$5 for any productivity intervention (mental technique, habit, reasonably priced physical item, etc.) that I think is worth trying. An additional $50*X if it leads to an estimated X% increase in my productivity in the year after trying it.
My current bottleneck areas are sleep, focus/energy, consistency, and self-image in that order, with food and infohazards as additional issues. I have a comprehensive writeup available upon request.
I just wrote up a quarterly life review and will edit in relevant information soon. For now, I can say that I spend much more of my time feeling busy (e.g. reading LW, writing quarterly life reviews, checking emails) but the vast majority of this time is not highly productive. I want a more regular sleep schedule (already take melatonin at 9:30pm daily), and a way to get exercise that is pleasant, I can do every day, and takes less than an hour (baseline is walking on hilly streets). I occasionally miss important administrative things, but my system is improving fast enough that I might not benefit from suggestions.
I see you already have this in your doc, but for me a chilipad really helps. (although maybe this isn’t as helpful if living in the Bay Area, but if you ever move then definitely)
blue/green-blocking glasses
lights that change brightness/color throughout the day.
I don’t use an alarm to wake up, but instead I have my lights turn on bright. much calmer. I used to use a light-alarm clock, but having smart lights is better.
lights turn dim at 5pm, then completely red at 6pm, and then off at 8pm and I sleep at 10pm. Light has a big effect on me, and if I turn on the lights I seem to take another half hour to fall asleep
check for snoring/ sleep apnea. Can get really bad if not caught.
$5 for any productivity intervention (mental technique, habit, reasonably priced physical item, etc.) that I think is worth trying. An additional $50*X if it leads to an estimated X% increase in my productivity in the year after trying it.
My current bottleneck areas are sleep, focus/energy, consistency, and self-image in that order, with food and infohazards as additional issues. I have a comprehensive writeup available upon request.
I’ve already read the LW threads on physical objects and one-shot life improvements, as well as a few others. A list of the physical items I use is here.
Edit 7/2020: This is still in effect, but it may be hard to judge, so I’m planning on supplementing with more specific bounties in the future.
Curious, what do you consider your bottlenecks?
I just wrote up a quarterly life review and will edit in relevant information soon. For now, I can say that I spend much more of my time feeling busy (e.g. reading LW, writing quarterly life reviews, checking emails) but the vast majority of this time is not highly productive. I want a more regular sleep schedule (already take melatonin at 9:30pm daily), and a way to get exercise that is pleasant, I can do every day, and takes less than an hour (baseline is walking on hilly streets). I occasionally miss important administrative things, but my system is improving fast enough that I might not benefit from suggestions.
Magnesium Glycinate/Magnesium Malate: Magnesium induces sleep. Take a dose between 30% and 100% of your daily value.
Focus: Bacopa Monnieri
Consistency: Each day, before you sleep, write down the 3 most important things you want to get done the next day.
Try writing stuff down more often. Even a simple Word/LibreOffice doc can help organize your thoughts. Helped me a lot with programming.
To increase, focus/energy, try fasting. Skip breakfast, lunch, or both of them. At dinner, experiment with which foods put you into a food coma.
Still use Roam? I use Obsidian and it seems like people are switching from Roam. Probably not that useful if you’re used to Roam though.
sleep:
I see you already have this in your doc, but for me a chilipad really helps. (although maybe this isn’t as helpful if living in the Bay Area, but if you ever move then definitely)
blue/green-blocking glasses
lights that change brightness/color throughout the day.
I don’t use an alarm to wake up, but instead I have my lights turn on bright. much calmer. I used to use a light-alarm clock, but having smart lights is better.
lights turn dim at 5pm, then completely red at 6pm, and then off at 8pm and I sleep at 10pm. Light has a big effect on me, and if I turn on the lights I seem to take another half hour to fall asleep
check for snoring/ sleep apnea. Can get really bad if not caught.