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I feel pretty confident that the single biggest thing people can do to be more productive, or to have more time, is to dump their TV. Following this is the tri
by latch 15y ago
I feel pretty confident that the single biggest thing people can do to be more productive, or to have more time, is to dump their TV.
Following this is the trifecta of: exercise, eating well, and sleeping enough.
- InfinityX0 15y agoYup. I'd like to add "not living with people you like". I think having social connectivity is big outside your home, but when you actually live with people you like/are peer pressured to do things within your dwelling, it is really hard to get things done.
- snprbob86 15y agoThis is the beauty of finding people who you like...to get things done with. When work and play are one and the same, it's like getting two things done at once.
- InfinityX0 15y agoWell played. I guess I am thinking to my singular situation of living with lazy/pressuring roommates in college. But I imagine, also, that finding highly motivated people as in the Hacker News mold is pretty hard to do in general.
- adambyrtek 15y agoDoes living with people you dislike really increase your productivity, or are you suggesting to live alone?
- Markku 15y agoAfter dumping my TV some years ago, there are still some problems with time. Working, commuting, exercising and eating seem to take about 15 hours in total. Now with 7-8 hours of sleep it leaves approximately 1 hour for hacking or time with other people. A bit too little, no? Sometimes it might be possible to combine commuting and exercising, but at the moment it's not worth it, since commuting and meditation, as well as commuting and reading, are possible with public transport. One thing I can recommend is to get a cross-trainer or exercise bike and watch some interesting stuff while exercising. Recently I've been reviewing open courseware, Clojure webcasts etc. Saves time. I would say working less for money is the single biggest thing people can do to be more productive, or to have more time.
- latch 15y agoSomething's not adding up for me...even if you are working 10 hours a day, that means you are spending 5 hours commuting, exercising and eating? 1 hour commute each way, 2 hours exercise and 1 hour for eating?
- Markku 15y agoA simplified example day: 07:15-08 Wakeup, shower and breakfast 08-09 Commute+reading 09-19 At work, includes lunch and snack 19-20 Exercise 20-20:30 Grocery shopping 20:30-21:30 Commute+reading 21:30-22 Dinner 22-23:30 Hacking 23:30 To sleep (slightly late) This routine gives a small amount of extra working hours to use for time off later. Cutting work to 8 hours gives 2 hours of which 1 usually goes to a longer exercise and 1 is retained as free time. So these days get 2-2.5 hours free. How does that work out for you?
- fabjan 15y agoWow, I'm so happy I stopped commuting and got a job in my home town. I went from being away from home 7-19 to being away from home 7.30-17.30 Now, I don't exercise but I spend 2x30 minutes bicycling to and from work.
- dennisgorelik 15y ago1 hour bicycling every day is a very solid exercise.
- swombat 15y ago1) 10 hours at work? Cut that to a healthier and more sustainable 9 including lunch hour - less if your lunch break is shorter. 2) grocery shopping every day? Order it online or do it once a week (or both) - another daily half hour gained. 3) daily exercise is laudable, but maybe you don't need a whole hour every day. Half hour after waking up should be more than enough - unless you're doing weight lifting for muscle gain, in which case you should only go 3 times a week. That's a couple of hours a day recovered there.
- lsc 15y agoOver the last year, I've spent /far/ more time on HN than I have watching TV or movies (excluding time spent watching movies while exercising)
- latch 15y agoWhen I say stop watching TV, I don't mean stop doing sedentary things. I specifically mean stop watching TV. You can do almost anything else and I sincerely believe that you'll be better for it. Read a book, exercise, learn to cook, program, help your kids with homework, play video games, go out with friends...anything is better than watching TV.
- pestaa 15y agoAgreed. I often tell my parents to turn it off, to spend their free time actively. Watching TV is passive entertainment at its worst. I wish they listened.
- wahnfrieden 15y agoYou should suggest and encourage them towards new activities, rather than trying to get them to stop one activity. It's psychologically much more effective.
- pestaa 15y agoI honestly do it with board games, card games, etc. It psychologically takes them a huge effort to even speak about playing.
- fmavituna 15y ago:) Clearly you are not a hard-core gamer or you don't have any friends who spends 200~ hours on a MMORPG per month. Although I generally agree with that TV argument.
- mikle 15y ago
- naner 15y agoThis article claims that self-control is related to glucose levels: http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/dogs-offer-clues-to-self-control-10928/ http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/dogs-offer-clues-to-self...