Managing your time - Revision history

Jsinick: Jsinick moved page Prioritizing what to learn to Managing your time over redirect

2014-02-16T21:15:28Z

Jsinick moved page Prioritizing what to learn to Managing your time over redirect

← Older revision	Revision as of 21:15, 16 February 2014
(No difference)

Jsinick: Jsinick moved page Managing your time to Prioritizing what to learn

2014-02-16T21:09:45Z

Jsinick moved page Managing your time to Prioritizing what to learn

← Older revision	Revision as of 21:09, 16 February 2014
(No difference)

Vipul: /* Important but not interesting */

2014-02-09T05:29:31Z

Important but not interesting

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:29, 9 February 2014
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	== Important but not interesting ==		== Important but not interesting ==

	Sometimes you have to do things that are uninteresting to achieve your goals. If you have trouble motivating yourself to do these things, you might benefit from our [[recommendations for overcoming procrastination]]. Also, consider ways that you might find these specific activities more interesting, by checking out targeted [[category:subject learning recommendations\|learning recommendations]] for those activities.		Sometimes you have to do things that are uninteresting to achieve your goals. If you have trouble motivating yourself to do these things, you might benefit from our [[recommendations for overcoming procrastination]]. Also, consider ways that you might find these specific activities more interesting, by checking out targeted [[:category:subject learning recommendations\|learning recommendations]] for those activities.

	== Not important and not interesting ==		== Not important and not interesting ==

Vipul at 05:25, 9 February 2014

2014-02-09T05:25:50Z

Jsinick at 02:32, 9 February 2014

2014-02-09T02:32:51Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:32, 9 February 2014
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	=== Important but not interesting ===		=== Important but not interesting ===

	Sometimes you have to do things that are uninteresting to achieve your goals. If you have trouble motivating yourself to do these things, you might benefit from our [[~~Recommendations~~ for overcoming procrastination]].		Sometimes you have to do things that are uninteresting to achieve your goals. If you have trouble motivating yourself to do these things, you might benefit from our [[recommendations for overcoming procrastination]].

	=== Not important and not interesting ===		=== Not important and not interesting ===

Jsinick at 02:32, 9 February 2014

2014-02-09T02:32:34Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:32, 9 February 2014
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	=== Important but not interesting ===		=== Important but not interesting ===

	Sometimes you have to do things that are uninteresting to achieve your goals. If you have trouble motivating yourself to do these things, you might benefit from ~~reading~~ [http://www.amazon.com/The-Procrastination-Equation-Putting-Getting/dp/B005CDTQ1O The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done], which is backed by academic research. For a preview of the book, see Luke Muehlhauser's blog posts [~~http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/ How to beat~~ procrastination] ~~and [http://lesswrong.com/lw/9wr/my_algorithm_for_beating_procrastination/ My algorithm for beating procrastination~~].		Sometimes you have to do things that are uninteresting to achieve your goals. If you have trouble motivating yourself to do these things, you might benefit from our [[Recommendations for overcoming procrastination]].

	=== Not important and not interesting ===		=== Not important and not interesting ===

Jsinick: Jsinick moved page Managing time to Managing your time

2014-02-09T01:37:17Z

Jsinick moved page Managing time to Managing your time

← Older revision	Revision as of 01:37, 9 February 2014
(No difference)

Jsinick at 01:28, 9 February 2014

2014-02-09T01:28:43Z

Jsinick at 01:24, 9 February 2014

2014-02-09T01:24:54Z

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-In thinking about how to budget your time, consider the following four classes of activities
+In thinking about how to budget your time, it's helpful to explicitly prioritize the activities that you engage in in terms of their relative importance and distinguish between what's important and what you find interesting.
 === Interesting and important ===
 === Interesting but not important ===
 === Important but not interesting ===
 === Not important and not interesting ===

Jsinick: Created page with "In thinking about how to budget your time, consider the following four classes of activities === Interesting and important === === Interesting but not important === === Im..."

