On Reflection | Hacker News Reader

On Reflection

neelnanda.io

36 pointsCuriositry12 comments

A few years ago I was excited every time I saw such concepts. Now it makes me tired. My impression is that if you start implementing such a rigorous review system, you risk falling into a obsessive self-optimization rabbit hole. (If you even try to quantify the results like the author does with the chart "The Power of Tiny Gains" you have definitely entered bullshit territory - what are these numbers even supposed to mean in this context?)

I figured out that my happiness increases when I'm hiking or cooking. I doubt that a review system would have helped me to understand that.

Can anyone confidently say after following such a system for a few years (not weeks or months) that this has led to a more meaningful or happy life? I haven't met such a person yet.

I mean if you could do anything that yielded 1% gains every day that would be astronomically unsustainable. This is just plain bullshit territory.

This is blindingly obvious to everyone over 30 and honestly most non-STEM graduates under 30.

> my life is full of blind spots

yeah no kidding,

> I’ve decided that existential risk from powerful AI is one of the most important problems of this century, and one worth spending my career trying to help with.

I agree.

> I figured out that my happiness increases when I'm hiking or cooking. I doubt that a review system would have helped me to understand that.

That is great, but also not great advice (not that you framed it as advice). But on a similar note, you might figure out that what you like doing doesn't make you happy.

> A few years ago I was excited every time I saw such concepts. Now it makes me tired.

Spot on. Except for me I got tired of them after a few months.

I’m not personally aware of anyone who uses these reviews at all.

That said I am excited about tiny gains and the idea evoked by the chart.

The chart from bullshit territory is borrowed from the first chapter James Clear’s book Atomic Habits [1, 2]

The chart isn’t supposed to represent actual data from a specific person’s regular review system. Rather the chapter it comes from is trying to frame the importance and long term impact of incremental change from regular routine actions. In contrast to dramatic improvement from a single decisive insight.

That rings true to my experience. If I do something regularly — exercise, study, or cook — I improve.

I’m not sure a weekly review of those habits is needed or useful.

[1] https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29774859

So, on the topic on making time to stop and reflect on our lives, an interesting thing is how we tend to apply metaphors about our activities and tools to our lives. We aim at a target because we had ancestors hunting wild beasts. One can leave their mark or make a lasting impression because we invented writing. You have to fix your life because we have tools that can be broken. You can reap what you sow thanks to the invention of agriculture. You no longer rest but recharge your batteries to be efficient at work like a machine is. Etc.

Here the post draws from software development methodology: weekly reviews, KPI tracking, debugging and fixing your life, etc. And it relies on some implied assumptions: that you should reach some sort of goals in your life, said life being full of problems that you need to solve.

Personally, I wouldn't be so keen to reduce my life as another project to complete. Also, more often than not, it's the attachment to a goal-oriented mindset that creates the problems separating you from an hypothetical future good life. What about finding some inner peace and that maybe there's already something we could enjoy right here, right now, in the present?

Anyway, it sure is interesting to use those metaphors to reflect on our lives and maybe gain some insight by adopting a different perspective. Could it help you ? Maybe. Will there ever be a step by step method to live and enjoy a good life? Should you live according to the agile manifesto or follow the noble eightfold path? I don't know, but yes, do take the time to reflect on your life, it's worth it.

Coincidentally, I started doing this two weeks ago. Daily journaling helps me a lot with overthinking and anxiety. The thing with my daily writing is that I don't have any structure or things I force myself to write about. I just write about what's on my mind and feel the need to think about. So, at least for me personally, the Google form and a plethora of things you have to write about seems overkill. That'll just make it harder to stick to the habit and overthink it.

If you overdo the part of planning your next week you can fall into the trap of having a bad day and decide to do nothing for the rest of the week, because you think you've failed already so why even bother.

SCNR https://youtu.be/WXhogm1C23Q

Happy new year to all of you. Live healthy and prosperous.

A daily 750 words practice includes reflection

look at the mirror, hold something blue and red, and something transparent blue for example

try to take a picture

Could you explain what do you mean, please?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com