Ask HN: What is your experience with 'doing something' daily challenges? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What is your experience with 'doing something' daily challenges?

#41

Post by Broken_Hippo » Sat, Dec 10, 2016, 7:43 PM UTC

ai_ia wrote: post #36

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #13

Some years ago I started drawing or painting every day. 15 minutes some days, hours on others. I've always done artwork, but never quite been this prolific. It wasn't really a formal thing to begin with, just something I started doing one day. And am quite happy with the results. My art improved and is probably more creative. Not only that, but I started taking more risks and moving out of my comfort zone. Some days,…

As someone with no artistic talent, I would love to see the improvements. I myself would like to do something similar. Can you upload your before and after arts that you have made?

Somewhat - I don't keep dated picture files. And keep in mind, I started oil painting at 8 years old, taken as much instruction as I could, and sold and stuff, so what you and I would see as improvement might differ quite a bit. Plus as a beginner, you wind up with different sorts of improvement goals.

But nevertheless, three links. I've only started with watercolors a few years ago, about the same time I started doing daily art, so some of this is learning to control it properly. The first link was near the beginning, the second quite a bit later, and the third being one of my most recent pictures.

[1]http://disgruntled-peon.deviantart.com/art/Untitled-60354744... [2] http://disgruntled-peon.deviantart.com/art/Eyes-619929715?q=... [3]http://disgruntled-peon.deviantart.com/art/Fortunate-Sight-6...

Re: Ask HN: What is your experience with 'doing something' daily challenges?

#42

Post by fabiandesimone » Sat, Dec 10, 2016, 7:43 PM UTC

I've recently started following the routine described in the 'Miracle Morning' book (hate the name) and it's been pretty great.

I was adamant at first but turns out the benefits are there. Never before I've looked forward in waking up at 5am everyday.

Re: Ask HN: What is your experience with 'doing something' daily challenges?

#43

Post by kjax » Sat, Dec 10, 2016, 7:44 PM UTC

ianamartin wrote: post #34

I get up every day. I go to work every day. I listen to music that I like every day. I make music. I make things every day. I write code every day. I manage people every day. I care about my family every day. The hardest thing for me every day is actually caring about anything. Because I don't really care. I pretend to care. But I don't really. Because I don't want to be here. I'm just stuck.

This really resonated. I wish I knew a term for "everything is just fine (objectively great, even), but I couldn't care less."

Re: Ask HN: What is your experience with 'doing something' daily challenges?

#44

Post by sitkack » Sat, Dec 10, 2016, 7:46 PM UTC

Rewarding, can be a little draining, easy to fall of the wagon. I did a processing sketch a day for 30 days. I time boxed it at 20 minutes, which always went over, but that was the target. It was invigorating to have a creative _task_ to do everyday. If I didn't do it in the morning, I'd think about it all day.

Re: Ask HN: What is your experience with 'doing something' daily challenges?

#45

Post by betenoire » Sat, Dec 10, 2016, 7:48 PM UTC

kjax wrote: post #43

ianamartin wrote: post #34

I get up every day. I go to work every day. I listen to music that I like every day. I make music. I make things every day. I write code every day. I manage people every day. I care about my family every day. The hardest thing for me every day is actually caring about anything. Because I don't really care. I pretend to care. But I don't really. Because I don't want to be here. I'm just stuck.

This really resonated. I wish I knew a term for "everything is just fine (objectively great, even), but I couldn't care less."

nihilism, apathy, depression, aloofness, stoicism, detachment, listlessness.

Take your pick. Stoicism is what I use to describe that, and to personally for finding peace

Re: Ask HN: What is your experience with 'doing something' daily challenges?

#46

Post by sitkack » Sat, Dec 10, 2016, 7:49 PM UTC

fabiandesimone wrote: post #42

I've recently started following the routine described in the 'Miracle Morning' book (hate the name) and it's been pretty great. I was adamant at first but turns out the benefits are there. Never before I've looked forward in waking up at 5am everyday.

This should be part of Jack Handy's book club! http://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com/category/deepthought...

Joking aside, it is excellent to start the day with mindfulness and purpose.

Re: Ask HN: What is your experience with 'doing something' daily challenges?

