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Steve is a great guy and some of his work really resonates with me: - http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser/ http://www.stevepa

by Jasber 18y ago

Steve is a great guy and some of his work really resonates with me: - http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser/ http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-ea... - http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/ http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/ - http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/08/the-law-of-attraction/ http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/08/the-law-of-attracti... But lately his stuff seems too "out there"--even for me. I fully respect what he does, but his way of life seems too extreme for me.

nazgulnarsil 18y ago
polyphasic sleep is potentially revolutionary. I heavily suggest it for those that want to do their own startup but can't break away from their job. Get a part time job, go polyphasic. You'll suddenly have plenty of time to work on your own stuff, work part-time, and still have a social life.
- palish 18y ago
  But it seems like you'll also go nuts. If you impose a polyphasic sleep schedule on yourself, you must follow it without fail. And that means a 15-minute nap every N hours. It doesn't matter if you're watching a movie, or out with friends, or "in the flow". If you slip up, the whole sleep pattern comes crashing down. So not many people have that much discipline, for one. But even if you do, it doesn't seem possible for a human to work 100% of the time. Each time I've tried, I simply end up wasting time rather than using it -- e.g. I'll stare at my computer screen for awhile thinking, try some minor change that doesn't work, then repeat the cycle over for a couple hours. And the next day, my work has often proved to be shoddy at best when I was forcing myself to work. On the other hand, I've had plenty of experiences that went like: There's a bug to fix. Can't seem to fix it. Go to bed. Wake up refreshed. Spot the bug in ten minutes. That seems pretty valuable as a time saver, so it doesn't seem wise to sacrifice your "unwind" time lightly. I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound like I'm coming down on you. I'm merely trying to point out that, in the end, polyphasic sleep seems like a form of masochism -- and perhaps that's why Steve himself stopped doing it.
  - nazgulnarsil 18y ago
    I actually think that a siesta type biphasic pattern is much healthier for long term (better than monophasic too). But I also think polyphasic can be a major productivity booster for 3-6 months.
- mechanical_fish 18y ago
  Here's a William Dement protege on polyphasic sleep: http://www.akbars.net/?p=31 http://www.akbars.net/?p=31 I tend to trust the scientists who have compiled statistics by watching thousands of people sleep under various conditions. And they say that polyphasic sleep is a crock. Why, then, does this polyphasic thing seem to work for some people? Let me suggest some hypotheses: * Many people are raised on lack of sleep: Early rising for school, late nights, packed schedules. One can be sleep-deprived for so long that one really has no idea what being fully awake feels like. They say that it can take a month or more of active oversleeping to work your way out of sleep debt. (I'm not sure I have ever been truly out of sleep debt. Just because I know this stuff doesn't mean I'm always good at living by it. ;) * Chronic sleep deprivation manifests as chronic sleepiness. If you can lie down at any hour of the day and fall asleep within a few minutes, you're sleep-deprived. But it is perhaps more psychologically satisfying to allow yourself to take those periodic naps that your sleepy self craves than to drive yourself through that sleepiness with coffee and determination. Compared to merely being sleep-deprived, being sleep-deprived polyphasically might feel really good. * Polyphasic sleep is a ritual that requires discipline. The advantage of adopting such a ritual is that it forces you to change your life around (lose your strict 9-to-5 job, stop commuting two hours each way) and encourages you to do things you enjoy (e.g. have a social life). Dare I suggest that it is these side effects, rather than the polyphasic sleep, that make people happy? Dare I go on to suggest that it's better to adopt a different disciplined ritual -- based on, e.g., exercise, diet, or meditation -- that actually lets you get some sleep? * It may be that a few people really do work better when they sleep polyphasically, or that a few people have associated health or social problems that tend to benefit from a polyphasic schedule. Something tells me, however, that many of these people have not really taken the scientific approach, by adopting the no-sleep-debt schedule for a few months and seeing what the difference is.
  - ericb 18y ago
    I can say, having a newborn, that polyphasic sleep in some looser form is real, necessary, and practiced in some form by both newborns and the mothers and fathers who care for them.
sireat 18y ago
Steve has a lot of great motivational posts, has been a hacker/indie developer himself and seems to be a rational guy for the most part. However, he has those "full of crazy" posts, plus I do wonder whether he really believes his wife's job: http://www.erinpavlina.com/ http://www.erinpavlina.com/ Anyhow, I am sure he will do alright without Adsense.
- menloparkbum 18y ago
  has been a hacker/indie developer himself has anyone ever played the game (Dweep) he supposedly made all his money off of?
  - potatolicious 18y ago
    There are tons of little indie games nobody's ever heard of that's made people rich. I know a guy who made a pretty simple persistent Flash drag racing game (i.e. your car customizations stick around between visits) and pulls in mid-6-figures a year. Maybe I'm in the wrong field...
- enra 18y ago
  I found Steve's site about three or four years ago, I don't read it anymore though but he got me into this personal development. I'm not attending any crazy seminars or spend all of my time on self-help books, but he shifted my thinking to that I can change and control myself and my life general. Which is quite rare here in Europe or in Finland at least.

