
Computers Are Not Designed for Productivity - arohner
http://app.getflowmeter.com/blog/productivity.html
======
GuiA
I have a Linux laptop on which I run a tiling window manager (in my case,
Xmonad), and nothing else. No system tray, no quick launch bar, nothing.

(if you're not familiar with tiling window managers, they're window managers
in which windows are arranged automatically to a) fully occupy the screen and
b) never overlap. They're extremely customizable, but typically you'll have a
vertical half of your screen with a main app, and the other half with all the
other apps "stacked", with keyboard shortcuts to toggle between them and
adjust various parameters (e.g. split orientation). You typically also get
virtual desktops. The whole thing is fully keyboard driven (on my Xmonad, cmd
+ shift + enter opens a new terminal, and cmd + shift + c kills the currently
selected window), and once you get used to it it's a usability dream).

On it, I have 2 graphical applications installed: a terminal emulator, because
that's where I do all my work (and can launch other minor applications, such
as a PDF viewer, if needed), and surf, a tab-less/control-less/URL field-less
browser that you launch by typing `surf <url>`.

People make fun of me for this weird archaic setup, but it's the most
productive machine I've ever used. Tiling window managers don't get in the
way, and make it painful obvious when you have non work stuff open. surf
forces me to not fuck around with 15000 irrelevant tabs open. It sounds like
it would be a terribly crippled experience, but in practice it does not impede
my workflow at all - it keeps me focused. It's gotten to the point that when I
hear colleagues who complain about all their open tabs and how screwed they
would be if their Chrome crashes, I feel like they come from another planet.

I don't like the whole "have some discipline" argument. Humans are notoriously
bad at discipline- environment plays as much of a role as self control (try
surrounding the most hardcore fitness nut by candy 24/7 and see how long they
last). The point of our tools is that they should enable us to be who we want
to be.

~~~
igammarays
Anyone have any suggestions for how to get a similar setup on OSX?

~~~
ashark
The built-in multiple desktop support (ctrl+arrow left/right to switch) plus
Spectacle[1] (free, open-source) will get you most of the way there. There's
no good way to get rid of window title bars that I'm aware of, though having
them there does mean you can switch seamlessly between normal OSX window
management and sort-of tiling management via Spectacle.

Spectacle's default keybindings conflict with (override) Chrome's primary
next-tab/previous-tab keys, but there's an alternate command+shift+[ or ]
binding for those actions in Chrome.

[1] [http://spectacleapp.com/](http://spectacleapp.com/)

~~~
jansenvt
"SizeUp" is very similar.

[https://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/store/index.php?app=SizeU...](https://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/store/index.php?app=SizeUp)

------
Animats
The author may be on to something with the line _" A popup notification that
runs without concern for what the user is doing is hostile behavior. Notice
how there's no API in any OS for "is now a good time to interrupt the user?".
Maybe there should be."_

Notifications could be deferred while the user is actively typing. When the
user goes idle, deferred notifications can be displayed. This becomes more
important as more "push" features are crammed into browsers and apps.

~~~
FreezerburnV
I'd like to point out that even if a user goes idle, it might still be a bad
time to display notifications. What if a developer is working on a hard
problem, and pauses for a while to think about the problem, maybe doodle on a
whiteboard/paper, etc.? This could actually be the most damaging time to
display a distraction to the developer. The solution to this kind of problem
would likely need to be slightly different, possibly including simple
mechanics such as "Don't bother me during x time" or "Don't bother me for an
hour" to give someone that time they need to just focus/think about something
for a block of time.

~~~
ajuc
There are already problems with the assumption (user idle=nothing important
happens).

Namely I'm trying to watch a movie and screen goes black after 30 minutes (yes
I know how to configure this, just an example).

~~~
sp332
That's an interesting example, because there is an API for movie-playing
programs to disable the screensaver while they're playing.

