Years ago before the concept of lifehacks waned and inflation, burnout and Corona hit, i remember learning quite a few tricks through the internet, that has followed me whenever i hit a slump.
What did you start to do, stopped doing, or became routine that really made a difference in your life in the past years?
Examples:
- Stop scrolling social media
- Have no-screen days
- Do X day challenges
- Try new social settings
- Have a morning routine with meditation, yoga or gratitude-list
- Journal either in the morning or evening
- Meditate
- Become a mentor, parent or do community work
- Force yourself to read a bit everyday, also challenging stuff
- Eat better, and find out if you have deficiencies
- Get more light and get out and move
- Try different sleep schedules
- Take more time off idling
- Move city
So HN what what changed your life?
2. Breathing exercise (~5 minutes) before going to bed. Generally keeps me really light and energetic the next day.
3. Spending dedicated time with my son. Can't describe this but generally makes me appreciate things better.
- Do one hour of exercise a day, preferably in the morning. Even if it's a light morning walk. I find it sets a healthy tone for the rest of the day.
- Actively reach out to friends and family. Even if it's small updates about my day.
- Create something every day. For me it's my blog, and I haven't been at it for long, but it's been powerful for clarifying what I'm thinking about and why. Part of the appeal that each post is low-commitment, i.e. it's not a multi-day saga, so I can be playful with it, e.g. https://arunkprasad.com/log/how-does-ssh-work/
The truly important news still reach me through friends and colleagues or random chance. The rest, all the useless or depressing stuff is filtered out.
Far from being a bad thing, this means I can just live without constantly worrying about how others might perceive me.
As long as your not hurting anyone else , just live. We're here for a very short time.
Don't waste it on people who never cared
I saw an unbelievable increase in my focus and peace of mind after meditating for 5 minutes everyday - but it took between 2 - 3 months to get there.
And I rely on being aware of how I'm feeling (and what I might be projecting) roughly 5-10 times a day. In general, however much I think I'm projecting, I'm probably doing even more than I think I am (often in subtle ways).
In short, I base my understanding of others on my understanding of myself. Increasing the former has improved the latter.
My doctor checked my vitamin D levels and they were very low. I started taking the recommended daily intake of 1000 IU. After reading that the analysis setting the RDI for vitamin D was faulty, I went on double the RDI, 2000 IU. That has made a marked improvement in my mood and helped with the stability of my sleep cycle. As a bonus, my vitamin D levels are now spot on, and it offers some protection against the worst effects of COVID-19.
Also, I take Vitamin B for focus.
- journaling
- practicing smalltalk with strangers
- spending time in nature, preferably alone
- quietly sitting in a room with eyes closed for 15-20 mins everyday and introspecting and reflecting on Life, Universe and everything (not sure if that can be called proper meditation)
- a balanced diet and exercise
- Traveling whenever possible
- keeping in touch with family/friends and also not ignoring the people who you think are 'not-so-important'. You never know when they will be.
-exposing yourself to challenges. (work/physical/psychological/intellectual)
1. Intermittent Fasting. I had gained a lot of weight after an accident. It helped me get back into shape. I was always a very active person. So I never had to watch what I eat but late twenties and my injury forced me to watch I eat. I'd often feel bloated, heavy, and tired. Fasting regularly for at least 18 hours was something I had to work on but it's just second nature to me now. Feel a lot more energetic and light :)
2.Picking hobbies that I'm serious about. I've always been one of those people that would pick up something and drop it after a couple of months after getting that initial sense of achievement.
I didn't change this habit right away. Instead, I actively searched for something that would really, really click. Landed on drawing and downhill skating. I've been skating for 2 years straight now and drawing is catching up. I think around 6 months now.
Having something you're really passionate about outside of work, man, it's like a different kind of medidation. Especially something as dangerous as downhill skating. I started it as a fat and out of shape, tech guy in his late-twenties. The improvement I could see was what kept me motivated through the scary novice times where I'd get injured frequently. Honestly it was really scary. But now, it's a great outlet where I can get into a hyper-focus state and just exist. Because if you don't do that, you might actually die, haha.
