or I have to change tracks. Without an alarm, I would miss meetings, appointments, and possibly food breaks. At the beginning of the day, I try to have one to three largish goals for the day. I might break those into milestones for each goal. Or if I have lots of little things, I might have it broken up as three goals for the morning, three during the early afternoon, and three at evening. I subscribe to the don't worry philosophy. If I can't affect something, don't worry about it. If I can affect it, either chose to or not to do something about it and don't worry about it. I deligate (and follow up - again, prompted by an alarm or calendar event) where I can. In my personal life, I'm lucky to have a great partner who shares in the load by handling most of the domestic stuff. I avoid multitasking. It is a great way to do multiple things poorly. If I have to switch gears, I try to leave some notes to help pick back up when I get back to it. Though I've fallen out of the habit, daily weight and cardio training helps so much. Planning on getting back to that today, as it so happens. Take down time. Liesure is important. A game of billiards. Sitting outside watching the scenery change. Reading a fun book. Play a game, video or board variety. Meet a friend or few for some hanging out.
gamechangr 8y ago
I focus on having what I call a heathy dose of self care. Like - I go to sleep at the same time every day. I watch TV - but only on the treadmill. I don't watch TV NEWS ever. It's such a waste and uninformative. Move your phone/computer away from your bed. Put it in another room. (it slows down casual use more than you would think). Workout 3-5 times a week. If it's a day you don't work out - stretch or walk fast for 10-15 min. Little things make a difference. I only eat sugar on my day off. Partly to lose weight and subconsciously eat less of it - without doing some sort of "AlL or nothing". I can feel a difference - but maybe it's just in my head. I read 1 hr everyday. I used to study many different topics, but not I work to make sure that half my reading time is spent on pure enjoyment... last enjoyment topic: Aurora Borealis I'm sure there is more - but that should be a good start.
tomjen3 8y ago
I wear essentially the same clothing every day: jeans, which I try to buy the same version of and a black t-shirt. I do have other thing for special occasions, but in general I don't have to worry about anything. Same thing with writing down things like appointments. Google, for all its faults, is much much better at remembering things than I am. Plus when I have things in a system that I trust my mind stops bugging me about it. I guess the meta-answer is to never do something that a) doesn't matter or b) can be done better by a machine.

12 points by yewenjie 8y ago

I stopped wasting time on trying to keep track of _everything_. For news: Given the relatively low depth of most news these days, I mentally keep track of relevant headlines and wait until one or two sites write more in-depth commentary. I also don’t watch TV news anymore. For books: I use Goodreads as a collaborative filter and wait until people I follow rate specific books, then shortlist ten a month, and eventually pick out two or three (technical or non-technical). I do read a _lot_, though. For social media: I very aggressively trim down on Twitter follows, ignore Facebook, and even though I skim HN daily, I only sit down and _read_ through it on quiet (rainy) mornings. :)

WheelsAtLarge 8y ago
> I also don’t watch TV news anymore. Bravo, this is what most people should do. I think the daily news cycle is as toxic, if not more than, facebook. The pressure to produce daily news gives us a dose of daily useless fluff. I think the news channels are the main contributors to the political division in this country. They feed one side and make sure they position viewers against the other. Good entertainment but toxic to the well being of the country. It's really entertainment - newsteinment, to coin a phrase.
- rcarmo 8y ago
  A little clarification: I don’t live in the US, but we get enough trash talk about US politics (in betwixt our own) to establish a baseline, and believe me, I feel your pain.

Regardsyjc 8y ago

I have a simple wardrobe of mostly black clothes that I feel very comfortable in. I eat pretty much the same 10 dishes that I love. I try my best to not worry about things that I have no control over and I avoid drama. I don't tolerate whining so I skip whining and go straight to problem solving. I am very intentional about who I spend my time with and how I spend my time. I journal every day, write when I need help processing, and/or ask for help when I need to. I am always conscious about what I'm working towards and what I need to improve on. This helps me make decisions easily and prioritize. I only focus on one thing at a time. When I need to do something I get it done so I don't have to worry about it and move on to the next.

sethammons 8y ago

I keep a list of things that need doing. I use alarms to give me a heads-up when something is supposed to happen or I have to change tracks. Without an alarm, I would miss meetings, appointments, and possibly food breaks. At the beginning of the day, I try to have one to three largish goals for the day. I might break those into milestones for each goal. Or if I have lots of little things, I might have it broken up as three goals for the morning, three during the early afternoon, and three at evening. I subscribe to the don't worry philosophy. If I can't affect something, don't worry about it. If I can affect it, either chose to or not to do something about it and don't worry about it. I deligate (and follow up - again, prompted by an alarm or calendar event) where I can. In my personal life, I'm lucky to have a great partner who shares in the load by handling most of the domestic stuff. I avoid multitasking. It is a great way to do multiple things poorly. If I have to switch gears, I try to leave some notes to help pick back up when I get back to it. Though I've fallen out of the habit, daily weight and cardio training helps so much. Planning on getting back to that today, as it so happens. Take down time. Liesure is important. A game of billiards. Sitting outside watching the scenery change. Reading a fun book. Play a game, video or board variety. Meet a friend or few for some hanging out.

gamechangr 8y ago

I focus on having what I call a heathy dose of self care. Like - I go to sleep at the same time every day. I watch TV - but only on the treadmill. I don't watch TV NEWS ever. It's such a waste and uninformative. Move your phone/computer away from your bed. Put it in another room. (it slows down casual use more than you would think). Workout 3-5 times a week. If it's a day you don't work out - stretch or walk fast for 10-15 min. Little things make a difference. I only eat sugar on my day off. Partly to lose weight and subconsciously eat less of it - without doing some sort of "AlL or nothing". I can feel a difference - but maybe it's just in my head. I read 1 hr everyday. I used to study many different topics, but not I work to make sure that half my reading time is spent on pure enjoyment... last enjoyment topic: Aurora Borealis I'm sure there is more - but that should be a good start.

tomjen3 8y ago

I wear essentially the same clothing every day: jeans, which I try to buy the same version of and a black t-shirt. I do have other thing for special occasions, but in general I don't have to worry about anything. Same thing with writing down things like appointments. Google, for all its faults, is much much better at remembering things than I am. Plus when I have things in a system that I trust my mind stops bugging me about it. I guess the meta-answer is to never do something that a) doesn't matter or b) can be done better by a machine.