------
igammarays
I've come to similar realizations during my programming career, and realized
the value of simple mindfulness in all tasks, especially while communicating
to those around you. I've found simple mindfulness to be like a superpower in
our age of constant notifications and hundreds of tabs. I even try to force
myself to be mindful while checking my email by dealing with a single email at
a time (thanks to Mailbox app), and consciously delegating emails and tasks to
a particular time if I'm unable to deal with it immediately. In my experience,
multitasking is a sleep depriving, mentally taxing, stress inducing,
debilitating activity which only reduces quality of life from every
conceivable angle, and hurts productivity in general.

It all boils down to one thing: have a single conscious intention when doing
something. This takes practice, but eventually you can do it for anything and
everything. I've found this can even make routines like brushing your teeth
very enjoyable and meaningful (see here:
[http://www.fastcompany.com/3036363/how-to-be-a-success-at-
ev...](http://www.fastcompany.com/3036363/how-to-be-a-success-at-
everything/meditation-techniques-for-people-who-hate-meditation))

Also, there is a clear rebounding shift towards desktop computers being
serious work tools, as opposed to consumption devices, which is what mobiles
and tablets are for. This is undoubtedly a trend that is already happening,
and I think that OS and software designers need to respect that. It is an
unfair, deadly sabotage to mobilify desktops while upsetting the highly
focused workflows of programmers, graphic designers, architects, writers,
business managers, video editors, students and academic researchers just to
pander to a generation of ADHD social network addicts (I'm looking at you
Windows 8).

As for people arguing that you simply need self-control and discipline, they
are kidding themselves. Focus and concentration are extremely delicate things
to create and preserve, and it is a designers responsibility to make products
easier for their intended purpose, not simply demand "self control" from their
users.

~~~
threatofrain
I don't think the problem is OS design. Across his armful of assorted
arguments, the poster made an argument that tiling managers suck, as well as
some other things. That aside, I don't think it's the OS that is the problem,
but rather that the computer is a gateway to many possibilities.

Your OS, and the apps on your computer, can be designed with focus and
cognitive ease in mind, but it does not change the fact that a few actions
away is a Stargate to another world. So, aside from a few grab-bag complaints
(though legitimate) about operating systems, programmers and designers have
little more to do. Apps are only going to get better designed, and minimalism
and cleanliness have come to characterize modern app design.

~~~
im2w1l
Reading your comment I couldn't help but notice the juxtaposition of

>I don't think the problem is OS design.

>a few actions away is a Stargate to another world.

Maybe we should design the OS so that "the stargate" is a whole lot of actions
away.

~~~
threatofrain
I don't think the user would take kindly to obstructions to their browsing /
app experience...

"Why does it take an extra unnecessary step to launch an app!? You're telling
me this is for my own psychological good?!"

I suppose this goes to classical arguments about the role of government in
banning drugs or mandating seat belts. The state doesn't think you are
responsible enough, so they create an external structure (fines / criminal
penalty) to make you do good for yourself.

Others would say that a sad restriction has been placed upon them because the
rest of the population cannot regulate themselves to the satisfaction of the
state. It can also be argued that now people rely on external pressure or
structure to behave well rather than setting up their own internal structure.

~~~
dllthomas
Who said anything about _mandating_?

I know I periodically drop

    
    
        0.0.0.0 news.ycombinator.com
        0.0.0.0 reddit.com
    

in my /etc/hosts file.

I also added a "don't let me switch from this window until I ask to be able to
switch from this window" setting in my WM.

It doesn't have to be imposed externally to be helpful.

------
dmdeller
I have a separate local user account on my computer for work. When I start
work in the morning, I switch to the work user and all of my personal stuff
goes away. When I'm done with work at night, I switch back, all my personal
stuff comes back and work goes away. It's almost like having a separate
computer.

People often look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them this. I haven't quite
figured out why.

