Ask HN: How are you productive without a computer? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How are you productive without a computer?

4 pointssingularity200114 comments

Imagine it's a lovely day, you want to spend it outside and still boost your company (or project). What can you do? (If you exclude talking and reading)

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A large (artist's) sketchpad, brainwave entrainment (or silence), and time spent thinking, reflecting, synthesizing, etc.

As someone who's been constantly on the computer since I was 12 (30 now), I learned early on that it's good to know when I'm spinning in circles blindly more than progressing, and to then move away from it to a quiet place (maybe I'll pace around the living room, or work at the kitchen table), then work in "low tech silence."

As a programmer/designer, there tends to be a lot of conceptual thinking and synthesis involved with what I'm doing, which can often be done (better, even) away from the computer. When I'm on the computer, I'm either learning, doing/implementing, or screwing around. Deep thinking happens (better) elsewhere.

I circle the parking lot, or the block if its a hard problem. Once I went clear around an 80-acre field before I had it solved (why the belly button on our spherical projection of 2D data).

I'm currently sitting on a beach, in the shade, reading this post on my phone. (And also reading up and planning the marketing for my startup, and probably writing a Facebook post and a blog post soon. Edit: Nope, still reading HN. It's getting cold though. Should've brought a blanket.)

I wouldn't universally recommend typing on your phone, but I'm (relatively) fast at it, and I can do it wherever. The limiting factor is formulating and such anyway, for me.

My current view: https://m.imgur.com/cMXoY7H

Thinking and generating ideas for me is easier without a computer. Computers are distracting. The more I practice thinking and writing my ideas down, the better I become at having thoughts that are useful. It's pretty elementary stuff, but I think the conundrum is that it doesn't feel immediately productive. This kind of thinking marinates and adds value to your work over a long period of time, versus something like answering an email, which has immediate results but usually is of little value.

I would say exercise. A jog or a swim. Exercise has boosted my productivity a lot. Enabled me to work longer hours. Helps me be in a better mood and just feel healthy which spills over to my work.

Sheet of paper and optionally a writing instrument. Otherwise some thing that you can find interesting to observe or study. If failing that, random reading material.

Ideas come from anywhere.

I find riding my bike gives me great thinking time (once you have a regular route that you can ride without getting lost/know where to look out for dangerous traffic).

Also, gardening/diy work that's not overly complex can let your mind wander a bit. I find it works both ways - I think about solutions to diy/garden problems while at my desk and software problems with a shovel/hammer/etc in my hands.

I took my notebook out the other day at a coffee shop after my laptop battery died. I sat at an outside table and thought about a performance issue we were facing and came up with a solution in about 15 minutes. That was way more productive than the 15 minutes on my laptop would have been.

introspection, meditation, and pondering your big picture - think about your project - what about your project is stressing you out? what can you do tomorrow to address the components that you're not comfortable with?

I use a pen and a pad of paper. But I have to have the right kind of problem - more of a big-picture issue. I can't be trying to do something that requires close interaction with the code.

Meditation to keep the mind up for the next day.

I guess that leaves thinking and writing.

And drawing. And recording your promo video ...

I exercise, go for a walk.

I also have a sketch pad where I can work out ideas on paper.

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