Comments on: Very easy and very hard http://www.longstraighthighway.com/2009/11/04/very-easy-and-very-hard/ amusements for gentlemen and scholars Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:05:25 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Shane Hoversten http://www.longstraighthighway.com/2009/11/04/very-easy-and-very-hard/comment-page-1/#comment-2037 Shane Hoversten Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:37:02 +0000 http://www.longstraighthighway.com/?p=1426#comment-2037 Ah DH, I wish you were here in the flesh, too. Ah DH, I wish you were here in the flesh, too.

]]> By: Byron's Friend http://www.longstraighthighway.com/2009/11/04/very-easy-and-very-hard/comment-page-1/#comment-2034 Byron's Friend Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:12:18 +0000 http://www.longstraighthighway.com/?p=1426#comment-2034 We all face this problem bro, you are not alone. (Hence, I am here right now.)<br><br>A fews things that have helped me stay more on track:<br>- a passion/joy exists in the things you should be doing<br>- reminding yourself daily on where your focus should be (written out)<br>- work in short chucks of time (90-120 minutes) and focus (no distractions) on one task. Then take a short (deep breathing, exercise, eat, talk with someone, etc) break to mentally re-energize. Then start up another time segment of focused work.<br>- get enough sleep so that enough energy exists to do that which you desire. Without the energy, I don't care how much time I have. My output is poor, it takes longer, and I am more likely to participate in distraction. This is huge for me personally and probably overrides all other points above. The amount of time available is almost meaningless without the personal energy to go with it.<br><br>peace We all face this problem bro, you are not alone. (Hence, I am here right now.)

A fews things that have helped me stay more on track:
- a passion/joy exists in the things you should be doing
- reminding yourself daily on where your focus should be (written out)
- work in short chucks of time (90-120 minutes) and focus (no distractions) on one task. Then take a short (deep breathing, exercise, eat, talk with someone, etc) break to mentally re-energize. Then start up another time segment of focused work.
- get enough sleep so that enough energy exists to do that which you desire. Without the energy, I don't care how much time I have. My output is poor, it takes longer, and I am more likely to participate in distraction. This is huge for me personally and probably overrides all other points above. The amount of time available is almost meaningless without the personal energy to go with it.

peace

]]> By: janie http://www.longstraighthighway.com/2009/11/04/very-easy-and-very-hard/comment-page-1/#comment-2033 janie Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:51:30 +0000 http://www.longstraighthighway.com/?p=1426#comment-2033 You know that I have nothing useful to say on this subject and that my solution is acceptance. Accept that you are going to do things half assed, you are never going to study as much or work as hard as you think you should, you are going to perform below your true capabilities, you are going to procrastinate on stupid things that somehow really screw you, you likely are going to waste time doing things that don't matter while you avoid doing things that do, you are never going to do things every day, even if you establish a pattern or a habit you are going to screw it up, you are going to knowingly not do things forever.<br>Stop thinking about it, stop trying to make it better and it will free up so much mental space you will end up doing more overall.<br><br> The best solution by far for me is to have something in my life that takes up so much of my time that when I do get time to work I am 800 times more productive in a short period of time than I ever was when I had tons of free time. A side benefit to super needy children. Work is my break now and it couldn't be sweeter even though I still don't get enough done now it really is because I don't have enough time. You know that I have nothing useful to say on this subject and that my solution is acceptance. Accept that you are going to do things half assed, you are never going to study as much or work as hard as you think you should, you are going to perform below your true capabilities, you are going to procrastinate on stupid things that somehow really screw you, you likely are going to waste time doing things that don't matter while you avoid doing things that do, you are never going to do things every day, even if you establish a pattern or a habit you are going to screw it up, you are going to knowingly not do things forever.
Stop thinking about it, stop trying to make it better and it will free up so much mental space you will end up doing more overall.

The best solution by far for me is to have something in my life that takes up so much of my time that when I do get time to work I am 800 times more productive in a short period of time than I ever was when I had tons of free time. A side benefit to super needy children. Work is my break now and it couldn't be sweeter even though I still don't get enough done now it really is because I don't have enough time.

