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Something I’ve noticed in a few friends and family members is that there’s this whole hobby of setting up to be productive but not actually being productive. On

Something I’ve noticed in a few friends and family members is that there’s this whole hobby of setting up to be productive but not actually being productive. One person has a brilliantly laid out workshop with so many custom built shelves and cleats and jigs and tables, but about 90% of the woodworking they’ve done is the workshop itself. Another spends ton of time figuring out the absolute best way to organize her recipes and todo lists and desk and organizers and pens and finding the right foot rest, but that’s about it. And I can see her being really into this device as an idea, but I would bet all the money in my pockets that she’d never actually use it. None of this is a critique on these individuals, or how well this PDA performs at being a productivity device. It’s just this meta layer of productivity I’m noticing around me more and more.

danpalmer 1y ago
I notice this a lot too, and try to avoid falling into this trap. But also, if it’s a hobby, maybe it’s ok? Maybe the organisation is the fun part for some people.
- henrebotha 1y ago
  Tweaking Linux to make it work just the way I like isn't something I do towards some greater purpose, I enjoy it for its own sake.
  - _kb 1y ago
    Ah yes, a sudomasochist.
  - binary132 1y ago
    This is why after 25 years of using Linux I have finally come around to just using vanilla Ubuntu, with mostly defaults. Playing with Linux is one of the biggest timewasting hobbies I’ve ever had, although I did learn a thing or two.
doubled112 1y ago
Sounds similar to a lot of discussion around note taking and other productivity software.
Rodeoclash 1y ago
Lots of music producers fall into this trap too. So much so that I'm convinced nearly the entire synthesizer industry is setup to exploit this.
- Gigachad 1y ago
  People just want their quirky single purpose gadgets back. Tech got kind of boring after a laptop and phone do everything. I kind of want the device in the OP, assuming it's cheap enough. Not because I think it will be more productive, but because it would be fun to pull out a Nintendo DS shaped device to note tasks down.
- topato 1y ago
  Haha, now that's DEFINITELY true. The amount of machines some people own, especially machines that revolve entirely around sampling, but amount to being essentially 500 dollar toys is astonishing....
code_biologist 1y ago
As a person who easily falls for "preparing" over doing the work, I committed to the hipster PDA [1] as an antidote to this for many years: "the Hipster PDA comprises a sheaf of index cards held together with a binder clip." My pocket index cards haven't run out of VC money or instituted a new subscription model yet! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_PDA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_PDA
- binary132 1y ago
  Fellow index card productivity hacker here, do have a plan to start numbering and indexing them in a databasing drawer system. Thankfully, have not had time to implement this one just yet.
sjs382 1y ago
It's a matter of goals and perspective then, eh? Maybe the workshop is what brings them the most joy about the hobby. Maybe the recipe person appreciates their collection this way. Maybe they don't frame things in terms of productivity, like you do (even if they do use that word).
alangibson 1y ago
The workshop hits home. One of the decisions I made was to let my workshop grow organically around me based on what I'm doing. I started with a pile of junk tools on an Ikea table in an empty basement. By focusing on just what I needed at the time I ended up with fully equipped metal, wood and coating shops without ever consciously building them. They just sort of happened based on the needs of the next project.
- yial 1y ago
  This is overall a pretty good strategy. I’ve done something similar - usually buying tools only when I need them, or when I find something I’ve been thinking about at a great deal used. I do periodically however take time to straighten, arrange, and fix workflow / storage issues. (This became important when I purchased at auction from a hardware store closing down 30+ 3 foot tall of bins of hardware - the exact ones used for display in the store - still filled ).
ivape 1y ago
Procrastination is a huge market. HN should charge.
Blackthorn 1y ago
That's because yak shaving is fun. The stuff that follows maybe not.
jemmyw 1y ago
I have the same feeling about a lot of productivity tooling in the software world. At one point I had been convinced by several people that I needed to be taking notes, either handwritten or have some kind of note taking system. I tried for a good amount of time (2 years) before concluding that it's not for me. I'm more productive without notes, my mind seems fairly well organised. My biggest enemy is procrastination, not disorganisation. So that's all well and good. I don't believe that my way is the one true way, I think each to their own. What I don't like is that people won't stop telling you about their note taking systems and that you should take notes. Well, things have calmed down a bit now, but a few years ago it felt like people would actively hunt you down and force their note taking opinion on you if they suspected you didn't keep your own knowledge base.
- bevr1337 1y ago
  Did anyone convince you to pay for a remarkable? ;) It's managed to fill a niche for me, but no magical experience and probably not worth the price. In retrospect, I was "keeping up" with wealthier coworkers.
  - jemmyw 1y ago
    Yep, I've got a remarkable gathering dust in a drawer. And I really tried to make that one work given the cost. I did find some niche uses for it, like drawing to scale when doing some garden planning, or using it for writing music. But they were both temporary things and I could have just used paper or a dedicated app for the purpose for far less money. (edit) That one is on me though, I genuinely thought it would be a neat bit of tech, and I am glad I tried it because I think I'd still be considering it otherwise.
xnx 1y ago
> Something I’ve noticed in a few friends and family members is that there’s this whole hobby of setting up to be productive but not actually being productive This is also most programmers. Lots of time spent picking languages, configuring tools, switching frameworks, updating dependencies, etc. Very little time making useful code.