2014-02-08T22:47:01Z

Created page with "In thinking about how to budget your time, consider the following four classes of activities === Interesting and important === === Interesting but not important === === Im..."

New page

In thinking about how to budget your time, consider the following four classes of activities

=== Interesting and important ===

=== Interesting but not important ===
=== Important but not interesting ===
=== Not important and not interesting ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:25, 9 February 2014
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	Sometimes we exaggerate the usefulness of interesting but only slightly useful activities in their minds, on account of ''wanting to believe'' that time spent on them is productive. If you think about how useful an activity is and, how interesting the activity is separately, you're less likely to do this.		Sometimes we exaggerate the usefulness of interesting but only slightly useful activities in their minds, on account of ''wanting to believe'' that time spent on them is productive. If you think about how useful an activity is and, how interesting the activity is separately, you're less likely to do this.

	It's helpful to consider the following four categories of activities:		It's helpful to consider the following four categories of activities in a <math>2 \times 2</math>:

	=== Interesting and important ===		{\| class="sortable" border="1"
			! !! Important !! Not important
			\|-
			\| Interesting \|\| Do, and take your time. Get it right! \|\| Do only if you feel like it, don't try to press yourself, and consider substituting with activities that are interesting ''and'' important.
			\|-
			\| Not interesting \|\| Do as much as necessary, and maybe a bit more; see our [[recommendations for overcoming procrastination]]. Also consider ways to make them more interesting. \|\| Avoid.
			\|}

			== Interesting and important ==

	When you find an academic subject interesting, and when it's important (e.g. for your future job, as a prerequisite to courses that you'll take in the future or otherwise related to your future goals), you should delve deeply into it. Gaining deep understanding takes time, and you shouldn't feel as though you're working inefficiently if you find yourself spending a disproportionate amount of time on it.		When you find an academic subject interesting, and when it's important (e.g. for your future job, as a prerequisite to courses that you'll take in the future or otherwise related to your future goals), you should delve deeply into it. Gaining deep understanding takes time, and you shouldn't feel as though you're working inefficiently if you find yourself spending a disproportionate amount of time on it.

	=== Interesting but not important ===		== Interesting but not important ==

	Intellectually curious people often have intellectual interests that don't advance their career goals. Such interests can absorb a lot of time and hinder one's professional success.		Intellectually curious people often have intellectual interests that don't advance their career goals. Such interests can absorb a lot of time and hinder one's professional success.
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	If you find that your time is uncomfortably crowded with things that are interesting but not important, you should look for instances where you're exerting willpower on them, and cut back on those, reserving the time that you spend doing things that you find interesting to activities that require relatively little energy, to conserve energy for doing things that it's more difficult to get yourself to do.		If you find that your time is uncomfortably crowded with things that are interesting but not important, you should look for instances where you're exerting willpower on them, and cut back on those, reserving the time that you spend doing things that you find interesting to activities that require relatively little energy, to conserve energy for doing things that it's more difficult to get yourself to do.

	=== Important but not interesting ===		== Important but not interesting ==

	Sometimes you have to do things that are uninteresting to achieve your goals. If you have trouble motivating yourself to do these things, you might benefit from our [[recommendations for overcoming procrastination]].		Sometimes you have to do things that are uninteresting to achieve your goals. If you have trouble motivating yourself to do these things, you might benefit from our [[recommendations for overcoming procrastination]]. Also, consider ways that you might find these specific activities more interesting, by checking out targeted [[category:subject learning recommendations\|learning recommendations]] for those activities.

