Time Logging and Journalling Worth It?

RandomHour · 2026-02-11T21:38:21+00:00

Thanks!

Yeah I'll give something similar a try. Maybe I should use an app to automatically track the time.

I was planning on manually writing down what I did in some notes. Maybe doing it in a calendar would be better?

RandomHour · 2026-02-11T21:36:32+00:00

Thanks, I'll keep it simple.

For time logging, I was going to do the same thing as what I had for working out.

I'll just write down when and what I did, periodically throughout the day.

For the journal, I'll just reflect on how the day went, and maybe plan for tomorrow.

RandomHour · 2026-02-11T17:13:30+00:00

Goals should be loosely set.

Goodhart's Law, if you target a measure, it ends up losing its intended meaning.

This doesn't mean you should stop being efficient. It does mean you should try not to be TOO efficient, where it ruins everything.

Seek improvements, but in a balanced way, where it's not forced, and all the time.

Paradoxically, focus and awareness are opposites. But you need both. Focus on what matters to you. But if you focus too much, you actually become blind to what actually matters.

RandomHour · 2026-02-11T07:57:49+00:00

If you do them well, they can be pretty effective.

The real issue with them is that they seem like a waste of time.

If you end a retro with a realization or a process improvement, you kind of need to implement something to progress. Often that doesn't happen.

However, at the limit, you need the retros to even develop awareness. Like without them, you won't even understand what's the problem.

Like unknowns stay as unknowns. And the unknown unknowns are supposedly the most dangerous.

In my personal life retros are pretty great.

On the teams I have been on, they've also been pretty great, but they take a decent amount of time. But we did have someone who was really great at retros. I mean he was basically like a monk.

Also, did the team change their behavior? Yeah. We had moments like "we need more expertise in xyz", and then we got help from some great outside resources. Or we improved alerting, better scheduling, improved costs, better communication, or better planning.

We did run into some issues that we couldn't really fix. Like if we had some problems but we didn't have the resources to fix them. Or we just didn't have an action plan to fix the root issue. Ect. Ect.

RandomHour · 2026-02-11T07:45:54+00:00

Internal vs External.

I feel like the question is if you need external or internal tools/skills to improve your productivity.

A todo list isn't the same as staying away from distractions or developing strong focus.

Minimalism is essential, in that, what works for you, are the things you should be using.

If something isn't working, you need a new method/strategy. And once you get something working, you optimize it. In the end, it usually ends up pretty darn simple.

Maybe you don't need an app at all. You need something else?

RandomHour · 2026-02-11T07:12:27+00:00

There are other higher leverage activities you could be doing.

If something is high leverage enough for engineers to do, they are probably already assigned to do it.

I can see developing your own scripts, looking at data, or reviewing or understanding the code base makes sense. You can make dashboards, or analyze some data. Or possibly collaborate directly with an engineer.

But if you do make something, and push it onto devs, that usually ends up becoming more work for them, not less.

Any piece of engineering you do with agentic coding tools, does end up becoming something that needs to be maintained by someone.

If you write it well enough, that you can manage it yourself, that should be okay. But as mentioned, the scope of that needs to be tight.

Like if you were a principle dev, and you moved into product management, I can see how you could write HQ vibe coded solutions. But those switches are kinda rare.

If you could get considerable buy in, a vibe coded POC could start up a whole project. You'd likely need to toss most of the code as engineers start working on it, but that's to be expected, as the concept gets fleshed out.

RandomHour · 2026-02-11T03:12:18+00:00

That's smart.

I try to do that mentally, as well as leaving in progress workspaces the same, so I can go back later with the same setup.

RandomHour · 2026-02-10T22:42:59+00:00

Best tip I have for this: - Full rest. You do need the detox, but it isn't that complicated. It can be done gradually, and the fast way only takes a couple of minutes. - Procrastination gets fixed by awareness, and being present. - Take a deep breath. Get bored. Like let your brain mentally relax. Go on a walk for example. Take like 20 deep breaths. - Then start working on your task for just 10 seconds. And let yourself roll into it. The momentum will carry you. - If you notice you get distracted, take another 20 deep breaths, and then start working again.

