This is part 21 of 30 in the Hammertime Sequence. Click here for the intro.

I took a long break from Hammertime to check the fundamental question: am I actually better at achieving my values now?

The answer is a solid yes. Problems that used to live in the category of “not within my capabilities” disintegrated into so many puffs of malevolent smoke. Paper-writing got itself done. Fifteen hundred words of half-decent fiction got written every day. For the first time in my life, I live in such a thoughtfully decorated room I’ll actually miss it when I move away. I felt like a rationality Warlock:

A high-level Aversion appears…Hah! With the power of FOCUSING, I’ll scry your true name, Demon!

“Status Regulation, Begone!”

This section feels impossible to write…

I know! I’ll do it in FIVE MINUTES!

I have no idea what my problem is…

Fear not! I’ll blast it with the magic of FRIENDSHIP!

So you’re stuck on a quest to save the world…

Have you tried REMOVING TRIVIAL INCONVENIENCES?

If you’re reading Hammertime simply for my scintillating wit, that’s completely fine! Just remember that these techniques might also help you achieve your values if you give them a chance.

Hammertime: The Third Cycle

Twice and thrice over, as they say, good is it to repeat and review what is good.

~ Plato.

The third cycle is ten days of review. On each day, we will attempt to tease out the unifying meta-principles behind each technique, taking them (and all the others) to the limit of their power. Here’s a tentative schedule:

Bug Hunt 3
Yoda Timers 3: Speed
TAPs 3: Reductionism
Design 3: Intentionality
CoZE 3: Empiricism
Growth Triplets
Internal Double Crux: Duality
Focusing 2: Fusion
Murphyjitsu 2: Humility
TDT 2: Post-Consequentialism

Day 21: Bug Hunt 3

Today we’re back to Bug Hunt with three more sets of prompts to help find the biggest bottlenecks in your life. After you read each, set a Yoda Timer to brainstorm bugs.

1. Getting Got

The world is Out to Get You. Social media. Capitalism. Your job. Your family. Your friends. Your hobbies. Everyone wants your time, money, and attention. How do you keep yourself from Getting Got all the time?

Do you know how to say no? If you don’t Get Gone regularly, you’re easy pickings. Things are often worse than they appear. Things deteriorate over time. Things want more and more of your soul. There’s no such thing as a one-hour game of Civ. Get Gone. You don’t owe anybody everythin...