Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off? - superasn
======
leonroy
Stop buying stuff.

I was a compulsive spender. Never bought on credit mind but I’d blow my entire
paycheque after bills on stuff like cameras, hifi, the latest Apple doodad,
etc.

I literally stopped buying anything not required for my day to day sustenance.
No Netflix, started renting what I wanted to watch which forced me to be more
picky with my expenditure and time.

No more eating out except for special occasions. Packed lunches and home made
meals only.

No more buying books until I read the ones on my shelf.

No more buying a new Mac every time my old one got mildly slow.

No more video games or Blu-rays until I had finished the ones sitting in
shrink wrap on the shelf.

Once you pare things down you start to become almost painfully aware of how
the seemingly little expenditures add up fast.

With the surplus income I ended up with about 6-8 months living expenses saved
which suddenly made me realize that I had the freedom to look around from my
present job. Which so far is working out I think... (started my own company
and launching our product this month :)

~~~
pinkgodzilla
Would like to add "habit of drinking water" to this list. ANY beverage whether
its coffee, soda, tea - is easily 4 to 6 dollars and is an entirely made up
requirement.

~~~
tom_
Don't pay for somebody else to make your tea! A cup of ordinary tea should
cost, like, 15p. That includes teabag, electricity, water, milk, and amortized
cost of kettle and mug.

Even if you buy something unnecessarily expensive, like fancy matcha tea
powder, you're looking at less than 50p.

~~~
dormento
What kind of monster puts milk on their tea? :) You're right though.

~~~
pradn
Ask the billion+ Indians who drink chai! :)

~~~
sukanta
:D Chai is bliss. First tea, then milk and sugar.

~~~
kaushikt
Couldn't agree more. Chai is truly bliss!

------
abhiminator
I started meditating recently after having been carpet-bombed by its potential
benefits for years across various media and platforms, and now, after a few
weeks of regular practice, I must say this -- I was pleasantly surprised by
how much my outlook toward life changed since I started practicing
'mindfulness' \-- a type of meditation involving focusing on the present
moment with the understanding that buzzing thoughts are super fleeting.

It was hard at the beginning, very hard in fact; but once I made a habit of
doing it every day no matter how busy (I think) I got, it really started
making a difference -- it started paying off.

I'm now measurable more focused, less distracted by outside stimuli (screens,
people, news) and have gotten more adept at observing my thoughts and feelings
before they snowball into something more neurotic -- very good attributes to
have in our ever more distracted world. In short, I have more CONTROL over my
attention, which has immensely added to how I experience life.[0]

Highly recommend it.

[0] [https://hbr.org/2018/03/to-control-your-life-control-what-
yo...](https://hbr.org/2018/03/to-control-your-life-control-what-you-pay-
attention-to)

~~~
yeswecatan
How have you been practicing? Headspace?

~~~
abhiminator
I initially started off with Headspace, and once I became comfortable enough,
I started using a countdown timer on my mobile device for arbitrary number of
minutes (swings between 5-15 depending on my capacity for the day) and started
doing it by myself.

I look at Headspace like more of a water-wing for beginners than a tool for
serious meditation.

------
NamTaf
Walking home every day. It's about an hour or so, vs my 20 mins on public
transport, but it's become a good time of meditative reflection and has
provided me with some fitness benefits. It's also time I'd otherwise spend
just reading the internet or playing a videogame anyway.

Also, trying to meal prep a large number of the same dish to avoid buying
lunches during the week and thus spending a large amount of money needlessly.
I don't mind eating the same thing for several days, though to avoid that
you'd just need to prep 2 or 3 meals of smaller size. It doubles as an
effective way to portion control too, since I can use containers of a specific
size. It also means that many nights of the week I get home from my walk and
just toss one in the microwave or oven to reheat and don't end up eating any
later than normal.

Edit: Both of the above have helped me maintain my post-glandular-fever weight
loss of about 14kg, which has left me feeling significantly healthier than I
was previously. Occasionally I blow out with a weekend of debauchery involving
way too much alcohol and unhealthy food, but the walking then chips that back
down and gives me motivation to limit said blowouts as I now have a
quantifiable amount of effort that it equates to.

~~~
p3llin0r3
You should think about listening to audio books during your daily commute. I
do this and I enjoy it a lot.

~~~
NamTaf
I listen to a heap of podcasts, in fact. At work, I generally can't listen to
music with words so I stick to trance podcasts, but during my walk home I'll
listen to all kinds of ones with speech. This ranges from actual spoken ones,
to heavy metal ones with lyrics, and ones with both.

Off the top of my head: 99% Invisible, Freakanomics, Trade Talks, Requiem
metal podcast, Still Untitled.

Audio books are probably worth looking into, too. I tend to put aside 30-60
mins in bed reading before I sleep, so I tend to consume enough literature
that interests me, but it's definitely a good idea if I want to expand on
that. Thank you!

------
camtarn
Deliberately trying to cultivate friendships and openness, both by being a bit
more open and honest with people, and by asking them very gentle questions to
let them know that I'm somebody they can be open with, if they want.

I also set up a 'close friends' filter on Facebook for people I can be a bit
more honest with - not 'all drama, all the time' type of stuff, but more about
starting interesting discussions about stuff that we don't normally talk
about: emotions, relationships, etc. I'm tired of keeping my Facebook life
relentlessly positive and polished - not only is it bad for me, but bad for
everybody else who sees me as just another person with a better life than
their own.

It's all pretty terrifying, but it's definitely paying off. If you have mental
health issues, I can't overstate the goodness of having friends around you who
know and understand about that.

~~~
tcfunk
I also started doing this more -- including with my wife.

It has definitely helped my mood and mental health overall to talk about the
things that are on my mind, even if the conversations don't always end up
going in my favor per se.

This probably seems super obvious to a lot of people, but it does not come
naturally to me, and I suspect an equally large number of people have trouble
with it too.

~~~
aantix
If you're just learning to be open, you'd probably enjoy the book, Conscious
Loving. There's a whole section dedicated to telling the "microscopic truth"
in your relationships. [https://www.amazon.com/Conscious-Loving-Co-
Committment-Gay-H...](https://www.amazon.com/Conscious-Loving-Co-Committment-
Gay-Hendricks-ebook/dp/B002SXIF40)

Painful to do in the beginning, but as people get use to your new truth
telling ways, they learn to appreciate the honesty.

~~~
tcfunk
I'll check it out, thanks for the suggestion.

------
terryjsmith
Just show up - I started this last year going to the gym - if I didn't feel
like going to work out, I just went to the gym and messed around, did whatever
I felt like, even for 15 or 20 minutes and then left. The discipline has
translated into other projects - a camper reno, a game engine, etc. Just
showing up is more than half the battle, even if you don't accomplish much on
one given day.

~~~
nickelcitymario
I started this two months ago, too. My motto is "Showing up is the victory."

Once I'm in there, I give it my best. Some days my best sucks. I don't worry
about that. I got my ass into the gym. It's the habit that matters.

It's about consistently showing up.

For context, I'm 34 and clinically considered morbidly obese. My relationship
with exercise, like virtually all obese people, is one of yo-yo diets and
countless failed attempts at getting fit. I never before lasted more than a
few weeks.

A big part of the problem, I came to realize, was being too results-oriented.
I'd be highly motivated those first couple weeks when the pounds seem to drop
so quickly, then lose all motivation when the weight loss slowed down to a
healthier rate. Then I'd get depressed, quit, and binge eat until I reached a
new low of physical fitness and self-esteem, and start over.

This time around, I just get my ass to the gym. That's it. I don't care what
the scale says. I do try to eat better, but I don't beat myself up about it
when I fail -- because beating myself up just causes me to binge some more. I
just pick myself back up and hit the gym the next morning.

Here are some results so far:

1) I've discovered I actually LIKE lifting weights. So I do mostly that. I
look forward to the feeling of my limbs being like jelly. It feels like
accomplishment. To be clear, I've never, ever liked any form of exercise
before. By changing my focus to "just show up", I've freed myself to find
something I like, rather than trying to keep up with anyone else.

2) I've been tracking my weight, and after an initial loss of 25 pounds I've
put back on another 10. But, my waist line has gone down 3 belt notches, so I
try not to take the number on the scale too seriously. Sometimes it's up,
sometimes it's down.

3) My focus at work is through the roof. I just feel better. Less sluggish.
Able to concentrate more, which is mega important as a programmer (preaching
to the choir, I'm sure).

4) I sleep better and wake up on time without much of a hitch most of the
time. I'm still not super chipper first thing in the morning, but I don't hit
snooze either.

5) I have more energy to give to the people I love, i.e. my kids and my
partner. I'm still not superman, but I'm not sitting on the couch begging to
be left alone either. I play. I do stuff.

6) I just plain like myself more.

~~~
matwood
Sounds like you're on a great path, and I have a couple comments. First,
results oriented is great, but health and fitness is a life long thing like
breathing. The journey is what's important here.

Second, don't beat yourself up when you fail. We all fail at times. What you
can't do is let a simple failure snowball. Recognized you failed and get back
on track. A trick I use is not to wait until tomorrow to go to the gym, go
right then even if you've already been today. And when I say right then, I
literally mean right then if you can.

Finally, don't focus on the scale. Focus on doing the right things every
minute of every day and the scale will follow. Again, it's the process and
finding how you can live your entire life as healthy as you can.

------
gamerDude
In November, I wrote a personal update later and found some people that I
hadn't talked to in over 5 years. I sent 10 people that letter and said if
more than 5 reach out, I am going to do this monthly. 8 of them reached back
out! I felt honored that people still remembered me and wanted to keep up.

I've been doing as vulnerable a letter as I can every month. And people I know
from all sorts of relationships are reading it. Friends, family, mentors, you
name it. Covering everything from work to romance to health. Not only has it
helped me get more vulnerable, but it keeps me up to date with others, and
when I see people in person they already have a conversation to start with.
Overall it's been awesome and a highly recommend it for keeping relationships
alive and strong.

~~~
Taylor_OD
I've always wanted to do this. I have friends that I havnt spoken to in a
while who I would really like to stay in more regular contact with but it's
hard once we don't have a social reason to see each other on anymore.

Every time I think about doing this I worry that it's way too self indulgent.
I'm already a bit, see very, self absorbed at times and I think this would
come off as a extension of that. Am I just paranoid?

~~~
softawre
No, you're not paranoid, I would think it was self indulgent if I got a letter
like this from someone I hadn't seen in a long time.

------
antocv
Turn off all notifications on smart-phone, every single notification which
pops up, a led blinks, a "notification" appears, if its not emergency from my
wife - this has to be blocked.

Side effect, no need to check my phone, there is nothing there anymore.

Feeds like reddit, HN, email, all settings and username is only on work-laptop
with its own instance of browser - browsing these feeds on any other web-
browser means my settings, username etc is gone and instead of seeing my
subreddits, being able to comment, being able to login to email, that just
cant be done. Now feeds are an activity only enjoyable at work.

~~~
yeswecatan
How can you turn off all notifications except from one person?

~~~
ttsda
On many android phones there's a "do not disturb" option that can be
configured to allow calls and messages from stared contacts and nothing else.

~~~
amelius
Does it also work selectively for e.g. Whatsapp messages?

~~~
mcjiggerlog
Keep whatsapp notifications enabled, but then turn them off in the app's
settings. Then, for the person(s) you care about, go to their chat and set up
a custom notification.

