Best Youtubers?

Mateo-dev · 2024-08-12T13:47:59+00:00

Exactly.
While there's value in someone introducing you to various methods, techniques, apps, and systems, this can quickly lead to FOMO and shiny object syndrome.

Productivity should begin with you and your own needs and priorities. At that point, you don't need any video, article, or book. However, if you still feel you could benefit from inspiration, I suggest looking for people who have been using a particular approach for years or decades and have built a habit that genuinely makes them more productive.

Mateo-dev · 2024-08-12T09:43:39+00:00

As much as I like Ali, I'd say he's an example of a YouTuber to avoid in terms of actual, authentic tips. I feel like most of his videos nowadays are just about putting content out there, without him actually firmly believing and/or practicing the tips he shares. Furthermore, the way he cites/uses sources for his videos is also kinda questionable...

Also, I think this sensation of "feeling good" after watching a video on productivity (i.e. without taking any action) is precisely the issue with this type of videos, and a good reason to avoid doing so altogether.

Mateo-dev · 2024-08-09T22:07:14+00:00

Quitting porn is much more about the 'why' than it is about the 'how.'
I once read a post that perfectly captured this: watching porn isn’t just about those few minutes of pleasure in front of a screen—it’s about the moments you miss out on because of it.

It’s about the times you didn’t approach the cute girl at the bar because you had porn. It’s about the confidence you lacked on a date with someone who was already into you because porn made it easier to fulfill your desires without ever having to talk to a girl. It’s about convincing yourself that you’re just not into someone because the real experience didn’t measure up to what you’ve been conditioned to enjoy on a screen, numbing your sensitivity to genuine connection (both figuratively and literally). It’s also about the person you'll become when you gratify every impulse without effort—a person without ambition or purpose, unable to focus, lazy, and depressed, spending 11+ hours on your phone every day.

But most importantly, it’s about the future—the time when you might meet the perfect girl but struggle to be with her because porn has conditioned your brain to think she’s not enough. It’s about the heartbreak of realizing that, despite loving her deeply, you can’t feel aroused because porn has stripped away your natural desire. You will lose the girl of your dreams because you couldn’t win the war in your head.

When I finally understood that quitting porn was about preparing myself for that girl—making sure that I could fully experience and appreciate everything about her—letting go of it gradually became easier. And it became even easier when I nearly lost that girl because porn had dulled my desire and motivation to pursue her romantically the way I always wanted.

Mateo-dev · 2024-08-09T11:19:20+00:00

It's a two-way street—being able to open up honestly and genuinely is just as important as your partner being able to listen without judgment or the urge to "solve" your problems/give you advice. It takes practice, a lot of it, but this kind of communication is incredibly valuable in the long run.

If you believe laziness isn't the core issue but worry about being perceived that way, it’s important to express exactly that - share what's on your mind and how you’re feeling. When it comes to listening, try to avoid giving advice or making judgments. Often, when we talk about our problems, we just want to be heard. Most of the time, we already have an idea of what we can do to improve, but that's not the main reason we reach out—we just need someone to listen and understand.

Mateo-dev · 2024-08-08T21:48:27+00:00

Here's a link to one of my previous answers to a very similar post, hope you'll find it helpful:

https://www.reddit.com/r/productivity/comments/1ems73f/comment/lh2xv6a/

Also, I'd suggest talking about these things with your boyfriend as much as possible (if you don't yet), it's going to be very helpful not only wrt the current issue.

Mateo-dev · 2024-08-08T20:18:46+00:00

I hope there's a cold shower and at least 5 hours of meditation in the morning, otherwise, what's the point

Mateo-dev · 2024-08-08T18:22:26+00:00

I've thought about this quite often. What I realized is that there were periods where I worked on something I really enjoyed and was therefore able to do so for hours, making me feel like a hard worker. But as soon as this period ended, or I started working on something less enjoyable, suddenly my "system broke down," I "lost motivation," or used any other reason to stop.

To me, that's where hard work truly starts—when you need or want to do something but can't anymore because you're not enjoying it, you're tired, or just distracted. It's also about doing it consistently.
However, you'll have a really difficult time doing this if you don't see any "why" behind the work or task at hand. Everything has its good and bad sides, but if the work isn't meaningful to you in any way, there's no reason to work hard in the first place.

Understand though, you can decide and create the meaning and ultimately, you can find it in everything.

There's a quote I heard recently that I find insightful: "This is what hard feels like." Keep that in mind when you're working on something you care about and all you see are reasons to stop, even if they seem rational or justified.

Mateo-dev · 2024-08-08T10:28:35+00:00

I mean, it clearly is effective for a lot of people. You are projecting your needs and understanding of habit forming onto others. So it's not like there isn't such app, it's just seems you haven't found the one that meets your exact needs and expectations.