#47

Post by kjax » Sat, Dec 10, 2016, 7:53 PM UTC

spodek wrote: post #31

My daily habits are one of the best parts of my life. Without them, I feel like I'm running in sand in life. With them, I feel like I have solid foundation to build on. With a few challenging ones, I feel like I'm building on bedrock. I've coined the term sidcha for Self-Imposed Daily Challenging Healthy Activity and written about the concept: http://joshuaspodek.com/js_blogseries/self-imposed-daily-cha... My main ch…

I was interested in reading more about your Burpee habit, but the email signup form was getting a bit obnoxious. When I scrolled down, the sticky header for the subscription box had the "X" offset under the scrollbar, making it tough to hide (Nexus 6P), and successive pages repeated the experience.

Re: Ask HN: What is your experience with 'doing something' daily challenges?

#48

Post by will_brown » Sat, Dec 10, 2016, 8:00 PM UTC

borplk wrote: post #40

will_brown wrote: post #32

I ran every single day from August 27 - November 27. First month 3 miles every day, then 5, then 7, then mix 5/7, then 10 everyday for over 10 days. There are a lot of other "daily rituals" I have added in the past 6-9 months including vitamin supplements daily (fish oil, B (12 or energy complex); C; D). But what triggered the daily running was my discovery of raw, green vegetable juice and followed thereafter by dai…

If you feel like elaborating on the juice stuff you mentioned I'd like to know more (I'm hopeless with these things, trying to learn).

So I have been running and experimenting with different nutrition concepts to fuel, hydrate and recover from runs for 3 years.

Even though I settled on "caveman" for the most effective for me, I always felt I neglected vegetables (always opting for some version of cooked broccoli). Always trying to keep an open mind I watched 2 documentaries on netflix that encouraged me to broaden my horizons with vegetables. The one about juicing I will point to is "Fat, Sick and Dying". I'll admit I am about as skeptical about these things as anyone, and sure enough the documentary is kind of a PR piece, but there is also some good basic concepts and introduction to the possibilities. However, keep in mind there is a difference from drinking juice (what I do) and a juice cleanse (only drinking juice, which is what the documentary is about).

I could go on for hours about this stuff now, but the most important thing to note is I am still experimenting.

Edit:

My current juice routine: morning -water w/table spoon of chia seeds + black coffee + 4 oz almond/coconut milk blend + 4 oz Suja Uber Greens (the commercial coldpressed, raw, green juice I get). Before my run - 4 oz almond/coconut milk blend + 4 oz Suja Uber Greens and then the same again after my run. With that I routine I have eliminated all sports drinks, electrolyte water and pain/soreness from my life. I don't even need to hydrate on 10 mile runs anymore (though for 10+ miles I will drink a coconut water before the run). Obviously I eat and drink a lot more water throughout the day.

Re: Ask HN: What is your experience with 'doing something' daily challenges?

#49

Post by Broken_Hippo » Sat, Dec 10, 2016, 8:03 PM UTC

jspash wrote: post #27

adictator wrote: post #9

For the last two years I have been doing well formed pull-ups almost everyday. I could not do a single pull-up on Dec 31, 2014. Today I can do 5 perfect formed pull-ups.

I don't mean to judge, because I don't know anything about your background or situation, but do you mean to say that it has taken 2 years to get to 5 pull-ups, and you've been doing them almost daily? On the surface (again, without knowing you) that seems like slow progress. Would you mind elaborating? The reason I ask is that I too have just reached 5 and would like to hear about your journey.

I imagine it'd take me some time to do even one pull-up, as the first months would mostly be me hanging from a bar while I spent some time developing enough muscle to get myself up. Arm, shoulders, core muscles, good joints, and some coordination go into that one exercise.

Pull-ups are one of those 'difficult' exercises, and males have an easier go at it, actually.

Some further reading: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/25/why-women-cant-do-p...

Re: Ask HN: What is your experience with 'doing something' daily challenges?

#50

Post by Broken_Hippo » Sat, Dec 10, 2016, 8:06 PM UTC

josscrowcroft wrote: post #28

I've been writing Morning Pages (3 x A4 pages, hand-written) every day for almost three years. Sometimes I do them in the afternoon or evening, or right before bed. Sometimes I'll only do one page, sometimes ten... A month or two ago I spent a month writing about 20 pages a day of "morning pages" after a few intense experiences. After a month or so I didn't need to think about it any more, and now I can't imagine not…

I've a question: Do you limit your topics or simply write whatever you are thinking about? Do you set a timer?