I really like your posts. Can you please let me know if the below summaries are accurate and what you think of the below questions.
Second Chances (live each day as if you’re doing it over)
This is about taking a perspective that helps develop a pervading attitude that there is a purpose to your day. If you are reliving a day, then it means that there is a reason for this. This means that you are going to be:
More appreciative of beauty and excellence
More mindful which means being in the moment and in control (you don’t need to do that silly thing that caused an accident last time).
More motivated
Questions
Do you think it has to be a whole day? What if you thought about a whole chunk of time in which you will be in a particular situation and then approached it with a specific purpose? If you are at the beach with your family, maybe you can take on the appreciative frame of mind. If you are driving, maybe you can take on the mindful frame of mind.
Is there any kind of thought pattern or ritual that would make the perspective you take more impactful and vivid.
Split Selves(You only need to worry about what you can do now. Trust that tomorrow you will be able to take the same attitude and so the work will eventually get done)
Bobbling(Essentially, it means that you allocate a period of time and then consider that time spent. In that time period you focus entirely on one particular task and ensure that there are no interruptions)
Questions
What do you think is the best amount of time to use?
Do you think you should string together bobbled times with small breaks in between like with the the pomodoro technique that you mentioned?
Do you ever extend the period of time. For example, if you are writing and you get a great idea do you just keep writing or do you take a break?
The Past, Interrupted(Essentially, it means that you make a certain perspective or context vivid so that you are more likely to take actions appropriate for that context)
I think that you can also relate mental practice or physical practice to this. Although, it is a bit more about training yourself so that specific actions or habits occur in specific contexts. For example, if you are having trouble getting up in the morning you can practice hearing the alarm and getting up straight away. Then, when you are in the context of hearing the alarm you will be more likely to get up straight away.
Toward a More Excellent Future(Successful time travel is all about bringing our past, present, and future selves into a cooperative alignment. They need to trust each other. They need to communicate.)
Notes:
“ug field” should be “ugh field”
I made this mistake. You should have a summary break so that people don’t need to scroll through the whole article when they look for new main articles.
I like your summaries, and have a few clarifications along with answers to your questions.
On Second Chances, you asked:
Do you think it has to be a whole day? What if you thought about a whole chunk of time in which you will be in a particular situation and then approached it with a specific purpose? If you are at the beach with your family, maybe you can take on the appreciative frame of mind. If you are driving, maybe you can take on the mindful frame of mind.
No. In the paragraph about driving, I was trying to suggest that I don’t expect a second chance mentality to fill an entire day. I agree that as contexts shift throughout the day, it makes sense shift the mentality. The Bill Murray character in Groundhog Day, for example figures out the best ways of approaching each segment of the day he has to continually relive.
More mindful which means being in the moment and in control (you don’t need to do that silly thing that caused an accident last time).…
Mindfulness probably isn’t quite the right term for what I’m talking about, just because people use it in so many different ways. I use it to mean feeling present in the moment, with my attention on the things that, looking back, I would be glad (or wish) I had been paying attention to.
...Is there any kind of thought pattern or ritual that would make the perspective you take more impactful and vivid.
The hallmark of “time travelling” mindsets for me is that they take so little effort to slip into. Only my “bobbling” has much of a ritual to it. I will say, though, that reflecting on past situations where I was successful at heightening my asethetic appreciation and emotional presence helps prime me to do so again.
What do you think is the best amount of time to use? [bobbling]
I’ve not hit on a single optimum. It depends partly on how much uninterrupted time I think I can expect (or afford to take), and partly on the nature of the task. I’ve gone as long as 4 hours (with short breaks, Pomodoro style), but 90-120 minutes with only a short stretch break or two is more my preference. I tend to be something of a zombie if I’m walking around taking care of biology in the middle of a bobbling, as I don’t want to release any of my goal-task thoughts from working memory. I cleared everything else out of it for a reason.
Do you ever extend the period of time. For example, if you are writing and you get a great idea do you just keep writing or do you take a break?
I usually had a very specific reason for choosing the length of time I bobbled. Unless these (often external) constraints have changed, I will probably not attempt to hold on to the timeless single-minded mentality, although I will often ride the momentum when I can, even if I can no longer give it 100% of my attention. The hardest part of many tasks is starting them.
