
What is Something You Recommend (and why)? - marginalcodex
Whether it be something to buy, an experience, a hobby, a perspective, or any anything else, please share some thing you recommend.<p>Some things I recommend to most people I meet:<p>- Google Chromecast. While the chromecast does not add any new functions, its ease of use is so high that you will get a lot of utility from it. Due to how easy it becomes to stream music&#x2F;tv shows&#x2F;movies etc from your phone&#x2F;tablet&#x2F;computer to your TV, you will end up streaming all the time. For example, now whenever I am near my living room, I&#x27;ll put on music through my TV or an episode of Seinfeld or something.<p>- E-reader. They are quite cheap. I find the reading experience to be far superior to reading a physical book (especially if the book is heavy). You now have access to almost any book whenever you want it (and potentially for free&#x2F;low prices). Anecdotally, I have heard that once people buy an E-reader, they find that they end up reading significantly more.<p>- Squash (or any other quick-cardio based sport instead of a cardio workout). Each game is short but still an incredible work out. You feel great afterwords and most importantly, each game is a ton of fun to play (a lot more fun than running on a treadmill). It&#x27;s easy to learn&#x2F;start out and not very expensive (atleast in the places I&#x27;ve lived)
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browseatwork
Read Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It's about a psychiatrist's
experience in Auschwitz, and helps with identifying purpose and finding
meaning in life.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27s_Search_for_Meaning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27s_Search_for_Meaning)

[https://archive.org/details/MansSearchForMeaning_201507](https://archive.org/details/MansSearchForMeaning_201507)

[http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-
Frankl/dp/0...](http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-
Frankl/dp/080701429X)

Try to be 1% better and whatever you're focusing on improving. It's
manageable. It's realistic. It adds up.

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hacknat
Get lots of sleep, and exercise regularly.

Even if you're in a job you don't like, you'll still feel okay about life
(serious depression issues aside).

Everything seems 10x worse when you're not sleeping well.

How do you sleep well? Get rid of your TV. Seriously, throw it out. You don't
need it. Read a book that doesn't pertain to your career 30 minutes before you
intend to go to sleep.

~~~
thenomad
Conversely, for years I've followed the rule of watching fiction TV shortly
before bed - this started when I was single and read research saying that you
sleep better if you see human faces just before bed.

It seems to have worked.

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ericzawo
I cannot recommend running enough. It's the best form of free therapy (well,
after you buy proper shoes that is) on this planet. I don't run huge distances
anymore (25+ km on weekends was regular, I've run two marathons, but now I
stick to lifting mostly at the gym) but I've never gone on a run I've regret
in a decade of doing it.

~~~
hanniabu
Very true, I always have a hard time getting out the door, but even when I
come back panting, light-headed, and sweating like a mad man, I am always
happy I did it and it really does make you energized(at least after the half
hour or so it takes your body to get your energy level back up)

~~~
SyneRyder
Wow, I don't find running leaves me energized. While I enjoy running (and
especially long distance running), I find it leaves me drained and often
depressed afterwards. I don't get the Runners High that so many mention, if
anything I get Runners Low.

I generally enjoy the run and find it helps me lose weight in the long term,
but I also find it saps my productivity because I feel so terrible & drained
afterwards.

[Since my post is so negative, let me add a recommendation for an iPod Shuffle
or Bose QC25s while running. I find the music helps me run 10 - 20% faster if
I choose the right music, typically music by Pendulum.]

