Sunday, November 24, 2013

I'll Write This Blog Post Tomorrow

Like many people, I sometimes struggle with the urge to procrastinate. It's amazing how tempting it can be to postpone even the most pressing tasks.

Here is a video from ASAPScience explaining some of the science behind productivity, as well as some insight on how to avoid procrastination. It's informative, funny and short.


When I have trouble focusing, I will often force myself to alternate between "work" and "break" activities. On this schedule, "work" means doing activities that I would normally put off and "break" means doing activities that are low stress and more fun (like writing this article).

My "easy" version of this schedule is to work every hour and half hour for ten minutes, taking twenty minute breaks after each work session (like this). This may seem indulgent, but it ends up being effective because each ten minute work session is extremely intense.

My "medium" version is to alternate between equal fifteen minute breaks and work sessions (like this). Usually this doesn't work very well for me; either the breaks or the work sessions feel a little too long.

My "hard" version is to alternate between twenty minute work sessions and ten minute breaks (like this). This seems to work best when I am completing a task that requires attention for longer periods of time. If I need to "get into" a project in order to do it well, I might approach it this way.

None of these represent a perfect solution, but they all help me stay on top of things without pulling my hair out. In the end, it feels good to get things done.

And now I guess I should get back to work.

EDIT 2013-11-24, 9:14pm:
A friend of mine just sent me a link to a two-part article about procrastination from Wait but Why. It is excellent. Be sure to read both parts One and Two.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

A Portrait of the Classical Bullshitter


Consider the following conversation:

Person #1: "Last night, I was listening to Beethoven's second bassoon concerto. It is so gorgeous. Do you know that piece?"
Person #2: "...why, yes! The second violin part in that piece is terrific. In fact, I think that is one of the most underrated gems in his entire oeuvre. But it runs a tad long, don't you think?"
Person #1: "Mmm."

Both of these people are being disingenuous. Neither of them has heard Beethoven’s bassoon concertos, because he didn't write any. But they are eager to impress each other with their knowledge of classical repertoire. So they pretend.

Person #1: “I think that Mozart’s 39th symphony is by far the best he ever wrote. I might even say it represents the pinnacle of European musical culture.  Don’t you agree?”
Person #2: “Oh, it’s wonderful all right, but I tend to prefer his 34th.”

In the process of bullshitting, people may use hyperbolic language (“terrific”, “gorgeous”) and make sweeping statements (“most underrated”, “by far the best”) to make it sound like they know what they’re talking about. This works because it seems less likely that a person who is passionate about a topic will lie about it. They may also posit some critical comments, but these remarks will be deliberately vague (“runs a tad long”, “tend to prefer ____”) so as to avoid being pressured into providing details.

The temptation to bullshit can be enormous because it’s embarrassing to be “caught” not knowing something you should. Faking it seems like an easy and harmless alternative…so long as you get away with it. But it’s impossible to be a hundred percent sure you’re in the clear. Maybe the other person has noticed the deception and is simply being polite. Or maybe you have made a grievous error in your description of the piece.

It is better to be direct and truthful. Contrast the earlier interactions with this one:

Person #1: “I was listening to an awesome piece by Beethoven last night. It was one of his symphonies.”
Person #2: “Can you remember which one it was?”
Person #1: “No…but I remember it had a story attached to it. And one of the movements depicted a storm.”
Person #2: “Oh, that’s the 6th, the ‘Pastoral’. Yeah, I love that piece.”
Person #1: “I know, right?”

This is a happier scene. Person #1 probably doesn't know the repertoire very well—Beethoven’s 6th symphony is a famous piece—but Person #2 fills the gap quickly and the two people are nonetheless on their way to an engaging discussion. This last example demonstrates what we miss out on when we pretend to know things: genuine intellectual growth, camaraderie and the pleasures of honest conversation.