It pays to know when to quit, though. I don’t want to create memory associations where bobbling ends in fizzling or burnout. See Peak-End Rule.
The Past, Interrupted(Essentially, it means that you make a certain perspective or context vivid so that you are more likely to take actions appropriate for that context)
That’s not quite how I meant it, although I think what you are suggesting can help. I was more talking about the ability to let go of what’s on your mind right now so as to shift back to a prior mental context. This requires trusting that you are able to reclaim whatever is valuable in the context you are leaving, which is why I say that you might need to write things down so that you can feel good about releasing them from your working memory. This ability to trust your systems to store your concerns is practically the entire thesis of David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
Your comment has me giving some thought to the idea of looking for ways to create emotionally vivid hooks for the working memory contents of the context I’m about to walk away from. I would love to be able to load back more of what was on my mind at the time, although there is also something to be said for getting a bit of a fresh perspective on a problem that had been giving you trouble.
“ug field” should be “ugh field”
I made this mistake. You should have a summary break so that people don’t need to scroll through the whole article when they look for new main articles.
I was trying to suggest that I don’t expect a second chance mentality to fill an entire day. I agree that as contexts shift throughout the day, it makes sense shift the mentality.
That makes sense. What do you think about making it more granular? Where the mentality or frame of mind could be the top level, this would be “live today like you have already lived it”. The next level might be certain modes e.g. driving or gym mode. The last level is where you defer your thinking to an appropriate self, see simulate and defer to more rational selves. Perhaps micro boggles e.g. 20 seconds to a few minutes, would be useful as well. An example is if you are going to the gym, you might initiate gym mode just before you go. Then, when you are just about to do some squats you might think about your setup squat lifting self and you let them decide when to stop, how much weight to lift etc.
Another example is that you might boggle an hour, say, for writing. Then, you get into the writing mode and start writing. During this period you might switch between your writing and reviewing selves multiple times.
The general idea behind the mentalities, modes and other selves is that you enter a certain state of mind where you exclude unhelpful and include helpful thoughts. The lower the level the more specific the sets of thoughts are that you are allowing.
What we’re really getting at now is the idea of roles, as explored in this LW post from last year. (The comments on that one are fantastic.)
Developing personas to play in different contexts—and training to swap between them—is, I think, incredibly valuable. The persona I developed for my day job as a teacher is actually quite different from my default personality, and has its own contingent sub-personas that I shift into as circumstances warrant.
“Time traveller”, “clone”, “fork” are, in this sense, useful meta-roles that may help give your other roles additional purpose and focus.
I really like your posts. Can you please let me know if the below summaries are accurate and what you think of the below questions.
Second Chances (live each day as if you’re doing it over)
This is about taking a perspective that helps develop a pervading attitude that there is a purpose to your day. If you are reliving a day, then it means that there is a reason for this. This means that you are going to be:
More appreciative of beauty and excellence
More mindful which means being in the moment and in control (you don’t need to do that silly thing that caused an accident last time).
More motivated
Questions
Do you think it has to be a whole day? What if you thought about a whole chunk of time in which you will be in a particular situation and then approached it with a specific purpose? If you are at the beach with your family, maybe you can take on the appreciative frame of mind. If you are driving, maybe you can take on the mindful frame of mind.
Is there any kind of thought pattern or ritual that would make the perspective you take more impactful and vivid.
Split Selves(You only need to worry about what you can do now. Trust that tomorrow you will be able to take the same attitude and so the work will eventually get done)
Bobbling(Essentially, it means that you allocate a period of time and then consider that time spent. In that time period you focus entirely on one particular task and ensure that there are no interruptions)
Questions
What do you think is the best amount of time to use?
Do you think you should string together bobbled times with small breaks in between like with the the pomodoro technique that you mentioned?
Do you ever extend the period of time. For example, if you are writing and you get a great idea do you just keep writing or do you take a break?
The Past, Interrupted(Essentially, it means that you make a certain perspective or context vivid so that you are more likely to take actions appropriate for that context)
I think that you can also relate mental practice or physical practice to this. Although, it is a bit more about training yourself so that specific actions or habits occur in specific contexts. For example, if you are having trouble getting up in the morning you can practice hearing the alarm and getting up straight away. Then, when you are in the context of hearing the alarm you will be more likely to get up straight away.
