Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

What advice would you give for productivity/getting things done?


I'm like the worst person on earth to be giving anyone else advice about that!! Do you have any idea how much time I waste obsessively reading the news, or worrying about people saying mean things about me on social media, rather than doing research or anything else useful for the world? I suppose my advice would be: don't do what I do. As my former PhD adviser, Umesh Vazirani, likes to tell people, "concentrate on the high-order bits."


> how much time I waste obsessively reading the news

This is oddly comforting. As Tim Ferris said in Tools of Titans, every successful person is dysfunctional in some way. I guess the trick is to work around your own personal deficiensies, and that's something everyone must figure out on their own.


It's actually really encouraging to hear that Scott has many of the same vices as me.


I hear that. But followup question! What do you think of commitment devices (like Beeminder!) for imposing discipline on oneself?




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: