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That doesn't answer my question, though. My point is, how do you know WHAT to work on for 48 minutes? How do you facilitate things so that you can load the prob

That doesn't answer my question, though. My point is, how do you know WHAT to work on for 48 minutes? How do you facilitate things so that you can load the problem into your working memory quickly?

edw519 17y ago
Sorry, I must have misunderstood. how do you know WHAT to work on For me, that's easy... "What's the best thing you could be working on, and why aren't you?" From http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html If being with your friend or working at a coffee shop keeps you from doing this, then decouple your friend/coffeeshop time from your work time.
tungstenfurnace 17y ago
I've been reading about the American inventor Elmer Gates. http://www.elmergates.com/egamu/egamu_link_page.htm http://www.elmergates.com/egamu/egamu_link_page.htm I think his three tips would be: (1) quiescence (2) periodicity (3) dirigation Which in modern language means (1) remove or zone out all distractions, (2) work at the same time each day, (3) pay deliberate attention to each aspect of the problem in turn in your imagination. (4) Repeat. Step (3) helps to build the relevant mental structures. Visiting them habitually will strengthen them. 'Each aspect' will include mental images (visual, aural, kinaesthetic), concepts, ideas (including all the relevant constraints and conditions that must be met). Generating mental images is important as the mind works best with things that are translated into sensory terms. Eventually a conjectured solution will pop into your conscious mind, possibly at a time outside the working hour. You may know it is coming before it arrives. He might also add that thinking draws from one's personal store of vitality. So it may be necessary to adjust sleep, diet, exercise and any addictions you have in order to conserve this. Being unstressed is vital. Partly this means only working on important problems and working with the intention to do good. It also means switching to a different problem if you get bored of the first one. (You can go back to it another day).

That doesn't answer my question, though. My point is, how do you know WHAT to work on for 48 minutes? How do you facilitate things so that you can load the problem into your working memory quickly?

edw519 17y ago

Sorry, I must have misunderstood. how do you know WHAT to work on For me, that's easy... "What's the best thing you could be working on, and why aren't you?" From http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html If being with your friend or working at a coffee shop keeps you from doing this, then decouple your friend/coffeeshop time from your work time.

tungstenfurnace 17y ago

I've been reading about the American inventor Elmer Gates. http://www.elmergates.com/egamu/egamu_link_page.htm http://www.elmergates.com/egamu/egamu_link_page.htm I think his three tips would be: (1) quiescence (2) periodicity (3) dirigation Which in modern language means (1) remove or zone out all distractions, (2) work at the same time each day, (3) pay deliberate attention to each aspect of the problem in turn in your imagination. (4) Repeat. Step (3) helps to build the relevant mental structures. Visiting them habitually will strengthen them. 'Each aspect' will include mental images (visual, aural, kinaesthetic), concepts, ideas (including all the relevant constraints and conditions that must be met). Generating mental images is important as the mind works best with things that are translated into sensory terms. Eventually a conjectured solution will pop into your conscious mind, possibly at a time outside the working hour. You may know it is coming before it arrives. He might also add that thinking draws from one's personal store of vitality. So it may be necessary to adjust sleep, diet, exercise and any addictions you have in order to conserve this. Being unstressed is vital. Partly this means only working on important problems and working with the intention to do good. It also means switching to a different problem if you get bored of the first one. (You can go back to it another day).