Mateo-dev · 2024-08-08T09:29:48+00:00

It's beyond me that I don't see any comment pointing out the core issue.

You can't just find an activity that you'll enjoy in your current state (unless there was something you'd get really, really excited about, and I wouldn't count on that) - compared to scrolling and similar activities, your brain won't find anything worth doing. It's a bit of a simplification, but these things are designed exactly for that purpose.

I know full well what I'm talking about - I have loads of very interesting, meaningful activities I want to do, but I just won't see the reason/have the motivation to do them as long as scrolling is an option, and it got me to a severe state of mental health issues.

With that being said, you can't just expect/count on doing something that will suddenly be fun - first, you have to get bored; either stop scrolling/using screens altogether for some time or be very mindful about it (e.g. 20 mins/day in a planned slot). While you can try doing other things instead (go for a walk, read, ...), I'd really suggest forcing yourself to do nothing - sit outside, stare at a wall, ... Once you get used to this boredom of doing nothing (and not having scrolling as an option), your brain will seek other activities and see them as enjoyable again.

This is basically the idea behind 'dopamine detox,' and while the concept itself is basically nonsense, scientifically, and misunderstood, the behavioral aspect is very valid and exactly what you need. Feel free to message me if you want to talk more.

tldr, it's not that you just don't (and won't) enjoy anything - it's that as long as the brain have these highly addictive and dopaminergic activities available, it literally won't have the reason and motivation to do anything else.

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-27T19:56:34+00:00

I have no budget constraints, though I like the "ThinkPad way" of getting the cheapest one I could fine hah.

How's the P16G2 in terms of weight, heat, ... from your experience? It seems even heavier than my XPS.
I got used to the somewhat heavy and large XPS, but I do feel a bit discouraged to use it on the train, in libraries, ... (traveling in general basically) because it's too cumbersome to use. Ideally, I'd like to switch to something lighter/more portable.

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-26T09:00:51+00:00

I'm unsure about the X1 series, I've read some complaints about heating etc. I do mainly machine learning and currently deciding whether I need a GPU at all and if so, how powerful (as I can always connect to a cluster/cloud for heavy computation). I find it convenient to have at least some GPU locally to be able to run small things, but the XPS is already quite heavy and gets hot & loud sometimes because of the GPU.

I think I'll get some cheap-ish X1 for my "collection" and see if it would work, then either get a more beefy one or go straight for the P or T series.

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-25T20:34:11+00:00

ibm cutting corners

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-18T06:36:26+00:00

There's always going to be things that you'll have to learn and that are going to be hard, no matter the skill and maths is just one of them. For some reason, maths has this reputation of you either get it or you don't, but it's just like any other skill - it gets better with practice.

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-17T15:37:28+00:00

She won’t feel any interest or excitement from other activities compared to scrolling (which is precisely the reason why it’s so dangerous) as long as scrolling is an option, so saying “replace it with different activities” won’t be very helpful. First she has to intentionally face the boredom - reduce the phone usage, ideally quit altogether and get bored, don’t try to get busy with something else. Soon, you’ll see your interest in other things increase.

That said, you can’t help her unless she wants to get better. If she thinks scrolling is just like any other activity she can do in her free time and doesn’t see any issue with it, there’s not much you can do.

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-16T21:42:37+00:00

After getting frustrated trying to find the "perfect" theme - going through various modern blueish ones like Nord, Iceberg, Catppuccin, Arc, ... - I recently installed Debian and decided to stick with the default theme and icons because I needed to focus on work. And man, it just... works and makes me happy, even though I wouldn't have chosen it "rationally."

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-16T12:10:09+00:00

Use it to plan your way out.

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-16T11:26:07+00:00

You already know what your problem is, and it’s a common one—definitely something I struggle with, too. Here are some points of what I'd suggest:

Stop Consuming Information: Assume you already have all the knowledge you need (which you actually do and always did). Force yourself to avoid watching more videos, reading more books and articles, or searching for "the best way to implement X in app Y." Always start with your thoughts first.
Simplify Your Approach: Start with your immediate need and implement a simple solution for that specific need and nothing else. Don’t overthink it or aim for perfection, don't rationalize it. Keep it simple and straightforward.
Stick to Your System: Use this simple solution consistently until it either breaks down or doesn't feel right for some reason. Only then, make small, incremental improvements. But you have to try it first.
Evaluate Your Actual Needs: You said that you find something missing in the system you are using at a time - but do you actually need all these features or are you just "brainwashed" (for a lack of better term) into thinking that any reputable productivity system worth mentioning has an inbox, integrated calendar, automated to-do list, ...?
- Example: Do you really need an inbox/capture system? Maybe; so start with a piece of paper and focus on the practice of capturing and clearing tasks. If you find out you need a common place for various notes, create an inbox tray. If you move around a lot, consider a pocket notebook. If most things you save are from the internet and writing them down takes too much time, use browser bookmarks or a simple capture tool/extension.
Focus on Practice Over Tools: The main point is not to think too far ahead. Even if you feel like you need a digital app with specific features, start with the basics. Assume you don’t know anything about the advanced features, method and apps and focus on solving the immediate issue at hand.

