Given that there is so much to study, so much to read, so many skills to obtain, and so many things to learn....
How do you guys remain productive?
"Keynesianomics is a Ponzi scheme."
"You are correct in that Capitalism does not help with poverty, because it eliminates poverty altogether..."
"That wonderful strawman: greed."
Inequality bad.
Cut out time wasters like TV and you automatically rocket up the productivity scale.
Be patient, and work on things incrementally. When you get frustrated, do something else.
Make lists and keep your expectations reasonable.
If you find something evil that wobbles, push it. - Gary North
liberty student: Cut out time wasters like TV and you automatically rocket up the productivity scale.
I have to echo this response. I used to only watch a couple of programs on my tv but it became a habit that it just went on as soon as I got home from work, even when I wasn't turning it on to watch anything specific. Back in August, the reception cut out and I haven't fixed it since. I've read more in the past 3 months then I've probably read in years and I really do believe it has a lot to do with not paying any attention to the tube.
And it helps a great deal that I don't follow sports, I don't play video games, and pretty much the only socialization I partake in is spending time with my girlfriend.
I've sort of become an Austro-monk.
Human Action Comics Issues 1-6
Boost Is The secret Of Our Energy
I have to re-iterate the sentiment of getting rid of your cable/T.V.. I moved away from parents a couple of years ago, and holy cow, I love not having a T.V..
I also d/ced my internet connection at home (I'm at a library right now), and we'll see how that experiment goes; but so far I feel a lot more productive.
Fephisto: I have to re-iterate the sentiment of getting rid of your cable/T.V.. I moved away from parents a couple of years ago, and holy cow, I love not having a T.V.. I also d/ced my internet connection at home (I'm at a library right now), and we'll see how that experiment goes; but so far I feel a lot more productive.
Good luck with the internet disconnect. I agree that one can fall into a habit of doing many unproductive things on the internet but at the same time, it is a fantastic resource of information. You simply have much more control over what you are looking for and want to do with the time you are spending on the internet, as opposed to the tv. But if it works out towards your advantage to have it disconnected, good for you! There are still many wonderful books out there to read and it would also help you save a few pennies!
Multi-tasking
K.C. Farmer: Multi-tasking
This is a two edged sword. Some people are less effective when multi-tasking. It takes a high level of focus and discipline to maintain multiple trains of thought at once.
But if you mean, listening to a podcast while cooking dinner, then I do this sort of thing all of the time.
liberty student: K.C. Farmer: Multi-tasking This is a two edged sword. Some people are less effective when multi-tasking. It takes a high level of focus and discipline to maintain multiple trains of thought at once. But if you mean, listening to a podcast while cooking dinner, then I do this sort of thing all of the time.
Yes, the selection of the tasks is key. If you have the ability to listen and write at the same time, it can be done, but not everyone has that.
Stay away from the TV and the Radio. Don't be a boob though entertain yourself sometimes. You could build a radio and talk to people with it. I had fun with that. I broke the radio though. Fix a car thats productive, fix a car for someone for money. Just don't market yourself as a mechanic. You will get hammered by the licensing laws. By a vending cart, if there is demand in your city that is. The black market doesn't just mean drugs and guns.
"...The post-totalitarian system contrives to force life into its most probable states...This system serves people only to the extent necessary to ensure that people will serve it
Vaclav Havel
One must be healthy to be productive.
Take time to attend to the health of your body. (Easy to say but difficult to achieve - especially as you get older.)
Sifting through the melee of what is productive for the body is as difficult as sifting through what is productive for every other self-interest. We are constantly bombarded with deterministic medical-monopoly ideals. The pursuit of health-knowledge is an important and productive endeavor.
I am not speaking of the popular political health-care debate but rather effective 'alternative' preventive health practice and practitioners. I have no current financial interest in the field other than what pursuit of that knowledge had done to drastically improve personal health for my wife & I.
The pursuit of this knowledge has greatly increased our personal productivity.
"Oh, I wish I could pray the way this dog looks at the meat" - Martin Luther
I actually d/ced it a few months ago, and when I do check e-mail/etc., it's at a library.
I'd have to say it's probably the biggest boost I've ever gotten. I don't have cable, but I still have a T.V., and I'm eyeing that next.
Other than that, I guess I should share some general basic things:
1) Time-logging
How in the world can you know how to improve how you use your time when you don't even know how you use your time. Seriously, start a log. It doesn't have to be that big, even if you start out by just noting the general flow of time you spent at the end of the day is o.k..
2) Egg-timer
Starting an egg-timer or similar application to get you doing something even if for just 5 minutes. By the time the timer is up, you usually won't want to stop.
3) Schedule
Self-explanatory I hope.
4) Keep lists
Like a lists of tasks, list of ideas. Seriously. Lists.
5) Get rid of stuff.
At the very least experiment how life is like without some things. Like your T.V., or WoW, or the internet, etc..
For me, I'm torn because I use facebook and MSN messenger as a social tool to keep in touch with friends ( I rarely make phone calls), but at the same time these two applications are enormous time-wasters and reduce my productivity.
Sukrit Sabhlok: For me, I'm torn because I use facebook and MSN messenger as a social tool to keep in touch with friends ( I rarely make phone calls), but at the same time these two applications are enormous time-wasters and reduce my productivity.
Im the opposite. Why do my friends need to contact me every two seconds and I to them? The age of twitter is a big turn off for me. I'm one of those who prefers to keep his cellphone off if he could. I get annoyed when folks Im me =)
At any rate I'm going to again echo getting rid of TV. Get off of TV for a few years, when coming back to you it you won't believe how disgusting it is.
Statism is a religion.
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