Psychology Flashcards
Lies your brain tells you about productivity
PATTERNS/TRENDS
The lies that your brain tells you, all have to do with either:
1) One of the vices should avoid
2) A logical fallacy about time
*Knowing and understanding each of these can help you counteract them in the future
“internal classical conditioning” (there’s probably an official term for this)
You can get to a point where some thoughts trigger a behavior:
-“Why can’t I just focus?” is your cue to sit down and put on the blue wrist band
Why “Having time” or “eliminating distractions” is a prerequisite, but is NOT the key to productivity
There have been weeks where you had nothing to do and almost no distractions at all (not even TV or social media because you were trying to to quit), and still barely got anything done (didn’t even get enough sleep)
-instead, you simply replaced those distractions with other distractions (pacing, reading news headlines, Discord)
-this indicates that you need to find creative ways to force yourself to do the work (like forcing functions, a strategy that you has had a lot of success for you in the past)
Internal reasons for not being productive
Having setup the wristband and choosing not to use it on any given day proves that there are INTERNAL reasons for procrastination. Blaming external factors is often (but not always) an example of bias.
-Even when being productive is as simple as slipping on a wristband, that still doesn’t guarantee you’re going to actually do it.
-Untimately, actually being productive requires you to CHOOSE to do the things you’re supposed to do
Importance of understanding productivity cycles
Accept that you cannot be “on” all of the time.
-Do not beat yourself up for not being productive every second of every day
-It’s only when a lack of productivity becomes the norm that you should be concerned
The inevitability of unproductive nights
Some nights are just a lost cause. With no forcing function and/or not enough sleep, your brain will not focus. If you stay up, you’re just going to pace and watch TV. You have three options for dealing with this:
1. You create a forcing function (like when you signed up to take your HAM radio exam)
2. You just go to bed and try to be productive in the morning (sometimes just catching up on sleep is the most important/productive thing you can do)
3. Find something enjoyable and unconventional to do (something you’ve never done before or rarely get the chance to enjoy). THATS how creativity is formed
*There have been some nights where you intended to be productive and then engaged in dopamine-seeking behaviors the ENTRIE night. Learning how to prevent this should be a priority
Why is this a lie?: -“Being productive is a time commitment. I’m not ready to be productive for 5 hours so I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing now”
You have rarely ever been productive for 5 hours in a row. When you’re being productive it’s more like 2 hours at a time (times where you did go past 5 hours it was because you were in a state of flow and you LOVED what you were doing).
Best way to counteract: set a timer for one hour and see how much you can get done in that time
Why is this a lie?: -“I’ll just wake up early and do it”
Left to your own devices you will not do this. This only works if there is a forcing function making you do that
Why is it a lie?: -“I don’t need to take notes, I’ll just watch the video lecture and take notes later”
This is pretty much never happened. Also, don’t ever put yourself in a position where you have to catch up in a class, it is a HUGE time sink
Why is it a lie?: -“I can’t be productive right now so I’ll just keep pacing”
Yes you can, you just need to stop pacing.
Just repeat the word no to yourself, out loud, until you sit down and engage in a productive activity. (Note-taking based to get in your state of flow: structured chatGPT prompting, outlining a book, making flashcards)
Why is it a lie?: -“I will take notes on this material after the semester ends, when I have more time”
That is very dangerous, you absolutely will not have more time after the semester ends. The future is ALWAYS busier and more demanding than you anticipate.
Best way to counteract: sit down and make note cards NOW. Just keep repeating the word NO to yourself until you are making the note cards
Why is it a lie?:-“ima just jack off real quick and then I’ll get right to it”
It starts a shame/insecurity cycle that just sends you on a quest for more dopamine seeking behavior.
What to do about it: switch to a more engaging activity (note-taking based works best for getting into a state of flow)
Why is it a lie?: -“I just need to find something to watch in the background”
Best case scenario you find something and get distracted by captivating scenes and subtitles.
Worst case scenario, you spend the whole night scrolling through streaming services looking for something to watch.
Best way to counteract: just ignore it, or set a definite limit on how much TV watching you do
Why is it a lie?: -“gonna make some food, then sit down and be productive over a sandwich/pizza/bowl of ramen”
Food and productivity DO NOT MIX
Best way to counteract: set a timer for 1 hour, he is productive as you can, and then go get some food afterwards
Why is it a lie?: -“I have 10 tasks, and they should each take about an hour so if I just work for 10 hours straight I can clear my task list”
that doesn’t leave any room for dopamine breaks, unexpected tasks, or tasks that take significantly longer than you expected. Even if it did only take 10 hours you’re not going to do all that consecutively
Relationship between forcing functions and dopamine seeking behaviors (DSBs)
Without exception, your brain will engage in one or the other
Not having the forcing functions almost guarantees unproductive DSBs (dopamine seeking behaviors). Two ways around this:
1. Insist on having forcing functions (higher stress)
2. Tie dopamine activities to productive activities as incentives (lower stress)
3. Catch yourself in the act when it comes to DSBs
Relationship between sleep and task completion
1) Sleep keeps your immune system up, which keeps you from getting sick (sickness is a HUGE time-sink)
2) Nothing productive EVER happens after midnight
3) The later you stay up, the less likely you are to actually do the things you are supposed to at the end of the night (dishes, brushing teeth, putting dogs away, etc)
4) when it comes to the quality of your work, there is no substitute for having a good night’s sleep
Porn Psychology
The immediate after-effect of porn is INSECURITY -not because you feel guilty for watching porn but because you do not believe you could really have an experience like THAT …and because the window of time in which that experience is possible is closing. You need to know that going on:
- Porn leads to insecurity
- Insecurity leads to dopamine-seeking activity (like scrolling on Instagram)