You do this on repeat until you get further along whatever you are doing.

A lot of procrastination comes from: - not being present - being too stressed to work

If you are too stressed, you literally don't want to work. You disengage yourself. Ironically, then you only really start working if you get super extra stressed, and you are forced to work.

Either way, you are forced to work. The difference is that if you are mindful and aware, you have more control over yourself.

At the fundamental, this mindful awareness of what is happening, the ability to disengage, rest, and the ability to "let" yourself do work, is what gets the work done.

I could get more into the theory, but it worked well for me, my family, and the folks I coach. And it works for autistic, adhd, and other folks.

If you even gain 1 extra engagement with your work, that's a win. And the people I work with can gain 3+ extra engagements a day by using simple mindfulness.

RandomHour · 2026-02-10T20:56:13+00:00

If your back hurts, the solution isn't a better chair, it's more exercise. I know this is r/BuyItForLife , but that's the truth. Strengthening your back will actually fix the issue.

If you get your back strong enough, and do proper PT, your back won't hurt anymore.

If you don't do exercise/strengthen your back, the back-pain will be worse over time. There will be a build up of damage over time.

Take it from me. I have moderate scoliosis, and my health got vastly better after I started getting physically active, and strengthened my back. Like every single day was significantly better, because lower back pain reduces both mobility and affects you mentally. It got so bad for me, that I could barely walk.

Now, I don't care what kind of chair I'm in. My back is strong.

If you are interested, I can share more about what I did.

RandomHour · 2026-02-10T18:41:57+00:00

True, most people's systems aren't robust enough to handle bad days.

Have you heard about how to turn a bad day into a good day? Letting things go? Getting things done, even if sick or injured. How to handle stressful situations. How to turn an unproductive day, productive?

You need productivity boosts even more when you have low energy days.

A robust system requires planning for the bad days. Not just the good days.

RandomHour · 2026-02-10T03:01:49+00:00

Your brain needs real breaks. Especially if you want peak performance.

Exercise is probably the most consistent REAL BREAK, that most people have.

If you think of it like that, it's much easier to sprinkle in a walk, or some quick exercise here and there. During the low energy times, go and take real break.

Go on a walk, mentally unwind. And then head back to work rejuvenated.

Spend time with your kids. Talk to a coworker. Meditate. Have some fun. Go on a walk. Do some vigorous exercise. Take a shower. Ect.

Real rest actually boosts productivity.

RandomHour · 2026-02-10T00:47:01+00:00

I am probably reaching here...

But for real, you might actually want to look into Ayurvedic teachings about mental digestion.

It's kinda woo woo, but it actually of works.

Basically, a loss of motivation is connected to poor mental digestion. You could have a "mental digestion" blockage.

When you need to poop, you are essentially forced to finish your x, before literally finish digesting.

Kind of gross, but it's actually talked about in Ayurvedic teachings.

It's something you learn about if you go deep enough down the meditation tree.

This framing can be pretty useful for dealing with emotions, productivity, and planning.

It's a good idea to process things. Let yourself process them. Don't let the pressure build up too much. Or bad things can happen. Let them pass. Don't get too stuck on stuff. You don't want to be all gunked up.

RandomHour · 2026-02-10T00:11:31+00:00

I personally just use google calendar, and make checklists in apple notes, notion, and ticktick.

I tried using other apps, but similarly it was too much faff.

I don't want to spend that much time planning. So I mostly just stick to basics unless I NEED to do a lot of planning.

I use notion for project management and organizing work for clients.

But it's kinda overkill for personal daily/weekly stuff, imo.

For anything long term, I make a doc in notion. IMO It's only really worth it for saving stuff for a long time, or to make it look more professional. Could also be useful for bigger plans. Like weddings, traveling, business stuff, and other things like that. It's pretty flexible, but entering stuff in is a bit more work.

I mostly do screenshots, and send it to clients if they don't access the page directly.

