
Ask HN: Quality of Life - rajanchandi
Ask HN: What is the one thing which will improve the quality of your life significantly?
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jasonkester
I got a big boost in quality of life when I dropped down to 4 day weeks.

Working a full time job, I had gone from my usual "doctor visit every 10
years" to "doctor visit at least once a year", with an added flu or something
each year on top of that. So when kid #2 came along, I used the excuse to drop
down to 4 day weeks, and once the family was ticking away on all cylinders
again I started using that extra day for climbing, cycling, and other
"selfish" things. The idea being that this was "my day" and not just an extra
day to do errands.

Boy what a difference it made. I haven't had more than a case of the sniffles
since. I'm healthier, happier, and get to spend more time with the family.

I've since packed in the job entirely (to live off my business stuff full
time) but if I do ever take another full time job, I'll be sure to negotiate 4
(or even 3) day weeks in to the contract. It's just night and day.

~~~
conorgil145
What do you do that you can work a 4 day week? Was it difficult to convince
your company to accommodate that? I know there are some companies out there
which do 4 day work weeks (e.g. Treehouse), but it definitely not the norm.

~~~
jasonkester
It was a developer gig. And I had negotiated my employment as a 1099 contract
(which you should always do, by the way, for lots of reasons besides just
this) so the conversation went something along the lines of "Hey, I'm going to
drop down to 4 day weeks."

In reality, all companies allow this sort of working arrangement. If it's not
explicitly offered to everybody, it can be a matter of proving your value,
making yourself indispensable, then negotiating from a place of strength.

Good developers are really hard to find (and keep) in this market. Smart
employers won't want to lose you over something as silly as this, so they'll
find a way to accommodate it.

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freestockoption
Being able to self-sustain myself so I don't need my full-time job. Either
through contracting work, my own startup, or my job's options being worth
something.

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waterphone
Finding a social group closer to my own age in the area where I live. All my
friends are 20 years older than me, and they're great friends, but there's no
opportunity for dating at all nearby.

~~~
afarrell
What city are you in? My wife organizes Speed Friending events to help people
(especially those who hate small talk) meet new people.

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acconrad
Autonomous vehicles. Then when my girlfriend forces us to move back into the
suburbs, I won't lose my mind commuting into work.

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daw___
Getting rid of tinnitus [0].

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus)

~~~
Rainymood
Although not permanent, try this for a couple of minutes of bliss:

Place the palms of your hands over your ears with fingers resting gently on
the back of your head. Your middle fingers should point toward one another
just above the base of your skull. Place your index fingers on top of you
middle fingers and snap them (the index fingers) onto the skull making a loud,
drumming noise. Repeat 40-50 times. Some people experience immediate relief
with this method. Repeat several times a day for as long as necessary to
reduce tinnitus.

This always works for me.

Source: reddit post, gilded x29 [1]

[1]
[https://np.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/3l3uri/these_guys_light...](https://np.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/3l3uri/these_guys_lighting_a_mortar_shell_in_their_garage/cv3474n)

~~~
daw___
Many thanks for this, it looks promising (lots of positive comments on reddit)
but unfortunately it doesn't seem to work for me :-/

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miguelrochefort
Getting rid of the 100+ apps on my phone and 1000+ online accounts, and
replace it all with a single app/service/interface.

~~~
hanniabu
I always imagined an app with a command line/chat bot/text interface that
would be used as a middleman for everything.

For email you'd simply type: @email $@bob@gmail $@this is the subject $@this
is my message/email content

You can of course use different parsing symbols than $@, but the concept
remains the same and can be extended to many things. Typing simply @email will
bring up format and usage info. If it's your first time using that function
then you will be promoted to enter your sign in credentials as well.

Example for alarm: @alarm 15:30 2x2m

This will set an alarm for 3:30pm, 3:32pm, and 3:34pm

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King-Aaron
Finding a role in another company with a nicer working environment. Stress is
so bad for your health.

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cwt
The knowledge to answer this question.

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ApolloRising
Get quality consistent sleep.

~~~
afarrell
Have you gotten checked for sleep apnea?

Have you tried using a white noise machine or a sleeping mask?

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quantum_nerd
Getting a quality 7 hours of sleep every night, 7 days a week...oh and giving
up alcohol(or at least drink only on weekends) which is easier said than done.

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selmat
Get rid of mortgage

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erik998
Living near a warm ocean. It's one of the very few public activities that you
can enjoy collectively with a group of strangers. It is relaxing whether you
swim or just sit in awe of it. Miami Beach on a Saturday Morning is enjoyable
if you live here... On vacation it doesn't feel the same.

Clearwater Beach is also enjoyable.

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ssijak
10 million $.

~~~
ddorian43
Why 10? Why not 5/1/100 ?

~~~
ssijak
10 feels like enough but not tooo much.

~~~
King-Aaron
I've often thought that 10mil (*in a suitable economy) would be enough to set
you and your family up well, if you did it right. You could get some
investment properties to generate a small revenue stream, enough for a decent
holiday, then a nest-egg to generate some interest. You'd probably want to
start a business or something to plan for the long-run, but I do agree that
ten mil would be a great launch pad while not being too greedy.

Though to be honest, right now just ten grand that's disposable enough for a
trip overseas would be nice, haha!

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vldx
Getting solid sleep each night, removing processed carbs from my diet, weight
lifting, stoicism and having fu* money enough for the next 10 years (which is
second/higher level effect of the previous ones).

~~~
jpsierens
All these points really hit me.

Sleeping enough (but not too much) provides me with a sense of well being.
It's a really drastic change when I can't get enough sleep.

Removing processed carbs contributes to a healthier self and as such improves
my quality of life.

Weight lifting gives me that boost of self-confidence.

stoicism helps me cope with the urges of materialism/hedonism and makes me
feel happy about what I have

having fu money or a good nest helps me worry less about money, losing my job,
having an accident, etc.. peace of mind = happiness

good points!

~~~
vldx
Yes, exactly.

These are the core elements of my system, so to speak – core foundation; in
the sense of [1] Munger's latticework of models.

It's my system for achieving [2] eudaimonia, or most specifically – [3]
sophrosyne.

For myself, the root was the solid sleep – from there on, the other pieces
started fitting together in an organic way.

Shortly – quality sleep over consistent period of time gives you the ability
to make good decisions.

Cheers!

\--

[1] [https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/mental-
models/](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/mental-models/)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudaimonia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudaimonia)

[3]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophrosyne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophrosyne)

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barking
Losing two stone in weight would do it for me.

~~~
hanniabu
How much is a stone in either pounds or kilograms?

~~~
barking
28 pounds (lbs) or just under 13 kg

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quickpost
Having awesome grandparents for my children.

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baklazan167
finishing school

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cttet
Control myself

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wallflower
Taking progressive risks every day

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bbcbasic
A job with freedom to learn and explore, rather than get the next jira issue
closed.