3. Not a hack but something I've noticed in many part of my life is that the more relaxed and loose you are, the more precise you can work. I had learnt this while learning to play the drums back in highschool but never thought about applying this to my daily life. The realization hit when I was learning to draw. But it works in almost anything.
I've cut out all dairy and drink almond milk with cereal or protein shakes, and it's made a clear improvement to my health. Give it a month and see what you get back.
- Read everyday before going to bed
- Walk outside everyday, catch some sun if possible
- Going to bed always at the same time
- Moved to a new country, new job, new everything (change of scenery and daily routine)
Having several in-progress books I’m reading at once. Didn’t read much before, now about two books a month.
Moving from an apartment where my desk had a view of a parking lot, to a house with a river view. Thought it’d be nice only temporarily, but a year later I still feel happier and more motivated.
Stopping ambien use. I realized it’s better to sleep when I’m actually sleepy and wake up late rather than wake up early but feel depressed and brain-foggy.
Tracking my work hours but not pomodoro-style, but by setting tiny tasks and seeing how fast I can complete them. Aiming low with total time, defining spending 3 hours per day spent in actual deep concentrated work on the most important task a successful day.
Whenever I am in a room I check if there's anything that I can quickly fix/improve in under 30 seconds.
Doing all those small things immediately helps train your will power and also reduces the amount of work you have to do later (which gives more spaces for other thoughts).
I notice how much more non-internet free time I have than my peers, and I can only imagine how that would be if I remove the last traces of Reddit and YouTube. I at the point though where I don't know what I'd do to replace that lost time. It's currently being wasted, but I don't know what to replace it with. Seems like I also have a lack of hobbies that needs to be addressed.
* Put phone away at night (that random curiosity less important for what I need to process)
* Journaling
* Mindfulness
Lots of others (eating less, exercise, etc), but this is top of mind to me these days :)
- Nuts, seeds, vegetables. Some fruit. - Vitamin B12 and D3 supplements. - Water
I save money by not needing chronic medication, feel very calm, have no trouble with my bowel movements, eat when I want to, and have lost body fat despite leading a mostly sedentary lifestyle.
I also save more time than most in eating this way.
I sometimes eat ice cream. When I do this, my heart rate picks up dramatically and makes me feel uncomfortable afterwards. But hey, I love ice cream.
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Going on walks, and hill climbs with a weighted backpack seems to fix my back pain instantly.
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I recently learned that I can take all the leftover vegetable ends and skins and boil them to make vegetable broth.
Not having any way to kill time forces me to sit there and actually think about what I want to do. It might get me to leave the house and do exercise, or to work on more rewarding things.
- Question authority, always ; when in doubt, don't work for client/boss
- Steal from the rich: take all you can from the supermarkets, and redistribute it
- Cook good stuff ; it's good for motivation
- Take time away from computers to be human with other humans (i swear i'm not AI), but not just 24h, more like a few weeks
- Acknowledge we're all fallible and deserve some slack: prepare for failure so you can build cool things without drama
1. Realize that the picture of good and bad, which we are used to and learn while growing up, doesn't make much sense in real life. What is good and what is bad? Who defines this? Think about it and come to your own conclusions.
2. Learn to read and write in English. It doesn't need to be perfect (look at me) but will open up a whole new world to you, in case you are no native speaker.
3. Learn how to talk to people and strangers. Realize that there are people, which aren't that smart, and others, which are way smarter than you. - Learn to deal with both groups.
4. Learn how to handle your ego and overcome it.
5. Take a cold shower in the morning. Start with warm water, then switch over to cold. Practice until you reach 3 minutes. But don't force the progress.
6. Do 100 push-up during the day.
7. Don't use your mobile phone while you're in the bathroom.
8. No mobile phone in your bedroom.
9. Figure out which time is best for you to drink a cup of coffee.
10. Learn how to efficiency take notes, develop a system and stick to it. I prefer the PARA method combined with Obsidian.
11. Realize that technology and so called 'smart devices' are just tools. You don't really need them and should invest too much time and money into it.