Toward a More Excellent Future(Successful time travel is all about bringing our past, present, and future selves into a cooperative alignment. They need to trust each other. They need to communicate.)
Notes:
“ug field” should be “ugh field”
I made this mistake. You should have a summary break so that people don’t need to scroll through the whole article when they look for new main articles.
I like your summaries, and have a few clarifications along with answers to your questions.
On Second Chances, you asked:
No. In the paragraph about driving, I was trying to suggest that I don’t expect a second chance mentality to fill an entire day. I agree that as contexts shift throughout the day, it makes sense shift the mentality. The Bill Murray character in Groundhog Day, for example figures out the best ways of approaching each segment of the day he has to continually relive.
Mindfulness probably isn’t quite the right term for what I’m talking about, just because people use it in so many different ways. I use it to mean feeling present in the moment, with my attention on the things that, looking back, I would be glad (or wish) I had been paying attention to.
The hallmark of “time travelling” mindsets for me is that they take so little effort to slip into. Only my “bobbling” has much of a ritual to it. I will say, though, that reflecting on past situations where I was successful at heightening my asethetic appreciation and emotional presence helps prime me to do so again.
I’ve not hit on a single optimum. It depends partly on how much uninterrupted time I think I can expect (or afford to take), and partly on the nature of the task. I’ve gone as long as 4 hours (with short breaks, Pomodoro style), but 90-120 minutes with only a short stretch break or two is more my preference. I tend to be something of a zombie if I’m walking around taking care of biology in the middle of a bobbling, as I don’t want to release any of my goal-task thoughts from working memory. I cleared everything else out of it for a reason.
I usually had a very specific reason for choosing the length of time I bobbled. Unless these (often external) constraints have changed, I will probably not attempt to hold on to the timeless single-minded mentality, although I will often ride the momentum when I can, even if I can no longer give it 100% of my attention. The hardest part of many tasks is starting them.
It pays to know when to quit, though. I don’t want to create memory associations where bobbling ends in fizzling or burnout. See Peak-End Rule.
That’s not quite how I meant it, although I think what you are suggesting can help. I was more talking about the ability to let go of what’s on your mind right now so as to shift back to a prior mental context. This requires trusting that you are able to reclaim whatever is valuable in the context you are leaving, which is why I say that you might need to write things down so that you can feel good about releasing them from your working memory. This ability to trust your systems to store your concerns is practically the entire thesis of David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
Your comment has me giving some thought to the idea of looking for ways to create emotionally vivid hooks for the working memory contents of the context I’m about to walk away from. I would love to be able to load back more of what was on my mind at the time, although there is also something to be said for getting a bit of a fresh perspective on a problem that had been giving you trouble.
Fixed both, I think. Thanks for the feedback!
That makes sense. What do you think about making it more granular? Where the mentality or frame of mind could be the top level, this would be “live today like you have already lived it”. The next level might be certain modes e.g. driving or gym mode. The last level is where you defer your thinking to an appropriate self, see simulate and defer to more rational selves. Perhaps micro boggles e.g. 20 seconds to a few minutes, would be useful as well. An example is if you are going to the gym, you might initiate gym mode just before you go. Then, when you are just about to do some squats you might think about your setup squat lifting self and you let them decide when to stop, how much weight to lift etc.
Another example is that you might boggle an hour, say, for writing. Then, you get into the writing mode and start writing. During this period you might switch between your writing and reviewing selves multiple times.
The general idea behind the mentalities, modes and other selves is that you enter a certain state of mind where you exclude unhelpful and include helpful thoughts. The lower the level the more specific the sets of thoughts are that you are allowing.
I can see that both are fixed. Thanks.
What we’re really getting at now is the idea of roles, as explored in this LW post from last year. (The comments on that one are fantastic.)
Developing personas to play in different contexts—and training to swap between them—is, I think, incredibly valuable. The persona I developed for my day job as a teacher is actually quite different from my default personality, and has its own contingent sub-personas that I shift into as circumstances warrant.
“Time traveller”, “clone”, “fork” are, in this sense, useful meta-roles that may help give your other roles additional purpose and focus.