by Jasber 18y ago

nazgulnarsil 18y ago

polyphasic sleep is potentially revolutionary. I heavily suggest it for those that want to do their own startup but can't break away from their job. Get a part time job, go polyphasic. You'll suddenly have plenty of time to work on your own stuff, work part-time, and still have a social life.

palish 18y ago
But it seems like you'll also go nuts. If you impose a polyphasic sleep schedule on yourself, you must follow it without fail. And that means a 15-minute nap every N hours. It doesn't matter if you're watching a movie, or out with friends, or "in the flow". If you slip up, the whole sleep pattern comes crashing down. So not many people have that much discipline, for one. But even if you do, it doesn't seem possible for a human to work 100% of the time. Each time I've tried, I simply end up wasting time rather than using it -- e.g. I'll stare at my computer screen for awhile thinking, try some minor change that doesn't work, then repeat the cycle over for a couple hours. And the next day, my work has often proved to be shoddy at best when I was forcing myself to work. On the other hand, I've had plenty of experiences that went like: There's a bug to fix. Can't seem to fix it. Go to bed. Wake up refreshed. Spot the bug in ten minutes. That seems pretty valuable as a time saver, so it doesn't seem wise to sacrifice your "unwind" time lightly. I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound like I'm coming down on you. I'm merely trying to point out that, in the end, polyphasic sleep seems like a form of masochism -- and perhaps that's why Steve himself stopped doing it.
- nazgulnarsil 18y ago
  I actually think that a siesta type biphasic pattern is much healthier for long term (better than monophasic too). But I also think polyphasic can be a major productivity booster for 3-6 months.
mechanical_fish 18y ago
Here's a William Dement protege on polyphasic sleep: http://www.akbars.net/?p=31 http://www.akbars.net/?p=31 I tend to trust the scientists who have compiled statistics by watching thousands of people sleep under various conditions. And they say that polyphasic sleep is a crock. Why, then, does this polyphasic thing seem to work for some people? Let me suggest some hypotheses: * Many people are raised on lack of sleep: Early rising for school, late nights, packed schedules. One can be sleep-deprived for so long that one really has no idea what being fully awake feels like. They say that it can take a month or more of active oversleeping to work your way out of sleep debt. (I'm not sure I have ever been truly out of sleep debt. Just because I know this stuff doesn't mean I'm always good at living by it. ;) * Chronic sleep deprivation manifests as chronic sleepiness. If you can lie down at any hour of the day and fall asleep within a few minutes, you're sleep-deprived. But it is perhaps more psychologically satisfying to allow yourself to take those periodic naps that your sleepy self craves than to drive yourself through that sleepiness with coffee and determination. Compared to merely being sleep-deprived, being sleep-deprived polyphasically might feel really good. * Polyphasic sleep is a ritual that requires discipline. The advantage of adopting such a ritual is that it forces you to change your life around (lose your strict 9-to-5 job, stop commuting two hours each way) and encourages you to do things you enjoy (e.g. have a social life). Dare I suggest that it is these side effects, rather than the polyphasic sleep, that make people happy? Dare I go on to suggest that it's better to adopt a different disciplined ritual -- based on, e.g., exercise, diet, or meditation -- that actually lets you get some sleep? * It may be that a few people really do work better when they sleep polyphasically, or that a few people have associated health or social problems that tend to benefit from a polyphasic schedule. Something tells me, however, that many of these people have not really taken the scientific approach, by adopting the no-sleep-debt schedule for a few months and seeing what the difference is.
- ericb 18y ago
  I can say, having a newborn, that polyphasic sleep in some looser form is real, necessary, and practiced in some form by both newborns and the mothers and fathers who care for them.

sireat 18y ago

Steve has a lot of great motivational posts, has been a hacker/indie developer himself and seems to be a rational guy for the most part. However, he has those "full of crazy" posts, plus I do wonder whether he really believes his wife's job: http://www.erinpavlina.com/ http://www.erinpavlina.com/ Anyhow, I am sure he will do alright without Adsense.

menloparkbum 18y ago
has been a hacker/indie developer himself has anyone ever played the game (Dweep) he supposedly made all his money off of?
- potatolicious 18y ago
  There are tons of little indie games nobody's ever heard of that's made people rich. I know a guy who made a pretty simple persistent Flash drag racing game (i.e. your car customizations stick around between visits) and pulls in mid-6-figures a year. Maybe I'm in the wrong field...
enra 18y ago
I found Steve's site about three or four years ago, I don't read it anymore though but he got me into this personal development. I'm not attending any crazy seminars or spend all of my time on self-help books, but he shifted my thinking to that I can change and control myself and my life general. Which is quite rare here in Europe or in Finland at least.