	=== Not important and not interesting ===		== Not important and not interesting ==

	These activities should be avoided. This point might seem obvious, but despite this, people often do engage in activities that are neither important nor interesting. This most often happens when:		These activities should be avoided. This point might seem obvious, but despite this, people often do engage in activities that are neither important nor interesting. This most often happens when:

	* One hasn't carefully considered the question of whether the activity is important. ~~[http://info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Learning_a_new_language:_benefits~~ For example], one might uncritically internalize the view that it's important to learn a language because learning a language said to keep the mind sharp, without considering that there might be other more interesting or important activities that keep the mind sharp to an equal or greater extent, and therefore try to learn a language, even if one doesn't find it interesting. There ''are'' [~~http~~:~~//info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Learning_a_new_language:_benefits~~ benefits] to learning a language that one can't get from other activities: the point here is just that keeping one's mind sharp ''specifically'' isn't a good reason to learn a language rather than do other things.		* One hasn't carefully considered the question of whether the activity is important. For example, one might uncritically internalize the view that it's important to learn a language because learning a language said to keep the mind sharp, without considering that there might be other more interesting or important activities that keep the mind sharp to an equal or greater extent, and therefore try to learn a language, even if one doesn't find it interesting. There ''are'' [[Learning a new language: benefits\|benefits]] to learning a language that one can't get from other activities: the point here is just that keeping one's mind sharp ''specifically'' isn't a good reason to learn a language rather than do other things.
	* The activity seems interesting at first, and one sets a goal connected with it, but then the activity turns out not to be interesting, and one feels an obligation to continue on account of having already set the goal. For example, one might hear good things about a long novel and set a goal of reading it, find that one doesn't enjoy it, and feel pressure to plow through to the end.		* The activity seems interesting at first, and one sets a goal connected with it, but then the activity turns out not to be interesting, and one feels an obligation to continue on account of having already set the goal. For example, one might hear good things about a long novel and set a goal of reading it, find that one doesn't enjoy it, and feel pressure to plow through to the end.

	On the first point, it's important to critically reflect on whether the activities that one is involved in are important. On the second point, all else being equal, fulfilling commitments is good, because it's good for one's self-esteem, but one should still consider whether the cost of fulfilling the commitment is worth it, and also try not to set ambitious goals when the value of fulfilling them is questionable.		On the first point, it's important to critically reflect on whether the activities that one is involved in are important. On the second point, all else being equal, fulfilling commitments is good, because it's good for one's self-esteem, but one should still consider whether the cost of fulfilling the commitment is worth it, and also try not to set ambitious goals when the value of fulfilling them is questionable.

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:28, 9 February 2014
Line 1:		Line 1:
	In thinking about how to budget your time, it's helpful to explicitly prioritize the activities that you engage in in terms of their relative importance and distinguish between what's important and what you find interesting.		In thinking about how to budget your time, it's helpful to explicitly prioritize the activities that you engage in in terms of their relative importance, and distinguish between what's important and what you find interesting.

	Sometimes ~~people~~ exaggerate the usefulness of interesting but only slightly useful activities in their minds on account of ''wanting to believe'' that time spent on them is productive. If you think about how useful an activity is and how interesting the activity is separately, you're less likely to do this.		Sometimes we exaggerate the usefulness of interesting but only slightly useful activities in their minds, on account of ''wanting to believe'' that time spent on them is productive. If you think about how useful an activity is and, how interesting the activity is separately, you're less likely to do this.

	It's helpful to consider the following four categories		It's helpful to consider the following four categories of activities:

	=== Interesting and important ===		=== Interesting and important ===

	When you find a subject interesting, and when it's important (e.g. for your future job, as a prerequisite to courses that you'll take in the future or otherwise related to your future goals), you should delve deeply into it. Gaining deep understanding takes time, and you shouldn't feel as though you're working inefficiently if you find yourself spending a disproportionate amount of time on it.		When you find an academic subject interesting, and when it's important (e.g. for your future job, as a prerequisite to courses that you'll take in the future or otherwise related to your future goals), you should delve deeply into it. Gaining deep understanding takes time, and you shouldn't feel as though you're working inefficiently if you find yourself spending a disproportionate amount of time on it.