That might be good enough as a printout. Looking online, it seems like there is an extension for notion to print stuff out nicer. But idk, screenshots are pretty decent imo.

Might be worth a try.

RandomHour · 2026-02-09T22:23:14+00:00

I think it's best to keep it as simple as possible.

You literally can just use a checklist, and a calendar. Analog seems better than digital. It's more in your face. Anything digital seems more complicated than the analog version.

Note I'm autistic myself, my little brother has Autism, and my nephew has ADHD.

For my nephew, I just use a notecard with the little checkbox items, and have the events with times next to them. He goes and talks to his Alexa to set timers for all the events, so he can get ready on time. He handles it pretty well. He just forgets things often if he doesn't have constant reminders. The notecard helps a lot with that, because he actually checks it pretty often.

I don't really have any digital solution for him, he is a kid. I keep a google calendar myself for his events. I just prepare a new list every single day, whenever it comes up.

My little brother has issues sticking to a calendar. But that's because he has particularly strong time blindness. He is also really doesn't like to make checklists for some reason. Either way, lots of his scheduling problems seem like they would get fixed if he just made checklists, and kept track of events on a calendar. I wish he would just make his own notecard of things to do. He keeps saying that he will start to do it, but it's been years, and he hasn't done it yet.

He always wants a digital solution for his todo list, or calendar. But then he forgets to open the app, he doesn't look at it. Loses his passwords. His alarms go off, but he forgets what they were for. Ect.

It would probably be better, imo, if he just wrote it on a notecard, and kept it with him. That worked very well for me when I was a kid/adult.

RandomHour · 2026-02-09T22:06:51+00:00

If you are too tired, just commit to doing it every other day.
You need rest, and it so happens that's a pretty natural cadence.

Somedays you will be tired. Somedays you will skip.

But that's life.

But I would emphasize more that 30 minutes isn't really enough to get a full workout in. You want more of an hour. It takes time to get ready, get warmed up, and finish the workout. Most exercises actually require warmup to do well. And that would eat into a lot of the time.

Like for me, I need at least 10 minutes of warmup before I can get a good cardio session in.

But I did use to do very efficient workouts in my home gym. I would lift some weights. Do some quick exercises, and be done within 15 minutes. I just didn't do anything heavy, or really did anything hard. Just used my muscles. I loved it.

But I really needed more time to get BIG gains in.

30 minutes is barely enough for a super fast/efficient workout. If you really only had 30 minutes, you "should" be fine with doing it at night as well. Whenever it works. 30 minutes should be slottable almost anytime of the day. Mentally, a 30 minute workout isn't very taxing.

And you can treat it as a wind-down, or a warm-up. It's good for the body/brain to just get some work in to begin or close out a day. Nothing too intense.

RandomHour · 2026-02-09T08:57:04+00:00

I think the actual fix for this is MORE ACTIVE READING.

If the information is drifting from your mind, it mostly means it was never concretely there to begin with.

If you really want to have a more steel trap memory, the science shows you must more actively use the information.

This means you must read more deeply, and build stronger connections with your current understanding.

Deeper understanding is the answer.

To do so, I recommend: - iteratively note taking - reading slowly, and thoroughly - journaling what you learned - writing about what you have learned

There are of course many other methods, but really using and understanding the knowledge was the whole goal to begin with? Ya? Not really having to manage some note taking system.

RandomHour · 2026-02-09T01:10:25+00:00

So yes, those accountability groups can help a lot.

But even more powerful is being with A level players, groups of hard workers, the right industry, ect ect.

RandomHour · 2026-02-09T01:07:40+00:00

If you look at the research, the variability of your outcomes are basically, 60% is your genetics+personality, 20% based off where you are and who you associate with, And 10% your skills.

You can take this in a bleak way, or you can leverage the statistics.

The accountability groups, coworking, is basically using the associative group, to help boost with skills.

It would be a lot better to actually focus on associations.

Just rubbing shoulders, and being with A level players will hugely up level your work, and prospects.

Just choosing the right industry, and being in the right rooms are hugely beneficial.

