Refuse to Choose!
by Barbara Sher · first published 2006
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Reframes a pull toward many interests as a strength (the scanner type), easing guilt over unfinished projects and offering ways to organize environment and structure; suits generalists and serial project-starters.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Lifestyle coach Sher discusses the "Scanner"--Someone who frequently has a multiplicity of interests, but finds it hard to create a successful life, because their passions and abilities are taking them in so many different directions. Sher identifies seven types of Scanners--ranging from the Serial Specialist (someone who learns all about one subject, only to get bored and need to move on to the next) to Sybil (a person with so many areas of interest, she can't finish a thing). Sher counsels Scanners that theirs is a unique ability, not a liability, and contends that Scanners must do everythin
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Read a couple of books by Barbara sher: Refuse to choose [0] She calls people like us "Scanners" and claims that our diversity of interests is not a weakness, but a strength. Then goes on techniques to make this skill work for us. [0] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594863032/
on “Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?” ↗…sloppy from the outside. If you're dropping projects before you get what you want from them, introspect on why. What's happening that leads you away? Address that. I recommend reading Barbara Sher's "Refuse to Choose"; it provides some useful tools for people who like to do 70 different things, including how to have lots of ideas without having to act on every one immediately.
on “Ask HN: How do I develop focus?” ↗I have been there. I recommend the book: "Refuse to Choose!" by Barbara Sher. Short intro: https://www.getmotivation.com/motivationblog/2017/04/barbara... In short: get over the feeling of guilt first, then organize your multitudes of interests.
on “Ask HN: How to deal with rapidly changing interests in life?” ↗…don't really feel like working on the project, you just think that you should. I still feel pretty bad about this and have a lot of guilt by not pursuing my projects, however I recently finished reading "Refuse To Choose" by Barbara Sher and it was a game changer, I still feel bad about it but I see now a different perspective and it has given me hope and made me realize that perhaps I'm not as broken as I thought I was.…
on “Ask HN: How do you stick to projects?” ↗>And I need to finish things that I start. Do you, though? Try reading Barbara Sher's "Refuse to Choose". There's a place in the world for everyone, and not everyone has to be an administrator to succeed.
on “How to learn work ethics and discipline as an adult?” ↗Barbara Sher - Refuse to choose. It's book about people similar to you. Also, if you work well with a particular extrinsic structure (and enjoy it), why not leverage that. did you enjoy the uni projects that were for grades? Why not…
on “Ask HN: No intrinisic motivation to build stuff” ↗I recommend the book _Refuse to Choose_ by Barbara Scher. It is about how to use that Edison-like tendency of yours as an asset rather than having to stuff it all the time.
on “Ask HN: How are some people exceptionally productive?” ↗The 'scanner' personality type comes from Barbara Sher's book, "Refuse to Choose". I read it because I also identify as a generalist. It's an interesting read, if a bit pop-sci. One big thing I took from it was that it's incredibly valuable to spend time organizing your environment…
on “Why I Gave Up on Extreme Minimalism (2015)” ↗Epstein's book is not for you. His "generalist" is 95x magnification instead of 99x. Look up "Refuse to Choose!" by Barbara Sher. I'm like you and her book(s) taught me that I don't need to feel guilty, self-loath, or suffer insults for being this way.
on “Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World” ↗…in my head that I want to solve and then I start obsessively solving it for a few days until it is solved or...until the next problem comes along and I lose all interest in the first problem. I read Refuse to Choose by Barabara Sher because someone recommended it here on HN and it showed me that I am a scanner always looking for new problems to solve and the act of working on an interesting problem is what makes…
on “Finishing a side project” ↗If Wapnick’s work resonates with you, you might enjoy Barbara Sher’s Refuse to Choose. [0] Sher is the author who “coined“ the “scanner” term. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/287818.Refuse_to_Choose_
on “The Polymath Playbook” ↗Refuse to choose by Barbara Sher is an interesting book about this phenomenon. It talks about different types of “Scanners”, some switch topics every few years, others weeks, days or even minutes. The books main advice…
on “Ask HN: How to to manage my favorite topics?” ↗Thanks! There's a good book that follows your line of thinking: "Refuse to Choose" by Barbara Sher.
on “Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?” ↗Refuse to Choose!: Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams. I found this book via Hacker News, and I'm glad I did. So many things to do in 2022 :). Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22793146
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗…suffer (or should I say experience) the same. I read a book that unfortunately didn’t help the problem, but it did help me to accept who I am or at least my tendencies/skills/weaknesses. It’s called Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher. She labels people like this as “scanners”. I’m not in the camp of reducing the dimensionality of humans to a single bucket/category but the description of what she calls a scanner really,…
on “Ask HN: How do I develop focus?” ↗