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Ad procrastinating: I remember someone (Paul Graham?) reporting that he configured a separate machine for procrastination-inducing activities so as to avoid the

by praptak 14y ago

Ad procrastinating: I remember someone (Paul Graham?) reporting that he configured a separate machine for procrastination-inducing activities so as to avoid the "just quickly check my feed while this is compiling" syndrome.

philwelch 14y ago
It was Paul Graham. He later noted that it didn't really work.
- TillE 14y ago
  Interesting. While it's not a panacea, I do think it's an important part of creating separate work and non-work environments. Making a separate user account just for work really helps me stay focused. Same computer, but still a different environment.
- praptak 14y ago
  Thanks. I have found the article: http://www.paulgraham.com/distraction.html http://www.paulgraham.com/distraction.html
- tocomment 14y ago
  Where did he say it didnt work? It seems like a great idea.
  - vikas5678 14y ago
    The "Note" on top. PG says: "The strategy described at the end of this essay didn't work. It would work for a while, and then I'd gradually find myself using the Internet on my work computer. I'm trying other strategies now, but I think this time I'll wait till I'm sure they work before writing about them."
    - s_henry_paulson 14y ago
      I developed this method independently, and I've gotten it to work (more or less). The trick is that you need to make it more difficult to access your "time wasting" sites on your work station. I do this by adding entries into my hosts file and redirecting certain sites to 0.0.0.0, this way I need to use another machine when I want to browse these sites. This helps maintain the separation, and keeps you from mindlessly entering in your favorite urls in a browser while at your desk.
emillon 14y ago
Matt Might suggested something similar for distractions and gaming : http://matt.might.net/articles/cripple-your-technology/ http://matt.might.net/articles/cripple-your-technology/
- Evbn 14y ago
  Yes, I hate distracting chat popups when I am gaming, especially ones from coworkers.
mijustin 14y ago
For me it's looking for the reason behind the procrastination that works. If I'm procrastinating because I'm tired; my best bet is to get some rest. If I'm procrastinating because I'm trying to solve a problem; I need to think get away from the computer and go for a walk.

by praptak 14y ago

philwelch 14y ago

It was Paul Graham. He later noted that it didn't really work.

TillE 14y ago
Interesting. While it's not a panacea, I do think it's an important part of creating separate work and non-work environments. Making a separate user account just for work really helps me stay focused. Same computer, but still a different environment.
praptak 14y ago
Thanks. I have found the article: http://www.paulgraham.com/distraction.html http://www.paulgraham.com/distraction.html
tocomment 14y ago
Where did he say it didnt work? It seems like a great idea.
- vikas5678 14y ago
  The "Note" on top. PG says: "The strategy described at the end of this essay didn't work. It would work for a while, and then I'd gradually find myself using the Internet on my work computer. I'm trying other strategies now, but I think this time I'll wait till I'm sure they work before writing about them."
  - s_henry_paulson 14y ago
    I developed this method independently, and I've gotten it to work (more or less). The trick is that you need to make it more difficult to access your "time wasting" sites on your work station. I do this by adding entries into my hosts file and redirecting certain sites to 0.0.0.0, this way I need to use another machine when I want to browse these sites. This helps maintain the separation, and keeps you from mindlessly entering in your favorite urls in a browser while at your desk.

emillon 14y ago

Matt Might suggested something similar for distractions and gaming : http://matt.might.net/articles/cripple-your-technology/ http://matt.might.net/articles/cripple-your-technology/

Evbn 14y ago
Yes, I hate distracting chat popups when I am gaming, especially ones from coworkers.

mijustin 14y ago

For me it's looking for the reason behind the procrastination that works. If I'm procrastinating because I'm tired; my best bet is to get some rest. If I'm procrastinating because I'm trying to solve a problem; I need to think get away from the computer and go for a walk.