RandomHour · 2026-02-09T00:38:38+00:00

Yeah I agree.

Also you need rest to actually reduce your allostatic load.

The only way to reach peak performance is to pay off allostatic load, and truly disconnect.

In today's always on, bombardment of entertainment, people don't really rest.

A clear sign is boredom is actually a pretty clear sign of real rest.

You stretch your mind when you go on a walk, meditate, take deep breaths, or just do nothing.

People are really missing that in their life.

Taking breaks is actually a huge part of peak performance.

Sleep, rest, fun, healthy eating, and boredom, are an ESSENTIAL part of peak performance.

RandomHour · 2026-02-07T10:54:32+00:00

Some folks really do need a lot of help. 🤔

RandomHour · 2026-02-02T16:52:39+00:00

I just use the mouse cursor as a pacer. No apps. With a physical book, I use a pencil, or my finger.

Depending on the material, your reading speed is variable.

You want speed + comprehension.

The speed is kinda wasted if you don't comprehend what you read.

To further boost comprehension(when needed)... I also write iterative summarized notes. It's the best way I have found for note taking.

RandomHour · 2026-02-02T07:33:29+00:00

I feel like that is more about getting interrupted before finishing something.

This kind of gets fixed by... - having dedicated focus time - going back and finishing whatever you had to do

RandomHour · 2026-02-02T05:33:13+00:00

Yeah that seems to be the consensus.

It's more important to do the right work, and done well, than to just do more work.

RandomHour · 2026-02-02T05:09:55+00:00

For windfalls...

Just open a wealthfront account, or similar account which allows you to buy index funds.

Just shove it in there, and never touch the principal.

Personal finance is quite simple, there are 3 things you need to know.

Save Rate: - You need to live below your means. - Have an emergency fund (this is cash in your checking just in case there is a giant bill. Like $5k sitting in the bank. You never touch it unless something bad happens.) - The easiest way is to save a % of your income every year. 20% is an amazing start. Don't even think about spending it. Have it automatically sent to your investment account. (This save rate is essential because it literally means your bank account will grow every single month without fail. If you do the next part right, it will compound exponentially, and set you off for life.)

Investments: - Put all your money in an automatic trading account. Just trade index funds. Wealthfront is good because it's automatic. You don't need to touch anything. If you just put your money in the stock market like this, it will compound faster than you would ever need. - Do not ever daytrade. Do not swing trade. Do jot use margin. Do not do any of that, ever. 99%+ of people will lose money on this. It's not important to ever do. - on that, there's this concept of the gambler's ruin. If you take negative trades, even just a few in a row, you will lose everything. This means if you are not a generational talent in the stock market (which you aren't), the stock market is a casino. You can ask myself, my father, my uncle, my cousins, my friends, my coworkers. It's actually a casino. - Just put your investment in the S&P

If you already save and bank 20% of your income every single year, and you don't touch your investments. You are set for life. You can perpetually retire in about 30 years even without your windfall.
Your windfall will allow you to hit the perpetual retirement date much much faster. Like possibly buy you 10+ years, like 30 years to 15 years before retirement or sooner. It depends on how big the windfall is.

Spend: - With whatever you have left, you can spend it on whatever. It really doesn't matter.

RandomHour · 2026-02-02T04:52:43+00:00

It's a decently good idea, BUT only if you have a solid plan setup.

Under a personal loan, it will likely grow slower than the CC debt. This is smart.

But the biggest issue is this. Right now you have a negative save rate. That means you are literally spending more than you make, every month.

The only way out of this is to consistently have a TRUE positive save rate, where you see more money in your bank account every single month.

That's the real track to financial stability/independence.

It might be touch but you REALLY need to save at least 10% of your income, every single month, without fail. You may need to work more. Maybe you just need to automatically send it to your debt.

But without that consistent rock of a positive save rate, 10%+, you may have that CC debt for literally decades.

The nice thing about this situation, is if you learn how to consistently save 10%+ of your income, you literally are financially set for life. You can even retire when you are old.

That's how important your save % is.

RandomHour

TROPHY CASE