~~~
amelius
Yeah, but if I use the "don't disturb" option of my phone, will it not mute
all notifications from all apps (except phone and sms-messages)?

~~~
mcjiggerlog
You can whitelist apps, too

------
jihadjihad
Replacing alcohol with water, except for occasional social events. Too many
times I’d come home dead tired mentally and reach for a cold one, which
inevitably led to…another cold one haha. Replace with water (bonus if you add
a little apple cider vinegar to it!), you’ll feel better and your body will
thank you. No non-social drinking allowed!

~~~
craftyguy
+1 to adding a splash of apple cider vinegar! I was wondering if I was the
only one the door that since my SO looks at me like I am crazy.

~~~
ghostbrainalpha
1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar 1 teaspoon Lime or Lemon Juice (cheap kind from
a squirt bottle) 1-2 ounces of 100% Pure Cranberry Juice.

This drink helped me stop having kidney stones. I also think it has minor
weight loss benefits with a low-carb diet.

I didn't love it at first but after about a month, your body starts to crave
it. Similar to a extremely refreshing Lemonade on a hot day.

------
chad_strategic
1\. 8 years ago delete my Facebook account.

2\. 5 years ago stopped looking at my phone in bed.

3\. 2 years ago delete my twitter account.

4\. 6 months ago stopped looking at my phone & computer from dinner time to my
son's bed time.

5\. 2 weeks ago removed email from phone.

Each step along the way, I feel better.

Also regular exercise and a healthy diet.

TODO: Meet more people and increase my social friendships. Also more
meditation (Headspace app works great for a beginner like me.)

~~~
osrec
I've managed 1, but 2 and 5 seem near impossible to me! How did you break the
habit of 2 and 5?

~~~
chad_strategic
FOMO = Fear of Missing Out

JOMO = Joy of Missing Out

I have replaced FOMO with JOMO.

(I'm not perfect, cause I have FOMO with this post.)

~~~
osrec
Lol, I like it! The truth is, having emails on my phone is convenient, but not
much more productive than just having them on my laptop.

Let me give the JOMO paradigm a try!

------
marenkay
I've always been an engineer and enjoyed being that for almost 25 years now.
Learning new things was kind of my way to end my work days.

One thing I admired and never really understood was people that went out every
day posting new content, tech tutorials etc. almost daily, being active on
Twitter, engaging with other people. Being a kid from the 1970s these things
were really weird for me because they are digital and not analog.

So I decided to actually try it out and try living as one of the guys
producing helpful tutorials and engaging/mentoring on Twitter and other
platforms.

I think it might be a great habit to cultivate because it pretty much fits
into moving beyond my comfort zone.

Would be nice to hear from others who tried this thing and hear if it actually
was rewarding. For now, I just suspect it will pay off in the long run.

[1]:
[https://twitter.com/marenkay/status/1006286995767877634](https://twitter.com/marenkay/status/1006286995767877634)
[2]: [https://marenkay.com/2018/06/11/symfony-user-
provider/](https://marenkay.com/2018/06/11/symfony-user-provider/)

~~~
choerst
Your blog looks quite nice. Which blogging software or static site generator
do you use if I may ask?

~~~
chrisweekly
Agreed, it's a solid-looking blog.

I noticed your "imprint" page
[https://marenkay.com/imprint/](https://marenkay.com/imprint/) has a bunch of
legalese relating to cookies and use of GA. Would you mind sharing where you
got the text? ie, from a lawyer?

~~~
marenkay
Thanks :-)

The imprint is based on legal advice from a lawyer. Will be receiving an
update soonish though because I wanted to rewrite it in non-lawyer speak
(which sadly requires consulting a lawyer to verify "normal" language
expresses the same).

------
inerte
Going to libraries. In 35 years I don’t even think I stepped inside one. One
day two years ago I read that a nearby library (Sunnyvale, CA) had audiobooks
and I decided to check it out, because I wanted something to listen on my
commute.

Mind. Blown.

Books, movies, comics, computers, printers, ebooks, audiobooks, board games,
chidren’s area, and lots more. All for free.

The way my audiobook library app works (Overdrive) is that you can add
different library cards from different library “networks”. So Sunnyvale and a
bunch of Mountain View and Cupertino libraries are part of one network, while
San Francisco libraries are from another network, and so are San Mateo, or San
Jose, or Monterey.

So I’ve been collecting library cards. 15 so far. Even went to Sacramento to
get a card. On my way back I stopped at Contra Costa county, Berkeley and the
Oakland.

Where I saw video game titles. Mind. Blown. Again. I found other libraries
close to home with video games, and now I regularly check out children games
for my son.

Almost every weekend I go the library, to get videogames, blu-rays and dvds.
And I can actually put a hold on the titles online.

Libraries are just amazing.

~~~
Bakary
I remember reading the idea that if they were introduced today, libraries
would sound like an outlandish communist idea.

------
songzme
I started sshing into my desktop at home to write code. I've never been so
liberated. I can literally code from any computer I borrow (friends or
library) and pick up exactly where I left off (tmux session) with the same
text-editor configuration (vim) instantly.

I realized that my previous desire to have the latest macbook so excessive,
and now I'm happy with just a light and durable $200 chromebook.

I teach a few people how to code, and I created accounts on my desktop for
them to ssh into and they are loving it as well.

~~~
QuasiAlon
1) I may sound like a total n00b, but don't you find it hard to code only from
a command line environment? I mean, you can't use IDEs with SSH, right?

2) I'm going to be that guy that chimes in and says you have to be careful
with code you write on company's time / using company equipment. So, be
careful with that.

~~~
firefistace77
So you actually can but it can be a pain tbh...

Here is a link describing it

[https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/12755/how-to-
forwar...](https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/12755/how-to-forward-x-
over-ssh-to-run-graphics-applications-remotely)

Of course with latency and all that sending x windows can slow it down a bit
(and there was some weird stuff with me and my Chromebook with it, but I got
it work in the end)

But! It definitely is possible, and once it's set up and everything it can
become really helpful/useful

Not too sure security wise how it fairs but I figured if it's just for
homework and on campus it should be fine for the most part, and ssh is secure
(hence the name :D ) so it should be fine

------
glastra
Switched to a ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting 5 months ago. My sleep
quality, mental clarity, ability to focus for long periods of time and mood
swings have all improved dramatically. I am also shredding fat at a pretty
good pace and apparently also gaining muscle (I lift every single day if I
can).

~~~
barleymash
I've been trying the opposite lately -- a high carb diet. I've mostly been
modeling my eating style after Dr. McDougall's "Starch Solution" plan. He
basically believes that humans are designed to eat starchy foods (potatoes,
whole grains, etc), and that fats are bad (healthy fats -- like from avocados
-- aren't necessarily unhealthy, but aren't great if you are trying to lose
weight). So one of the core tenets of this plan is to keep fat and protein
very low, and roughly an 80/10/10 percentage of carbs/protein/fat, which means
cooking without oils, butter, etc.

The staple of my diet is potatoes. I eat potatoes nearly every day, and I eat
a lot of them. My favorite way is to slice them up into wedges, add some
spices, bake them, and then dip them in mustard. I also eat lots of rice,
beans, oatmeal, bread, occasionally something like cheerios for a snack, etc.

The beauty of this plan is that if you stick to resistant starches, and keep
fat low, you don't need to count calories. You will likely feel full before
you will overeat calories. I'm down about 15 pounds since starting in February
(6 ft tall, down from 195 to 180ish), and I've got the most ab definition I've
ever had from JUST a diet (I'm barely doing any cardio right now). But more
importantly, I feel really good.

Anyway, this is not to undermine a ketogenic diet. I think both are effective
ways to feel good and look good... either eating low enough carbs that your
body burns fat (Keto), or eating low enough fat that your body isn't storing
any. I just enjoy experimenting with different ways of eating, and this one
happens to be working great for me right now.

~~~
OldSchoolJohnny
Wow, you're really "zagging" when science is "zigging", interesting to hear
how that turns out for you, please keep us updated. I personally have gone
from what you describe many years ago to paleo, then to keto and now to
complete carnivory. Each step I feel better and shed more weight, think more
clearly and have more energy.

However modern science is also positing that there may be people who thrive on
what would be terrible for other people due to genetic or microbiome
differences so I'm curious how it turns out for you.

~~~
barleymash
That last sentence is an interesting point. The reason I stumbled onto this
plan in the first place, is that I've had years of digestive discomfort, and
realized that my system seems to handle starchy foods better. So I did some
research on that, and learned that starchy foods are often the easiest for
your body to digest and process.

------
themodelplumber
Switching from measuring productivity to measuring sleep, including nap-taking
and night sleeping, has really helped me. I wrote about the sleep part a bit
here[0].

I originally started (I think 3 years ago) measuring my satisfaction with how
each day went and soon found that "getting all the things done" and all the
productivity focus simply wasn't _that_ important to my happiness, contrary to
what I had believed in the past. I clearly enjoy life much more when I'm well-
rested and can _also_ get more done under those circumstances.

[0] [https://www.friendlyskies.net/intj/managing-effective-
sleep-...](https://www.friendlyskies.net/intj/managing-effective-sleep-seems-
to-make-me-a-better-intj)

~~~
spyckie2
I've noticed this too.

The expectation is for sleep to affect productivity, but I don't find that to
be the case. Instead, I find that it has a lot of impact on my social and
emotional well being rather than my productivity.

Productivity doesn't lead to many positive states - just exhaustion. Being
well rested on the other hand has led to lots of positive mental conditions -
surplus energy after work, dramatic decrease of negative thoughts, positive
attitude towards new things, willingness for social activities, more boldness
and confidence, and all these things snowball off of each other.

~~~
bitL
Hint: work from home, start at 7am, finish at 3pm, switch work phone off, do
whatever you want afterwards, perhaps going outside to catch some sun, some
sport and meet similarly minded people; that would do wonders both for your
productivity and happiness. Sometimes I think the usual 9-5 was designed to
damage everyone to be easier to control and with no energy to do anything
threatening to whoever has the illusion of being powerful.

------
H1Supreme
Reading books. I was never a reader as kid. And, for the last 10 years or so
of my adult life, the only reading I've done was programming tutorials,
documentation, and whatever I ran into on the web. Certainly, there wasn't any
reading done for fun.

But, last month after picking up lunch one day, I actually walked into the
used book store and bought a book. Yesterday, I started reading book #4. Kinda
surprised I went through the first few so quick.

I've been reading on my lunch hour most days, but spent this weekend going
through 2/3 of one I started last week.

Not sure how much it's "paying off", but I'm definitely staying off my
phone/web at lunch. The stories have me more engrossed than I anticipated too.

~~~
plants
Reading is AWESOME. I am in the same boat as you - never read much as a kid,
mostly read stuff on the web up until about a year and a half ago. I found a
couple really cheap used bookstores near me around that time, and I have never
looked back.

For me, fiction is such a nice break from the technical stuff that I am
exposed to day in and day out. I feel it has helped me to be more empathetic,
has exposed me to all sorts of different characters/personalities, and has
made me a more well-rounded person in general. I also feel as though I am more
frequently able to find the right words to adequately express my ideas.

Another thing that's great about reading is talking about books with close
friends. Their insights on the book might be something that would have
otherwise gone completely over your head.

------
gringoDan
A morning routine involving no phone, computer, etc. for the first hour of the
day has been great for me.

