Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 171 posts

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#61

Post by odiroot »

sputknick wrote: post #44
odiroot wrote: post #13

I use candles in the evening to get more pleasant, soothing light in my apartment. Much better for the mood than LEDs. Does Aeropress still count?

I've considered more candles in the evening. How long before bedtime do you switch to candles? do you use them in multiple rooms? Obviously it wouldn't make sense to use a computer by candle light, but what activities are you able to do productively?

Usually not more than 2h, just in the living room. No light at all in the bedroom, no devices/food either.

I try hard to get away from my laptop by 11pm. Then it's just Kindle without backlight/paper books or small chores like folding laundry.

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#62

Post by unhashable »

bkanber wrote: post #48
BonoboIO wrote: post #4

Going back from ToDo-Lists in Apps to simple paper and tick mark them.

Hear hear. I do bullet journaling with a pocket-sized softcover moleskin. The notebook lives in my back pocket and it's definitely way better than any app I've ever used.

+100 for https://bulletjournal.com/

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#63

Post by JackFr »

axaxs wrote: post #50
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #37

I guess a French Press would be an example of "low tech" I've embraced to make an awesome cup of coffee every morning. But being a perfectionist tech geek, I had to ruin it by investing in an expensive Barzata conical burr grinder, so I guess it's not low tech anymore. Does it still count if I switch to a manual burr hand-grinder? :P

It's funny I just posted about the same thing. If you're interested, check out vintage Elma grinders on ebay. I have one we restored and it looks nice. If something smaller, Kalita makes nice ones too. Somehow I now have 3 total. It's not as fast or simple as electric, of course, but there is some satisfaction to its simplicity.

I have them grind it for me at the store. It's definitely improved my quality of life. I prefer drip to press, but my wife is the other way around, so I deal with it.

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#64

Post by unhashable »

bkanber wrote: post #46
rchaud wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have tried and failed to follow the GTD philosophy many times. After a while, I too went with a simple checklist. I can indent that list with sub-tasks, but that's it. Mark as checked if it's completed. Leave as it is if it's not and come back to it the next day. Kinda refreshing.

Check out Bullet journaling. It's a simple checklist plus one or two other "tick types" that's quite helpful.

GTD => BuJo convert here.

I’m a believer. I started BuJo’ing 6 months ago and feel totally liberated. I haven’t skipped a day and life is. Way. Better.

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#65

Post by rhcom2 »

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #29

I hiked across the Alps, alone, on foot and camping in the wild for 3 months. I had no phone with me (no GPS) and just paper maps, and a pen to keep notes on paper. It was the best time I ever had my whole life. I thought I might get lonely but being in the flow of walking every day actually created some kind of an internal dialogue in my head which never made me feel lonely. I met others who were on a similar trail…

I'm curious, did you bring a book?

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#66

Post by m3kw9 »

Coffee grinder to make great coffee for cheap. Saves ton of time than going out to buy. Unless you walk which then you’d lose exercise.

Pepper grinder, tastes way better.

Get lots of extra Dish washable utensils so you don’t run out and need to wash until end of each day. Dishwasher Required.

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#68

Post by DyslexicAtheist »

Diederich wrote: post #41
DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I vouched for your comment since it seems to have been downvoted into oblivion. I don't understand why people took offense with what you had to say. paper diaries are a lot more valuable and require totally different parts of the brain than idiotic cloud enabled note-taking apps.

I don't believe this person was downvoted; look at their history: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=dx7tnt Most of their posts are dead going back to, roughly: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20280125 This person was a little naughty seven or so months ago, and the result of that has carried forward.

thanks that explains it. fwiw I don't think it's OK to punish them because they've been naughty in the past. there are a lot of depressed and ill people here too. Remember the templeOS guy who was constantly ousted from HN for his remarks? After he killed himself the HN crowd was all "what a sad story". you don't know what people go through on the other end of the wire. people do deserve a chance I think and downvoting stuff that is OK is like saying "f you there is no way in hell we're going to put up with you even if you try".

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#70

Post by Yetanfou »

A 17th century farm with all that comes with such: cooking on a wood-burning stove, heating the house with wood, building out the place with wood taken from the forest (I have a log saw for this purpose, driven by a 5KW electric motor but still fairly low-tech). Farm life combined with more intellectual pursuits make for a good mixture of the manual, the menial and the more mentally challenging activities.
Post reply on HN