

Ask HN: How do you overcome laziness and lethargy? - renma

I have big ambitious goals but procrastinate a lot. I need to hustle but I am slacking off a lot. Will doing cardio 2 hours a day help?
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thirsday
Most of Partyfists' recommendations are good, especially 1 and 2. (to clarify,
here is his list):

>>> 1\. Work with people you really enjoy being around. 2. Do something you
love doing 3. Find a type of music which is not distracting. Preferably, no
lyrics or loud noises. 4. Find what is making you procrastinate (video games
for me) and moderate it. 5. Be goal oriented. Be more agile and celebrate the
small victories. >>>

For 3. I prefer brown noise, especially if you can find it in mono, not stereo
(try simplynoise.com).

For me 4. is irrelevant, since there's not one single thing that enables
procrastination for me except being on the internet itself, and with apologies
to those who have made or used apps to regulate their internet usage, I
haven't found anything that has made regulating my internet time practical or
useful – especially since I need it to do my job (also, regulating usage is
merely addressing the symptom, not the cause).

Advice from others' about exercise is good too – although I haven't been able
to implement this yet.

Finally, yes, talk to a specialist about whether you might have ADD and
consider Adderall. It will give you more energy and make you more work
harder/longer at things, but it's by no mean a magic bullet.

Notice I didn't say it will make you more productive, if your productivity is
being determined by others' goals/standards, for instance a boss at work.

You may still find it hard to put your increased efforts towards the things
they're supposed to be going towards. You may find yourself organizing a
metaphorical sock drawer when you're supposed to be knitting an (again
metaphorical) scarf.

I don't know if perfectionism is often tied to ADD or not, but if you also
tend to have perfectionistic tendencies this can be a very tricky combination
to overcome to do fast, consistent work that meets expectations. If you figure
it out, let me know (and let me know soon).

If you stop taking Adderall you will have a difficult period for several weeks
where you'll be lethargic, eat a lot, etc. due to your brain having reduced
its serotonin levels to accommodate the Adderall.

If you take Adderall during the week and don't take it on the weekends, you
may find it hard to have the energy to do much of anything. I'm typing this
from my bed right now and it's 10 minutes til noon.

There are several other options as far as medication now, including some that
are non-stimulants, but I can't speak as to their effectiveness.

2\. from Partyfists is what most people would recommend. For me, I've found
that even that is not enough. I've had about as close a chance to 'do what I
love' as most people have ever had, and I still lacked the daily follow-
through to make that a reality rather than waste time on the internet.

If 2. is unrealistic or impractical for you, I have a feeling that 1. could be
the next most important, and perhaps easier to attain. Currently working on
fixing that one myself.

~~~
renma
I have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. I have been prescribed Adderall. I am
reluctant to take the medication without trying out a natural way or becoming
dependent on it.

I have a deep inclination to go the entrepreneurial/freelance consultant
route. Right now, I am working full time but I am a pain in the rear for the
management and my boss. There is no way I can work for someone in the long
term. No idea if working for myself will alleviate the symptoms of ADHD/ADD.

The only silver lining is the insane creativity that ADHD/ADD brings.

~~~
rad_
As far as I know, Adderal forces dopamine out of the parts of your brain where
it comes from. You get overloaded on it and become happy. You basically enjoy
what you are doing no matter what it is. This could hypothetically get you
focused on things that don't deserve your focus.

It is really not a good drug. It's heavy stuff. You can become addicted to it,
and it could take you months to re learn how to work without it.

I don't recommend it at all. There's much more to it, but this is a glimpse
from my perspective.

Staying focused can be hard for a lot of people. Maybe try a few holistic
approaches.

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axaxs
Will 2 hours of cardio help? Possibly. If you aren't exercising already, you
really should. Nothing helped me overcome lethargy like going to the gym every
day. Two hours is good but by no means necessary...30-45 minutes is all I
usually do. Not a health not mind you, just getting out there. It really does
help almost every aspect of your life, but unfortunately, doesn't seem to help
me much with procrastination. For that I just need to figure out why I'm
procrastinating. Am I distracted(surfing)? Quit surfing. Am I underprepared?
Learn. Am I bored by the project? Add features or move on to something else.

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Partyfists
For me the things I can do to stay motivated are like this:

1\. Work with people you really enjoy being around. 2\. Do something you love
doing 3\. Find a type of music which is not distracting. Preferably, no lyrics
or loud noises. 4\. Find what is making you procrastinate (video games for me)
and moderate it. 5\. Be goal oriented. Be more agile and celebrate the small
victories.

I hope that helps!

------
dylanhassinger
Being healthy will help. The exact mix of exercise/diet/supplements is for you
to figure out.

Also, Adderall

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lily2014
I think it is will issue. You need to remind yourself how important the goals
is. Maybe you can try racing, every day 5K miles. And try to run more than
that. Insisit it, exceed it!

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hackinthebochs
Start small and build momentum off of small victories.

~~~
rad_
I think this is a great idea. Too ambitious can really tire you out if you're
not completing a lot of what you want to get done.

Is what it is, we have to start small.

------
falconfunction
Antagonize faster animals

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omarforgotpwd
Eat food, drink water, exercise, sleep. Take breaks.

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Mz
Given that you are ADD/ADHD, it might do more good to read up on diet and
brain chemistry. I am all for better health but good brain health is more
complicated than just getting more cardio.

~~~
rad_
I agree read up. It's just funny, a lot of situations where people are told
their brain chemistry is off, by there doctor, from a written test. A lot of
people have trouble focusing. Maybe it's cause we don't like working 40+ hours
at a job we hate, not because our brains are all outta whack, but definitly
after the doctor gets a hold of it, it will be.

Sure, there are some real cases. But they are just going to learn in 5,10, or
15 years that all these drugs turned out to not be such a good idea, or at
least, they weren't such a good idea for the majority of the people that they
put on them.

I know people always say this, but, they did not have focusing medicine back
in the day. Maybe daddy's belt growning up, but that's about it.

