This is an 'Ask HN' thread where users share their personal 'brain hacks' or mental models for decision-making, productivity, and managing stress. The original poster shared two specific techniques: setting artificial deadlines and the 10/10/10 rule. The discussion explores various cognitive tools people use in everyday situations.
A starter prompt for Claude Code, what you'll need, and how to reach them.
You are an expert full-stack developer. Build a web application for sharing and discovering 'brain hacks' or mental models, similar to the concept in the 'Ask HN' thread about everyday brain hacks. The application should use Next.js 16 App Router, React 19, Tailwind v4 for styling, and store data in Neon Postgres. Users should be able to: 1. View a list of shared brain hacks, each displayed as a card with a title, description, and an upvote/downvote mechanism. 2. Add a new brain hack, providing a title and a detailed description. 3. Search existing hacks by keywords. 4. Implement basic user authentication (e.g., using Clerk or Auth.js) to allow users to create, upvote, and manage their own posted hacks. Start by scaffolding the Next.js project. Then, create the database schema for 'hacks' (id, title, description, upvotes, downvotes, authorId) in Neon Postgres. Implement the main 'hacks' listing page with dummy data. Ensure the UI is clean and responsive. Provide a simple form for adding new hacks. Focus on a minimal viable product where users can browse, add, and vote on hacks. Your build/verify gate: A deployed Next.js application with a working 'hacks' list, a form to add new hacks, and functional upvote/downvote buttons, all styled with Tailwind CSS and connected to a Neon Postgres database.
I'm incredibly fortunate to have a chairman on our board who brings so much clarity of thought to the business. He's unemotional yet thoughtful. If he doesn't have an immediate answer for something, he instinctively understands how to search for the answer. He has a natural sense of the real priority of work and discussions. So I asked him for some of his favourite brain hacks...simple tricks he uses when he has a mental challenge to overcome. A couple of his insights were very useful to me, so I thought I'd share them here and ask HN for their personal brain hacks in response. Artificial deadlines He has a clever technique for bringing tough choices to a conclusion and avoiding procrastination. This is especially useful for life changing decisions such as moving country or taking that new job. To put an end to the decision making process he sets a deadline for the decision to be made. Say 6pm on Monday. At five minutes to 6 he usually doesn't know the answer but in those 5 minutes something clicks, and by 6pm the answer is always there. 10/10/10 rule This is something I've read before but he applies this. The 10/10/10
This is an old 'Ask HN' thread. There is no direct contact channel for the original poster that would lead to a commercial opportunity.
“No direct outreach angle for this specific Ask HN post, as it's a general discussion and not a request for a product.”
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