The usual advice didn’t help my sleep problems, but then I tried an exercise that kickstarts the sleep-onset control system
The Mythical Agent-Month – Wes McKinney
Like a lot of people, I’ve found that AI is terrible for my sleep schedule. In the past I’d wake up briefly at 4 or 4:30 in the morning to have a sip of water or use the bathroom; now I have trouble going back to sleep. I could be doing things. Before I would get a solid 7-8 hours a night; now I’m lucky when I get 6. I’ve largely stopped fighting it: now when I’m rolling around restlessly in bed at 5:07am with ideas to feed my AI coding agents, I just get up and start my day.
Four Months Later, My Head Is Quiet - Ewan’s Blog
I didn’t realise how much of my baseline was illness until parts of it disappeared.
How to reclaim your attention from the distraction economy | Psyche Videos
Could you watch this video on full screen, 1x speed, with no distractions? Here are five steps to rebuild your attention span
LLM Neuroanatomy: How I Topped the LLM Leaderboard Without Changing a Single Weight
ML, Biotech, Hardware, and Coordination Problems. Sometimes I write about hard problems and how to solve them.
PsychonautWiki
Practices: Breathing techniques ⋅ Fasting ⋅ Meditation ⋅ Sensory deprivation ⋅ Sleep deprivation ⋅ Tulpa Tools: Meditation frequency ⋅ Psychedelic art ⋅ Shulgin Rating Scale ⋅ Vibes (Good vibes ⋅ Trippy vibes ⋅ Bad vibes)
The Human-in-the-Loop is Tired
On reward functions, dopamine, and what it actually feels like when the code starts writing itself
Manta Sleep – The World's #1 Sleep Masks and Accessories
100% blackout. Zero eye pressure. Super comfy. The world’s most effective sleep mask, guaranteed.
why "things to do instead of doomscrolling" never works
Harnessing Frustration: Using LLMs to Overcome Activation Energy
One of my biggest weaknesses as a software engineer is procrastination when facing a new project. When the scope is unclear, I have a tendency to wait until I feel I’ve “felt out” the problem to start doing anything. I know I’ll feel better and work much faster when I get “stuck in” but I still struggle with that first step, overcoming the “activation energy” required to engage with the details. LLMs have been a game-changer for me in this respect: I can just throw a couple of sentences at them with the shape of the problem. This leads to one of two outcomes: The LLM comes up with a good solution, usually in a slightly different way than what I was thinking. I realize “oh wow the solution is much simpler than I thought”. Straight away I start thinking about the consequences of implementing and improving what the LLM suggested. The LLM comes up with a solution that I intuitively recognize as “wrong”. My immediate reaction is frustration (“How could it get it so wrong”) which leads me to go back and forth with the model, explaining to it why its solution could not possibly work. But in the process of arguing with the model, my brain is churning away and generating variations or different approaches that could work. After a while, even if the AI is still on the wrong track, the debate will trigger a moment of inspiration where suddenly the solution will come to me. I’ll excitedly start up a new conversation and start working through it with the model. The key is the emotional reaction I have immediately to the LLM’s response, either excitement or frustration. By harnessing this immediate feedback loop, I get my brain out of its passive, procrastination mode. It’s almost like a jolt: either I’m thrilled because it’s simpler than I thought, or I’m spurred to action by the urge to correct a perceived ‘wrong’ answer. This forces me to engage with the problem in a meaningful way.
Do not give up your brain
It's tempting to just let tools think for you, but you still need to be able to think for yourself and stay sharp.
Mystified magicians of the mind
My conversation with neuroscientist Paul Cisek
Ozlo Sleepbuds®
Ozlo’s mission is simple: better sleep, naturally. The Ozlo Sleepbuds® are tiny, wireless, ultra-comfortable earbuds designed specifically for the best sleep of your life.
The wandering mind: A gift we squander - Darius Foroux
Most people treat a wandering mind like a defect. They see it as a leak in their productivity bucket. We’ve been conditioned to believe that if we aren’t staring at a screen or checking off a to-do list, we are failing. But Daniel Goleman, the […]
AI fatigue is real and nobody talks about it | Siddhant Khare
You're using AI to be more productive. So why are you more exhausted than ever? The paradox every engineer needs to confront.