My Productivity Tips and Systems

post by Jack R (Jack Ryan) · 2021-07-25T12:52:34.932Z · LW · GW · 2 comments

Contents

    [Read bolded words to skim]
  Table of Contents
  TODO List: Things 3 + Apple Watch
  Computer restrictions: Cold Turkey
  Sleep: buy anything that can improve your sleep
  Exercise: Find a fulfilling form of exercise that you will do consistently
  Phone restrictions: Screentime (iOS) or Freedom
  Reading list: Instapaper
  Device: Computer Monitor
  Internet speed: Ethernet cable and good internet service
  Device: Mouse
  Miscellaneous tips
  Tracking device usage: RescueTime or Toggl or Forest
  Useful programs/apps/sites
  Useful browser extensions
  Device: MacBook (borrow first)
  Password Manager: Dashlane or NordPass (free?)
  Other products
None
3 comments

[Read bolded words to skim]

Below are a bunch of tips, systems, and devices for improving productivity. I don't mean to claim I know a lot about productivity—I think there is likely a lot of useful advice I am missing. If you are new to thinking about productivity, a lot of this stuff might be useful, though it is probably better to instead aim for the mindset that can generate these tips and habits for yourself. For this, I recommend attending a Center for Applied Rationality workshop, reading the CFAR handbook, checking out Neel Nanda's blog, and/or reading Rationality: A to Z (podcast form here).

My recommendations are in very rough order of how much I recommend them, based on how excited I am/would expect someone else to be to know about the tip (my top recommendation being Things 3 + Apple Watch). Though I didn't try that hard to order things in this way.

Table of Contents

• TODO List: Things 3 + Apple Watch
• Computer Restrictions: Cold Turkey
• Sleep: Tips
• Exercise: Tips
• Phone Restrictions: ScreenTime or Freedom
• Reading list: Instapaper
• Device: Computer Monitor
• Internet speed: Ethernet cable and good internet service
• Device: Mouse
• Miscellaneous tips
• Tracking device usage: RescueTime or Toggl or Forest
• Useful programs/apps/sites
• Useful browser extensions
• Device: MacBook (borrow first)
• Password Manager: Dashlane (free for Stanford) or NordPass (free?)
• Other products

 

TODO List: Things 3 + Apple Watch

• Things 3 (ETA: Mac required, making me recommend a Mac more than I would otherwise)
  • Can add todos, blog post ideas, projects ideas, any other useful notes from my apple watch with my voice very easily through my watch (takes two watch screen taps)
  • On the computer, can add stuff to your todo list with a keyboard shortcut from any app
    • E.g. when reading an email, I can press ctrl + space, and this pops up in the middle of my screen. There is even a hyperlink to the email in the description of the todo
  • Move TODOs to specific dates in the future such that they appear in your inbox on that date
    • I use this at least once per week, surprisingly useful
    • Useful for things like things you want to apply to but the application doesn't open for months, people you want to reach out to when traveling to a new place, bumping an important email after a week if there is no reply, etc
  • Have lists for things other than todos
    • Mistakes or bugs
    • Blog post ideas
    • Project ideas
    • People to talk to
    • Things to learn
    • "Someday" todos
• Apple Watch (ETA: iPhone required, making me recommend an iPhone more than I would otherwise)
  • Be reminded of all calendar events with wrist buzz
  • Add to-dos, blog post ideas, project ideas, etc. easily with voice
  • See to-do list from watch
  • See the time
  • Easy access timer
    • Laundry timer
    • Time blocking tasks
  • Music/podcasts/books on the go, during exercise

Computer restrictions: Cold Turkey

• You can create "Blocks" which are sets of websites and programs to block
• For each block, you can create a schedule
• For each block, you can create a system for turning off the block
  • Default — just turn it off
  • Password
  • Type in N random characters
    • Surprisingly effective, allows you to create barriers of variable lengths to accessing certain websites and programs
• My computer blocks (ask me and I can email you an importable file)
  • Communications Block (5 random chars, usually unlocked)
    • Facebook Messenger app and site
    • Mail app
    • Slack app and site
    • iMessage app
  • Distractions (20 random chars, usually unlocked)
    • EA Forum
    • LessWrong
    • Other blogs
    • All social media
    • FB messenger and messenger.com
    • Wikipedia
    • slack app and slack.com
    • iMessage
    • youtube and games
    • discord app and discord.com
  • EA Forum and LessWrong (10 random chars, unlock ~once per week)
    • EA forum
    • Lesswrong
  • Facebook (unlocked 7-10 am, 10 random chars)
    • Facebook
  • Youtube and Games (250 random chars)
    • Youtube
    • Addicting Games
    • Sudoku
    • Chess
    • Skyrim
    • Minecraft
    • Other computer games
  • Non-FB Social Media (unlocked 7-10 am, 50 random chars)
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Reddit
    • Tiktok
    • Tumblr
    • GroupMe
  • Miscellaneous
    • Anything else that distracts you

Sleep: buy anything that can improve your sleep

• Silicone earplugs
• Eye mask
• Fluffy Pillows
• A duvet or nice comforter
• Mattress topper

Exercise: Find a fulfilling form of exercise that you will do consistently

• Try lots of different forms of exercise
  • Game with friends (basketball, soccer, frisbee)
  • Dancing to music alone
  • Beat saber
  • Rock climbing
  • Ultimate frisbee
• Try only listening to your favorite podcast when you exercise
• Try buying things to make exercise more likable
  • VR headset for Beat Saber or other exercise games (borrow first)
  • Running shoes that you think look really good (maybe somewhat works, not sure)
  • Very fast swimming suit
  • Basketball shoes and nice basketball
  • GameCube for Dance Dance Revolution
  • Hula hoops, weighted juggling set, cyr wheel, balance board, unicycle

