Category: Uncategorized

Many of us know plenty of good rationalist advice. Think longer before making decisions, look carefully for direct evidence, look to the research when it comes to seemingly-obvious high-stakes choices.

Today, I will share a piece of advice that, if I followed it religiously, would have probably made me much more productive years ago.

However, to avoid other-optimizing, I will say this meta-advice requires 3 key things to all be true at the same time:

1.You have found a piece of advice relating to some part of your life. It may be a productivity tip, a health recommendation, or a bit of career guidance. It must be relevant to your life.

2.From the evidence at hand, and your analysis, you think the advice makes sense. As in, you could imagine how it would help you in your circumstances, the advice-giver actually cites evidence of the advice working, and so on.

And most importantly…

3.You are terrified of following the advice.

In other words, if you get advice that applies to you, makes sense, and sounds difficult for you, go in. This advice is basically an idiot-proofed extension of the advice to “go outside your comfort zone” and “if it’s painful, it might be good for you”. You don’t get to weasel out of denying evidence or your own logical abilities, just to make advice simpler to remember.

But if you’re avoiding doing something with clear benefits, solely because of some akrasia lurking in your brain… do it.

I was going to finish a post about how people learn to be cynical in the wrong situations, but darn if this isn’t more tempting.

SO, I was going through my email, and I noticed a new comment in a Khan Academy thread from almost a year ago.

This was the question:

…and this was the new response:

This looked spammy. This looked scammy. This looked, if one was being very charitable, like one of those links one is never meant to type from memory, like the average Google search URL. This link was at the Satanic crossroads of consumer-friendly (“Awww, a nice subdomain!”) and backend-shoehorned (“/category/, I am a robot, this is WordPress outside of an optimal context.“).

I had to know more.

(Note: if any potential future employers have found this blog, this is the post where I show off my research abilities. LinkedIn tells me that “Research” (in the generic sense, presumably) is a valuable skill.)

I clicked the link, and arrived at a strange website:

Examples.Essays.Vip. Two quick thoughts on that website title:

1.Were the periods left in from the URL on purpose? If so, why not go all the way and not capitalize the words?

2.Apparantly, .vip domains exist.

The most eye-catching words below the title led me to a very strange article. Be warned: this was the part weird enough to convince me that there was something weird enough to write a whole blog post about.

Oh no.

Attempting to read this… essay-like object… is like reading a postmodern novel. Common artistic-analysis-essay clichés don’t just appear, but seem to crawl out of the giant main paragraph like worms out of rotten wood. Marvel at the formulaic transition –> quote –> citation format, with little context and rushed, nondescript interpretation. “The pale colors did the thing the critic said they did, a-a-and the other painter uses dark colors to be different, aw crap deadline, give me an A+!”

(This just in… I’m being informed that )

Speaking of context, what exactly is this essay trying to say? It’s like several excerpts from an actual essay about paintings (or, about others’ writings on paintings…), competing with each other to get a word in edgewise. Calm down, just make one point as well as you can!

Except, of course, many school essays require multiple points made, authorial ability to do so be damned.

And, of course, using this as an Example Essay (.vip) would get you docked for grammar. Few periods have the requisite spaces after them to separate the new sentence, and many courses discourage the use of “I” in papers.

Do not take this as my rant against artistic analysis or academia. Learning is important, art can and should be looked at closely, and the existence of one bizarre example essay, out of context, can convincingly argue against much of anything.

Except, of course, the likely quality of the “brilliant papers” written by Essays.Vip.

You’ve heard the advice before: set a time to work when you don’t need the Internet. It is often the single biggest improvement to your ability to do work. I’d guess this is because such a high proportion of addictive things are online, where they are continually being optimized to keep your attention. But what if you need continual access because you work on a server, or need tutorials, or otherwise require a connection to do your work?

Luckily, the blank blocklist need not intimidate you away from this important practice.

(Software you’ll need: anything that can block specific sites. Free tools exist, like Leechblock and Cold Turkey.)

1. facebook.com

Privacy. Data. Leaks. Filter bubbles. Clickbait. By now, everyone has at least passing familiarity with the problems created by a platform optimized for growth and engagement. Yes, sometimes you need Facebook to keep up with friends or work. Yes, sometimes they provide useful features in their quest for more users. When it comes time to work, if you’re still an active user, make sure to block this first.

1. twitter.com

Fun. Endless. Distracting. Like Facebook, Twitter is crafted to capture and keep attention. Unlike texting (or even parts of Facebook), Twitter is not essential for any useful work (unless your work requires posting and promoting. Or you work at Twitter.). Keep it separate from your productive time.

1. reddit.com and/or tumblr.com

If you found this blog, you likely use at least one of these niche-oriented social networks. If you’re a hardcore procrastinator, this will not be the first time you’ve read an imperative to get off whichever site you prefer. They’re communities are notorious for procrastination. When it comes time to work, make sure these are on your blocklist.

1. youtube.com

As much freedom as YouTube provides for creation and watching, it is almost like the new version of television in its functionality. Be honest: do you watch YouTube when you have extra energy, or when you’re tired? We both know the answer (well, hypothetically). Block it from your work time.

1. tvtropes.org

This website may be a tad niche, but I could not in good conscience leave it off this list. Its catalog of recurring patterns in fiction has a well-deserved reputation for keeping people on the site for ages, and its surprisingly high Alexa rank confirms its popularity. I would be a hypocrite if I told you to swear off the site entirely. Instead, just block it when you need work done.

1. Any websites you use too often.

In order to fully capture the benefits, you might want to track your time using a free application. Then, you can pinpoint exactly where your personally waste lots of time. If you’re a compulsive shopper, add amazon.com to your blocklist. if you follow eSports, block twitch.tv. And of course, if my blog is distracting you (with its 3 entire posts), block it when you need to work.