Identifying Threats To Productivity

[Rito]

I want to make a list of distractions here in this thread.I want to know things that you thought was cool in the past but turned out to be a waste of time.These will vary from person to person.Here is my list

1)Facebook

2)Twitter

3)Whatsapp

4)Video Games

5)T.V

[JKG]

YouTube, apps and jigsaw puzzles. I am still struggling with YouTube

[johncakecream]

youtube is the best tool  of the century thus far

[Electron]

• All kinds of fantasy stories, 
• Almost all movies.
• Parties (sheer stupidity)
• Porn (the most half-witted thing one can do)
• Adoring the legacy of great people (Its all extrinsic, didn't really inspire me)
• Caring about looks too much.
• Eating shit food just for the sake of its taste.
• Being extravagant.
• Gossiping.
• People pleasing.
• Believing entirely in your parents. (They don't really know what they're saying at times)
• Not believing entirely in your parents. (Sometimes they are actually right, you gotta stay open minded)

Edited February 14, 2016 by Sigma

[Samuel]

Here are habits I have managed to completely eliminate:

• Video games
• TV
• Partying (drinking)
• Social media
• Pornography

Here are some habits I am currently working to get rid of:

• Unnecessary Youtube (wastes more time then you think, )
• Using self help as a way of procrastination. ( this ones big. I do this often when I have some unappealing work to do. I put on a video from leo for example and tell myself its productive when in reality I'm just postponing the work I should truly be doing.)
• Scrolling this forum when I should be doing my work.. 

 

 

[bazera]

38 minutes ago, Samuel said:

Here are habits I have managed to completely eliminate:

• Video games
• TV
• Partying (drinking)
• Social media
• Pornography

Here are some habits I am currently working to get rid of:

• Unnecessary Youtube (wastes more time then you think, )
• Using self help as a way of procrastination. ( this ones big. I do this often when I have some unappealing work to do. I put on a video from leo for example and tell myself its productive when in reality I'm just postponing the work I should truly be doing.)
• Scrolling this forum when I should be doing my work.. 

 

 

Oh my, your last 2 points just opened my eyes I think that's exactly what I am doing lately, but isn't that benefitial too? You mean that we should be working all the time, and don't let ourselves be here too? I actually have scheduled when to scroll this forum throughout the day.

[Samuel]

@bazera No, this forum and self help is very beneficial BUT when you use it as a way to distract yourself from something important you should be doing (eg. school assignment, business planning) then I think it is a problem.

I sometimes find myself watching videos on how to study and stop procrastinating when moments later I notice studying is what I should be doing but instead I'm watching a video on how to study.

[bazera]

@Samuel  You are describing my problem too mate, and if anybody suggested us anything that would help us, that would be great, but as Leo said, we must "get shit done", and just have a control and feeling when it is really necessary to watch another video, or read another article about studying, instead of actually studying. Self discipline is needed I think, which I personally lack of, and am working on. 

I'm glad you've shown my problem to me from different perspective.

Edited February 14, 2016 by bazera

[a e l i]

My biggest distractions right now are: 

- Whatsapp

- Gossip about people from my school or my town

- Youtube videos

- Learning things by reading articles or sites like wikipedia

I used to waste a lot of time on Facebook, Tumblr, videogames and comics.

[Rito]

12 hours ago, Samuel said:

Here are habits I have managed to completely eliminate:

• Video games
• TV
• Partying (drinking)
• Social media
• Pornography

Here are some habits I am currently working to get rid of:

• Unnecessary Youtube (wastes more time then you think, )
• Using self help as a way of procrastination. ( this ones big. I do this often when I have some unappealing work to do. I put on a video from leo for example and tell myself its productive when in reality I'm just postponing the work I should truly be doing.)
• Scrolling this forum when I should be doing my work.. 

 

 

Oh man your second set of points are so true...I am literally  hating myself for the last three.I am going to start a thread about it and waste some more time on it so that in the future  we can stop alll this mental masturbation

[Donnie]

On ‎2‎/‎14‎/‎2016 at 1:04 PM, Samuel said:

Scrolling this forum when I should be doing my work.. 

if you set aside 30 min for this forum a day then that shouldn't hinder any work

[Rufus]

Now with most productivity threats are mentioned, I would like to add these:

• Eating more than needed.
• Not Eating healthy.
• Bad Furniture placement in your home.
• Keeping home dirty and unorganized.
• Bad sleep and uncomfortable Bed.
• Storing so much unnecessary objects at home.
• Online Video Games.
• Dealing with unnecessary people/friends in your life.
• Not caring about personal care and health.
• Full refrigerator.
• Computer: leaving so many tabs and windows opened.
• Having unnecessary Apps in your smartphone.
• Spending too much time at Actualized.org forums. (Opss! )

[Study]

What I thought was cool in the past:

• Facebook - if you don't update your statuses and post stupid pictures regularly they will forget about your existence, the number of likes you get determines your social status! 
• Being an Anime fan - I made having an obsession with anime my core identity and watched lots of anime, read tons of manga in the past (Still do but laying low) 
• Not reading non-fiction books (boy I was dead wrong!) 
• Being "swag" and trendy 
• Knowing the latest, hottest music and trends 

Current distractions:

• actualised.org forum (subtituted internet browsing and youtube videos with this forum)
• youtube videos
• leo's super long videos
• thinking a lot about self-improvement, self-actualisation 

I have to work a lot on my self-discipline and study ethic. Whoops! Time to meditate!

 

[Night]

A more general rule of thumb: 

Is this action or activity taking me closer to my goals?

If no -> quit

If yes -> can you be maximizing the value you're getting from this activity? By switching up your approach somehow?

It's like in business, where you should always direct your focus and effort towards the activities which are creating money. 

[Emerald]

My threats to productivity are listed below in order of intensity

1. Too much time daydreaming/fantasizing/pacing/thinking - I spend a lot of time in my head playing out scenarios and ideas

2. Not setting a limit on internet time

3. Not keeping a to-do list or schedule

4. Negative self-talk regarding my productivity

5. Chocolate and other sugary foods

6. Vanity and excessive care about the way I look

7. Waking up at 8:00 when I have to get my daughter ready for school by 8:30. I should be getting up an hour earlier to get things done around the house before my family wakes up.

8. Thinking "I should really do this thing that will only take me 20 seconds to do... nah." I have a resistance to productivity itself.

 

 

[swanlights]

I have the whole slew of social media & video game type things to distract me, but most of all the biggest blunder to my productivity would be reading and fantasizing about how I want to improve my life, which gives me a false sense of effort and literally practicing NONE of that. For example, I just started making art again after a few year hiatus from it. Yet over the past few years I've been collecting art supplies and reading art books with the IDEA that I would be making some effort towards that goal. So lately I do want to spend effort learning new strategies to implement into my life, but I make sure to put the books, phone, websites, etc all down and actually practice my yoga, meditation, eating right, career research, or anything else that actually benefits me and not just living in a delusional fantasy about it. 

[Veggies]

• Actualized.org Forum (Seriously, sometimes.)

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Veggies make me fart said:

• Actualized.org Forum (Seriously, sometimes.)

This. But...

Checking here once a day

should be okay