I usually wake up, make coffee, read for about 30 min, and then gratitude
journal and plan my day. (I use Panda Planner purely for convenience, I'm sure
a blank sheet of paper works as well.)

This allows me to set my own schedule and prioritize my day, rather than
reacting to the demands placed on me by others. I've seen improvement in both
1) my general productivity and 2) my progress on the long-term tasks I'd
usually be more likely to put off.

~~~
LandR
What isa gratitude journal?

~~~
whalesalad
Every day you write down X things you are grateful/thankful for. The goal is
to write new things every day.

The intent is to help you rediscover things in your life that you tend to take
for granted. A lot of us have it pretty good but still feel sad or depressed
day-to-day. This journaling process intends to curb that.

~~~
QuasiAlon
I tried this for a while, via daily tweets instead of a journal. Tried to find
one thing a day, even if it was the smallest of things (e.g. first time
wearing a new pair of socks!).

Very quickly I found out that my daily gratitudes are about (1) driving
to/from work that was less congested than usual. (2) finding a good parking
spot (mostly at work). (3) getting a tasty lunch (during lunch break, at
work).

This actually depressed me, b/c it was just further indication all I do is
work.

------
SamReidHughes
Working out. Just body weight workouts. No gym. It improved my golf game.

Another is: not buying sodas with my meal. Self-explanatory.

Another: Spending brief interludes of time where a compile or unit test is
happening to write down what I'm going to do next. It keeps me on task.

Another: Incrementally cleaning/organizing my condo.

Another: Walking around hardware, furniture, craft stores, Walmart, Target,
etc, to see what consumer goods are available. There's often something useful
that I didn't know I needed or wanted.

~~~
MrQuincle
Working out! With a 7 minute app. I started in Nov.

\+ People notice the difference.

\+ It's a good way to cope with bad times.

\+ You feel accomplished afterwards.

\+ It's a perfect start of the day.

\+ If you're dating and she is watching, it's a turn on.

\+ You can go on for longer.

\+ It's good for your confidence.

\+ Other people who are working on themselves can be interesting people to
meet.

\+ It's good for your health.

\+ It's nice for other people to look at the results. Similar to a nice
painting some people like to see muscles.

~~~
majewsky
I have a question regarding that. I'm not particularly fat (185cm / 6'0'' tall
and weighing 85kg / 187lb), but I'm quite unfit (you wouldn't be able to see
any muscles on my body).

When I try to do something like a 7-minute or 9-minute workout, I'm usually
unable to continue after 3 minutes because of sheer exhaustion, and I'll have
aching muscles for the next few days after that. Any recommendations how to
overcome these initial problems? Maybe drastically shorten each exercise (from
1 minute to 15 seconds or something like that)?

~~~
amelius
Cardiovascular exercises: use a heartbeat monitor and check that the frequency
is within a certain range during the exercise (you can look up how to find the
range on the internet). This way, you will not be pushing yourself over your
limit.

Weight lifting exercises: choose a weight such that you can do the exercise 12
times (reps) _correctly_ without getting exhausted/fatigued. Then _correctly_
do 4-5 sets of that exercise, with 1-2 minutes between the sets. Optionally
increase the weight a little between sets, and reduce the number of reps so
that you can do at least 8 reps in the last set.

~~~
saalweachter
My personal cardio "training" routine was to "run three times", which means, I
would run as long as I could (which may not be very long at all!), then walk
until I was recovered, and then run again, until I'd run three times. If I'm
running outside, I'll run "out" in one direction until my three times are up,
and then make my way back at whatever pace I can. When I'm running on a
treadmill, I'll usually stop after my third recovery period, but I'll increase
my speed throughout the run.

I don't over do it with this routine. If I'm out of breath or something starts
to hurt I just stop running and walk for a bit, but it helped me work up to a
reasonable amount of cardiovascular stamina the couple of times I've fallen
completely out of shape. I usually abandon it once I have enough stamina that
I become time-constrained on how long I can run rather than physically.

------
INTPenis
I stopped smoking cannabis a little over a month ago and now I feel all this
energy surging through me that I had been missing since 2017.

I had been really down since my SO passed away in september but I hadn't
smoked what you might consider excessively. The problem was that I smoked too
regularly. Like a little pinch in a pipe twice a week. That's enough to keep
my body affected by it. And it takes at least a month for it to purge.

I've been through this before but the older I get the more I notice the
changes, the contrast in energy and behavior.

So this last time has me thinking of never smoking again. Or at least never
getting into a smoking period longer than one week again. An occasional spliff
with friends would be ok but no repeats.

Anyways, none of that is on the map for now, right now I'm feeling so great.
I'm finishing off projects, I'm coding until the sun comes up, I'm exercising.
God I love being clean!

~~~
krolley
I'm the same. I feel the need to get "high" pretty much once or twice a week.
I much prefer to smoke weed, and only drink if I can't smoke. Luckily for me I
like to use a vaporizer so I never have more than can fit into one bowl --
which is not a great amount -- and I don't get a massive _high_ from it. Also,
the weed stops me from getting fat as I don't really get the munchies, and
avoid all the calories from alcohol.

Would be nice to stop this behaviour but I can't really seem to, and it
doesn't seem to have huge negative effects on my life, but it definitely does
have some.

------
yogeshp
Recently I read the book - Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy.

One of point was to keep a pocket diary where you list all the TODO tasks and
keep striking them off as they complete. Helped me in many ways:

1\. It is very easy to forget many tasks but by writing them and checking the
diary even once in a while, it is possible to be reminded regularly.

2\. Its better than mobile TODO apps as I don't need to check mobile phone
regularly and don't get distracted.

3\. When you strike some things off, you see the progress that you are
achieving something. Just deleting everything shows you long list of tasks yet
to be done and can be demotivating.

[https://www.amazon.com/Eat-That-Frog-Great-
Procrastinating/d...](https://www.amazon.com/Eat-That-Frog-Great-
Procrastinating/dp/162656941X/ref=sr_1_1)

~~~
yarinr
I do something to similar, although using a mobile app (Google Keep), and
write down EVERYTHING. For me, probably the biggest benefit of doing so was
freeing my brain. I no longer have to worry about naturally remembering
things, and it makes my life a lot less stressful. It also provides me more
time and brain power to think about what actually matters to me.

Nowdays, if a thought pops in my head while I'm laying down in bed, I'll just
get up for a second and write it down. Feels so good.

This article [https://hamberg.no/gtd/](https://hamberg.no/gtd/) articulates
the idea pretty well:

> When your system and your trust in your system is in place, your
> subconsciousness will stop keeping track of all the things you need to do
> and stop constantly reminding you. This reduces stress and frees up precious
> brain time to more productive thinking—maybe it even saves real time so that
> you have more time for ballet lessons, painting classes, and roller-blading.

~~~
charleyramm
I have a system in apple notes where I use a separate note for each weekday.
It gives me a chance to dump todos in there, without creating an
overwhelmingly large list. I also naturally review my progress on neglected
items each week. Also serves me as a basic calendar, eg “see john on
Wednesday”.

------
rc-1140
Reducing my portions for food, even if it's healthy stuff. I've found that
it's helped me drop a considerable amount of weight yet still be able to have
things I want to have, even if they're unhealthy. I started playing around
with it towards the end of college and its helped me reduce food spending,
intake, overall weight, and I've been shrinking dishes so the dishes I do have
to do are smaller. In the vein of reducing portions, limiting certain foods to
certain days of the week and committing to it has become much easier (i.e.,
Friday and Saturday are the only two days of the week I'll have pizza barring
special occasions).

I've been trying to make exercise and working out seem positive for years now,
but I don't get the rush from it that everyone else seems to. Lifting things
up and down is boring, running on the treadmill or elliptical is boring, and
I'm not in that kind of shape to do some kind of hyperactive training regimen.
I basically just do it because sacrificing 30 mins to an hour at the gym after
work and then the commute time back home is a fair trade off for not having to
worry about a lot of health complications down the line.

One that I was into at my last job and that I've been trying to reintroduce is
a nap after work. At my last job, I'd come home and take a nap for an hour or
so, and wake up feeling like doing something. This got crushed by introducing
above exercise: I'd go work out, come home and say "oh I'll take a nap", and
wake up an hour or so before I had to sleep.

~~~
jnsaff2
I've had issues with sticking with exercise all my life and at some point I
figured out that it has to be really fun for me to want to do it. When I lived
in Sydney close to the beach I was always itching to go to play beach
volleyball and I still miss it. Here in London I decided to go to Krav Maga
and it has the quadruple benefit of being fun, learning a really useful skill,
building confidence in not being afraid of confrontations (the office boss
kind of, not trying to pick bar fights) and being a very serious workout as
well. Highly recommend Krav Maga, it is much more approachable than one would
think, for anyone!

~~~
deepaksurti
+10 to Krav Maga. From a second person perspective:

My partner has been doing KM for 2-3 times a week for over a year now and
since then I see clearer thinking, responding instead of reacting, better
sleep quality, losing weight as her gains. I am inspired, while I play
badminton 3-4 times a week for 3/4 to an hour to stay sane, needless to say
she finds time to play with me!

@jnsaff, I would say stick to KM and kudos for cultivating such a habit.

------
calferreira
Stopped thinking about trying to be the best and just doing the best I can.

Sounds simple but it was quite an issue for me. I was putting a tremendous
pressure on myself and others, causing me anxiety and sadness.

Just doing the best I can and being happy. There's more life beyond work and
perfection is just a falacy.

~~~
free-trampolin
This is everything but simple for most ppl, including me. I haven't achieved
that entirely yet.

~~~
JanisL
I find that understanding learning better helps with this. Effective learning
requires knowing where you are at and what you need to do to get better given
where you are at. In this sense trying to be the best is often the wrong goal.

------
dahart
Counting calories. I finally lost 50 lbs and learned that when I’d go to the
gym or go for a run, I’d compensate by eating more, which is why I never lost
the weight I wanted in 20 years of regular exercise.

I still exercise, but now I do it to 1- get stronger, and 2- earn calorie
budget so I can eat more.

~~~
JaumeGreen
Counting calories really has helped me. I lost almost 15Kg, I'm on the verge
of being only overweight, I feel lighter, I snore less, ...

After the period of adaptation it has also make me relate to the food in
diferent ways, feeling full sooner, and my taste has changed somewhat and I
don't love "unhealthy" food any longer.

This with daily weight-ins (with average indicator) has been the real game
changer for me.

I read about this on Hacker's diet[0], and I didn't start counting until
february. If I had known it would be to simple (not that easy though) I might
have started sooner.

[0] [https://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/](https://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/)

------
ponderatul
Quit Facebook( which really means just access it 2mins per week on a Sunday,
just because I'm on a few groups ). Close down Instafart.

Quit watching porn, after realising the health risks are not worth the
benefits.

Quit buying sweets of any kind, especially sugary ones, for myself. I still
buy chips for everyone when meeting with friends. I still eat sweets as long
as they are made at home. And yes, I have cheat days. So it's not perfect.

The benefits trickled down, phone usage went down etc. etc.

So I got into the habit of quitting, and seeing things for what they are.

~~~
else42
Watching porn has health risks?

~~~
momentmaker
Dopamine overload. Less intimacy when it comes to real sex. There is a
generation of young men who can't ejaculate without the use of porn suffering
from an early ED.

------
koliber
Saying "no" more often, surely but compassionately and kindly.

It allowed me to claim back some of my own time back.

I don't mean a gruff and negative "no". A positive and assertive no.

I used to be afraid of saying no. I guess it was due to FOMO or due to trying
to avoid a negative reaction. I realized though that I don't owe anyone
anything (in most cases) and saying "no" is perfectly OK.

~~~
psalminen
This is something I've been trying to do for years. Glad to hear its working
well for you!

------
krzjn
Completely changing my mindset toward success. Only having positive thoughts.
All actions start with me to attain my most desired goals. No complaining, no
blaming, no hesitating, and no coulda woulda shoulda. Instead, "Next time I'm
in this situation, this is what I'll do to be successful." Staying focused on
the goal. Failure is only a necessary stepping stone toward success and is
only there to tell you how to do it better.

Rising above standards and expectations set upon me by others. Only you set
your own goals. Be the best available in your career and you will be set for
life.

"Win as though you're used to it, lose as though you like it."

~~~
tonyedgecombe
That sounds exhausting.

~~~
chriswarbo
It sounds preferable to the fear of failure that I'm guilty of. Riding the
rollercoaster of frantic overwork followed by existential dread about being
found out to be less than perfect. _That_ is exhausting; plus there's not much
to show afterwards except for a pile of _meticulously polished_ but ultimately
abandoned projects..

------
biastoact
I set a goal of using my feet to walk around and engage team members in 5 work
conversations (unscheduled) each day. The change in culture and the
identification of problems, road blocks, oppertunities has been eye opening.
As a natural introvert who’d rather be heads down it has made me much more
effective in the team.

~~~
matt_the_bass
How do you prevent disruption on those that you interrupt?

~~~
biastoact
I find that as long as it isn't every day and I show up to ask about their
public deadlines, compliment them on progress, and offer to help where they
are stuck that people don't react like it is a disruption.

~~~
matt_the_bass
Do you schedule the visit or just drop in? Do you check their calendars first?

~~~
biastoact
I more take some time to roam each day and if people aren’t deep in activity
or meetings check in at that point. Afternoons are great as folks tend to be
low blood sugar and more opt to be pushed back from their desks, etc.

------
jvkersch
Yoga. It's the only time in the day where my brain is not in overdrive. Also,
as a 36-year old with a sedentary lifestyle it's surprising/horrifying how
stiff I've become. I'm just following the beginner movies on youtube and I go
to the occasional class, so it's not stressful.

~~~
superasn
I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. Recently had a conversation about it
with another HNer who had some really good tips for me[1]. I'm sure you will
benefit too from it!

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17238480](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17238480)

------
bichiliad
But of an odd one, but I've been trying actively to make better eye contact
with the intention of being a better communicator. I think it's had the
unintended effect of making me a better listener, which I'd argue is more
important.

------
jonbarker
I have recently removed the habit of 'relentless skill acquisition' in favor
of meditation. If I had a spare 20 minutes I used to practice various skills
that I wanted to become good at. While this is probably better than mindlessly
ingesting social media or the internet, it has the unique problem of allowing
one's identity to get caught up in how good at skill acquisition one can get,
and also requires concentration, which is not quite as beneficial to the mind
as meditation. The side benefit to this is that it amazingly reduces spending
in support of hobbies, which was an ancillary budgetary concern. In short, if
you stop visualizing yourself as 'good at something' and then needing to
purchase the gear in support of that hobby, you save a lot of cash.

------
oregontechninja
Actually sitting down to train my memory once a day. At a bare minimum I
memorize the order of a pack of cards, but I try and work in other exercises
when I have the time. I'm in the process of memorizing my first book.

Super helpful if you're an IT guy and need to remember a bunch of different IP
addresses, usernames, and passwords. Also people love it when you remember
their name. Highly recommend taining your memory, it's very useful.

~~~
madeuptempacct
"At a bare minimum I memorize the order of a pack of cards, but I try and work
in other exercises when I have the time."

How long does it take you?

Do you use any mnemonic techniques?

Would your time not be better spent memorizing foreign vocab?

Do you see an improvement?

Have you checked for cross-task improvements?

What got you doing this? What differences do you see?

~~~
oregontechninja
I use video game locations as memory palaces. I use Pokemon to represent
numbers. It takes me 10 minutes to memorize a deck. It took me two 20 minute
training sessions to learn how.

I will eventually use it to learn a new language.

I read half of "Moonwalking with Einstein", worked out some exercises, and
started practicing. By the next day, I could remember the order of the deck of
cards!

I can't believe I went my whole school career without knowing such a valuable
technique.

Can you expand on what you mean by cross-improvement?

The differences are huge. One of the first things I did was make a memory
papace for my current month and set up my schedule.

Also remembering names is laughably trivial for me now.

It feels like gaining a super power in the form of memory and litteraly
everyone thinks you're a genius (even though they could just as easily learn
the skill)

------
danni
Just eating less carbs has made me feel a lot better. I'm not too intense
about it, but just being mindful of it makes me a lot less tired after meals.

~~~
dotdi
Same here. I was pretty hardcore for several months and take a more relaxed
stance now. It also helped me lose a few kilograms.

~~~
jackgolding
how do you do more relaxed? I lost a massive amount of weight completely
cutting carbs (inc recording each macro every day) but stress eating made me
put it on again... hoping i can find a more sustainable way...

------
mattlondon
Running outside.

I've lost a lot of weight, I feel noticeably fitter/stronger, and I find it
really helps to calm down if I've had a crazy day at work. Sometimes I think
through things, sometimes my mind is strangely blank. Either way I come back
feeling calmer and more settled afterwards. I wouldn't say I "enjoy" running
(getting ready to go for a run is still a struggle), but once I am out and
have been moving for 5 minutes or so it feels like it was worth it as I get a
little bit of a buzz out of it.

It can be a little time-consuming, e.g. get ready, run for 40-60 minutes,
shower & get changed again etc so you're looking at 1.5 or more hours of time
gone. I try to run to work now so that I can replace the commute with running
and get showered for the day at work (I take work clothes in with me in a
backpack) so that saves a bit of time.

Running on a treadmill in a gym simply does not compare - the feeling of the
running is different, the scenery never changes, and its too hot/no air
movement.

Best advice for anyone considering starting is: start out slow and dont try to
go too fast (it feels a lot slower than running on a treadmill at the gym),
build the distance up slowly (I started with just under a mile and considered
that an achievement, now I do 5-6 miles or so), listen to your body - if
something really hurts then stop and get it checked out by a physio, and get
an app that tracks your pace and speed etc (I use run keeper but I know others
like strava - run keeper gives you audio read outs on pace etc). I've found a
decent pair of bluetooth headphones and a running-belt/-band to put my phone
in have been totally worth it (the arm-pockets you see a lot were either way
too tight or slip around too much for me)

Good luck :)

------
JanisL
I completely cut out carbonated drinks, I recently went to the dentist and was
expecting the usual "You haven't been looking after your teeth" spiel but
instead was told my teeth were in great shape. It's also been very good for my
overall energy levels, I suspect that those sugar highs/crashes were worse
than I had realized.

~~~
emodendroket
Club soda would probably be fine.

~~~
JanisL
Yes that likely would be. I guess the main issue is the really heavy sugar
content in many drinks more than the carbonation. I find that it's the drinks
like cola that are really brutal but there's also other drinks that are
particularly sugar packed but not carbonated. I've been trying to make a
conscious effort to not have things like this and it's been very positive
overall.

~~~
emodendroket
Yeah, I did the same and I rarely have soda anymore. But you don't have to
give up carbonation altogether if you don't want to.

------
amorphous
Keeping a diary. I started somewhere around the beginning of 2000, but
unfortunately on paper which I have lost. In 2005 I switched to digital. I
lost some more notes due to using a proprietary format and app crashes but
have since then written my notes in plain text. I have around 3500 (standard
book) pages of personal notes.

I started keeping a diary because I wanted to write fiction but couldn't keep
at it, so I just put my streams of thoughts on paper. Later I got used to
writing daily, and it has become my primary way to relax and clear my head.

Reading what I was doing and thinking ten years ago has been very valuable to
me. It's a treasure trove of memories. But it is way more than a nostalgic
pleasure. It has helped me to understand my thought processes. And distance
myself from it.

It made me realise the meaning "you are not your thoughts" on a deeper level
that is hard to explain here. I'm very happy I started this so many years ago
and kept at it.

------
be_jenk
I spend the first 15 minutes after waking up sitting in my garden in silence.
There is no 'payoff' data that I can measure, but I do feel like my head is
clearer and more focused all day

~~~
bytematic
Would you call it meditation?

------
Karupan
Going to a psychologist for my anxiety. Learning to manage and control it
before it becomes panic has been just awesome. It’s just been two months and
I’m already hopeful.

~~~
OldSchoolJohnny
Good for you! That shit can waste years of your life if you don't take charge
of it early.

------
sunwicked1
New Habit: Learn something daily \- Learning French: I finished Duolingo app's
course, now experimenting with plugins and more apps to learn French. \-
Learning Ukulele: I picked it some 6 months back. Still, a long way to go.
Benefit: 1)When I encounter something difficult to learn, I panic less. I
understand the incremental process and the highs and lows of learning a new
skill/concept. 2)The fun of learning, knowing things.

New Habit: Read books of domain/genre which I used to avoid Benefit: 1)
Interleaving of concepts, I cannot guarantee this happens. Found new ideas
which can be used in my work line. For instance, a book on psychology can help
you pitch your product better to consumers.

~~~
projectileboy
I strongly recommend Pimsleur language courses as an addition to Duolingo.
They’re especially great if you spend any time in a car.

~~~
sunwicked1
Thanks will give it a try.

------
dotdi
For me, that would be keeping a diary.

I don't have any hard data, but I feel better and seem to have a better grip
on life since I started. I'm using a relaxed version of Bullet Journal and I
kept at it for much longer than I expected.

~~~
Radim
Seconded. I put a recurring event called "Articulation" into my calendar, 30
mins each evening.

Sticking to jotting down my thoughts for the day, having to explicitly
organize and summarize them (work, personal, whatever), has been an unexpected
boost to clarity.

And this despite being in a managerial position, where you could say my days
are filled with talking, organizing, resolution and strive for clarity anyway.
The "self-articulation diary" still pays off.

------
pdxgene
Swimming laps most mornings. I never had the discipline to learn to swim
properly when I was younger, and have always been an avid runner and cycler.
Adding swimming into the mix has balanced out my conditioning, and the
meditative state you can achieve while in the zone is great for creative
problem solving. Highly recommended.

------
bobosha
Mine is _very_ modest compared to some of the excellent ones posted thus far,
but it has certainly worked for me.

"No seconds" rule i.e. don't take a second helping of food. I have lost 10 lbs
since last month and hope to get to my ideal weight losing another 20 lbs.

It is actually surprisingly easy to get this habit going and maintain it.

~~~
nighthawk1
A variation of this is only eat half the portion and save the other half for
the next meal.

------
ageofwant
Not giving a fuck.

