Most potential enjoyment, perhaps. I think that's more than fine for personal projects (or work projects that don't matter in the company's grand scheme of things).
However, for professional endeavors, I always go back to one of Neil Gaiman's pieces of advice to aspiring authors: "You learn by finishing things."
Yeah. I'd love to finish more things. I like that quote. But at the same time, I don't feel the incentive of accomplishment that the article refers to. Finishing something just feels... empty?
This reminds me so much of achieving level 99 in skill in RuneScape. It takes about 50-200 hours, and most people don’t accomplish it for years. Once you get to 99 you just, teleport somewhere else and move on.
I’m now writing a book about this, for what it’s worth. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
Oh, yeah. I never went to max level in an MMO I used to play. Once you reach max level in a skill tree, there's no more point in exercising that skill. The reward is that you no longer get rewards. So, why bother? The goal of reaching max level (especially over those huge time investments) doesn't make sense. There's no higher enjoyment at max level, and many games even get boring once you get there.
It's a circular incentive. You level up to kill better mobs. You kill mobs to level up. So, unless there's any other reason to kill mobs, the game dies when everyone reaches max level.
Looked that up. Doesn't sound quite right. I enjoy working on things. It's just that actually finishing something doesn't contribute to the enjoyment. So, if there's a task that improves the project but doesn't bring it closer to actually being releasable, I don't feel any incentive in prioritising the other tasks that merely aim to finish the project.
I usually run through a free Codecademy course if there is one, and then follow a course or two in the target language. I'm not sure the equivalent approach might be useful, since different languages take different views of programming.
Well, focus is all about picking 1-2 projects to work on, and excluding anything not-relevant to those projects. You can't make 10 projects work at once. So pick 1-2 and commit.
Which of your projects are most meaningful to you? Which solve problems you care about and seem most interesting? Start shipping something, share it on HN, Twitter, IndieHackers, etc. Getting positive feedback can also help you stick to 1 thing.
Note: don't focus on technologies and ideas so much, focus on problems to solve for others. What can you make easier for others that would be valuable for them?
I don't know of any platform for this. You could ask around on Indiehackers, or just think about who could be interested in that project and google around to find potential acquirers. Who could add it to their existing offering as an interesting bonus, or add it to their core product?
"Dopamine detox" in itself is a catchphrase. While it's uncertain how exactly it transforms the brain and what the specifics of a scientifically "correct" dopamine detox would be, I can tell you from experience running the Dopamine Detox Challenge (https://www.deprocrastination.co/dopamine-detox-challenge) that making changes to one's environment and reducing distractions does help people be more engaged in life and focus better.
In other words, "dopamine detox" serves as an excuse to make positive changes. Of course, Mat (who wrote the posted article) and I keep monitoring this research to see if we need to make changes to any of our materials. Hope that answers your question.
Well, people generally get addicted for 2 main reasons: life sucks and a substance/behavior provides a great escape, or life is boring and a substance/behavior gives you a high that beats anything else. Games fall more into the 2nd category. The challenge part is more related to getting into a flow state.
Substances are also an escape, you just don’t want to feel (or escape) whatever the negative feeling is (guilt, anger, depression, stress, hopelessness, so on).
Sure, no I get it. I suppose it’s worth clarifying that the biological addiction to the substance is actually a side effect of the original issue (you’re running from discomfort).
Which goes back to the original post, in that, you really can’t choose your addictions, only your circumstances (will smith might be a great example, don’t be in a public open marriage, you’re fixing to start picking up addictions that you’ll have no autonomy over).
Yeah, understanding why you do what you do is always a key step. In your example the walking/biking part can become a game of sorts, especially when you combine it with stats on Strava and involve some friends. It also crowds out potentially mindless screen time, which is good.
Hmm, the relaxation vs stimulation games angle is interesting.
I don't have any piece of advice specific to dating apps. A good general thing is to put a Screen Time/Digital Wellbeing widget on your homescreen, so that you see how much time you spend in a particular app. If you get over 1h / day and it's not for stuff like business or personal communication, then it might be time for a reset (removing the app for a few days, logging out of it, setting limits).
I meant the Screen Time feature of iOS, and Digital Wellbeing app, which is made by Google. Both enable you to put a widget with the app/time breakdown right on your home screen. Some older versions of iOS or Android might not support it, though.
However, for professional endeavors, I always go back to one of Neil Gaiman's pieces of advice to aspiring authors: "You learn by finishing things."