Thanks for writing this post, and I agree with a lot of it! Regarding the point about poor feedback loops, could the signals below be evidence that things are going well?
Members take ideas seriously and seem to care deeply about improving the world.
Members engage in thoughtful cause prioritization and try to resolve their philosophical uncertainties.
Members learn about problems they find most important.
Members skill-up so they're each better able to contribute to the problem they want to work on.
Members start new projects, work with EA orgs (e.g. summer internship), and/or get mentorship from people who've been working on the same problem for longer.
Fully agree! Our university group uses a virtual assistant for ~20 hours/month, which saves us ~10 hours/month (it does take some time to explain stuff, and our assistant takes slightly longer to do the same tasks). I expect our time savings to increase substantially when classes resume and our group is a lot more active.
For people who travel frequently, a lot of the travel experience can be optimized.
I haven't tried this but I know others who prefer sitting in the first class coach on trains. It can cost as little as £10 extra for Paddington-Oxford, and it helps them get enough elbow/laptop space to be productive.
Paying for wifi on flights is such an awesome deal. I can be productive for many hours for just $15-40 depending on the airline and flight duration.
Optimizing the airport experience is pretty straightforward. In the US, TSA Precheck and Global Entry cost ~$25/year and save you at least 10 minutes (and often an hour or more at peak times) per trip at security and immigration, respectively.
I also try to book flights on the same airline alliance where practical, which helps me accrue status and use business/first class lines and lounges everywhere. I estimate I save at least an hour per trip through a busy airport as a result, since I can arrive at the airport later, go from check-in to lounge/gate in 5 mins instead of 45, not wait for my boarding group, etc..
Depending on how much you value your time, it might be worth it to switch cabins on flights. Moving from economy to premium economy / business at check-in often costs £100/£600, respectively, for a 10+ hour flight. I know people who value their time at >£150 per hour, and the productivity gains from sleeping well on their flight would make this tradeoff worth it. You can also use credit card points for this.
I've tried traveling using running shoes vs other footwear. I estimate I walk at least 20% faster with running shoes on than with boots or walking shoes, based on the number of people I pass up and based on how much I beat Google Maps walking time estimates by.
If you or anyone else is interested in trying some rare Chinese tofus and are in London, I can take you on a tour.
The best tofu tours are by George, of course, but in his absence I try to get the same rare tofus and provide some (small) fraction of the context he does when he leads tofu tours.
Thanks for writing this post, and I agree with a lot of it! Regarding the point about poor feedback loops, could the signals below be evidence that things are going well?
Fully agree! Our university group uses a virtual assistant for ~20 hours/month, which saves us ~10 hours/month (it does take some time to explain stuff, and our assistant takes slightly longer to do the same tasks). I expect our time savings to increase substantially when classes resume and our group is a lot more active.
so exciting!!!!
For people who travel frequently, a lot of the travel experience can be optimized.
If you or anyone else is interested in trying some rare Chinese tofus and are in London, I can take you on a tour.
The best tofu tours are by George, of course, but in his absence I try to get the same rare tofus and provide some (small) fraction of the context he does when he leads tofu tours.