How I Optimize Myself

by operand • 12 years ago

89 31 12 years ago

Upvoting this, if only for the suggestion to "Don’t think at your desk", which is a strategy I hadn't heard before.

TeMPOraL2• 12 years ago

I'm a person who just plain can't think in front of the code. Whenever I need to design something, I need to take pen and some paper, or go use a whiteboard, or go outside and take a walk, or sometimes take a shower (I use a waterproof notepad to write down ideas there).

I always struggled with this, seeing how my friends can sit for 8h/day in front of computers coding good stuff, and I need to take walks outside every time I need to think something through. It's good and reassuring to find that there are others in this situation as well.

userbinator• 12 years ago

I use a waterproof notepad to write down ideas there

Notepad++ is waterproof already. :)

dllthomas2• 12 years ago

Your method is probably healthier, too.

yawz• 12 years ago

I use a waterproof notepad to write down ideas there

Seriously?! Very very cool. I should get one of those.

brianbreslin2• 12 years ago

I find my most innovative thinking happens in the shower. So I bought a diver's board to write notes or ideas down in there. I think it was $6 on amazon.

finishingmove• 12 years ago

Mostly reasonable advice. An important step was missing though. Editor / IDE setup anyone? And in regards to that, I would like to point out one particular thing that might seem trivial. Color scheme. I think most people don't realize how much a proper color scheme helps reduce eyestrain, and hence general irritableness. Not to mention saving your eyes in the long run... High contrast between foreground and background color tires your eyes faster. That's why you should never use (0,0,0) or (255,255,255) as your background color.

nulldata• 12 years ago

That's defiantly an important factor, I programmed with light ( high contrast ) colour themes for 3 years. I got frequent headaches ( especially at night time ), but then I switched to a dart theme ( Monokai <3 ) and I barely get any headaches while coding any more.

swah• 12 years ago

Agreed. I even would say that I use a light theme in light places, dark in dark places. So I use https://github.com/titoBouzout/Camaleon :)

operand2• 12 years ago

ha! I hadn't thought of that one, but I totally agree. I personally use a dark background with a soft almost pastel color scheme (vividchalk in vim). I think the dark background really helps allow me to stare at the screen for a long time without getting as fatigued. Great suggestion.

tiziano88• 12 years ago

solarized FTW!

dllthomas2• 12 years ago

On that note, redshift or f.lux!

noir_lord• 12 years ago

Also worth a look is redshift (in the repo's as gtk-redshift if you want a a graphical control) which is basically f.lux but works better on Linux (in my experience).

I don't know if all the stuff about blue colour curves and stuff is accurate but what I do like is that it reduces the "staring into a lamp" feeling you get when the sun goes down (and in the UK at this time of the year that is pretty early).

linux_devil• 12 years ago

"Don't think at your desk" Personally it helps me a lot , I go for a small walk alone and it helps.

thrownaway2424• 12 years ago

I try not to go to my desk unless I have the program fully formed on paper already. If I go to the desk with a half-baked idea I will either just stare, or I will read pointless sites like this one all day.

I used to have a computer that for security reasons was only connected to revision control, build-and-test systems, and production datacenters. No outside access. Those were the days, frankly. I don't know why the company got rid of the policy that required them, but it really improved not only security but also productivity.

nazgulnarsil• 12 years ago

5-6 meals helps burn fat is broscience.

ChristianBundy• 12 years ago

Claiming that something is "broscience" without evidence is even worse than broscience.

jaredsohn• 12 years ago

No. Science requires evidence; broscience includes everything else. (Unless you think broscience requires surpassing a popularity threshold; you can see this hits that by googling it.)

Edit: The burden of proof is in the original claim, rather than calling it broscience. They even crossed off the claim in the article.

rickdale3• 12 years ago

"Eat Well"

I can't think of anything more distracting than trying to fit in 5 meals/day. Lost a lot of weight doing the slow carb diet, which is eating 4 times/day and the gradually shifted to the warrior diet, which is essentially one large meal/day. Takes a few days to adjust, but once I did my ability to focus has been unreal. Not everyday, but somedays I feel like I am on adderall and it is awesome. Anyways, just want to throw it out there, eating 5 times a day can be a lot for some, and I have found other hn'ers out there that practice one meal per day. I really really enjoy it.

operand2• 12 years ago

Interesting. You and another commenter on the article are making me want to try this. I've definitely noticed better energy levels through the day when I eat small quantities frequently, but I agree that it can be a lot of work. I've never tried the once a day thing. I'm skeptical, but it sounds intriguing enough to try...

brianbreslin2• 12 years ago

I keep a bag of nuts (almonds or whatever I have around) near my desk or in my backpack. Then nibble on them every so often between meals. Also consume lots of water. These two things help me stay alert and stave off hunger for a full meal.

rickdale3• 12 years ago

Try it, but you gotta get over the OMG I am am hungry feeling which takes a few days. I remember the first time I had to drive an hour while fasting, I was scared I was going to pass out, which in retrospect is ridiculous.

