Suggestions:that take some emotional energy and restraint, but donât require much time or any money (and might actually save you time):
Be kind to yourself and others.
Donât self-criticize because you arenât moving âfast enoughâ in the direction you think is best; itâs okay to be proud of progress, even minor progress.
Donât criticize others unless you really believe it will be helpful (imagine how helpful the average piece of online criticism is, and remember that you might be closer to âaverageâ than you think, especially if your response is fueled by anger and you donât care very much about the other personâs welfare).
Try to think about measures of effectiveness, especially scale, in your daily life. Getting used to âseeing through an EA lensâ can help to guide you toward other ways of helping the world.
This may be most applicable when it comes to news and social media. If you see a huge argument erupt over a small incident, consider whether your efforts will be helpful before you jump in to contribute. And consider, before reading the whole thread, whether there are other things you could be reading that concern a larger number of people, with more at stake.
This doesnât mean completely abandoning local issues or your social circle, of courseâbut it does mean remembering that what news outlets prioritize is not inherently important just because it is ânewsâ.
Clean up your systems.
No matter what you want to work on the future, no matter how long it will take, youâll want to have certain resources available when you arrive. These include things like âa coherent to-do listâ, âa reasonably well-organized physical spaceâ, âa nutritious dietâ, and âslackâ.
If you plan to help the world once your life is âin orderâ (something Iâve heard many times), putting your life in order is helping the world.
I wonât turn this answer into a post about personal productivity. Things that have been helpful to many people I know include Getting Things Done and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, but reading some personal productivity websites and doing simple, commonsense things will help a lot for people who arenât yet doing said things.
Suggestions:that take some emotional energy and restraint, but donât require much time or any money (and might actually save you time):
Be kind to yourself and others.
Donât self-criticize because you arenât moving âfast enoughâ in the direction you think is best; itâs okay to be proud of progress, even minor progress.
Donât criticize others unless you really believe it will be helpful (imagine how helpful the average piece of online criticism is, and remember that you might be closer to âaverageâ than you think, especially if your response is fueled by anger and you donât care very much about the other personâs welfare).
Try to think about measures of effectiveness, especially scale, in your daily life. Getting used to âseeing through an EA lensâ can help to guide you toward other ways of helping the world.
This may be most applicable when it comes to news and social media. If you see a huge argument erupt over a small incident, consider whether your efforts will be helpful before you jump in to contribute. And consider, before reading the whole thread, whether there are other things you could be reading that concern a larger number of people, with more at stake.
This doesnât mean completely abandoning local issues or your social circle, of courseâbut it does mean remembering that what news outlets prioritize is not inherently important just because it is ânewsâ.
Clean up your systems.
No matter what you want to work on the future, no matter how long it will take, youâll want to have certain resources available when you arrive. These include things like âa coherent to-do listâ, âa reasonably well-organized physical spaceâ, âa nutritious dietâ, and âslackâ.
If you plan to help the world once your life is âin orderâ (something Iâve heard many times), putting your life in order is helping the world.
I wonât turn this answer into a post about personal productivity. Things that have been helpful to many people I know include Getting Things Done and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, but reading some personal productivity websites and doing simple, commonsense things will help a lot for people who arenât yet doing said things.