
Ask HN: Do you have trouble staying productive with all the online distractions? - doitorscrewit
Do you guys have any problems staying productive with all the distractions available online (social media, googling stuff, etc.)? What are your distractions? How do you deal with them or how did you try? Did you use any productivity tools, time trackers etc.?<p>Some of my distractions:
- Watching non work related videos on Youtube
- Googling stuff that I randomly think of
- Listening to podcasts or consuming blogs and educational material too much and too often instead of actually working on my projects
- Reading news and newsletters I am subscribed to over email 
- Checking Hacker News and Indie Hackers
======
codingdave
No, I keep two completely separate laptops... one for work, one for personal.
On the work laptop, I do not do a single task that is not work-related. When I
want a break, I switch to the personal laptop. It does take some discipline,
but after a while it becomes second nature. You end up in a place where there
are no distractions, only deliberate choices to either work or play.

~~~
el_dev_hell
I do this as well.

Having two distinct physical devices makes it much easier to avoid
distractions. I have never accessed Hackernews, YouTube, etc on my work
machine and never will.

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he11ow
Not as much as I used to:

Just some context. I went to uni before MySpace and Facebook. And I studied
hard sciences, which required hours and hours of intense focus. I loved that.
A couple of years ago it hit me I very rarely get to that level of focus. Only
when I work on projects I'm really invested in. Even then, there's a struggle.
I used to abide in a state of deep stimulation, and now I don't.

This realization sucked bigtime. Therefore:

1\. I left Facebook (not deleted my profile, just let my network know I'm not
there anymore)

2\. After experimenting a while with Twitter decided it's almost the
definition of a waste of time, so cut that.

3\. No way Jose am I signing up to new social networks. No
Instagram/Snap/TikTok/Whatever new bullshit comes round the corner.

4\. Zero intention of dipping into Slack. Yes, there must be good useful
discussions there, like anywhere, but that's how it sucks you in. You spend
90% of the time on crap for these few golden nuggets, and usually these
nuggets are not even that golden because you don't go away and actually take
action on them, because scrolling is so much easier than actual doing.

5\. My only social media activity is LinkedIn, and I try to limit that as
well. (I read here, and when a topic that matters to me comes up I might
respond, but I don't get sucked into it).

6\. Videos and Podcasts - I have to say, these really test my patience. I'm a
fast reader, and I can't help thinking - I could have digested this so much
faster if you'd just transcribed it.

Reading the Verge's "The Interface" newsletter really helped with all of this
[1].

I think part of that has to do with age; not that I'm old, but I've been an
adult throughout the onslaught of ALL types of social media, and I'm tired and
bored with it.

I do Google for learning. I do read around. But on the whole, that's not a big
time waster.

[1]
[https://www.getrevue.co/profile/caseynewton](https://www.getrevue.co/profile/caseynewton)

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photawe
I do work crazy hours, so sometimes i let myself get distracted for 30 minutes
or so, just to relax.

Having said that, while working I don't have much trouble with social
media/googling stuff, since I'm logged off everything while working (except
youtube :D).

What's really getting me distracted are sometimes the insane compilation times
- every small code modification, and sometimes I need to wait another 45
seconds. Sometimes this just doesn't let me get in "flow" mode - but it is
what it is. Apparently, for a good while, there's nothing for me to do (I hope
MS will improve on those compilation times, but that will probably happen 8+
months from now)

As for email - I'm only subscribed to one thing (codeproject).

I stopped checking Indie Hackers long time ago - seems good info is really
hard to find, just procrastination there.

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tomjen3
I used to, what I am currently doing is having a physical notepad next to me
and when my mind comes up with something interesting or something to remember
i write it down. At the end of the work day I scan the paper with my phone and
then process the items GTD style.

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aprdm
\- I turn off all the push notifications from my phone

\- I don't access non work related websites apart from youtube to play some
songs or spotify

And that's it really... when I need a break I go outside for a coffee and a
walk with team members.

Looking back I used to get "very distracted" at work when I wasn't very into
what I was working, luckily that hasn't happen in a noticeable way for the
past couple of years as I am very excited about the industry / work.

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sethammons
I keep tabs open for later if they are not immediately needed for work, or I
move them to my reading/watching list in Trello. No social media really. My
biggest distraction is HN; a long running test or a few minutes until my next
meeting will usually have me skimming here. Worse is when I can't sleep, like
right now. Instead of sitting with my eyes closed since 2am, I'm casually
reading comments that don't actually enrich my life.

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ralphc
I can understand setting aside time to not get on HN or twitter, but how does
a developer keep up without these? As in, work on a needed library for weeks
only to find out later that there's a good open source one that meets your
needs? Or just be alerted to alternatives to investigate, like PyTorch vs.
TensorFlow?

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non-entity
For sure. more so at home than I do at work, but I have a really bad problem
with laziness that I cant seem to beat.

The only time I seem to be able to pull myself together is when there is
situation where there will be _severe_ consequences if I dont do something
immediately, at which point I can complete weeks worth of tasks in a day

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ncr100
Yes. The more things "I have to check" serves as believable mind-delusion
until I drain that pool.

Also people / noise / visual distraction is way up there in terms of trivial-
type distraction.

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decasteve
Sleep, exercise, socialize, meditate, and spend time in nature. When I have a
good balance and routine with these things the procrastination and self-
distraction ceases or at least becomes a non-factor.

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HammockTester
I don't have much trouble when there is interesting coding work to be done.
When noodling with Jira is the task at hand, then it becomes a problem.

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PaulWaldman
I've previously found myself subverting tools to limit distractions, but have
had success by placing focus on interesting problems.

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afarrell
1) Using a tool like SelfControl or ColdTurkey to block distracting websites.

2) Taking care of my body with sleep, exercise, food.

3) Taking good care of my brain by the above alongside regularly seeing
friends, doing folk dance, meditation, and taking my ADHD medication.

4) Making it clear what I should be focusing on by deeply understanding the
"why" of the project, knowing how to recognize progress, and using TDD to get
into a good loop between exploratory and focused thinking.

> time trackers

I don't particularly recommend this if you want to use it as a form of
accountability. As Jocko Wilink[1] says, accountability is a crutch--a
temporary stopgap to detect and then fix a larger problem of self-leadership.
Instead, you should strive to build discipline. But first you need to
understand what discipline is not.

Discipline is not punishment.

Discipline is not shame.

Discipline is not external.

Discipline is self-care.

Discipline is the mental garden that you terrace and irrigate and weed and
nurture in order to help your goals grow out from your impulses -- no matter
what precipitates. That garden takes real regular work and sweat and re-work
to build. Yet, it is not harsh. Every push-up and every pomodoro expresses the
kindness and care you have for your future self.

So that means you need to first:

\- Know yourself: What are the natural inclinations of your brain? What are
your values?

(Warning: This can be scary if you realize you've been pursuing a goal that is
totally disconnected from your values.)

You sound like a person with curiosity impulses. Channel those. Discover your
other impulses.

\- Know your goal: Why are you striving for it? How would you recognize the
signs of success?

And then you need to:

\- Build your environment: Remove barriers. Remove distractions. Improve your
tools.

\- Build your relationships: Communicate to ask "why?" and get the right
resources. Communicate to get incremental feedback.

\- Build your mind: Adopt mantras to remind yourself of the simple things that
are hard to hold on to. Imagine clear pictures which help you feel the links
from your values to your goal, from the goal to the signs of progress. Link
the steps of progress to your impulses so they can drive you forward to take
them.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZe67lXVzgE&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZe67lXVzgE&t=1s)

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forgotmypw
When I start working, I turn WiFi off.

It is good for an hour or so.

