1. Stopped using Facebook (don't have Twitter, Instagram, etc. This includes removing the FB app from my phone (very important for security reasons).
2. No email on my personal phone. Work phone is a must but I use it exceedingly sparingly. I only check it when I am expecting something important during busy weeks (and even then, maybe not).
3a. Stopped commenting on any/all forums, news sites, or any type of social media altogether (YouTube most notably). HN is the one and only exception. Forums and comment sections are black hole vortexes for time. Trolls, arguments, etc. steal your time and attention. You must refuse to play the game. It's just not that important to comment on nearly every site on the internet, especially social media. There is near zero value in it.
3b. Installing Distraction Free YouTube onto Chrome so that I can listen/watch without seeing comments and being tempted to participate. It also hides the related/suggested videos and the front page of YT to prevent falling into in the rabbit hole.
4. Changed my diet to high fat low carb. I'm not insanely strict on the carbs either. It's made a big difference. I wasn't overweight, but now I'm cut/toned without trying because of it (and I'm not huge either). Drinking water helps the transport of nutrients throughout the body.
5. Getting a pair of non-prescription computer glasses. My eyes were severely strained and it was affecting my productivity and ability to think clearly and produced headaches and all sorts of problems. Using them saved my eyes by restricting the blue light that gets to them. I can work 12+ hours straight with no issues if need be now. They also improve sleep quality because blue light late at night triggers the release of cortisol which keeps you up and inhibits sleep.
6. Using Feedly (or any RSS reader). Aggregating content here from the sources you like helps prevent clicking around and roaming websites which leads to lost time. Only click on the stuff that matters to you and ignore the rest. Most can be read in Feedly without going to the site directly as well so you avoid the ads and other distractions.
7. Using Workflowy. I try to implement a modified version of Getting Things Done in there. At minimum, I use it as an ongoing task/to-do list. It's great for just jotting stuff down as it comes to you so you don't forget.
3a rings to true to me. There is no end of ignorant people online and many of them are willfully so and it's a fools game to try to convince them otherwise.
2. No email on my personal phone. Work phone is a must but I use it exceedingly sparingly. I only check it when I am expecting something important during busy weeks (and even then, maybe not).
3a. Stopped commenting on any/all forums, news sites, or any type of social media altogether (YouTube most notably). HN is the one and only exception. Forums and comment sections are black hole vortexes for time. Trolls, arguments, etc. steal your time and attention. You must refuse to play the game. It's just not that important to comment on nearly every site on the internet, especially social media. There is near zero value in it.
3b. Installing Distraction Free YouTube onto Chrome so that I can listen/watch without seeing comments and being tempted to participate. It also hides the related/suggested videos and the front page of YT to prevent falling into in the rabbit hole.
4. Changed my diet to high fat low carb. I'm not insanely strict on the carbs either. It's made a big difference. I wasn't overweight, but now I'm cut/toned without trying because of it (and I'm not huge either). Drinking water helps the transport of nutrients throughout the body.
5. Getting a pair of non-prescription computer glasses. My eyes were severely strained and it was affecting my productivity and ability to think clearly and produced headaches and all sorts of problems. Using them saved my eyes by restricting the blue light that gets to them. I can work 12+ hours straight with no issues if need be now. They also improve sleep quality because blue light late at night triggers the release of cortisol which keeps you up and inhibits sleep.
6. Using Feedly (or any RSS reader). Aggregating content here from the sources you like helps prevent clicking around and roaming websites which leads to lost time. Only click on the stuff that matters to you and ignore the rest. Most can be read in Feedly without going to the site directly as well so you avoid the ads and other distractions.
7. Using Workflowy. I try to implement a modified version of Getting Things Done in there. At minimum, I use it as an ongoing task/to-do list. It's great for just jotting stuff down as it comes to you so you don't forget.