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Alternate take: you don't face the problem these tools were designed to solve. My personal organization/productivity methods mitigate some very real (and commo

Alternate take: you don't face the problem these tools were designed to solve. My personal organization/productivity methods mitigate some very real (and common) weaknesses. Most were recommended by a neuropsychologist after some rigorous testing. Categorically dismissing them makes no more sense than assuming they're universally beneficial. Vitamin C supplements remain beneficial to many despite snake oil salesmen posing them as rhinovirus-proof forcefields.

bedobi 5y ago
By all means share ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ To be clear, I'm not saying taking notes etc is never beneficial - I do it all the time, mostly for stuff that I need rarely enough to not remember by heart but often enough to justify making a note so I don't have to waste time relearning it every time. My "system", if it can even be called that, is simply creating a gist.md in GitHub Gists, sending an email to myself, or putting something in Google Keep. The point is I no longer agree with anyone telling me that all aspects of my life must be "optimized" for "productivity", or that without some formal elaborate system I'm hopelessly lost, or that if I do use something I'm n times more productive, better at remembering etc etc, like the productivity hackers and hustlers seem to want everyone to think.
- xtiansimon 5y ago
  > “… I no longer agree with anyone telling me that all aspects of my life must be…” My heart goes out to you for feeling so much social pressure from a blog post. I feel the pain here. Personally, I quickly tune-out posts which i feel bent on preaching to me. I hear your anguish, and I just want to say, ‘turn the page’. I guess I’m sometimes missing out on catching the “best waves”, or the “bleeding edge” of technological and social change. I do have strong feelings about ridiculous social situations. Right now I’m positively mental about customer support people (and by extension SO, Reddit, etc) who don’t answer your direct questions. What are you going to do? Mindfulness training.

bedobi 5y ago

By all means share ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ To be clear, I'm not saying taking notes etc is never beneficial - I do it all the time, mostly for stuff that I need rarely enough to not remember by heart but often enough to justify making a note so I don't have to waste time relearning it every time. My "system", if it can even be called that, is simply creating a gist.md in GitHub Gists, sending an email to myself, or putting something in Google Keep. The point is I no longer agree with anyone telling me that all aspects of my life must be "optimized" for "productivity", or that without some formal elaborate system I'm hopelessly lost, or that if I do use something I'm n times more productive, better at remembering etc etc, like the productivity hackers and hustlers seem to want everyone to think.

xtiansimon 5y ago
> “… I no longer agree with anyone telling me that all aspects of my life must be…” My heart goes out to you for feeling so much social pressure from a blog post. I feel the pain here. Personally, I quickly tune-out posts which i feel bent on preaching to me. I hear your anguish, and I just want to say, ‘turn the page’. I guess I’m sometimes missing out on catching the “best waves”, or the “bleeding edge” of technological and social change. I do have strong feelings about ridiculous social situations. Right now I’m positively mental about customer support people (and by extension SO, Reddit, etc) who don’t answer your direct questions. What are you going to do? Mindfulness training.