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Comment by Balero | Hacker News Reader

How much of this "less raw brainpower" is due to age, and how much is due to potentially having a less focused mind? I have massively noticed issues with my concentration, and I don't think it's due to age, so much as to watching Youtube and reddit.

I guess what I'm getting at is it's sometimes hard to untangle what changes are due to getting older, and which ones are due to the world changing. For me it's boredom, I used to have long boring summers, and get bored on weekends in the 90's and early 2000's. I haven't been bored in years. Is this because of the internet? But I'm not bored when I don't have access to the internet now, so maybe I just enjoy some peace and quiet now I'm older.

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As far as maintaining focus goes, I had a lot of trouble doing so after 40.

I wrote a small program[1] to help me maintain context between different projects, and I'm now more productive than I was in my 30s.

[1] I tried all the personal task management and task tracker tools, even wrote a few of my own. It turned out that my brain works differently to how the tools want you to work. My new tool which works well to keep me on track matches how I work.

IOW, now I don't have to adjust my brain to the tool, the tool is already adjusted to my brain's process.

Can you give some details on your tool? I've played the "productivity app whack-a-mole" game, too, and always walk away empty. I just stick with a pen and paper, but I'd love a digital solution.

it sounds like it's gotta be catered to your workflow. i wonder what this is like, i work out of sketch books and paper+pen a lot. project context seems like a good thing to be able to preserve and replicate between the various frames. elon mentioned that context switching was one of the more costly plays

> project context seems like a good thing to be able to preserve and replicate between the various frames.

Believe it or not, I actually named the executable 'frame'. However I'm unwilling to share it[1] until I have a good 5m explanation (it's all shell-based).

[1] Well, announce it, anyway. It opensource anyway.

I like to think we ride the same mental wave at times

In case you are still reading, I did a Show HN (my first one!): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35945609

> Can you give some details on your tool?

I'm conflicted; on the one hand I would like to let the world know about it, but on the other I can see how it would be easily dismissed as useless when there's literally no docs about it.

I think I shall make a small example usage (terminal only) to demonstrate how it helps me, then post a show HN tomorrow or Saturday (depending).

I'll reply to your post again once I post the show HN.

Fwiw I'm also interested in seeing it.

In case you are still reading, I did a Show HN (my first one!): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35945609

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