
A Side Effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic? Reading Got a Lot Harder - pseudolus
https://www.chronicle.com/article/A-Side-Effect-of-the-Covid-19/248568
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dhosek
I have actual data on my writing productivity to back this up. There's a chart
at [http://www.dahosek.com/writerly-resolutions-march-status-
qua...](http://www.dahosek.com/writerly-resolutions-march-status-quarantine-
edition/) which shows my progress on my novel for the month of March. Once the
quarantine began, my progress collapsed. April has not been much better. My
reading has not necessarily fallen off, but other productivity has.

~~~
kortex
This is really refreshing to read. I feel like despite being home nearly all
the time, I'm simultaneously logging less work hours, getting fewer chores
done, exercising less, and overall more tired. I think I am playing with the
dog more at least but I feel like I'm in a time warp.

I am currently chalking it up to the monotony being quite exhausting
subconsciously, even if it doesn't seem like it at first.

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hannibalhorn
It's not just reading/studying - even for those of who normally work from
home, having the rest of the household around all the time is quite a
distraction. I'm definitely not getting those large chunks of uninterrupted
time where I'm at my most productive.

~~~
jfalcon
You may need to update your time management and optimize it for remote
productivity as the reality is that we do better after waking up than during
the middle of a day filled with meetings and social interaction/interruption.
It may mean shifting your schedule earlier to make it work but tbh: it's a
'24h' world.

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droidist2
I noticed I've been much less focused and productive, but I figured it was due
to being stuck inside with a lack of activity. Yes, I know going outside for
exercise is technically allowed, but there's a difference between
theoretically being able to do something and having it automatically built
into your life (walking to do errands, etc.) Regretfully, I've never been
someone who made a point to consistently exercise, but I've been recently
committing to walk at least a mile each day.

~~~
floren
I've finally started running consistently, even though I've worked from home
for the last 2+ years so nothing really has changed. My current plan is to run
an additional 1 minute per day until I hit 30-40 minutes (5k times), then
start working on speed. I'm heading out for 23 minutes today.

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codysc
I've noticed this in myself and others. There is so much novel (no pun
intended) stuff happening to everyone now that, I think, there isn't the
downtime needed to effectively pay attention/think the way we're used to.

At the end of my day I can usually switch out to side projects pretty easily.
But now, that's MUCH less productive.

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xamuel
The past few years, I've been doing a lot of side-project type stuff during
the train commute. The lockdown has made me realize how valuable it is being
forcibly isolated from the internet by a daily train ride. With the internet
at my fingertips, there are way too many distractions to productively work on
writing a paper or reading a book.

~~~
dpau
It's been noted that the pandemic has caused a dip in streaming audio and
podcast traffic, those moments of time when we are "busy but free" during
commutes turn out to be valuable slivers of time in which we catch up and
enjoy all that content. Lately I've been making up chores for myself just so I
can have an excuse to play my audiobooks..

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dhosek
I've fallen way behind in my podcasts because I don't have the time that I
usually do in the office/commute to listen.

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smoyer
I've done some reading but perhaps not as much as normal. What's not discussed
here (and I'm clearly a single data-point) is that my "maker" projects (where
I'm working with my hands) are more pleasurable and I think I've actually been
getting more done with them. I usually listen to music or podcasts (I love my
WorkTunes - [https://amzn.to/2zkmXtc](https://amzn.to/2zkmXtc)) so my mind is
somewhat engaged while I'm building. I've noticed that many of my
neighborbood's yards are maintained better than in previous years so maybe
others are looking for a more physical past-time too?

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hombre_fatal
I wonder how much of this is just the effort to get work done at home which is
always a challenge for surely most people. You are just less accountable for
what you do hour to hour and it's easier to procrastinate or do something
else. A temptation every remote worker has to transcend (or bust).

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darepublic
The cancellation day care is a big factor for me.. but I apart from that u
don't notice a difference

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SubiculumCode
Anectdotedly, I've been extra productive in my writing/analyses.

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twomoretime
I imagine lots of us are less productive because it's much easier to get away
with not working.

Remote work is great but let's face it, humans aren't naturally inclined to
make money for others without accountability. Some of us need motivation and
supervision beyond a paycheck silently deposited twice a month.

An unfortunate consequence of human nature and, to some degree, western
culture.

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bityard
Seems to be behind a paywall?

~~~
dajohnson89
That's the joke. Reading is harder

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0xff00ffee
Meh. Since this article is largely anecdotal, I might as well add my 'dote to
the anec:

I'm on Book 5 of Dune (Heretics of Dune), averaging roughly one a week since
this started. I read my weekly issue of The Economist throughout the week with
breakfast.

For my "project" I'm studying up on STM32 low-power states, something I've
wanted to do for ages and now have more free time. So I'm going back and
fixing some of my projects to be more efficient. I've also finally figured out
how to use Eclipse -- efficiently! -- on Linux with the ARM GCC toolchain. So
that's a plus. Now I'm studying Silicon Labs Simplicity Studio. These are
things that have been backing up on my project list for almost a year.

Also grinding through the Linux Networking Drivers book, but that's an effort.

So, I'm reading a lot, both technical and (pulp) literature. Granted, Herbet
isn't Pynchon, but it's still reading.

EDIT: Yeah, this is a not-humble-brag, but what the hell!

~~~
simonklitj
Man! On book 4 of Dune myself, and it's been going a lot more slowly than the
first three. About 30% in, is it worth it?

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tspiteri
Book 1 is in a class of its own. Books 2 and 3 are a little slower than 1.
Book 4 is very slower as you say.

Book 4 brings out the most different reactions: some people even prefer it to
1, some just find it too slow. If you don't like the beginning, I don't think
you'll like the rest as it doesn't change its pace. Maybe the problem is
reading it in quick succession after 1, 2 and 3. The first time I read it it
was after a break from the other 3 and it turned out I now love it (though I
still prefer 1). If you're finding it frustrating a third of the way through,
I would recommend dropping it now. Then if you feel like it, maybe restart
after some time, maybe then it would work, and maybe it wouldn't.

Then books 5 and 6 pick up the speed once more, I find them very fast paced.

~~~
0xff00ffee
> Then books 5 and 6 pick up the speed once more, I find them very fast paced.

Oof. 5 is killin' me. 1-4 where so fast-paced. 5 is like, "Here's 50 new
people and backstories... oh and by the way there is 3000 years of alliance
backstory to catch up on..."

:)

It's gonna take a few more reads to get everything into perspective.