Phone restrictions: Screentime (iOS) or Freedom

• My system
  • I don’t know the ScreenTime passcode, and it is written in a notebook that I never look at
  • When I need to edit the ScreenTime settings, I have someone else type in the passcode and show them the notebook
  • App store blocked
  • Deleted all apps except utilities, reading list, and podcasts
    • Calendar
    • Todo list (Things 3)
    • Safari (heavily restricted)
    • Google Maps
    • Uber
    • Instapaper (reading list)
    • Podcast App
    • Uber Eats
    • Financial apps
    • Audible
    • Music
    • Other utility apps
  • Blocked all websites except necessities
    • Wikipedia
    • Google searches
    • Health-advice websites
    • Car repair websites
    • Restaurant review websites
    • Airline related websites
    • Financial websites
  • Advice: when traveling or doing anything other than very routine work-life, unblock everything

Reading list: Instapaper

• Instapaper app, program, and extension
  • Easily add any URL to your reading list
  • Read from phone, iPad, computer
• Read at meals
• Instapaper is one of the only "fun" things on my phone

Device: Computer Monitor

• Makes a number of tasks faster and easier
• Less cluttered screen
• According to a study (sponsored by a monitor company), people using a 24-inch screen were 52% more productive than those using an 18-inch screen (link).

Internet speed: Ethernet cable and good internet service

• Ethernet cable for computer plugged into your router
• Get better internet service — I've never actually bought service, so would be happy for someone to give a recommendation

Device: Mouse

• Significantly faster than a trackpad (for me)
• Even if it isn't at first, it should eventually be faster I think?

Miscellaneous tips

• Using bookmarks and bookmark folders in google chrome
• Move your phone to a hard to reach place to make it less distracting
• For tasks you are avoiding, instead of doing the task, just think about doing it in detail
  • Eg "First I would find webpage A, contact information B, write the introduction sentence of an email, ..."
• Accountability bets
  • Make commitments with your friends of the form "If I succeed/fail at X, then I have to/get to Y"
  • Try leveraging an irrational fear
    • Leveraging a rational fear means that the losing condition is actually bad, but an irrational fears coming true is likely not "actually bad"
    • Eg I found that making the losing condition be "eat a bowl of cereal" was much more motivating than "pay $300 dollars" because I am irrationally afraid of cereal
• Your environment shapes your actions a lot
  • Have a different place for different activities:
    • Sleeping
    • Working
    • Eating
    • Reading
    • Socializing
  • Wearing different clothes when you work is an example of another thing that might help you be more in the productive mindset
    • Your brain infers what behavior it should employ based on the environment
    • "I'm wearing nice clothes must be time to work"
• Vitamins
  • Iron, B12, Omega 3, creatine (might improve cognition, apparently. Feel free to source in comments)
  • Have a sugary multivitamin so you actually take all of your vitamins
  • Practice taking all of them at once
    • Faster and no time cost to adding a new pill
    • Though micromorts from the possibility of choking?
• Shortcuts
  • The URL “docs.new” opens a new google doc
    • Similarly, “sheets.new” and “forms.new” make new Google sheets and new Google forms
  • cmd-a or ctrl-a
  • Connect AirPods to your phone by tapping back of phone three times
• Break reminders and mantras: Timeout
  • I display "rationality" mantras like
    • The litany of Tarski [? · GW]
    • Multiply your time estimates by 2
  • Display things like "have you stood up in the past 30 minutes?" "have you had water recently?"

Tracking device usage: RescueTime or Toggl or Forest

• It can be really useful to see how your time is actually spent
• For example, a year ago I realized I was spending 3-5 hours on messaging apps
  • Since then I have made a conscious effort to minimize time on those apps as much as possible
• Or maybe you spend 45 minutes on social media per day
  • Imagine replacing that with conversations or a fun kind of exercise instead

Useful programs/apps/sites

• Google Calendar
• x.ai (instead of Calendly)
  • The free version of x.ai allows having multiple meeting types simultaneously
  • If you are willing to pay, Calendly or SavvyCal might be better, haven't looked into it much
  • Free version of SavvyCal also might be better than x.ai or Calendly, haven’t looked into it
• iOS Automator App
  • For example, can make a keyboard shortcut to close/open all messaging apps
  • Or keyboard shortcut for opening a new google doc in your browser
• RemNote (free version of Roam Research)

Useful browser extensions

• Dashlane (password manager)
• Grammarly (grammar checker)
• Cold turkey (site blocker)
• Instapaper (reading list)
• Zotero (easily create bibliographies)
• Tab aside (save sets of tabs for later)
• uBlock Origin (adblocker)
• RescueTime (time tracker)
• Catalyze x (arXiv papers have code linked at Google search)
• Zoom scheduler (for easily adding zoom links to Google Calendar events)

Device: MacBook (borrow first)

• I'm still unsure if it is worth it
• Things seem faster and smoother
• I would not have switched to a Mac if someone hadn't given me one for free
• I am now more in favor of using a Mac than I used to be, though still not sure

Password Manager: Dashlane or NordPass (free?)

• Security: allows for all passwords to be long and different
• Time and energy saved: some saved, probably not that much though

Other products

• These are less recommended but depending on who you are, might be worth it
• Large water bottle (64 oz)
• Special physical timer only for pomodoros
• iPad
• AirPods
• Phone pop socket handle
• Nicotine gum when need energy at night (instead of coffee)
  • To be safe, have much less than the addictive dose
  • Has shorter half-life than caffeine
• Things that Rob Wiblin recommends buying [EA · GW]

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