]]> By: deerslyr1 http://www.longstraighthighway.com/2009/11/04/very-easy-and-very-hard/comment-page-1/#comment-2032 deerslyr1 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:45:31 +0000 http://www.longstraighthighway.com/?p=1426#comment-2032 You should really try it. Next time you have a bandage on your leg, or you can just decide to put one on now, try to remove it slowly taking care to preserve every hair. Focus on a little bit at once instead of ripping off the entire thing (like homework?). You'll feel 100% better than if you were to just rip it off and count the number of hairs lost. <br><br>Just remember to post the video of you trying the bandage thing. You should really try it. Next time you have a bandage on your leg, or you can just decide to put one on now, try to remove it slowly taking care to preserve every hair. Focus on a little bit at once instead of ripping off the entire thing (like homework?). You'll feel 100% better than if you were to just rip it off and count the number of hairs lost.

Just remember to post the video of you trying the bandage thing.

]]> By: Shane Hoversten http://www.longstraighthighway.com/2009/11/04/very-easy-and-very-hard/comment-page-1/#comment-2031 Shane Hoversten Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:53:54 +0000 http://www.longstraighthighway.com/?p=1426#comment-2031 It's weird how I have no trouble believing that you remove bandages slowly.<br> It seems right, somehow. It's weird how I have no trouble believing that you remove bandages slowly.
It seems right, somehow.

]]> By: deerslyr1 http://www.longstraighthighway.com/2009/11/04/very-easy-and-very-hard/comment-page-1/#comment-2030 deerslyr1 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:52:18 +0000 http://www.longstraighthighway.com/?p=1426#comment-2030 Homework is like removing band-aid stuck to a hairy leg. No one wants to drag out the removal process. Surprisingly, I have had good luck removing a bandage slowly from my leg. That could be what you are experiencing here. In the long run though, you are just too busy and don't want to waste time so you just rip the band-aid off.<br><br>Does that make you feel any better, hehe. Homework is like removing band-aid stuck to a hairy leg. No one wants to drag out the removal process. Surprisingly, I have had good luck removing a bandage slowly from my leg. That could be what you are experiencing here. In the long run though, you are just too busy and don't want to waste time so you just rip the band-aid off.

Does that make you feel any better, hehe.

]]> By: Eden http://www.longstraighthighway.com/2009/11/04/very-easy-and-very-hard/comment-page-1/#comment-2029 Eden Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:50:21 +0000 http://www.longstraighthighway.com/?p=1426#comment-2029 I don't have any words of wisdom, sadly, just observations. I've heard you talk about this many times before -- asking the same questions, coming to the same conclusions, comforting yourself with little "truisms" that you've concocted via equations. But despite saying this or that is "true", you're never fully satisfied that it is, in fact, true. So you ask the same questions again and inevitably come to the same conclusions, sometimes before you've even begun to act in the way that would bring about this conclusion. How does a person get into this kind of exhausting cyclical thinking, and how do they get out? Fuck if I know. I can't do it either. But I think there are clues to be found here, somewhere, in the thinking step. I don't have any words of wisdom, sadly, just observations. I've heard you talk about this many times before — asking the same questions, coming to the same conclusions, comforting yourself with little “truisms” that you've concocted via equations. But despite saying this or that is “true”, you're never fully satisfied that it is, in fact, true. So you ask the same questions again and inevitably come to the same conclusions, sometimes before you've even begun to act in the way that would bring about this conclusion. How does a person get into this kind of exhausting cyclical thinking, and how do they get out? Fuck if I know. I can't do it either. But I think there are clues to be found here, somewhere, in the thinking step.

]]> By: mrfahrenheit http://www.longstraighthighway.com/2009/11/04/very-easy-and-very-hard/comment-page-1/#comment-2028 mrfahrenheit Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:55:31 +0000 http://www.longstraighthighway.com/?p=1426#comment-2028 You don't have the required leverage on yourself. Reasons A, B, and C may sound good but subconsciously they might not be. So off you go to do Y. What pleasure do you get from doing Y? What pleasure do you get from not doing X? Is the pain of not doing X painful enough? You don't have the required leverage on yourself. Reasons A, B, and C may sound good but subconsciously they might not be. So off you go to do Y. What pleasure do you get from doing Y? What pleasure do you get from not doing X? Is the pain of not doing X painful enough?

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