You adapt to it just like anything else. If you can, read The Warrior Diet by Ori Hofmekler or just find him online. The other resource that I find amazing is The Fat Burning Man podcast by Abel James. I found Abel and the podcast while searching out stuff on Ori (he is featured for one ep), but Abel really taught me how to live the fasting lifestyle, and he goes into depth about it in the episodes. Abel fasts for most of the day as well. I dont know, it might be a trend, but like I said, I really really like it. The worst part about dieting for me was eating but not feeling like I ate enough. Turns out its easier to just not eat, and then stuff my face like a child at night..

btw, I recommend working out while fasting to get the maximum benefit. If you have more questions or whatever, I can give you my email, just let me know.

70forty• 12 years ago

How many calories do you consume in that one meal?

rickdale3• 12 years ago

Not entirely sure, cause I have never counted. One of the things I like about eating this way is that I just eat until I feel like I am full. But the only foods I eat are: lentils, broccoli, cauliflower, fish or steak, and then some other random vegetables and good whey protein. Late in the week I might eat some nuts and seeds, and then I might eat a sweet potato the day after I work out. It is recommended to work out in the afternoons if you eat like this, but I like to lift heavy in the mornings and then just drink water til my big meal. Then whey protein after my meal. But everything I do is pretty much by personal preference rather than this guy said to do it like this. I eat candy by the bulk on the weekends too, peach rings and anything mint. thats pretty much my entire diet and for always being a chubby kid, I can confidently say I have grown to be muscular using these methods!

sizzle3• 12 years ago

has the author never tried foam ear plugs before...?

" Eliminate distractions, and I mean eliminate For a long time there’s been a fad in our industry of having open workspaces. While being right next to someone and being able to just look over and ask a question is ideal for communication, it can be the opposite for concentration. Headphones with loud music don’t solve the problem either. What I believe works best is quiet. Can you imagine taking a final exam in college with someone blasting music? You can’t concentrate at your best when any sort of external stimuli is demanding some of your attention. It needs to be quiet, and free of any visual distraction as well. People walking by, a television, anything like this should be avoided for you to stay in the zone. If your office doesn’t have a quiet distraction free area to work in, take it up with your manager. I’m personally lucky enough to get to choose when to work from home, and I often do so when I have a large piece of work cut out for me that I don’t need to communicate much more on."

nulltype• 12 years ago

You wear foam ear plugs at work?

sizzle3• 12 years ago

I have foam ear tips on my ear buds and wear them without music playing so co-workers are none the wiser while I get full sound isolation. It works out quiet well for me, and pulling one out to engage with anyone is effortless.

maw• 12 years ago

Ever worked at an office where everyone insists on shaking your hand (men) or giving you a peck on the cheek (women) twice a day?

lazydon• 12 years ago

I wonder how the author keeps such a long list in his mind while working. I'm not sure how, when his brain is actually not cooperating, he would say "brain, here's the remedy, so stick to it". Most points have this pattern "don't..", "resist..", "seize..". Whom are we kidding - as if its that easy directing our quirky mind.

I'm reminded of following Daniel Kahneman's closing notes in his books 'Thinking Fast & Slow'. So, after listing all biases and quirks (to which he has devoted his life), he writes:

What can be done about biases? How can we improve judgments and decisions, both our own and those of the institutions that we serve and that serve us? The short answer is that little can be achieved without a considerable investment of effort. As I know from experience, System 1 is not readily educable. Except for some effects that I attribute mostly to age, my intuitive thinking is just as prone to overconfidence, extreme predictions, and the planning fallacy as it was before I made a study of these issues. I have improved only in my ability to recognize situations in which errors are likely: “This number will be an anchor...,” “The decision could change if the problem is reframed...” And I have made much more progress in recognizing the errors of others than my own.

How I Optimize Myself

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