danpalmer 1y ago

I notice this a lot too, and try to avoid falling into this trap. But also, if it’s a hobby, maybe it’s ok? Maybe the organisation is the fun part for some people.

henrebotha 1y ago
Tweaking Linux to make it work just the way I like isn't something I do towards some greater purpose, I enjoy it for its own sake.
- _kb 1y ago
  Ah yes, a sudomasochist.
- binary132 1y ago
  This is why after 25 years of using Linux I have finally come around to just using vanilla Ubuntu, with mostly defaults. Playing with Linux is one of the biggest timewasting hobbies I’ve ever had, although I did learn a thing or two.

doubled112 1y ago

Sounds similar to a lot of discussion around note taking and other productivity software.

Rodeoclash 1y ago

Lots of music producers fall into this trap too. So much so that I'm convinced nearly the entire synthesizer industry is setup to exploit this.

Gigachad 1y ago
People just want their quirky single purpose gadgets back. Tech got kind of boring after a laptop and phone do everything. I kind of want the device in the OP, assuming it's cheap enough. Not because I think it will be more productive, but because it would be fun to pull out a Nintendo DS shaped device to note tasks down.
topato 1y ago
Haha, now that's DEFINITELY true. The amount of machines some people own, especially machines that revolve entirely around sampling, but amount to being essentially 500 dollar toys is astonishing....

code_biologist 1y ago

As a person who easily falls for "preparing" over doing the work, I committed to the hipster PDA [1] as an antidote to this for many years: "the Hipster PDA comprises a sheaf of index cards held together with a binder clip." My pocket index cards haven't run out of VC money or instituted a new subscription model yet! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_PDA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_PDA

binary132 1y ago
Fellow index card productivity hacker here, do have a plan to start numbering and indexing them in a databasing drawer system. Thankfully, have not had time to implement this one just yet.

sjs382 1y ago

It's a matter of goals and perspective then, eh? Maybe the workshop is what brings them the most joy about the hobby. Maybe the recipe person appreciates their collection this way. Maybe they don't frame things in terms of productivity, like you do (even if they do use that word).

alangibson 1y ago

The workshop hits home. One of the decisions I made was to let my workshop grow organically around me based on what I'm doing. I started with a pile of junk tools on an Ikea table in an empty basement. By focusing on just what I needed at the time I ended up with fully equipped metal, wood and coating shops without ever consciously building them. They just sort of happened based on the needs of the next project.

yial 1y ago
This is overall a pretty good strategy. I’ve done something similar - usually buying tools only when I need them, or when I find something I’ve been thinking about at a great deal used. I do periodically however take time to straighten, arrange, and fix workflow / storage issues. (This became important when I purchased at auction from a hardware store closing down 30+ 3 foot tall of bins of hardware - the exact ones used for display in the store - still filled ).

ivape 1y ago

Procrastination is a huge market. HN should charge.

Blackthorn 1y ago

That's because yak shaving is fun. The stuff that follows maybe not.

jemmyw 1y ago

I have the same feeling about a lot of productivity tooling in the software world. At one point I had been convinced by several people that I needed to be taking notes, either handwritten or have some kind of note taking system. I tried for a good amount of time (2 years) before concluding that it's not for me. I'm more productive without notes, my mind seems fairly well organised. My biggest enemy is procrastination, not disorganisation. So that's all well and good. I don't believe that my way is the one true way, I think each to their own. What I don't like is that people won't stop telling you about their note taking systems and that you should take notes. Well, things have calmed down a bit now, but a few years ago it felt like people would actively hunt you down and force their note taking opinion on you if they suspected you didn't keep your own knowledge base.

bevr1337 1y ago
Did anyone convince you to pay for a remarkable? ;) It's managed to fill a niche for me, but no magical experience and probably not worth the price. In retrospect, I was "keeping up" with wealthier coworkers.
- jemmyw 1y ago
  Yep, I've got a remarkable gathering dust in a drawer. And I really tried to make that one work given the cost. I did find some niche uses for it, like drawing to scale when doing some garden planning, or using it for writing music. But they were both temporary things and I could have just used paper or a dedicated app for the purpose for far less money. (edit) That one is on me though, I genuinely thought it would be a neat bit of tech, and I am glad I tried it because I think I'd still be considering it otherwise.

xnx 1y ago

> Something I’ve noticed in a few friends and family members is that there’s this whole hobby of setting up to be productive but not actually being productive This is also most programmers. Lots of time spent picking languages, configuring tools, switching frameworks, updating dependencies, etc. Very little time making useful code.