A Geek’s Best Lifehack

April 30 by | 29 comments | Lifehack, Management, Productivity | Tags: , , , , , , ,

A geek’s greatest hack wouldn’t be getting Vista to run as a virtual machine in OSX, nor would it be to organise his ToDo-list in bash.

It would be, in fact, a hack for the geek to take back his life – that would be the ultimate Lifehack.

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#The Ultimate Lifehack HowTo#
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1) Make a ToVisit list of websites and restrict yourself to that list. Do not explore more than 2 links deeper than the first page. Better yet, use wget (for Windows) and download the entire page plus everything else 2 links deep and stop.

2) Remove slashdot.org from your bookmarks. To really be rid of it, set your router to ignore everything from 66.35.250.150 (resolved address of slashdot.org). Stop making excuses that slashdot.org is important for your career. Everything that’s important on slashdot is probably already reported in major news sites. Everything else, well, is not worth your time. (For those of you not in the loop, check out wikipedia for an opinion on slashdot)

3) Set a cut-off time as to when that trial-and-error operation is going to stop. If that portable USB hard disk drive doesn’t work after you have tried a multitude of configurations, it means it doesn’t work. You’re better off posting in a knowledgeable forum to ask around. Stop at the stipulated cut-off time and do something else.

4) Set a day a week as CAD or Computer Abstinence Day. Kick yourself free from the wires and go out to do some exercise. There’s a world out there besides the screen.

5) Use pen-and-paper to take notes and draw. Yes, draw. Pen and paper are worth more than just to scribble down the partition setup you conceive to install the next bleeding-edge of OpenSolaris in. Go on, draw, you’ll be surprised that you can actually do better than Etch N Sketch. Besides, you get to activate the other side of your brain.

OPTIONAL: Get a girlfriend lover. No, for greater effect, get a girlfriend partner who can’t tell a bit from a byte.

In short, remember that a computer is a productivity-enhancement machine, not a time-machine that only goes forward. Make sure your time spent on a computer pays a positive Return-on-Invesment.

Kelvin Quee is a self-denied geek, lives in Singapore and has a keen eye on technology and how it shapes the tiny island he lives on. He is now pursuing a degree in accountancy.

  • Abel

    I love #1 coz I suffer from ‘long-tail clicking’ frenzy. It’s so exhausting and deviates you from your original purpose.

    Another tip I might add is use an RSS reader for your favorite blogs and use the keyboard scroll buttons to read, not the mouse, to avoid the urge to c-c-c-CLICK! :)

  • http://sammelsurium.tk sammelsurium

    There are girl geeks, and not all of them are lesbian. ;-)

    Would you reconsider these lines?

    OPTIONAL: Get a girlfriend. No, for greater effect, get a girlfriend who can’t tell a bit from a byte.

    Thank you!

  • Peter

    I used reddit to completely cure my slashdot addiction. Well… actually that’s like using crack instead of pot but… hey… at least I’m slashdot free. :D

  • http://kquee.com KelvinQuee

    Abel: ‘Long tail’ is a very apt descriptor. This very powerful effect is, unfortunately, also what makes the internet so ‘dangerous’. I wonder how much of a person’s lifetime is spent wander-surfing on the internet. I guess the internet isn’t old enough for us to do such a study, but I’m sure its thesis-material within the next twenty years.

    sammel: I’ve changed it to reflect the other gender’s PoV. Sorry, but I guess I slipped. But, isn’t it flattering that females are seldom typecasted as geeks?

    Peter: I find using del.icio.us to be a rather reliable indicator of what’s hot on the net now, especially if you use it like this:

    http://del.icio.us/popular/

    What’s your take on it?

  • Abel

    Kelvin: I would also like to add. Before going online, create a to do list of what you need to do, read, or post at. After you’re done, that’s the only time you could wander off other interesting sites, posts, topics, files, etc. But it’s important to put a limit on the time you’ll spend doing this.

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  • Evil Overlord

    “get a girlfriend partner who can’t tell a bit from a byte”

    Bad idea – really really BAD idea.

    I tried this approach just once after several tech-savvy girlfriends.

    I chose a girl with no interest in Sci-Fi, computers in the hope of kindling my non-computer interests.

    Basically, we had no common interest at all and I found myself spending our nights out standing uselessly in a pub/nightclub when I could otherwise have been coding or watching Dr Who.

    The best partners are those that understand and hopefully share your interests as closely as possible.

  • Layla

    Life? Sounds interesting, but you seem to have missed some vital part of the article: where do I download it?

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  • Kelly

    As a geek girl I approve of all of this except the last item. Geek girls are much much happier with geek guys and the reverse seems to be true also. My boyfriend and I certainly end up talking about non-computing topics.

  • Kane

    Haha, this is a good list. I should really follow it but then I don’t really have anything else to do…

    I would go out and find a partner but don’t you think I have tried that already ? I want a girl who has some form of interest in what I do and who I am, so the search is difficult. I don’t exactly need someone on the same nerd level as me (I actually tried that) just someone who is interested in what I do would be great.

    As for going out and exercising, well I do. But there is only so much time I can spend outside wandering by myself or walking the dog. Again, outside the internet I don’t have any friends or whatever so it gets lonely. Don’t get me wrong I feel lonely on the internet aswell but atleast people talk to me here.

    With your dislike of slashdot, i think your anger is missplaced. To be usefull in the world of IT you need to be current, that is what sites like slashdot and digg do, they provide you with news about geeky stuff that can really help you in your jobs, or even just help you understand things that will ultimatly allow you to be more profficiant at what you do. Sure a heap of stuff that gets submitted is absolute crap but you have to look past it. Set up an rss reader and basically only click on what is relevent. You need to learn some self control.

  • http://kquee.com Kelvin Quee

    Kane and Kelly, thanks for the comments. :)

    Everyone has problems in their lives at one point or another. That’s when we take time and effort to re-discover one’s purpose in life.

    The problem about the internet is that it strips us off of “alonetime”, which is really important. “Alonetime” allows us to remind ourselves who we really are and what we want to to.

    So, if you haven’t, go outside to take a walk. If you have to do it alone, it’s ok and use the chance to discover yourself. If you’re one of the luckier ones, treasure him/her and build a rewarding relationship.

    Good luck!

  • http://www.isisblue.com Tanya

    OPTIONAL: Get a girlfriend lover. No, for greater effect, get a girlfriend partner who can’t tell a bit from a byte.

    I also disagree with that, I love being able to talk to my boyfriend about computer issues he came across at work. I would think it would be annoying to have to explain everything all the time. Oh wait! That’s tech support..:)

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  • WiDoW_MaK3R

    i would say… just get a gf…
    if you lose her… then follow those steps XD

    but all in all… getting a gf will break you away from the computer…

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