[https://www.amazon.com/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-
Counterintuitiv...](https://www.amazon.com/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-
Counterintuitive/dp/0062457713)

------
bsvalley
This will sound a little boring to you but the following 5 habits made me
stronger after only 2 weeks. I suffer from general fatigue (I did a million
check up with specialist and nothing came out). I've tried so many different
things to boost my level of energy naturally, that's the result of a long
study and experiment:

\- Cutting caffeine to only one coffee on the morning and taking that coffee
at least one hour after waking up, always at the same time. If I switch that
habit of about an hour I get tired and get a slight headache, it would take me
at least 2 days to get back on track. It took me a while to figure out how to
optimize the intake of caffeine to avoid any side effects.

\- Restricting time eating (intermittent fasting?). I leave myself a window of
10 hours, sometimes 9 when I can to get all my meals. Outside of that window
it's only water. Our liver works efficiently for about 10-12h per day. Thanks
to that I do have more energy in general.

\- No more pasta and sugary products (besides fruits) inspired from the keto
diet. Though, I do not get most of my calories from fats as suggested by the
keto diet.

\- I eat a handful of berries every single day all at once. It boosts my
digestive system and fibers are essential.

\- I try to run once a week for at least 30 minutes and at least 3 miles at
once. This improve my general breathing and body strength.

That's it! Again, if I stick to these 5 habits, I win every day.

~~~
Sharma
One another imp factor I would suggest is to try experimenting with your sleep
hours. Sometimes an extra half an hour of sleep can make a great difference.

------
pc311
Meditation has been so helpful for me. I've been doing it every morning and
don't think I'll ever stop

~~~
jer_rej
Agreed! Meditation is the single most helpful daily habit I've discovered in
lots of years. Maybe ever.

------
scandox
Napping. I take a 15 minute nap after I've put the kids to bed in the evening.
I now feel like I've gained a second day every day. It's magical.

~~~
QuasiAlon
Doesn't it make it hard for you to fall asleep night time?

------
octygen
1\. Stretch the lower back every day. I "programmed" this dude's workout into
a free Android tool called Flexible Interval Timer:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdCJrWNO7O8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdCJrWNO7O8).
All my coworkers love it too. He has great vids on warming up/cooling down for
running and many other useful mobility things.

2\. Bike to/from work and to places within ~1h bike ride of home. Huge
positive impact on productivity and focus. Living in LA, there's always
something going on. But if it's going on outside the ~1h bike bubble I might
as well not go since there's probably something else I could do at home that's
more productive towards goals.

3\. Go to at least one artsy event a week. Usually Wednesdays. This week it
was book club - we read Endurance by Alfred Lansing. Next week it's a ballet.

4\. Use an Amazon Echo to play 5-15 minutes of a book on Overdrive before I go
to sleep. Overdrive can be set to stop playing after a certain time interval
so, when it stops, I fall asleep instantly. I also play 15 minutes of the book
when I wake up. Libby (Overdrive's younger sister/brother from another mother)
also works the same way. If I get tired earlier, I tell it to stop - this is
great because I don't have to look at a screen to tell it to stop earlier.

5\. No electronics except the echo and the kindle and the ipod that only plays
overdrive over bluetooth in the bedroom.

6\. I have 6 mentors I admire for 6 key characteristics. I have their photos
on a printed PowerPoint slide along with the 6 characteristics. Whenever I
need to make a hard decision, I look at the slide and I imagine what they
would say. They almost always agree and I do the right thing :)

------
honopu
20-35 min of cardio at gym. I lifted for about a year, had a wrist injury so I
started doing the recumbent bike. Hold 130+ heart rate for 20-25min. I wish I
had done this when I started going to the gym, this combined with audiobooks
took the "chore" out of cardio.

Also treating every bit of time like it is; a precious non-renewable resource,
has helped more than it's hurt :).

------
on_and_off
Hiring a personal trainer and work out 5 times a week (only 2 with a trainer
though, soon 1).

YMMV, a trainer has allowed me to fix goals and get tailored exercises so I
progress quickly.

I repeat the exercises I did with the trainers the other days of the week.

Since I am not a morning person, I go to the gym in the evening, so I often go
there , have a shower and go to sleep.

It has tremendously improved both my sleep and my energy levels.

~~~
mikerice
Similar boat: started working out with a trainer in Feb 2x a week, and 2x on
my own. Although having a trainer is a luxury the return has been great and
I've never felt better.

~~~
on_and_off
Sadly it is indeed a luxury.

That's probably one of the 2 improvements in my lifestyle caused by moving
from Paris to SF. The other would be that I can walk to work in 25 minutes,
although my commute was just as short in Paris, except in the subway.

At the same time, it is a great investment for that overinflated tech salary
so I don't regret paying 70$/hour for this service.

------
srikz
Saying no.

To clients for uninteresting work. To scope creep and stopping unbilled
features. To friends and family for social commitments when I know I’m
spreading myself thin and may not be able to go through or not be fully
present.

This helps me cut out FOMO and makes me a bit more sane

It is still scary to do it everytime but it also makes my Yeses a more
conscious choice instead of being the de-facto option.

------
dawnerd
Not sure how much its paying off but spending about half an hour every day
doing Swedish lessons on Duolingo. No real aim, I don't expect to be able to
speak it at all but its more about not being locked into just English. I have
some Spanish so that will be next up. I've noticed it makes me feel more
accomplished every day at least.

~~~
superasn
Oh yes I tried that too but it didn't really pay off for me.

That daily streak really helped me stay at it for almost 340 days straight
(French). Unfortunately even after daily practice for almost 1 year I can't
say I learned anything much (French is a very difficult language and I'm old
so that may have something to do with it and YMMV). But anyway seeing I was
making no progress I had to quit.

~~~
yorwba
I heard that Duolingo is not good at teaching you how to actually use a
language, instead focusing on the parts that are easily measured. Because of
that, I never tried it and don't know how accurate that evaluation is, but
here's what helped be when learning Chinese:

\- Regularly meet with a native speaker (1 hour per week for me): they can
correct your mistakes and try to explain confusing aspects of the language

\- Read
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Target_Language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Target_Language)
and
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Language#Phonology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Language#Phonology)
and the descriptions of individual sounds linked there. It will help you to
consciously position your tongue to produce the sounds and practice until you
can do it subconsciously. Doing it purely by ear is much harder. You probably
won't sound like a native speaker anyway, but get much closer than someone who
approximates everything using sounds from their native language.

\- Watch movies in your target language (every day before going to sleep, in
my case), with subtitles until you can do without. You'll almost certainly
notice a few words every time which are repeated frequently. Pause the video
and look them up. They might not be useful in everyday conversations (I know
way too many titles of members of the Chinese imperial court), but if you stay
within a genre, they'll still help improve your understanding as you keep
watching.

\- Use spaced repetition to review vocabulary. Turn it into a habit to add
some fixed number of new words every day and then review. If you keep it up
for a few years, even small increments add up to a sizable number.
Fortunately, spaced repetition increases the intervals between reviews, so the
time cost each day stays manageable. If you use Anki, I also recommend looking
for addons to add pronunciations automatically (even robotic speech-to-text
can be helpful).

\- To practice reading, start with headlines from a newspaper website (even if
it's just a single headline initially and you have to look up every word).
Then work your way up to paragraphs, articles and eventually books.

\- I never practiced writing much (except when memorizing individual Chinese
characters), but if you can speak and read, you can probably write. If your
target language has a different keyboard layout, figure out how to switch to
it in your OS and practice typing. For Linux, I can't plug Fcitx enough,
especially for its awesome Unicode input feature.

\- Finally, nothing motivates more than putting yourself into a situation
where you have no choice but use your language. After 2 years of studying
Chinese, I somehow managed to rent an apartment in China using only my still
pretty limited speaking ability and the pressure of that and similar
situations has helped me improve tremendously.

~~~
superasn
Thanks, that is awesome advice.

I don't know any native french speakers in my area but I often thought about
skyping those number on fiverr where people offer to chat with you and do
exactly the same. I can also attest that watching TV serials in french was
pretty entertaining (i saw whole 2 seasons of maison close) with and without
subs when i was on that 300 day streak.. it really was super fun. But i think
at the end of the day it all boils down to practice and repetition and most
importantly if you're doing it out of need or just fun (in later case you
never take it seriously like you said in your last point which was sadly my
case as i really don't have any need for it).

------
projectramo
Almost all the habits here are about sleeping and exercise.

Exercise is one of those things that once you start, you crave so it is
easier.

But sleep wasn't solved for me till I got a personal tracker. Suddenly I
started to care when I measured how little or how much REM I got.

So I think if you get a personal tracker and track your steps and sleep, a lot
of the rest will fall in place.

~~~
elros
I've been trying to solve the sleep part of the equation for a few decades.
I'm yet to try a sleep tracker.

Do you have a personal tracker recommendation?

~~~
projectramo
I used to use the Jawbone UP because it had the best REM sleep tracking. I
bought up a ton of old ones when they closed down because they don't last.

I use the fitbit now. The sleep tracking has caught up.

The link between REM and mood/clarity is very strong in my case.

~~~
rwmj
Is there one which doesn't upload your habits to the cloud?

~~~
projectramo
not that I know of. The devices themselves were very fragile and undependable.
The new generation is reliable though. But in the old days you had to have a
backup somewhere or else you lost all the data.

------
everdev
Tracking my Habits and weight every day. I picked 6 habits (exercise,
meditation, teaching, presence, community, cleaning/oragnanizing) I wanted to
focus on and used the Loop - Habits Tracker app to check my progress. For
weight, I bought a WeightGurus smart scale.

Now, when I'm feeling irritable or tired I can check my app and see if I've
been keeping up with the habits that "fill me up". If not, then instead of
dumping my irritability on friends and family, I can focus on myself and put
my energy into those habits instead.

For weight, getting daily feedback of weight and body composition helped me
clearly see how tolerant my body is of carbs and over eating (not much!). It's
way easier to pass on the pasta and garlic bread after seeing the results on
the scale the next morning.

Common theme is more data on things I care about.

------
yakshaving_jgt
One mental burden I often suffer from is an inbox full of administrative
tasks, i.e., not programming, that I have no desire to do yet they are
obligatory.

The way I fixed this was by just thinking of always putting the ball in the
other person's court.

Important messages comes in. I reply, then archive their message.

Not my problem any more.

------
luaybs
Writing down what I want to accomplish for the day (errands, etc.) helped with
my anxiety and stress. I usually do it before I go to bed, or in the morning.

------
lefnire
Read on the treadmill.

Or videos, Udacity courses, etc - hard stuff, not novels. Two birds one stone,
blood-pumping and endorphins helping maintain focus. I get a quality hour of
education every day, where before it was a constant TODO.

------
onion2k
I write code for a living, but for the most part it's not _that_ interesting,
so I've developed a habit of writing the code I want to write every day as
well. I get in to my office ~30 minutes early and work on things I find
interesting, plus I do an hour or so on weekends. I've been doing it for more
than a year now and it's got me back to really enjoying the process of making
software. Plus I've learnt a ton of stuff I wouldn't have had any opportunity
to use in work projects.

I'm learning GLSL and signed distance fields at the moment. It's fun.

------
gw
I started waking up at 5 AM, and for me it's turned out to be the habit that
enables all other good habits.

------
staunch
1\. Stopped drinking diet coke at home.

I had a relapse on this but now I'm back to not drinking it anymore. I'll
drink one with pizza but won't stock it ever again. Glass bottles of
Pellegrino sparkling water is my replacement.

2\. Stopped eating after 8PM entirely.

Never done this before and it's excellent. Lost some weight and I feel better.
Chewing Xytol gum when I feel the urge to eat but mostly don't need it.