If I need to look up some personal thing in the middle of the day, I reach for
my phone. If I find I've been reaching for my phone too much that day, I get
up and put it on the other side of the room. Now every would-be distraction
requires me to physically move my entire body.

~~~
mod
For me it involves like 10 keystrokes.

Ctrl+Shift+N -> "new" -> select auto complete to hacker news -> enter.

This place can suck my whole day away, and because I'm a web developer and
work in the browser constantly, there's no easy way to dodge it.

I can do things like blocking dns lookups or browser extensions but then I
outsmart myself.

------
segmondy
Yes, but can you google with the typewriter? If you couldn't, how much work
can you get done? Not many people can work today without google, because with
google, we get access to documentations, API docs, and what not. Without your
computer, can you communicate faster? collaborate faster? Some folks use
slack, hipchat, IRC, lync, whatever.

Are you going to code on your typewriter? I wrote code without a computer when
I got into computing because I didn't have the money to buy one, I would write
basic C code on paper. What a mess. Computers make us productivity, but you
the user must decide on your work flow.

Computers are general problem solving machines, if you want to play game and
watch cat pics all day, then it's your choice. If you want to work then you
can. The guy on typewriter outside might do no work, instead he might stare at
hot chicks or count cars or strike up a conversation with someone that comes
along.

Productivity is not just a function of tool but also a function of self, and
self control. I saw someone that mentioned self control and got downvoted, but
they are correct. It's mostly about how productive you decide to become, there
is no shortcut. If you are not motivated, and you are locked up in a room with
nothing but a typewriter, you will not write tons of book. You will just sleep
and cry and beg them to let you out of that room, you might even smash the
typewriter. Someone like me, I might have more fun taking it apart and trying
to put it together, anything but write a book.

------
fit2rule
Computers are designed for open-ended productivity, where the assumption by
the computer operating system designers is that they don't really know what
users want to do, but will give them the option anyway.

Computers don't do anything without computer Programmers. It is the user which
makes things 'productive', where 'productive' is entirely up to the users'
free will to decide to use the computer to do something.

A full-screen app at the checkout window is quite productive. This is still a
computer. Its just that the Programmer has done the job of making the user
attracted to the device, for the purposes of doing some job. Its the same with
massive open-ended cornucopia-style operating systems that give you all the
power in the world, and a bundled card game.

Either way, no matter what, its the user which makes productivity occur.

~~~
igammarays
I agree that computers are designed for open-ended productivity, but
multitasking is simply dead-ended productivity. Because of the way our brains
work, it serves no purpose at all, and stifles any kind of serious work.
Unless your purpose _is_ to mindlessly surf through a cesspool of information.

~~~
fit2rule
I don't think I agree that multitasking itself is a dead-end productivity
sink. Its necessary, sometimes, to put tasks in the background and let them
complete .. where this goes wrong is when its used as a reason to ignore other
tasks. That, again, is up to the user.

------
switch007
I think the title is slightly hyperbolic. A linux distro gives you almost
unlimited possibilities to be productive.

Most of the issues can be solved with:

    
    
      - A tiling window manager such as xmonad.
      - Using virtual desktops/separate windows in addition to tabs
      - Discipline.
    

Hell, have a "work" user and a "fun" user and completely switch profiles. The
tools are available. It takes some minor out-of-the-box thinking and
discipline.

~~~
dllthomas
In ratpoison, I have found the following useful for my work flow (terminal
window per context with screen inside) - it probably wouldn't be for everyone:

    
    
        alias lock definekey top C-f readkey locked
        alias unlock definekey top C-f readkey root
        bind grave lock
        newkmap locked
        definekey locked f meta
        definekey locked a time
        definekey locked grave unlock
        definekey locked backslash readkey music

------
cthalupa
This article pigeonholes you into the idea that long term focus on a single
task is the only form of productivity.