	=== Interesting but not important ===		=== Interesting but not important ===
Line 21:		Line 21:
	=== Important but not interesting ===		=== Important but not interesting ===

	Sometimes ~~to achieve your goals~~ you have to do things that are uninteresting. If you have trouble motivating yourself to do these things, you might benefit from reading [http://www.amazon.com/The-Procrastination-Equation-Putting-Getting/dp/B005CDTQ1O The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done], which is backed by academic research. For a preview of the book, see Luke Muehlhauser's blog posts [http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/ How to beat procrastination] and [http://lesswrong.com/lw/9wr/my_algorithm_for_beating_procrastination/ My algorithm for beating procrastination].		Sometimes you have to do things that are uninteresting to achieve your goals. If you have trouble motivating yourself to do these things, you might benefit from reading [http://www.amazon.com/The-Procrastination-Equation-Putting-Getting/dp/B005CDTQ1O The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done], which is backed by academic research. For a preview of the book, see Luke Muehlhauser's blog posts [http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/ How to beat procrastination] and [http://lesswrong.com/lw/9wr/my_algorithm_for_beating_procrastination/ My algorithm for beating procrastination].

	=== Not important and not interesting ===		=== Not important and not interesting ===
Line 27:		Line 27:
	These activities should be avoided. This point might seem obvious, but despite this, people often do engage in activities that are neither important nor interesting. This most often happens when:		These activities should be avoided. This point might seem obvious, but despite this, people often do engage in activities that are neither important nor interesting. This most often happens when:

	* One hasn't carefully considered the question of whether the activity is important. [http://info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Learning_a_new_language:_benefits For example], one might uncritically internalize the view that it's important to learn a language because ~~it's~~ said to keep the mind sharp, without considering that there might be other more interesting or important activities that keep the mind sharp to an equal or greater extent, and therefore try to learn a language ~~for that reason~~ even if one doesn't find it interesting. There ''are'' [http://info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Learning_a_new_language:_benefits benefits] to learning a language that one can't get from other activities: the point here is just that keeping one's mind sharp ''specifically'' isn't a good reason to learn a language rather than do other things.		* One hasn't carefully considered the question of whether the activity is important. [http://info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Learning_a_new_language:_benefits For example], one might uncritically internalize the view that it's important to learn a language because learning a language said to keep the mind sharp, without considering that there might be other more interesting or important activities that keep the mind sharp to an equal or greater extent, and therefore try to learn a language, even if one doesn't find it interesting. There ''are'' [http://info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Learning_a_new_language:_benefits benefits] to learning a language that one can't get from other activities: the point here is just that keeping one's mind sharp ''specifically'' isn't a good reason to learn a language rather than do other things.
	* The activity seems interesting at first, and one sets a goal connected with it, but then the activity turns out not to be interesting, and one feels an obligation to continue on account of having already set the goal. For example, one might hear good things about a long novel and set a goal of reading it, find that one doesn't enjoy it, and feel pressure to plow through to the end.		* The activity seems interesting at first, and one sets a goal connected with it, but then the activity turns out not to be interesting, and one feels an obligation to continue on account of having already set the goal. For example, one might hear good things about a long novel and set a goal of reading it, find that one doesn't enjoy it, and feel pressure to plow through to the end.

	On the first point, it's important to critically reflect on whether the activities that one is involved in are important. On the second point, all else being equal, fulfilling commitments is good, because it's good for one's self-esteem, but one should still consider whether the cost of fulfilling the commitment is worth it, and also try not to set goals when ~~their~~ value is questionable.		On the first point, it's important to critically reflect on whether the activities that one is involved in are important. On the second point, all else being equal, fulfilling commitments is good, because it's good for one's self-esteem, but one should still consider whether the cost of fulfilling the commitment is worth it, and also try not to set ambitious goals when the value of fulfilling them is questionable.