3\. Turned the brightness down on my monitors.

I try to get it closer to the ambient brightness of my room. Much easier on
the eyes.

~~~
iamatworknow
>Glass bottles of Pellegrino sparkling water is my replacement.

Get a SodaStream and throw out the flavor things that come with it (they taste
bad anyway). I love sparkling water but the cost of things like Perrier,
Pellegrino, or La Croix really add up, not to mention the added waste from the
bottles and cans that need to be recycled (or worse, aren't recycled at all).
You can exchange the CO2 canisters for ~$15 a pop, which gives you 60L of soda
water.

I buy big bottles of lemon juice and add a splash to water from the SodaStream
and it's great.

~~~
staunch
It's a good suggestion but the luxury of the nice glass bottles and great
taste makes me enjoy it more. I recycle all of the bottles. It's a bit of a
vice but not a bad one as vices go.

------
Blackstone4
I made the decision to be positive and happy. Previously I let my
mood/happiness levels be dictated by external factors. I realized that it was
my decision so I started to make it a habit to be more positive.

I have a list of values/sayings which I review every week and I set a reminder
on my phone. It keeps me focused on the most important things in life like my
health and relationships with friends and family. I also believe in abundance
mentality.

------
ddtaylor
I stopped playing Heroes of the Storm and any games that aren't relaxing. If I
am going to take some time off and play a game, I just play a simple retro
console game. Play sessions are 15 minutes instead of 4+ hours. Not worried
about "losing" or being griefed, etc. I don't care about "getting to the next
level" or "opening up a loot crate" or any of that gamification / skinner-box
stuff anymore.

~~~
CabSauce
Stardew Valley is incredible for this. I can just play an in-game day or two,
and it's incredibly chill.

~~~
mcjiggerlog
> just play an in-game day or two

5 hours later, as dawn creeps its way through your window, you mutter to
yourself "just one more turn".

------
ilamont
Learned how to cook easy dishes for my family. My wife and I for years went
all out on cooking stovetop dishes that take an hour or more of chopping and
other kitchen labor before the meal and another 30-45 minutes of cleanup
afterwards.

Exposure to Spanish dining habits on a vacation, use of time-saving tools such
as an electronic pressure cooker and rice cooker, and learning how to use an
oven for simple dishes really changed things for us.

~~~
japhyr
Do you have any new favorites? I'd definitely like to move in this direction
with my family's cooking.

~~~
ilamont
Last night it was baked chicken drums with simple rubs - one cajun and one
provencal. Scored the chicken parts on both sides with ~1/2"/1 cm deep cuts,
poured on some olive oil, rubbed in salt and some dried spice mixes we had
lying around the cupboard, lay them flat on a baking sheet with aluminum foil,
and baked for 1 hour at 425F. Prep <15 minutes.

There are a dozen more ways you could do this dish, including brining,
marinade, other types of rub or spice, other parts, or whatever.

Optional: You can pour off some of the liquid (which can make a gravy) and/or
flip the chicken near the end.

~~~
japhyr
Thanks for sharing that. I live in Alaska, and we have a lot of salmon and
halibut. I'm going to try that approach with halibut. It's similar to what we
do, but I'm curious to see what scoring the fish and putting the rub inside
the fish will do.

------
singularity2001
Picking up rubbish whenever visible. Home always feels clean without proper
cleaning.

------
TrailingDots
Deep breathing! I started this and am absolutely in love with the results:
greater clarity of mind, more feeling alive, more energetic. I had a minor
problem of clearing my throat every few minutes: gone!

My concentration has improved as well. I'm able to code with better results
and fewer errors.

While some could say that these results (and more) are all in my head - they
would be absolutely right! I do feel better about myself, much better.

The specific method I use is the Wim Hof Method. Google this and notice he has
over 20 world records. While he has a course for sale, youtube has many videos
that cover all aspect of his technique.

Wim Hof has scientific proof that he can control his immune system. More
importantly, he is not a freak and can teach others to achieve the same
results.

My wife has cancer. We both do deep breathing exercises three times a day. She
reports that chemo symptoms become much less severe after breathing. We have
become driven to continue this practice due to her condition. I am so glad to
have found this technique.

Disclaimer: I am not associated with the Wim Hof Method in any way and receive
no compensation for this note.

~~~
flobbers
I'm really sorry your wife has cancer. I hope she recovers fully. I'm going to
try and incorporate this method into my life.

------
ph0rque
Started using work cycles to complete work (day job, side gig, side project):
[https://www.ultraworking.com/cycles](https://www.ultraworking.com/cycles) (by
Sebastian Marshall's company, @lionhearted on here). Improvements have been
incremental, but the rate of improvement is still increasing as I get more
disciplined at using them.

------
halfimmortal
Become more approachable and proactively try to strike up conversations with
strangers. I've been working remotely for 5 years and felt the need to have a
social circle. I didn't have work colleagues who I could meet up on a Friday
night or do exciting stuff with. I realised I had to build my social life
through unconventional means and also make myself more outgoing (and be okay
with rejection if a stranger doesn't want to talk).

This habit has been incredibly powerful because a year since I took this
resolution, I have a fairly interesting bunch of people I've met who I'm also
in touch with. I found a friend who I could talk about work with (my
industry), a friend who goes out with me for gigs, a friend who regularly
hosts parties and makes me meet new people. Recently, I started talking to
someone in my coworking space, asked her out on a date and she & I have been
dating for a little over a month. It's truly wonderful if you make yourself
more approachable and also make the effort to go talk to that stranger.

------
scarface74
The “habit” I’ve gotten into over the past year are slow, incremental changes
based on a simple framework of priorities in order:

1\. Health

2\. Relationships (wife first, children second, family/friends third)

3\. Finances.

Yes my health comes before my wife and family. If I’m not healthy, I’m no good
for my wife and family.

That being said, I also knew from the 10 years that I stayed in shape as a
part time fitness instructor and surrounded by equally fit gym friends not to
do any diet/exercise combination that wasn’t sustainable long term

Because of changes in my personal life (married vs. single), health changes
(nothing serious) and being more invested in my career over the past 5 years I
stopped working out consistently until late last year.

First change is a version of the “S diet” that I didn’t realize I was doing
and eating food lower in saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol because of
high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

I equipped a spare bedroom as a home gym meaning I can work out anytime and my
wife works out with me occasionally when she doesn’t go to the gym and I have
a consistent (T, Th, Sat) and tracked workout schedule. But mostly it’s 2 hour
calorie burning sessions.

I’ve lost about 20 pounds and I’m near my former fitness instructor body.

Next steps....

\- Eat more fruits and vegetables

\- add muscle building exercises on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays)

\- add high intensity interval trainings on (Mondays, Wednesday’s, and
Sundays)

————

On the family front, stay off of my phone while I’m spending time with my
family and budget “date nights” more often with my wife.

------
Taylor_OD
Getting up 15 minutes earlier and reading during that time every morning. I've
always been a big reader but sometimes I find it hard to pick up a book after
work.

Even the small amount of reading in the morning allows me to make a little
progress every day and more often than not I keep thinking about the book
during the day and I'm more likely to pick it up at after work.

------
cjblomqvist
Being more strict about having really thoughtful, relevant and clear purposes
- and trying to really focus on only doing activities that really matters to
achieving those purposes and goals. I feel this applies to everything, really
pays off, and in my experience surprisingly few people question what and why
they are doing something. They have shallow explanations that often break down
when go a little bit deeper.

When developing an organization, why does this organization exist? What is the
true purpose of doing your own startup? What is the true vision and purpose of
the startup? Why do you live? How do you want your life to look like in 10
years? What are important things to achieve the best life you can in 10 years,
and so forth.

From what I understand this is most often the most overlooked issue in success
in more or less all types of activities. From developing software, achieving a
happy life, succeed at work, succeed as an entrepreneur, and so on.

------
kieckerjan
A cold shower in the morning. It is quick, cheap, easy on the skin, wakes you
up and makes you feel like a champion.

~~~
jumbopapa
A warm shower seems like such a big luxury to abandon.. don't know if I could
do this.

~~~
xutopia
The best of both worlds. Do the warm one and finish with colder water as far
as you can comfortably take it. Do this repeatedly and over a 30 day period
you should be able to go fully cold without an issue. Then you can lower
temperature on starting temperature and in another 30 days you can go cold all
the way.

------
lvoudour
Started working out, started vaping (and stopped smoking). Noticeable quality
of life increase in just a few weeks

~~~
zubi
Not started working out but I also ceased smoking about 15 months ago and
replaced it with vaping. Tremendous increase in life quality followed.

~~~
456hdsaq234g
Unless you live in SF, which just banned flavored vape juice. SF -- a place
where you can buy pure THC crystal, but banana flavored nicotine is banned.

------
bantic
I took a month-long sabbatical last Fall to learn a new skill (machine
learning). I had a project goal to keep me focused on making progress and
staying practical: making an ios app that will use ML to "recognize" the
letters on a Boggle game grid and "solve" it, printing out all the words on
that grid. I made large strides during the month but the project wasn't quite
working at the end. After the sabbatical it was back to work at my dayjob and
I had a lot of motivation but little time, so I kept telling myself, "No time
to work on it today, but I'll try tomorrow."

After a few weeks thinking this and not doing any work, I despaired that my
project would end up as vaporware, blowing away in the smoke of my good
intentions. So I started a new habit: Committing to work on it, _every day_ ,
for just 15 minutes.

I use a pomodoro timer (Vitamin-R) and note-taking app (EverNote) to do my
daily 15 minutes. Each time I start, I write down my goal for that session,
and keep a running list of things I think of to do but don't get to in that
particular session. Every day I successfully put in 15 minutes I mark off that
day on a 365-day hanging wall calendar that is on the back of my apartment
door.

Results:

* I have worked on the app for 90% of the days this year.

* I absolutely got it to a "working" state (I am now facing a diminishing returns problem where I'm putting in too much time fiddling with UX and UI polish, but that's a problem I'm happy to have).

* On over 50% of the days I end up working more than 15 minutes.

* On days when I feel like going longer, and have the time, I'll still occasionally hard-stop at 15 minutes. This gives me something I'm eager to come back to tomorrow, and also (I think) helps to engrain the habit. I want my subconscious to always think: yes, the cost of starting my session today really is only 15 minutes, I will do this even if I don't feel like I have a lot of willpower today.

~~~
stnmtn
I think the last bullet point you listed must be really helpful. I don't
remember where I read it, but I recently heard Hemingway used to do something
similar where he would write to a point that he really wants to continue, then
stop for the day, so tomorrow morning he excitedly picks back up and finishes
what he was so excited to write the day before. I feel like that's probably an
incredibly effective habit for keeping a streak going

~~~
bantic
Yeah. I think I get a little extra subconscious background-thread-processing
boost when I do this.

------
matt_the_bass
Spearfish and hunt more often. It gets in into nature, ensures healthy meat
and forces you to take things slow. Plus lots of energy. It amazing how many
things you otite when you look.

