Over the years, I’ve tried several things to improve my attention and focus, all to achieve higher productivity and output.
Here I list down several of those simple experiments and the results that I’ve collected.
Listening to Podcasts you don’t understand:
You can achieve higher productivity by cutting out all social media, but it was often too restraining to maintain, long term. It was much too easy for me to go back to binge watching Youtube, Anime, or Doom-Scrolling on Instagram. In an attempt to fix this, I tried listening to Ukrainian podcasts.. I don’t speak Ukrainian though. I understood 0% of these podcasts.
But they did keep me at my workstation. I found it slightly hard to just walk away from my workstation while the podcast was going on. I could always Pause the podcast and walk away, but it felt wrong to leave something unfinished. I’ve always tried to finish the Youtube videos I’d started, even if I had to watch it 2x or 3x the speed. Perhaps that applies to Ukrainian podcasts as well.
Colorful moving images are my Achilles’ heal. Pathetic!
I learned that I will watch just about anything through two interactions.
- My ‘smol’ cousins brothers were watching cartoons on the TV, there were talking cars and firetrucks. When my uncle turned the TV off, I found myself being almost as irritated as the kids.
- I once before, switched my Youtube language settings to German. I didn’t really understand German, and I was also looking to learn. Maybe I’ll find it boring and stop watching Youtube I thought. Bro I was watching those German videos as though they were English. Understood almost 0% of the words, but enjoyed watching all the same.
Watching Videos in Black and White:
This kinda works, every video seem just a little more dull, more boring. Though the information was still there, so it impeded no learning. I don’t know why I stopped. I’m going back to this. Your friends will complain frequently though.
MethyPhenidate:
Methylphenidate hydrochloride is an ADHD medication prescribed to improve attention and help you stay motivated for longer. This definitely works, but you do run the risk of working on things for too long.
If you hate your job, that’s your brain telling you that something isn’t working for you, with methylphenidate though, you can power through. You probably shouldn’t, but you can, and you likely will, and that’s not good.
You can only get this with a doctor’s prescription.
Another question I’ve had about Methylphenidate has been, is it actually improving focus, or is it just keeping you awake? You’ll have trouble going to sleep while the drug is in effect. Working on something boring makes you sleepy, ADHD meds can help with that. F*ck sleep, who needs it!
But if it’s just drowsiness, there are other solutions.
Reduced-Carb Diet:
I’m pretty sure carbs are what make me drowsy. I can really tell since my present diet is almost devoid of carbs. Whenever I consume a significant amount of carbs, I immediately become drowsy and fall asleep.
Since I pay attention to this point I can also observe that those around me also face this issue.
I frequently see my friends working, then eating carbs, slacking off and then taking naps. It doesn’t always go in that order, but it’s evident enough to be observed, especially among students, since no one’s paying for their time.
I do worry about the long term effects of such a diet though.
Coffee:
I’ve sworn by coffee several times, but I don’t really understand if there is a true net positive effect from coffee on your productivity. I couldn’t consistently observe it, is all. There is plenty of research suggesting coffee is excellent for productivity however.
Good Sleep:
While I wasn’t able to collect decent data in support of getting good sleep, I did read some splendid research suggesting getting decent sleep can be on par with using cognition enhancing nootropics.
Paper is linked here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2005.00468.x
Here is the take-away from the paper:
All three tested stimulants have associated costs, particularly concerning side effects. However, caffeine is proposed as the reasonable ‘first line of defense’ due to its safety, proven effectiveness (enhanced by infrequent use), low cost, and wide availability. Modafinil should be the second option if caffeine is insufficient, as it is effective and has a good side-effect profile, though its scheduled status and cost limit initial use. Dextroamphetamine is strictly reserved as the third-line defense, only for acute use when caffeine or modafinil are expected to fail.
However the amount of caffeine in question is 600mg. This is far higher than even a gym-bro would consume.
Nootropics:
Speaking of nootropics, some research indicates that they work best when they are used to Restore cognitive prowess instead of enhancing it. This could explain why some profess of their efficacy while others seem to think they’re a sham.