Ask HN: What lifehacks actually changed your life? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What lifehacks actually changed your life?

#21

Post by vagrantJin » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 4:22 AM UTC

vmurthy wrote: post #10

1. Intermittent fasting which led to an awareness that my "mood" most days is essentially a function of my body behaving differently to various foods. Strangely, controlling when I eat led to controlling what I eat, too. 2. Breathing exercise (~5 minutes) before going to bed. Generally keeps me really light and energetic the next day. 3. Spending dedicated time with my son. Can't describe this but generally makes me…

> my "mood" most days is essentially a function of my body behaving differently to various foods.

Funny thing is our elders and forebears knew this but it is completely lost on the most people these days.

My grandmother forbade us eating cheese until 10-12 years old. Her reason was that we will become moody and have nightmares at night. She was right ofcourse. Hard to digest foods affect our ability to sleep properly.

Is there such a thing as foodhacking?

Re: Ask HN: What lifehacks actually changed your life?

#22

Post by rex_lupi » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 5:05 AM UTC

- A todo list

- journaling

- practicing smalltalk with strangers

- spending time in nature, preferably alone

- quietly sitting in a room with eyes closed for 15-20 mins everyday and introspecting and reflecting on Life, Universe and everything (not sure if that can be called proper meditation)

- a balanced diet and exercise

- Traveling whenever possible

- keeping in touch with family/friends and also not ignoring the people who you think are 'not-so-important'. You never know when they will be.

-exposing yourself to challenges. (work/physical/psychological/intellectual)

Re: Ask HN: What lifehacks actually changed your life?

#23

Post by nicbou » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 5:21 AM UTC

The SelfControl app on MacOS completely and irrevocably blocks domains for a defined period. It lets me use my computer as a tool but makes it incredibly boring to use once my task is complete. For a while it reduced my screen time by a few hours a day.

Not having any way to kill time forces me to sit there and actually think about what I want to do. It might get me to leave the house and do exercise, or to work on more rewarding things.

Re: Ask HN: What lifehacks actually changed your life?

#24

Post by fedorova » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 5:33 AM UTC

veidr wrote: post #19

Last year, I started meditating daily (usually only 10-20 minutes, sometimes twice). 3-4 months into the practice, I am still a n00b but have honestly told a couple friends already that this was one of the most life-transformative things I have intentionally done, except maybe for moving to Japan at age 19 (where I ended up mostly sticking, for decades now). I really think YMMV on this one. I personally had one of th…

Please tell us how you do the walking meditation. It sounds great and I’d love to try it.

Re: Ask HN: What lifehacks actually changed your life?

#25

Post by tsol » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 5:39 AM UTC

Cold showers. There's a bit of a learning curve, but man is it great. Makes me more focused and awake, I can keep going all day even when I'm tired. At the same time, it also makes me really relaxed-- it's like it turns down the anxious part of my brain. Sleep comes a little easier too, not completely game changing there but there's a definite improvement. The cold is annoying in the beginning but at this point it isn't really even unpleasant honestly. All around amazing tool

Re: Ask HN: What lifehacks actually changed your life?

#26

Post by popfastful » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 5:50 AM UTC

I want to use my name to build a brand.but i can't use my name as account to post on facebook,instagram,amazon,whatsapp,so i made some web apps that to build my consistent brand. https://www.alovez.com alternative to facebook. https://www.snapfeel.com alternative to instagram. my name as account: https://www.alovez.com/bing https://www.snapfeel.com/bing

Re: Ask HN: What lifehacks actually changed your life?

#27

Post by hshdbdbdkxbxb » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 5:55 AM UTC

tsol wrote: post #25

Cold showers. There's a bit of a learning curve, but man is it great. Makes me more focused and awake, I can keep going all day even when I'm tired. At the same time, it also makes me really relaxed-- it's like it turns down the anxious part of my brain. Sleep comes a little easier too, not completely game changing there but there's a definite improvement. The cold is annoying in the beginning but at this point it is…

Do you shower at night or in the morning?

Re: Ask HN: What lifehacks actually changed your life?

#28

Post by kbrannigan » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 6:07 AM UTC

popfastful wrote: post #26

I want to use my name to build a brand.but i can't use my name as account to post on facebook,instagram,amazon,whatsapp,so i made some web apps that to build my consistent brand. https://www.alovez.com alternative to facebook. https://www.snapfeel.com alternative to instagram. my name as account: https://www.alovez.com/bing https://www.snapfeel.com/bing

This is the most forward thinking process i've seen in a long time. I'm glad I got to see this in the wild. I've always thought about creating self hosted apps that replicate social media.

Re: Ask HN: What lifehacks actually changed your life?

#29

Post by the_only_law » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 6:10 AM UTC

999900000999 wrote: post #2

Understanding no one cares about how I live my life . Far from being a bad thing, this means I can just live without constantly worrying about how others might perceive me. As long as your not hurting anyone else , just live. We're here for a very short time. Don't waste it on people who never cared

> Understanding no one cares about how I live my life .

I don’t think no one cares. In fact, I think there are many people who care too much.

However I agree, that is not something you should worry about. Even if I still struggle with it myself often, it’s been freeing to enjoy myself without putting too much weight in what strangers will think of me.

Re: Ask HN: What lifehacks actually changed your life?

#30

Post by supperburg » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 6:13 AM UTC

999900000999 wrote: post #2

Understanding no one cares about how I live my life . Far from being a bad thing, this means I can just live without constantly worrying about how others might perceive me. As long as your not hurting anyone else , just live. We're here for a very short time. Don't waste it on people who never cared

I don’t agree with this. I think on an intellectual level almost nobody really cares about that kind of thing. But your body decides to feel bad when you believe others are judging you. You can’t control your body and so I would say that the only rational response is to avoid situations that cause you emotional stress and when your body is making itself experience stress because of the perceived judgement of others, just accept that you can’t change it and try to focus on something else.