Note, “hunting” could just be for plants/mushrooms if you are vegetarian. No
need to kill animals to get these same results.

~~~
reustle
For anyone even remotely interested in the intense connection with nature you
get while hunting (even if you're veg) I highly recommend checking out the
MeatEater podcast. It's a high quality show with experienced people.

[http://www.themeateater.com/podcasts/](http://www.themeateater.com/podcasts/)

------
leandot
Couple of trivial ones with good results:

Noted down the websites that I visit when I am waiting for something to
finish, selected the ones I don't really need and blocked them. That reduced
the context switching significantly.

Also started to brush teeth right after dinner, which avoids the occasional
snack afterwards.

------
khamoud
50 pushups, 50 situps, 50 bodyweight squats, and 3x1 minute planks (left,
right, middle) every day followed by a shower before I go to bed.

Stretch my hamstrings every day. I, like much of HN, sit at a desk all day and
my hamstrings had gotten incredibly stiff.

Earn at least 1 crown a day on duolingo.

I feel better and I sleep better.

------
flaviocopes
Writing one technical blog [1] post per day. I started in January. Back then I
had ~400 people on the blog on a good day.

It's paying off in terms of traffic, as last week I got over 2k visits from
Google alone, but more importantly I learned a ton in the past few months,
because of the continuous process of learning / building something / testing /
writing / revising / incorporating feedback / repeat the next day.

Sometimes I think I know something, only to realize later that I only barely
scratch the surface of a topic, and there's a lot of things underneath.

How do I find the time - I started waking up 2 hours earlier than what I used
to do. Made all the difference.

[1]: [https://flaviocopes.com](https://flaviocopes.com)

------
Pooky
Unplug.

I started to use two phones one smartphone and one dummy phone for messages
and phone calls. I stop to google everything. I'm fine to say I don't know and
I don't have to get correct answer now. I can live with it. I also started to
listen more radio and push to disconnect from internet and computers. I learn
to use pen and block to write old-fashion way and it helps a lot.

All this has paid back very well, I learn how to think without interruption,
be more creative, talk with people, listen and it removed a lot of stress,
pressure and other problems related to information overload and smartphone
addiction. I want to continue on that and cut my computer time to less than 4
hours per day (all devices, smartphone, laptop, tablet...).

------
YouKnowBetter
Power naps.

The last couple of years I noticed my inner child suffering. I had to force
myself to have fun, be witty & enjoy the things I do / see / encounter.

Currently I hold a job that allows me to take power naps: all of a sudden I am
back to my normal self again.

Dunno, but proberbly my age (>50).

------
noufalibrahim
Scheduling every minute of the next day the previous night. I got this idea
from Deep Work and it's, I think, the most valuable piece of advice from the
book. It helps me structure the day and not feel like it's wasted at the end
before I go to bed.

------
Taylor_OD
Building exercise into my day. I've always worked out but up until recently I
viewed it as 45+ minutes of my day that I had to dedicate it to that.

Recently I got one of those door frame pull up bars for the office and some
dip rings. 80 (I worked up to that number) mon-wed-fri and 100 dips tue-thur
has been a huge game changer. Even if I don't go to the gym at all I'm able to
keep a basic level of fitness.

Throw in a 20 minute ab routine once a week, 25 minute sprint workout once a
week, and a shoulders day at the gym and I've covered just about everything.
Less than a half hour a day of exercise. Add in a healthy diet and I can stay
in great shape without dedicating too much time to it.

------
3pt14159
There are so many ranging from quiting smoking to biking instead of driving,
but the primary idea is this:

Think hard about the things you do and why you do them. Figure out what you
need to change, then make one change at a time. Don't try to cut all sugar
intake, just stop drinking soft drinks. After a while it's normal, cut
something else. You'll slowly get more formidable.

But you need to think about it. Why are you eating a bunch of food with sugar
in it anyway? Because it tastes bad otherwise? Well, what tastes good besides
sugar? Spices and herbs! Salt, pepper, mint, olive oil, and lemon juice make a
salad sing!

That type of thinking. Don't muddle in the shitty parts, solve them.

------
tomp
Cycling to work (weather permitting) (I used to take the Tube).

Home workouts, using mostly body-weight exercises (along with rings and a
pull-up bar). I no longer go to the gym, so there are less "transaction costs"
to exercise; we'll see how this one will turn out.

Taking less organized notes, mostly in one "Notes" email draft in my Gmail
account. Reduces the mental friction/resistance to taking notes, because I
don't feel the need to keep them tidy.

Some time ago, I started using smaller plates, to reduce the perceived, and
therefore hopefully also actual, portion sizes.

Skipping lunch (baring social obligations), so that I can gorge for dinner (I
rarely eat breakfast anyhow).

------
samuell
Keeping a markdown based combined project journal + todo list, in the repo /
folder of each project.

Wrote about it here recently: [http://bionics.it/posts/computational-lab-note-
taking-todo-l...](http://bionics.it/posts/computational-lab-note-taking-todo-
list)

Just amazing how much better I keep track of the state of projects now (I even
mark the tasks I'm currently working on, with [>], in addition to the open
checkbox [ ] and checked ones [x]), and also have a clear place to put all the
ideas I get for what to do etc, without switching context to another app etc.

------
ankothari
I am a grad student and currently enjoying my summer as am doing a research
project at the university while most of my friends have left for their homes.
I was 47 pounds overweight one year back and had no time for any exercises
because of my studies. But now I am quite free and have been swimming 4-5
times for the last 3 weeks and have already lost 15 pounds. The best thing
about swimmming is that it doesnt hurt anywhere like my knees or my ankles and
I enjoy going for a swim for 40 minutes each. And I plan to keep continuing
this for another 2 months hoping to lose atleast 15 pounds more.

------
justjash
Got back into fly fishing. I started when I was in college but kind of just
ran out of time to practice and never really had many friends who did
outdoorsy things.

My new job has me on-call a few months out of the year and it allows me to
sneak away and get outside at a local park while being able to easily make it
back home if needed (something that I can't easily do on long bike rides).

I also recently started tying my own flies which is something I found
enjoyable. Its nice to create things outside of a computer screen occasionally
and I have something concrete in my hand within an hour.

~~~
chasely
I hope to move someday close to a river or stream so I can pick the hobby back
up. Used to tie my own as well, I highly recommend Trout Flies: The Tier's
Reference [1]. Full color, step-by-step instructions, so enjoyable to flip
through I still pick it up sometimes even though I don't fish anymore.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/Trout-Flies-Reference-Dave-
Hughes/dp/...](https://www.amazon.com/Trout-Flies-Reference-Dave-
Hughes/dp/0811716015)

~~~
justjash
I'll have to check that one out. So far its been mostly using random videos
off Youtube, would be nice to have something physical to look at quickly.

------
donquichotte
I started using a stand-up desk at home and standing on a "wobble cushion" on
one leg.

This is only anecdotal, but I feel it helped me getting a grip on my weak
ankles and knees, my key pain points when running.

------
toomanybeersies
I've started bringing my lunch to work.

It saves me around $50 per week. If I funnel that into my student loan, I'll
save about $15,000 in interest from making the extra repayments.

That's the magic of compounding interest.

~~~
lightonphiri
I started this while in gradschool---left gradschool about six months ago,
after seven years. It is so funny how this particular habit has stuck on me. I
have found I actually enjoy cooking now [...]

~~~
gandreani
Yes! I've been doing it for 3 years and I found another benefit which is
improvement to my "skill" in cooking. I have a lot more intuition on cooking
times, required temps for recipes, and general choice of ingredients. Doesn't
sound like much but it's nice to be able to _quickly_ put together a good
tasting meal

------
ghostbrainalpha
I start each day with a To Do list. For years I have been overwhelmed by how
long it gets. I'm always adding things faster than I can take them off.

I recently started taking at least 4 things from the list and putting them on
my calendar each day. Blocking off about half the day for major projects.

I know this is pretty basic, lots of developers have each hour scheduled much
more efficiently. But this 1/2 step has been huge for me. I'm getting more
done, and giving people much better estimates of when my projects are on track
or getting delayed.

------
overcast
Going to bed on time, getting 8+ hours of sleep. Deleting all social media
accounts. Turning off all notifications on smartphone. Meeting tons of new
people through my food/cocktail side gig.

------
atmosx
Take a few minutes every day and keep track on:

    
    
        - what happened today (o3 meetings, retros, grooming etc.)
        - what I've worked on
        - what I learned today (if anything)
    
    

What I learned today part (if anything) is the most interesting. Writing
everything down, gives me context the next day. I also write things I'd like
to ask or need to remember.

I review things I wrote regularly and that kinda cements knowledge. The extend
of detail varies greatly, but all in all I'm happy with the process so far.

------
heckanoobs
Stopped using any feature with infinite scroll implemented. It's the common
thread between social media feeds, app store lists, streaming services, etc.
For sites like HN I stop after the first page.

I was bored at first but then I started filling my time with more productive
hobbies, which was the point. Infinite content providers are designed to steal
all your time.

It's crazy how little I use the internet now. I never realized what it had
become until I put some restrictions in place that ended up blocking out like
90% of the web.

~~~
owenversteeg
Huh, that actually seems like a great idea. What services were you mainly
using before?

~~~
heckanoobs
I was on all the social media but took the plunge and deleted them all.

Some things I visited to blow time like imgur have infinite scroll in their
apps but are paginated on their mobile site, so I just visit the mobile site
and stop after one page. I had disabled infinite scroll in RES at first but
eventually left Reddit altogether.

I no longer browse app stores, Netflix, hulu, etc. I already know what I want
to watch and search for it directly.

------
virtuexru
Intermittent fasting. Basically eat while the sun is up and then water and
only water otherwise. Huge health improvements, quit coffee, feel better at
the gym & way more energy.

------
JoeAltmaier
Lots of folks mention: taking their lunch, or anyway not going out to eat.

I did the opposite: I go out to lunch every day. Gets me out of the office,
out of the rut, meeting other people (never eat alone!) and working out
relationships (business or otherwise).

Then back to work, energized and with a fresh outlook.

But of course I'm at a different place in my career, where the cost is
something I gladly afford for the benefits. I don't need $50 a week for
anything nearly as important or beneficial.

~~~
bluedino
You can always take a packed lunch to the lunchroom, or to a park, etc.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Solves the alone part, sure. But not the relationship part. I have lunch with
business partners, relatives, my kids etc. I like to pay, so somebody is
always willing.

As I said, its nice if you can afford it.

------
cg-cnu
Conducting Meetups and workshops.

Recently I started giving talks by organizing meetups and workshops. Mostly
teaching and spreading awareness about open source software like Blender,
Krita and others. It has so much positive impact on me and the people
attending the workshop as well. I became confident in public speaking. Got
deeper understanding of things which am teaching. Able to meet and connect
with lot of amazing folks.

------
GiuseppaAcciaio
My wife and I deep cleaned the house then made a visual task board with
different small (less than 30m) chores assigned to one or the other, on
rotation, on a weekly basis. The house has never been less than acceptably
clean (to a mother-in-law standard) since :)

Also, decluttering and reorganizing all storage spaces using the Marie Kondo
method (where it made sense) helped a lot and once done it's hard to relapse.

------
madhurjain
switching my phone screen to gray scale tremendously helps me keep away from
constantly checking twitter/instagram/facebook/quora updates

~~~
ddtaylor
How does that work? You mean like black-and-white color right?

------
Ftuuky
I stopped drinking sodas and eating candy. Almost no carbs as well. I want to
work out more but I lack the discipline to leave the house once I come back
from work, either too lazy or too tired and I start inventing excuses to miss
the workout ("better clean this, fix that, send one more email..."). I also
stopped watching TV and porn, both were huge time sinks with almost no RoI.
edit: typos

~~~
yoz-y
If you can try exercise in the morning.

