5 ms·
There was a recent highly cited paper describing the concept of willpower as a measurable, physiological, depletable quantity, strongly affected by glucose leve
by ramanujan 15y ago
There was a recent highly cited paper describing the concept of willpower as a measurable, physiological, depletable quantity, strongly affected by glucose levels:
http://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/~lchang/material/Evolutionary/Brain/Self-control%20relies%20on%20glucose%20as%20a%20limited%20energy%20source%20willpower%20Is%20more%20than%20a%20metaphor.pdf http://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/~lchang/material/Evolutionary/Bra...
And there was a very interesting Metafilter thread from a few years ago that found that a small amount of alcohol overcame procrastination:
http://ask.metafilter.com/22924/Why-does-alcohol-overcome-my-procrastination http://ask.metafilter.com/22924/Why-does-alcohol-overcome-my...
It's probably time to start studying these kinds of things as genuinely biological phenomena.
- mmaunder 15y agoYou've just covered my four tools to overcome a slump. I've coded when buzzed. The trick is to not commit and diff the next morning. [Looks like you edited and removed caffeine and "loud thumping music". I recommend streaming ah.fm for the latter]
- splicer 15y agoOr, use Git and make a ton of commits locally, then diff in the morning ;)
- mmaunder 15y agoAnd the true genius in git's design emerges.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- ramanujan 15y agoYes, for me personally caffeine and loud music also work. Didn't have a cite, which is why I removed it. But: next time I feel like procrastinating, might self-prescribe a Red Bull with vodka plus some music at 120bpm. Let's see what happens.
- light3 15y agoHey this is interesting, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_sugar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_sugar: "Intake of alcohol causes an initial surge in blood sugar, and later tends to cause levels to fall. Also, certain drugs can increase or decrease glucose levels."
- freemarketteddy 15y agoIn addition to all the four in this thread(glucose,alcohol,music and caffeine)...another tool and perhaps the most effective immediately....Adderall. (Warning:I am not a doctor,and you must fully understand the side effects before using even a mild amphetamine)
- prawn 15y agoI use No Doz and find that it just makes me procrastinate at incredible speed.
- code_duck 15y agoUnfortunately, on the of the most prominent side effects of amphetamines is tolerance and habituation, then a massive crash in the other direction that can last weeks or months when you stop taking it. I generally find stimulants take more out of me than they give.
- freemarketteddy 15y agoyes..one way to avoid developing tolerance is to not use it regularly....in my case I try to alternate between periods of relaxation(lots of procrastination!) and intense work periods when I use 10 mg XRs on weekdays! Here is a very good quora thread on the long term effects http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-long-term-effects-of-Adderall-Dexedrine-or-Ritalin-use http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-long-term-effects-of-Adder... Also nearly 3.3 million Americans age 19 and younger used an ADHD drug last year, according to Medco Health Solutions Inc.I think there is enough data to conclude that there are not really any serious and irreversible long term effects.Would love to be proved wrong on this?
- code_duck 15y agoAdderall is a mixture of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine. It is not all that different than methamphetamine - you don't have to look very far to find that long term use of amphetamines can be very dangerous.
- 15y ago
- aaronbrethorst 15y agoI write my best code at the bar around the corner from my apartment, where I can get free wifi. Well, for the first hour, at least.
- freemarketteddy 15y agoYou just convinced me to try working from the local dive bar!
- code_duck 15y agoI feel like there's something bio-psychological about this too, based on how I feel all the time.
- freemarketteddy 15y agoyes...and thats why regular exercise helps a lot!...the body and mind are more inter-dependent than we think!
- AndrewDucker 15y agoNow there's something that's going to strongly affect dieting...
- radu_floricica 15y agoThat research eventually turned into a great book: http://www.amazon.com/Willpower-Rediscovering-Greatest-Human-Strength/dp/1594203075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321976513&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Willpower-Rediscovering-Greatest-Human... Probably the most useful bit or research (also described much less technically in that book) is this:http://books.google.com/books?id=7CeE67IrVDUC&pg=PA130&lpg=PA130&dq=Alexander+Rothman,+Austin+Baldwin+and+Andrew+Hertel&source=bl&ots=6FvQ4soA__&sig=DIHrIzIV2oA8PlecsjNlYzgqp0k&hl=en&ei=E8PLTpvoC4aWOpzI1JIP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Alexander%20Rothman%2C%20Austin%20Baldwin%20and%20Andrew%20Hertel&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=7CeE67IrVDUC&pg=PA130&#...
- WickyNilliams 15y agoOne drug that definitely doesn't help is cannabis. As a habitual smoker for over ten years I know this all too well. As of late I've started wondering whether the real damage of cannabis is not in it's health consequences but in it's ability to completely demotivate. As a complete coincidence I actually started writing a poem about this last night: Procrastination was higher on my to-do list, Than achieving all the things that I otherwise wished. Aspiration blew motivation a farewell kiss, And said a sad goodbye, "you will be missed"
- FrojoS 15y agoIsn't this knowledge very common? I think every second weed joke is about how you're not motivated to accomplish anything.
- WickyNilliams 15y agoYou're quite right, i was in a bit of a rush writing that original comment so perhaps didn't elucidate enough. The point i tried to make was that the major damage that cannabis can do is to your ability to achieve, the consequence of which is probably far more widespread and damaging to our culture and advancement than any other ill-effect. Now i'd be lying if i said i was a drop-out who hasn't achieved anything in the last ten years - i've done remarkably well, putting myself through university, graduating, getting a good job - but there's so much i want to do when i'm not working that i just put off because i get home, get stoned and suddenly nothing is boring - i could probably stare at a wall for hours without a hint of tedium. And therein lies the real point, that cannabis eliminates boredom. Without boredom people don't feel the need to push themselves, try new things, achieve what they want etc. I've just been postulating on the issue of procrastination so much recently, this post really struck a chord. Also it was a strange coincidence that i wrote a poem on topic yesterday, as i literally never write poems; and i hoped someone might like the excerpt.
- freemarketteddy 15y agohaha i like your poem...How I deal with cannabis is that I never do it alone...only when I get together with old buddies...that limits me to doing it once in a cpl months and with that frequency I find it therapautic for soothing my mind!