

Zenhabits - idiotb
http://zenhabits.net/start/

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aw3c2
I find those sites stress-inducing. There are so many tips and guides on how
to do things better that I feel overwhelmed. I was avidly reading zenhabits
some years ago but at some point I realised that I rather live my life with
few simple ideas in mind than following a weird ideal.

~~~
derefr
I've taken an alternative approach with my own website: there's a few
important, timeless essays I keep, each focused on one topic—and as I think
new thoughts on the topics they cover, I simply update those essays,
refactoring them and repeatedly condensing them to the same length as much as
possible, instead of making them into long, daunting series.

Separately, I keep a blog that serves to mention when I've updated one of the
essays, what I've changed, and what inspired the change (i.e., basically a
commit log), but which also serves as a place to dump ephemeral thoughts whose
references will quickly go out of date, and thus can't survive in the
(timeless) essay format.

I think many content-centered blogs would benefit from this sort of collected-
works + conversation-stream approach.

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djacobs
I like that Leo has a "best of" page, it works well for him (and with the
site's aesthetic).

I'm not always a fan of his suggestions, though. Browsing some of his
archives, I see advice against eating grains [0]:

    
    
      They’re also packed full of carbs, which should 
      also be minimized in a cutting, leaning-out phase. 
      (Note: There is no requirement in human nutrition 
      for carbs.)
    

That last bit is blatantly false, and I can't help but think he's overstepping
his bounds a little bit.

That said, in general his advice is strikingly enlightening.

[0] <http://zenhabits.net/lean-tips/>

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michaelkeenan
Are you sure that's false? The Wikipedia article on carbohydrates[1] says:
"Carbohydrates are a common source of energy in living organisms, however, no
carbohydrate is an essential nutrient in humans."

It cites a letter to the editor in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
by Dr Eric C. Westman[2].

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate#Nutrition>

[2] <http://www.ajcn.org/content/75/5/951.2.full>

~~~
djacobs
Yeah, it's false. We don't have to consume any one carbohydrate to survive,
but in the end, the body's core processes use glucose (and others) to produce
the energy we use to do work. Fat can be metabolized into carbohydrates, too.
But one way or the other, we need carbs.

~~~
hynek
Mark clearly wrote "There is no requirement in human _nutrition_ for carbs"
(emphasize by me) and you said it's "blatantly wrong."

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stevenp
Leo is at the forefront of a movement of bloggers and writers releasing their
content into the public domain. I think it's a really interesting strategy,
and it seems to have worked well for him: [http://zenhabits.net/open-source-
blogging-feel-free-to-steal...](http://zenhabits.net/open-source-blogging-
feel-free-to-steal-my-content/)

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john2x
Interesting blog. I've read a few of the top posts, and noticed that we have a
similar approach to life. Never realized it was considered "Zen". Heh. But
then again I tend to read books with philosophical/Zen themes.

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aniket_ray
Frankly everyone's life and conditions are sufficiently for one rule to work
for all. Personally, I believe in A/B testing life.

Do whatever gives you your best returns. Just never stop testing.

