Ask HN: What methods do you use to focus and stay relaxed? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What methods do you use to focus and stay relaxed?

52 pointscodemonkeysh28 comments

I'm fairly certain that I have ADD. I partly feel like it started to get worse over time when utilizing certain platforms designed for to capture peoples attention with short content. I have since stopped using things like Twitter (for various reasons) and any platform that encourages short form content.

What methods are you using outside of avoiding social media?

Thank you for ... oh what's that over there?

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For big tasks, I break them down into really small tasks. Crossing things off of a list really motivates me to continue.

I use the Pomodoro technique. I work for 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. My 25 minute stretch of work is actual work - no looking at my phone, the NY Times, or Twitter. Then my break is an actual break. I'll leave my office, sit on TikTok or walk around my yard.

I use noise canceling headphones and listen to electronic music or make a nice blend of white noise on Noisli.com

I block off my calendar for 4 hours at a time so I'm not disrupted by meetings. I close my Slack/Teams/Email apps. I put my phone in a different room.

These all work for me, but I found them through trial and error. Keep trying stuff until you find something that works for you. Good luck! And remember to not be so hard on yourself.

Instead of trying to prevent myself from getting distracted, I try to encourage myself to refocus on the goal right away. E.g. if I'm googling a random question, I write it down for after I'm done. If I'm reading an article, I note it for later. Social media, just close.

First lesson of meditation is that you can't prevent random stuff from popping into your head, but you can practice refocusing as soon as you notice

I'll second this, I recently started going really downhill in terms of attention span and getting stuff done, so I figured I would give mediating a try. It was been great and really teaches you, you can't control thoughts that enter your mind, but you can let them go quickly.

You should give it try, worst case you waste 5 minutes a day for a couple weeks

On particularly boring work days, I give myself like an hour to play some intense video games, and then just start with a small task again that you'll feel good about getting done. Instead of trying to jmcut out time sinks, just make them more deliberate. Rather than blowing it on mindless Twitter that isn't actually all that stimulating, spend it doing something else that you want to do for a while, and find a way to hard cap that so you can get back to the task. Also drugs.

> Instead of trying to jmcut out time sinks, just make them more deliberate.

I agree with this 100%. I was so much more productive and relaxed when I was on my own. My parents, and now my girlfriend, always berate me for playing too many games, watching too much anime, etc, and when living with them find myself browsing mindlessly a lot more.

Ya I have a friend who's gf berates him for that and inane things like equations of not being able to get to sleep on time to simply not caring enough about it.. It's super distasteful and we've argued about it.

I think that for sure you can play too many video games, but if that's what you do that's what you do. But a person who isn't empathetic ain't gunna get it. Right now I'd personally prefer not to play as much wow, but only because I'd rather switch to something outdoors, I'd still be just allocating time to something intrinsically stimulation because programming is only sometimes that.

Sounds like you need a new gf

Go outside to the park and just sit. No technology. Just sit down and cry.

I normally just cry in the shower with a bottle of whisky. Are you saying, I should just do that outside? ;)

I highly recommend adding some oranges to this process. Seedless (like naval oranges) are better for this since they won't clog the drain so much.

lol I do this except crying, it works. I do cry in shower though.

I massively reduce my sensory inputs: no social media, no news, no TV, no podcasts or audiobooks.

Just exist in silence. Let your thoughts wander and observe. It works wonders and I'm currently doing it on my commutes, on runs and walks, and at home.

When I work on a side project, I pull out the Ethernet cable of my computer from the switch. Unfortunately, I can't do that in dayjob thanks to the tyranny of Slack.

When something doesn't involve a computer, I don't have the slightest problem staying focused. So when part of my job requires doing some maths on a piece of paper/window/whatever, when I want to read a book, when I engage in a hobby etc., I don't need to try hard to focus. It's only those bloody computers.

Listening to DJ sets (HÖR [0] is great) helped me with programming and other work related tasks quite well. My mind magically switches to focus mode :).

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cuMZfRb3kQ

Read the books Deep Work and Digital Minimalism, look into mindfulness meditation and Stoicism. Breathe.