~~~
jlewallen
I try and practice mindfulness when I run, thinking about my breathing and
steps, etc... I leave all my technology in my locker. A shuffle would be
better than a phone, though. I've been considering one but I'm a big Spotify
user. Sorry to hear about the post-run low :/

~~~
atmosx
iPod + offline mode works for me :-)

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theWold
Learning to Cook - Alton Brown started me down the path of learning cooking
from a science/chemistry point of view. After a year of on and off research
I've been able to make meals from just things I find on sale over the weekend.
It's almost like a puzzle. The pieces are all the food on sale (potatoes for
$0.49 sign me up!) and the final product is full meals that I cook. (Plus
always good way to impress another by cooking for them).

Monogatari (Anime Series) - It is a jumbled mess that is a jumpy as it is
deep. If you don't want to see any fan service at all in your anime I would
skip over this. If you don't mind that (or enjoy it) this is a great anime. It
doesn't knock my favorite anime (Cowboy Bebop) off of my Number one slot, but
this one is a great that I would wager will stand for the future.
(Bakemonogatari is the first season).

Don't Panic - There's a reason it is written in big bold red letters on the
universe's best selling book.

------
oxguy3
Google Play Music - my favorite music collection service. Same price as
Spotify ($10/month), but with the bonus of being able to upload 50,000 of your
own song files (for any oddball music you have that isn't in their collection)
as well as YouTube Red. Generally less buggy and doesn't have Spotify's streak
of weird/terrible software design choices. (there's a script for porting your
playlists over from Spotify:
[https://github.com/rckclmbr/pyportify](https://github.com/rckclmbr/pyportify)
)

Tweetdeck - I'll bet a lot of people on HN already use it, but to any Twitter
users still using twitter.com instead of Tweetdeck, I highly recommend giving
it a shot. The abundance of information on screen will be overwhelming at
first, but give it a day or two, and your brain figures out how to make sense
of it and love it.

Pushbullet - Receive and write text messages from your PC via Chrome
extension. Receive push notifications for just about anything. I combine it
with IFTTT to receive alerts for RSS feeds of blogs and comics I like (my
recipes if anyone's curious:
[https://ifttt.com/p/oxguy3/shared](https://ifttt.com/p/oxguy3/shared) ).

------
skylark
If you're a nail biter, I can't recommend N-Acetyl Cysteine enough. I was a
nail biter for my entire life - I don't think I'd used a clipper in over a few
decades. On a recommendation I tried NAC and haven't bitten my nails since. I
don't even take it anymore - after a few weeks the urge to bite never came
back.

It was actually a key moment of enlightenment.

First, I realized how powerful, yet fragile habits can be. By forming habits,
you can do things effortlessly for years on end without even thinking about
it. At the same time, small interruptions can derail the behavior permanently.

And second, I realized that what we eat can influence our behavior in ways
which are imperceptible. When I took NAC, I didn't feel any different - I just
didn't bite my nails. It got me thinking that I should be more careful about
what I put in my body, because even little things can make a big difference.
Since then I've learned to cook, and now eat a far healthier diet than I used
to.

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dsingh
A couple of suggestions of ideas that have worked well for me.

\- Find a purpose in life. This does not have to be some big, grand thing but
just something that you are passionate about. For example, I like to create
products and businesses.

\- Help others because that gives greatest joy. I have deeply thought about
what makes me very happy and I realized I feel really good when I have helped
someone even in a small way.

------
seekingcharlie
Sketch. I've transitioned my UI/UX workflow completely from Photoshop and
haven't looked back. The hype is real and well-deserved.

Truman Capote's book - In Cold Blood. Also, The Great Gatsby. There are
countless phrases littered throughout both where I just think 'fuck, that is
really something'.

Keto. It's easy to stick to and I've consistently lost weight. I no longer
have brain fog, bloating, and I can't even remember the last time I felt
hungry or craved sugar.

Buddhism / meditation. It helps being thankful and to understand that there is
something more to life than what is on the surface.

The Doors because, well, Jim Morrison.

Water. Seriously, drink more of it.

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irremediable
Kettlebells. They're a good, time-efficient way to get a bit of aerobic and a
bit of anaerobic exercise. Especially useful if you have problems that stop
you running, e.g. foot problems or knee joint issues. Just make sure to get
the technique right before you push yourself with them.

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andersthue
Taoist Tai Chi [http://taoist.org](http://taoist.org)

It helps with balance, dexterity, openess to change, learning, letting go,
relaxing and much more, both mentally and physical.

I got rid of 20 years of back pain and livea more healthy and balancee life
now.

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jlewallen
Keeping a journal or diary. It's great for mental health and creativity. Not
to mention the many benefits of more focused journals (food, shop journals,
etc...)

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logn
If you live on a coast or where they treat roads with salt, then wash your car
periodically to prevent rust.

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textread
learn touch typing if you havent already