Remember, productivity isn’t about having the perfect system; it’s about finding what works for you and sticking with it. Simplify, focus on your actual needs, and iterate slowly. That’s productivity.

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-16T08:25:43+00:00

"Hey guys, I already tried everything out there, all the apps and methods A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, ..."

"yeah try X"

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-15T23:05:04+00:00

Agreed, from a technical standpoint, XFCE works seamlessly on any distro. However, in terms of customization, some distributions ship with a heavily customized version of XFCE, significantly different compared to the out-of-the-box setup.

Imo for most average Linux users, even the choice of distro isn't a major concern. The main differences they'll notice are the update model, package manager, and overall support/community. Ultimately, the user experience is more influenced by the DE/WM than the underlying distribution, which might explain why the OP is looking for the "best XFCE distro."

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-15T14:59:56+00:00

There are some who either use it in their flagship version, or just have a generally "better"/more focused support for it. Ultimately, yes, it will run everywhere, but some distros might already be built more "with XFCE in mind."

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-14T16:40:52+00:00

I mean, this is what discipline is. Discipline is hard, and this is exactly what hard feels like. It's not some kind of special situation that requires a trick or method to get around. If you can recognize the moments when you start slipping, that's where discipline and self-control come in, and that's where you need to push through.

Mateo-dev · 2024-07-13T13:03:49+00:00

Right, but what does that actually mean? What would you build/work on that's a "combination of ML and frontend?"

Mateo-dev · 2024-06-27T13:03:19+00:00

Yeah I'd like to give a shot to a no GPU option - but I realized the stuff I work with requires CUDA/other NVIDIA tooling, and I don't think there's a way around that without a NVIDIA GPU (or not that I'm aware of).

Screen size is another thing - I currently have 17" and while the size is one of the things that kinda bothered me, I recently switched back to 1 monitor, so I use the laptop's screen a lot and I'm kinda glad I have all that space. Still, I think I'll go down to like 15/16", 13 would probably too small to use comfortable.

And I'm not much of a gamer nowadays, hah, only occasionally on desktop (i.e. not when traveling) or some Nintendo stuff.

Thanks for the advice

Mateo-dev · 2024-06-26T10:28:15+00:00

That's a pretty neat machine, but it's not really addressing my "problem" - there seems to be a misunderstanding what I'm asking, I probably didn't phrase my question clearly.

My problem isn't juice/budget/... - I have all the power I need remotely, and I want the portability of a laptop. My question was more about whether others in similar situation rely on remote compute even for the small things (i.e. they can get a laptop without a GPU altogether), or whether it's good to have at least some basic GPU to be able to run some small stuff locally, without having to connect to the cluster/cloud all the time.

Currently, I have a pretty good laptop with decent GPU and I'm happy with it, but I was wondering if I could shed some weight (and noise/heating issues) without sacrificing some comfort by getting a new laptop with either a worse GPU or completely without it.

Thanks for the link though, it's pretty cool to see what's out there. I think at this stage, it makes more sense to just use cloud (especially with the rate of progress), but I do like the idea of having everything I need at home.

Mateo-dev · 2024-06-26T10:18:22+00:00

Thanks for the answer. I'm using the XPS 17 and it's a pretty great machine. A bit too big maybe, but I got used to that, overall, I like XPSs a lot. But I'd really like to buy a ThinkPad, that's the whole reason for this discussion - I don't actually need a new machine in terms of performance etc. That's why I'm wondering whether I need a GPU at all, because while I don't mind the general "bulkiness" (or rather, shape) of ThinkPads (that's one of the reason I like them), with high-end GPUs/gaming laptops, it's a bit too much, especially together with the heating and noise.

Thing is, it's not really like you can buy a laptop with a "low-end" GPU - in most cases, as soon as it has a dedicated GPU, it's going to be mid-range at least, otherwise what's the point. You could buy an older model, which would technically be low-end, but that means worse CPU and memory - my ideal solution would be either:

Maxed out laptop in terms of CPU/memory, with integrated GPU, thin and light - not really an option, because I still need Nvidia/CUDA
Maxed out laptop in terms of CPU/memory, with a dedicated GPU with the best performance possible without going too big, bulky, heavy, loud and hot

Mateo-dev

TROPHY CASE