

Things To Stop Doing In Your 20s - nikunjk
http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/19-things-you-should-stop-doing-in-your-20s/

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timr
_"Stop treating errands as burdens. Instead, use them as time to focus on
doing one thing, and doing it right. Errands and chores are essentially rote
tasks that allow you time to think. They function to get you away from your
phone, the internet, and other distractions. Focus and attention span are
difficult things to maintain when you’re focused and attentive on X amount of
things at any given moment."_

This is a great point. It's exactly why I've never liked suggestions to
"automate" chores, and I've never felt a huge need to use services like
TaskRabbit. Too much of life is already dedicated to the pursuit of
productivity. Going to the grocery store is one of those little tasks that
gives you room to breathe. There's a relevant quote by Thich Nhat Hanh that I
like a lot:

 _"While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means
that while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that
one is washing the dishes. At first glance, that might seem a little silly:
why put so much stress on a simple thing? But that's precisely the point. The
fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a following my
breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions.
There's no way I can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here
and there on the waves."_

[http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/G%20-%20TNH/TNH/Fro...](http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/G%20-%20TNH/TNH/From%20The%20Miracle%20of%20Mindfulness/Teaching.htm)

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derleth
Except if your mind worked like that, you'd never be creative. To think you
can focus on one thing is to ignore all the times you came up with a solution
to a problem after ignoring it for a while and doing something else.

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timr
Who says creativity can't happen while you're washing dishes? Just because
you're doing the dishes doesn't mean that ideas won't form in your head. Part
of what mindfulness is about is letting thoughts drift through your mind:
you're trying to be _conscious_ of your thoughts and actions, not eliminate
them.

And in any case, nobody says you have to focus _all the time_. But if you make
no room for serendipity, serendipity will not occur.

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vampirechicken
derleth just did.

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kirpekar
This is actually the first time I've come across a list (X things to do ...)
that was not pure BS.

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wgoodwin
Yeah, this was an astonishingly valuable list of "shit not to do, if you're
trying to grow up."

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subsystem
How about stop "stop doing things" and start "start doing things". More
seriously, while identifying the problem can be good, you should focus on the
solution. Which hopefully also is more concrete.

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namank
Because you start figuring out what's right for you only when you stop
indulging in what's wrong for you.

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JoshuaDavid
Not in my experience. I'm still indulging somewhat in things that are wrong
for me, but at the same time I've started doing things that are good for me.

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namank
You really want to eat chowmein but it'll be 2 hours before they are ready.
But you're hungry now and so you fill up with chips, cola, donuts, and pizza.

Two hours pass and the chowmein is finally ready. But now, you're not. Your
hunger is gone but you have yet to full-fill your desire for chowmein.

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kine
I generally avoid list posts like the plague. This was actually a good one.

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nikunjk
After asking several of my co-workers (some well above 40) to read this, they
said that this not only holds true for people in their 20s but serve as a
great reminder to everyone.

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jkmcf
Great list. However, these are things you should work on before your twenties.
You need to get an early start!

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jorgeleo
I am 44, #16 takes a lot of effort sometimes, still working in #17...

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gavinlynch
Enjoyed this list greatly, #17 certainly holds true for me.

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emgeee
Number 8 holds true.

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derleth
It's interesting to think about how broadly to apply some of these. For
example, 'investing in things you value' seems to focus most on _money_ ,
which limits its applicability in two ways: First, there are a number of
things, like software, where monetary cost doesn't correlate strongly with
actual value. Second, investing _time_ is often better than thinking money can
solve the problems you have, especially in terms of gaining self-sufficiency.