Not all jobs are the same. When I'm writing, I block everything out but the
writing prompt, occasionally backing out to open up
character/location/backstory notes. When I'm writing a bash or python script,
I do much the same. Full screen my terminal, open up vi, and don't leave it
until I'm done or have other matters to attend to. And the same with when I'm
learning something - I have my study materials, and that's it. (Though, I'm
weird and still prefer physical books for learning stuff, so I might not have
a computer near me at all, despite "pleasure" reading being almost 100% done
on my kindle)

But most of the time I'm on the job, I am not sitting there with singular
focus on one window. I'm not a professional author or developer. Multitasking
- whether or not humans are good at it - makes up a huge portion of my day to
day time. I have the general projects I have to work on, but I'm also an
escalation point - I have to keep an eye on IRC and see if anyone needs me, or
has questions about anything. I have to keep my eye on my email for similar
reasons. I have to be signed in to our other office communication systems that
other departments use in case they need to get ahold of me, or connect me with
a customer. etc etc etc. For me, being productive much of the time precisely
means I need to be bouncing my focus all over the place and be juggling
multiple things at once.

I get the overall point, and agree with it for many cases, but there are
plenty of jobs out there where having a lot of different information feeds
presented to you at once is part of how you attain productivity.

------
threatofrain
I would argue that computers are extremely productive, but that they are also
multi-functional, and that it would be very sad to remove all the other
interesting functionality from a computer until you had the ultimate focus
machine.

I do resonate with the idea that some people have a bad interaction with
current computers. Just like some people may have biologies that will interact
badly, _despite a general array of interventions or strategies_ , in the face
of easily accessible drugs like alcohol and cigarettes.

But it would be a shame to remove bars and liquor just because some people
cannot control themselves. Some humans will always be led off the summit due
to their unseated spirits, but let us not flatten mountains for their sake.

Hopefully there will be an elegant software solution that satisfies everyone
("Google / Siri, focus mode on!"; "Okay, I have suspended distractions until I
see evidence that your job is done."), but until then, computers are designed
as an open invitation to another world, but maybe you only wanted
spreadsheets.

------
sliverstorm
Hence why personal email happens on my phone, and work email happens in
outlook (running background). Both notify me when I get mail, so "checking my
email" is a meaningless action.

Of course, this only works out well when you can prune down the number of
emails you get. Unsubscribe from everything you can.

------
jordanpg
One thing this piece highlights for me is the importance of _really learning_
the language you're coding in or the system you're operating. Many take the
very practical approach of learning what is needed and no more, using google,
SO, and API docs in a web browser to shore up what is missing.

Unfortunately, searching for and then reading something written by a new
stranger every 5 minutes is a severe disruption to a focused workflow.

For me, this means learning advanced language features ahead of time (light
bedtime reading by Josh Bloch, for example) and keeping a browser open with
nothing open except a local copy of the API docs. Another example would be
finding one good (physical) book to use as a language reference and keeping it
next to the computer.

~~~
maxerickson
I often wonder how much of the so called 10x effect comes down to fluency.

------
oostevo
For people on OS X who want to give tiling window managers a try but don't
want to switch to Linux/Xmonad: I've been using Amethyst[1] and throughly
enjoying it.

It's pretty clearly still early on in its development, but I've been enjoying
pretty substantial productivity gains from using it.

[1] [https://github.com/ianyh/Amethyst](https://github.com/ianyh/Amethyst)

------
wilde
Eh, Microsoft tried doing the "one thing at a time" approach in Windows 8. It
didn't seem to work out for them. One can argue that it was partially due to
trying to sandbox their entire software ecosystem at the same time, but in my
experience, it was just too jarring when you did actually need to switch tasks
or use reference material.

------
dllthomas
_' Notice how there's no API in any OS for "is now a good time to interrupt
the user?"'_

PROMPT_COMMAND isn't _exactly_ this, but it can be useful in a similar way.

------
serve_yay
This is great. I love that the author specifically pisses on the ridicule the
typewriter guy received, and the attitude engendered by it.

------
SixSigma
Some were, see Canon Cat. Jeff Raskin knew what was up.

Plan9 is built around being productive.

but "it hasn't even got a web browser" won the argument

------
ConfuciusSay
Or, you could exercise some self control.

