My Productivity Tips and Systems

Jack R25 Jul 2021 12:52 UTC
15 points
2 comments10 min readLW link

[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 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

  • Break reminders and mantras: Timeout

    • I display “rationality” mantras like

    • 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

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

Jack R25 Jul 2021 12:52 UTC
15 points
2 comments10 min readLW link