Ask HN: How do you cope with quickly fading interests?

[bvaldivielso]

Hello,

I am currently studying computer science and mathematics at university and still figuring out what I want my career to look like once I get my degrees. The problem is that the things I find interesting today are not the things that I will find interesting in a week.

Two months ago I could not stop thinking about differential geometry and was sure it would be awesome to do that kind of research. Two weeks later and all I thought about was deep learning and convoluted learning. Then a month goes by and I find myself in love with zero-knowledge proofs and crypto, or learning how to build a home studio to record some music, or buying wood to build a DIY skateboard.

I believe this can be problematic as I will not be able to deepen my knowledge in any of these disciplines and then make a living out of one of them.

Do you have this problem? How do you cope with it?

Thank you very much

[tgflynn]

I had this problem when I was an undergraduate.

I think that if you have the energy and intellectual capacity to follow these various interests without it adversely affecting your grades or future prospects (I didn't) then it's not problematic.

Otherwise you need to develop stronger self-discipline in order to get done what's necessary to jump through the hoops the system requires you to jump through. I wasn't able to develop this until several years later in life but I think that if I had been able to do so while still in university my life may have turned out better (though one can never really know).

As for how to develop this discipline, I don't really know because for me it just seemed to happen when the time was right. Meditation may help because it can help you gain some distance from your thoughts and feelings and make decisions about what to do from a calmer, higher level perspective, rather than following your immediate curiosity.

In any case I don't think you should try to suppress your interests too strongly. At this stage of your life you should be exploring different interests so that you can develop a clearer idea of what you really want to focus on. The key is maintaining balance and making sure that you're spending enough time and energy on your current course of study.

[balsam]

I used to suffer from this problem. I still do, but not as much. Two main techniques I use: 1)I quickly get to a point where I can do something creative in the field of interest. Then the urge to keep my "baby" alive takes over. 2)I get my friends involved if possible, so that the urge not to let them down also takes over. Problem with 2 is that sometimes the friend cares less about the field than you.

[emilyfm]

You have to separate work (and studying) from hobbies.

It's great if your work is what you enjoy doing, but that won't always be the case. So focus your studying on what appear to be long-term saleable skills that will lead to a job (or to an academic life, if that is your objective).