~~~
inclemnet
I think the way people focus on 'self control' is interesting - it's always
presented as a choice, or a flaw in a person if they don't have it. But is
this really the case? I'm not convinced my conscious desires are necessarily
powerful enough to overwhelm procedures in my brain that have developed by
other means.

Of course there are probably plenty of people for whom being told this kind of
thing is itself a stimulus that can help to modify their behaviour, but I
worry there's another class of people (or even just people in specific
contexts) to whom being told to exercise self control is not much different to
telling someone with depression to cheer up. Potentially well meaning, but
fundamentally the wrong way to approach things.

(To relate to this specific article, I don't see why it shouldn't be a very
reasonable point that popular window managers etc may really not be optimised
for productivity - not necessarily for you, but for some significant number of
people. It's easy to say 'oh they can just change it then', but maybe most of
them will never think about it or even realise it's possible unless the issue
becomes publicised more widely.)

~~~
GuiA
It's all about environment. I don't know about you, but in college I quickly
noticed that if I hung out with the hard workers I would get great grades and
do all my work on time, and if I hung out with slackers I would just play
video games all day.

Put the unfittest, unhealthiest person you know in a house with crazy healthy
and fit people for a few months, and you'll notice drastic changes in their
habits and behaviors. The opposite is true - put a healthy person in a house
where their roommates eat pizzas and watch TV all the time, and they'll
quickly get to their level.

On one hand it's depressing (if all your friends and family follow the same
patterns you'll have a hard time breaking out of it), but on the other hand
it's empowering: you can modify your environment to encourage healthier habits
(if all you have in your fridge is healthy food, you won't be snacking on
Cheesy Poofs when you're hungry at 4pm).

~~~
jkaunisv1
The sad part is when you have to get a whole new set of friends, even though
you like them, to become the person you want to be.

------
keithba
Random nit for author: at the end in your list you are missing the actual
link.

>> get a productivity tracking tool [link]

~~~
joshuacc
It's not supposed to be a real link. It triggers a JavaScript modal with a
signup form. :-/

------
Dewie
PCs are great for doing and solving a wide variety of stuff in the modern age.
But we are at a point where people who care about usability should start to
care more about _limiting_ the utility and convenience of a computer. (Of
course the user should decide what should be limited, not some other entity.)

We have managed to come far with regards to assisting people with modern
computers. Now computers need to start assisting people more when it comes to
discipline and focus. I think unassisted self-discipline is impractical. It
might have worked in the past, but not in the Information Age. We aren't lazy
and undisciplined if we allow ourselves to rely on the computer for helping us
stay focused, like blocking certain websites during work hours - we are simply
saving ourselves the energy that we would otherwise have to expend in order to
resist all the temptation that a vanilla modern computer throws at us. An
expense that a typewriter of yore never had to even worry about. Do we let the
computers control us, or do we let the computer help us control ourselves?

You can't control the fact that grocery stores sell candy and sweets at the
checkout, but you can control the focus and discipline that your personal
computer affords you.

------
Dewie
Somewhat related: are downloading and storing webpages practical nowadays? The
Web is obviously invaluable, but even in this day and age the infrastructure
isn't perfectly reliable from the perspective of an end user. And there is a
sea of irrelevant information that you can get sucked into.

I was wondering if it would be possible to download (and update at regular
intervals) websites which I can then use in my browser even when I'm offline.
Something like downloading Wikipedia and perhaps all of Stackoverflow. If that
works, I could get a lot of useful information even if I'm working in a
location with no Internet/bad Internet connection. Or maybe I'm even sitting
in my cubicle and purposely disconnect the Internet to stay more focused! (The
problem then would be that I've grown too accustomed to streaming music
through Spotify...)

