# Saving the world in 80 days: Prologue

What is this?
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This is an intro to an intensive productivity sprint for becoming useful in the field of AI safety. I'll be posting every week or 4 on the good/bad/ugly of it all. Definitely inspired by [Nate Soares' productivity sprint](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/uX3HjXo6BWos3Zgy5/the-mechanics-of-my-recent-productivity).

Who are you?
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Recent graduate in Computer Engineering who has [someone to protect](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/SGR4GxFK7KmW7ckCB/something-to-protect)

Why?
----

Ultimately to further the field of AI safety. In the process of doing this and writing these posts, I'll:

1\. Create a more realistic model of what I can do/ of my limits

2\. Receive valuable feedback from other rationalists (that's you!)

3\. Radically improve my knowledge of the field & various maths

So what are you going to be doing exactly?
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16 hours in a day:

*   Food/hygiene/slack - 4 1/2 hr
*   Current mathy book - 3 hr (How to Prove It, atm)
*   Work - 4 hr (Might change depending on work needs)
*   Current Application - 2 hr (tensorFlow)
*   AI-Safety reading - 1 hr (Miri's r[esearch guide)](https://intelligence.org/research-guide/)
*   Living Maintenance - 1/2 hr
*   Meditation ~ 1 hr (Doing squirrelInHell's site, specifically [this part](http://bewelltuned.com/sense_your_body_with_extreme_clarity))

Aren't you going to flounder/fail/burn-out?
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I've done 3 other intensive sessions like this in the past. One was a flop and two were quite successful, so I feel prepared for this one. I'm definitely shooting for sustainability here, so I'm trying to figure out my limits without burning out. This could include getting more work done per hour, getting more efficient rest, or varying the amount of slack time given.

My current M[urphyjitsu](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ASHTGrrEDtBhC6CFh/planning-101-debiasing-and-research) results:

1\. I could waste a lot of time on [pica](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9ZodFr54FtpLThHZh/experiential-pica). To prevent that, I'm going to notice when I want to leave my current situation and pursue that and just watch that thought/sensation without fueling it. I've developed this skill while meditating, and have had some success already, though I feel like there's more that's missing. Something like I'm quickly making deals with myself such as "You only have to deal with this for a few more minutes, then you're free".

2\. I could get uber mentally tired. If so, I'll move on to living maintenance or meditation which I consider mentally relaxing.

3\. Trips & friends taking a lot of time. I'm not going to go out of my way to spend time with people, but important trips (weddings, family) I'm going to for sure, and I'm okay with less productivity; I'm just gonna' enjoy the heck out of it.

\[Note: I've actually been trying to do this intensive session this past week, but apparently people want to spend time with you after you graduate college or something. I even got food poisoning, lol, but I still managed to get 6 hours into my current book! So I'm officially starting tomorrow after I fully recover\]

  

If you have any questions, comments, derogatory remarks, please comment it! I'll check them once in the mornings (probably)