12. Save some money at the beginning of the month as fuck-you-money for hard times.
13. Try to walk at least 5.000 steps per day. Better 10.000 and more.
14. Regularly invest some time in something that is not digital. For me this is spending time with people I love and training martial arts.
15. Try the Wim Hof breathing method. If it works for you, stick to it.
16. Don't read the news. It's a waste of time and energy. I personally only read the economic news.
17. Don't use Twitter to stay up do date. Use accumulated news letters instead.
18. Read books before going to bed. I personally re-read books and take notes.
19. Challenge yourself to try out new things and to learn more. I'm doing this with multiple 30 day challenges during the year.
20. Learn to articulate your thoughts in a clear manner.
21. At the end of they year: write some kind of report or letter to yourself to summarize what happened during the year.
22. Treat others kindly and with respect, even if it's hard sometimes. Most of us are struggling threw life and most of us will feel better and more secure if our counterpart acts friendly and calm.
23. Don't take life too seriously. Just live and be thankful for everything that is good in your life.
And one book recommendation for all of you: The Art of the Good Life: Clear Thinking for Business and a Better Life by Rolf Dobelli. The book is very straight to the point, full of great insights and written in short chapters.
I hope that helps.
3-4 months into the practice, I am still a n00b but have honestly told a couple friends already that this was one of the most life-transformative things I have intentionally done, except maybe for moving to Japan at age 19 (where I ended up mostly sticking, for decades now).
I really think YMMV on this one. I personally had one of those personality types (or more accurately, set of personality traits) where meditation probably has relatively major impact. Like, I was never not thinking about stuff. Usually, interesting problems in software engineering, for work or for hobby. But also home upgrades, DIY contraptions, am I doing well as a parent, should I get my kids a pet, how can I learn cooking/photography/piano/video-editing/martial arts/horticulture/etc on top of the stuff I am currently doing, etc.
And if I wasn't thinking about something, it felt terrible, like a true waste of time, the most precious resource any of us has!
Probably not coincidentally, I fucking HATED meditation whenever I had tried it previously (usually at the behest of some friend who advocated for it).
And I initially thought I was "failing" and "couldn't do it". I mean to say, I felt like I couldn't achieve meditation. I was just sitting there, doing nothing, having my usual nonstop thoughts about quasi-random shit. I couldn't "focus on my breath" (the usual beginner object of attention, before moving on to other sensations, thought and feelings, or aspects of the current environment) for more than like 2 seconds, literally.
After 3 weeks or so, though, I learned more and realized yeah that is part of it, just keep practicing and you'll get it. And you do still keep getting lost in thought, that's OK and normal, its the practice of noticing those thoughts arising, and returning attention to _____ that is a major part of the point.
After a few weeks it is obvious that paying attention (aka "being mindful") is a trainable skill, and practice yields improvement.
The TL;DR thing about it, the `n00b gainz` part that I think anybody can get, unless they already naturally have it, is: most of the thoughts you have that feel like "you" aren't, really. They are largely just thoughts. You feel like you are having them, thinking them, but generally that's not the case. Pay close attention and you can see the gap clearly between almost all thoughts that arise and "you".
It is then much easier to respond to thoughts and feelings in the way you actually want to, rather than in some reflexive way that is not actually they way you would like to respond.
The good thing about meditation is that you can just run your own n=1 experiment and try it. I chose the Waking Up app as my coaching tool (a real human teacher might be better, if you found the right one, but any of the apps will probably work fine I think) because it started with that premise: don't take our word for it, try this yourself and check the result for yourself.
I did so, and the results have been pretty subjectively fantastic. I'm more present with my children. I am less reactive to (and therefore significantly less irritated by) dumbasses at work and in general life. And it feels way, way easier to stick to every mundane goal (running every morning before kids wake up, going to bed on time, adhering to my physical trainer's diet, and any and all other shit like that).
After doing sitting meditation practice for a few months, I added walking meditation, which is fucking fantastic.
This experience has made me want to try fasting, which I have never tried but other people recommend a lot, including in this very thread. Like meditation, it isn't something you have to take anybody's word for. You can just try it yourself, and see what the results are.