I'll check out "Digital Minimalism"

I've been employing a daily breathing method I feel it helps clear my mind a bit and relaxes me. I think I need to cut out Coffee but yea... not sure I want to :)

Try gradually switching to decaf! It did wonders for me.

no coffeine and other stimulants, doing nothing, fish instead of meat, adhd add autism(yep) music on youtube, burn incense, timetagger, minutes yoga, doing nothing, do not overeat, again do nothing, brilliant, khan academy, read one big non fuction book end to end, fast walk or slow run, no video games, no shows, no orange web site, write something with old school ink on old scholl paper each day, drink water with lemon through tube all day long, do yoga before sleep, if you want to sleep do yoga before, buy smart watches with esim, make watches tell you good quality of sleep

Having some gentle music helps me a bit. Something without lyrics. Orchestrated video game music works well, as does the famous "lo-fi beats to relax/study to" playlist on Spotify [0]. I like classic late '90s era Trance music as well, but after about an hour or so of it, the regular bass kicks start to grate.

[0] https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vvXsWCC9xrXsKd4FyS8kM

I just found the Min browser, if you’re on Mac it has great UI for staying focused. Not showing frequently visited sites when I open a new tab helps a lot. Less clutter in general also helps.

The same is true for my physical space, for me a messy room and desk is distracting.

Headphones and Audible for me. One hour a day keeps me focused and energetic.

Exercise, diet, sleep, healthy relationships, low or no alcohol.

Not fair to expect high performance at work if your mind and body aren’t being well taken care of. There’s no shortcuts, unfortunately.

You were probably looking for some doses of dopamine from short form contents like Twitter or TikTok. You can google "dopamine detox"and try it. It worked for me.

Cold showers, exercise and/or wim hof breathing. The only things I've found that can quiet my ADD. Sometimes a lot of pressure can do the trick in a pinch though lol

I limit my social-media use to 30 minutes a day- each day at a particular time. In other times, I rather stare at a wall or eyeball the floor, even if I am waiting in a queue. This somehow improves my cognitive tasks a lot. I don't know why. I learned it from Cal Newport's "Deep Work".

I also use Pomodoro timer. It works well with me. Without Pomodoro, I can do really focused work for maybe two hours a day max.

With Pomodoro, that increases to five, sometimes (very rarely) six hours a day.

I listen to music. Especially Bach. I cannot not do some good work when I am listening to that good music. It's just me, I know.

I exercise 4/5 times a week (~30 minutes a session). It really helps with mood, energy, and concentration. I am sure this is not placebo.

I meditate for 30-45 minutes each night. Without fail. Significantly improves concentration, focus. Meditating has made me realize, for the first time in my life- what I actually want with my life. I am much more calm, composed, and relaxed.

Routine helps and so does timeboxing. Doing specific things at specific physical places at specific time- and having set time- that helps immenesely. So, it's not JUST pomodoro, but timeblocking + time-tracking w/ pomodoro.

I also learned from Deep Work to have clear work-life boundary. Made my life much better. I turn off from work at a certain time. Knowing that I will have to stop working at that time makes me more focused as well. Where blurry or non-existent boundary b/w work and life makes you think you can slack " now" and work "later". Happened with me.

I am trying time-logging now. Too much friction, but I am sticking with it.

I am still bad with interactive decisions in my life, like providing in-place answer, seeing into several steps into the future, etc. I was always considered very intelligent, but an average person could always wipe the chess-board with me. I want to master Chess. I think it will fill a gap in my life. Surprisingly, Factorio has been a blessing. It improves my thinking, and I plan to play it more.

GTD method did not work well for me. I guess it is more geared towards suits, MBAs, managers, etc. Not for intellectual knowledge workers working on the cutting-edge.

Two books that immensely helped-

1. Deep Work by Cal Newport

2. Pragmatic Thinking and Learning by Andy Hunt

Two books for meditation-

1. -The Mind Illuminated* by Culadasa et. al.

2. Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Learning about Buddhism and Buddha's teachings have also made me an overall better human. I would recommend What The Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula.

Remember that reaching peak focus is a trial-and-error experiment that lasts for months or years. Many habits that I have today- I found them through deliberate, vigilant trial and error. Keep with it. Answers for different people are likely different.

Btw, also listen to Huberman Lab Podcast.

"I meditate for 30-45 minutes each night. Without fail. Significantly improves concentration, focus. Meditating has made me realize, for the first time in my life- what I actually want with my life. I am much more calm, composed, and relaxed."

Any tips on how to get to the point of being able to meditate for that long? How long could you do it in the beginning? Do those books you mentioned provide some practical guidance?

Take a walk. Set a 30-minute timer to get something done.

I heavily subscribe to David Allen's GTD. My solution is to keep a next actions list and a projects list that represent what I aspire to accomplish and what I need to accomplish. I engage with it daily and constantly "mold" it. When I get off track, I re-engage with it. This helps me stay focused over a longer time horizon. Changed my life.

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