------
caconym_
I started making a semi-serious attempt to write fiction at the end of last
year. It has been hard to turn into a habit but as of now I crank out a
thousand words or so per session, three or four times a week, and it is an
incredibly satisfying creative outlet. For better or worse, that's something I
seem to need and my day job doesn't scratch that itch right now (or ever,
really).

------
turc1656
1\. Stopped using Facebook (don't have Twitter, Instagram, etc. This includes
removing the FB app from my phone (very important for security reasons).

2\. No email on my personal phone. Work phone is a must but I use it
exceedingly sparingly. I only check it when I am expecting something important
during busy weeks (and even then, maybe not).

3a. Stopped commenting on any/all forums, news sites, or any type of social
media altogether (YouTube most notably). HN is the one and only exception.
Forums and comment sections are black hole vortexes for time. Trolls,
arguments, etc. steal your time and attention. You must refuse to play the
game. It's just not that important to comment on nearly every site on the
internet, especially social media. There is near zero value in it.

3b. Installing Distraction Free YouTube onto Chrome so that I can listen/watch
without seeing comments and being tempted to participate. It also hides the
related/suggested videos and the front page of YT to prevent falling into in
the rabbit hole.

4\. Changed my diet to high fat low carb. I'm not insanely strict on the carbs
either. It's made a big difference. I wasn't overweight, but now I'm cut/toned
without trying because of it (and I'm not huge either). Drinking water helps
the transport of nutrients throughout the body.

5\. Getting a pair of non-prescription computer glasses. My eyes were severely
strained and it was affecting my productivity and ability to think clearly and
produced headaches and all sorts of problems. Using them saved my eyes by
restricting the blue light that gets to them. I can work 12+ hours straight
with no issues if need be now. They also improve sleep quality because blue
light late at night triggers the release of cortisol which keeps you up and
inhibits sleep.

6\. Using Feedly (or any RSS reader). Aggregating content here from the
sources you like helps prevent clicking around and roaming websites which
leads to lost time. Only click on the stuff that matters to you and ignore the
rest. Most can be read in Feedly without going to the site directly as well so
you avoid the ads and other distractions.

7\. Using Workflowy. I try to implement a modified version of Getting Things
Done in there. At minimum, I use it as an ongoing task/to-do list. It's great
for just jotting stuff down as it comes to you so you don't forget.

~~~
OldSchoolJohnny
3a rings to true to me. There is no end of ignorant people online and many of
them are willfully so and it's a fools game to try to convince them otherwise.

------
bigredhdl
I listened to Drive by Daniel Pink and subsequently started focusing more on
"Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose". I was going through a bit of a career crisis
(Is my career headed where I want?) and this put a lot of clarity into what I
was feeling and wanting that I couldn't figure out before. It had enough
impact on my thinking that I bought a couple copies for friends.

------
nighthawk1
Once a week, I fast for 24 hours. There's a number of studies showing the
benefits of IF and once a week is easy to commit to.

------
lightonphiri
I have been cycling to work, during my 4.6 km commute, every Friday, for the
last three months now. (1) I save about USD 10.00 every Friday: a substantial
amount in the part of the world I live in (2) I get off work two hours early
on Fridays, so I use this time to explore the city (3) This is a form of
exercise for me.

~~~
gandreani
Jealous! I used to commute about 8km by bike on my first job. It was out of
necessity but after 3 months I saw some serious benefits. I went out for a run
and I couldn't believe the stamina I had built up without noticing

Now my commute is 32km _one way_ and I dream of being able to commute like
that again :(

Obviously I recommend you keep doing it :)

~~~
Tepix
32km could be doable with a velomobile, especially with electric assistance.

------
chrisweekly
Seated zazen meditation. 10 minutes every morning. Massive improvement to my
mood, energy, empathy and productivity.

~~~
slig
Are you using some app? I've started with Headspace couple of years ago, but
after the initial lessons I found it too hard to continue and gave up.

~~~
chrisweekly
No app per se, but I do usually listen to a particular track from brainfm...

------
thomas-melville
Every morning in work I spend 30 minutes to 1 hour learning something. It can
be directly related to what I'm currently working on, something I know I will
need soon or just something I'm interested in. I keep a list of topics in a
note in evernote so I always have something to pull from.

------
hunterjrj
Stretching in the evenings. Lower back pain is almost completely gone, range
of motion in my neck is expanded.

~~~
leesec
Can you point me to some stretching resources? I've struggled with lower back
and neck pain for a while. I try to stretch but I'm never sure what I do is
helping.

------
avip
Shutdown all computers including cell phones after sunset and in w-ends.
Constant struggle, well worth it.

------
mikkelam
I've started fasting lately. I don't eat until about 4pm sometimes later. Gone
from about 80 kgs to 76 in a little less than a month. I've struggled for too
long removing that extra ugly fat layer and i've finally found something that
works for me.

I do it about 3 times a week.

------
DoofusOfDeath
I've started keeping a spreadsheet of things that slow me down or waste time
at work. Each time I sense I've wasted time I add an entry describing what the
time-suck was and how much time it cost me.

It's been very eye-opening, and a good source of guidance for corrective
action.

------
sharcerer
Read about different kind of biases. When thinking about something
controversial, political or maming a decision, try to evaluate the biases
affecting your mind. I feel bias training should be done at colleges or
schools especially in this post truth,fake news world.

------
kavalec
1\. switched to a ketogenic diet 2\. one set of 15 reps on 30-lb dumbbells
every morning

Down 30 lbs since I started.

------
chrisweekly
Slight tangent: anyone interested in human habits really should read ["The
Power of Habit"]([http://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-
habit/](http://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/))

------
shafyy
Got a kettlebell and do a short workout for 15min once per week. On top of
that, go to a free, body weight "boot camp" with a handful of friends once per
week. Started doing that in February and already feel more energized and
healthy.

------
t3h2mas
Started BJJ recently. Good workout, my conditioning and flexibility have
noticeably improved, forces you to be 'in the moment', and provides an
opportunity to meet cool people. I could go on and on about the returns I've
gotten.

------
Kagerjay
Working out everyday (9sets in 30 mins) on a home gym setup. Feels like im
progressing daily.

Daily journaling. So i know im actually getting things done even if its just
figuring out a hard problem

Writing blog posts and actually using it in conversations.

Going to meetups and meeting new people

------
mathattack
An old habit that I recently picked up again.

I add every To Do to an online list, and type notes from every meeting I
attend and distribute. It takes a ton off my cognitive load, and dramatically
increases the likelihood that people follow up.

------
kr2
Started waking up at the same time every morning (during the week). Builds a
foundation for consistency and helps start getting the rest of your day (and
the things you want to get done in a day) in order/on track

------
robgering
Getting up earlier and going for a run. I have so much more energy throughout
the day now, and I'm actually tired when it's time to go to bed. It's also a
lot less hot outside than mid-day or evenings.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Yes! I do my ride early before it gets above 80F. Much nicer. And I'm smarter
all day.

------
jonandersense
I've been recording a video a day (1 second), it makes me be more conscious
about finding something meaningful every day, and watching the result at the
end of the year is really rewarding.

~~~
owenversteeg
What do you put in the videos? Would you mind sharing some examples (in text
form)?

~~~
jonandersense
The videos are mostly of my daily life, it can be friends & family, things
that inspired me that day, or even something as simple as enjoying a coffee in
the sun. Some days it can be just a screen of code, or a routine task. However
the main idea for me is to find a moment a day that I'm more mindful about.

Initially I used 1 second every day app to do this, but have since a few years
created my own app for it
([https://www.leapsecond.co](https://www.leapsecond.co)). Here's an example
video from 2016 [https://youtu.be/CBstXlmy35k](https://youtu.be/CBstXlmy35k)

------
blopp99
Waking up a couple of hours before starting my day, instead of just 1.

------
kaushikt
I recently started taking more bold and hard steps. It was this step that i
asked a new role at work.

I now realise that i was some way a pushover at work. Never been that way in
my personal life though.

------
imd23
Daily meditation and gym.

I have realized changes take way more time that I ever thought it would. That
being said, before long, you are different and a little proud of your better
new self.

------
simplify
Capoeira. As someone who doesn't like the gym, the fun mix of capoeira's
martial art and self-expression keeps me hooked enough to keep going and stay
in shape.

~~~
rolha-capoeira
Where/with whom do you practice? If you're willing to share here.

~~~
simplify
[http://www.austincapoeira.com](http://www.austincapoeira.com)

------
chuckgreenman
Unless the weather is really bad I go for a run every morning. I don't
understand the scientific reason behind it but I feel awake and more ready for
focus.

------
DeBraid
If a task takes < 60 seconds, do it immediately.

------
cyphunk
started attending more activist-oriented and critical discussion groups or
groups dealing with specific local issues in my community (Berlin). While it
can feel as though there is a certain amount of depth lacking to many
discussions, the trade-off is very community focused and collaborative
language which has left me feeling a lot less isolated.

------
lnsru
Put on the shelf my iPhone and bought Nokia 150. Productivity is skyrocketing!
I still use iPhone, but only couple days a month.

------
aorth
Reading books! History, classics, science fiction. Amazing. People have
written some amazing stuff over the years.

------
dominotw
turn off internet on my router for 1 hr every evening. Hope to increase this
to 2 hrs in a couple of months.

------
skipthemeat
Keeping in touch with people. Related to this, connecting with people with no
care whether I get rejected.

------
aprdm
Biking to work! Has been three months now and I really enjoy it. Has made me
much less stressed overall.

------
nighthawk1
I do a weekly gratitude journal. There is research backing its impact to
happiness and I can confirm.

------
p0nce
Unsubscribe from every mailing list.

~~~
fecz0
Just did this, the only good part about the GDRP spam tornado.

------
sAbakumoff
remove all fucking social media accounts - twitter, facebook, internations,
etc.(except of HN).

------
bovermyer
Avoiding alcohol for the month is doing amazing things for my energy levels.

------
elvirs
biking. its fun and has health (both mental and physical) benefits. it was
tough first few times but now I cant wait any longer than 2 days to jump on my
bike for an hour long ride.

~~~
mrfusion
I’d love to do this but on roads I find cars very anxiety producing and on
trails I find getting around walkers very anxiety producing :-(

~~~
elvirs
I read somewhere that its not recommended to bike on roads busy with cars
because the pores in lungs open up while biking and all that polution goes
straight in. I noticed some people are biking on dirt trails parallel to the
paved trail because the paved one is too crowded with people, their children
and childrens strollers and all that.

------
beat
Lifting weights.

30 years later than I should have, but better late than never.

------
OldSchoolJohnny
Thank you OP, lot's of great things came up in here!

------
mylons
weight lifting 3x a week. the ability to move through life with physical ease
is extremely relaxing.

------
andyana
Sobriety... 1 month and 2 days so far

------
hkmurakami
Waking up earlier, sleeping earlier.

------
52-hertz_whale
Eating only 1 meal per day.

------
eternalban
Sleep 9:30 pm. Wake 3:30.

------
pmden
Smoking

------
titanix2
Walking the stairs instead of taking the elevator (living at 6 floor). Not as
much exercice as I should do but still >0.

------
doublethink2
I've been setting up ~ 3 masternodes a week. They are literally paying off.

