switching my phone screen to gray scale tremendously helps me keep away from constantly checking twitter/instagram/facebook/quora updates
How does that work? You mean like black-and-white color right?
Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
81–90 of 478 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#82I have recently removed the habit of 'relentless skill acquisition' in favor of meditation. If I had a spare 20 minutes I used to practice various skills that I wanted to become good at. While this is probably better than mindlessly ingesting social media or the internet, it has the unique problem of allowing one's identity to get caught up in how good at skill acquisition one can get, and also requires concentration, which is not quite as beneficial to the mind as meditation. The side benefit to this is that it amazingly reduces spending in support of hobbies, which was an ancillary budgetary concern. In short, if you stop visualizing yourself as 'good at something' and then needing to purchase the gear in support of that hobby, you save a lot of cash.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
Working out! With a 7 minute app. I started in Nov. + People notice the difference. + It's a good way to cope with bad times. + You feel accomplished afterwards. + It's a perfect start of the day. + If you're dating and she is watching, it's a turn on. + You can go on for longer. + It's good for your confidence. + Other people who are working on themselves can be interesting people to meet. + It's good for your healt…
I have a question regarding that. I'm not particularly fat (185cm / 6'0'' tall and weighing 85kg / 187lb), but I'm quite unfit (you wouldn't be able to see any muscles on my body). When I try to do something like a 7-minute or 9-minute workout, I'm usually unable to continue after 3 minutes because of sheer exhaustion, and I'll have aching muscles for the next few days after that. Any recommendations how to overcome…
Cardiovascular exercises: use a heartbeat monitor and check that the frequency is within a certain range during the exercise (you can look up how to find the range on the internet). This way, you will not be pushing yourself over your limit.
Weight lifting exercises: choose a weight such that you can do the exercise 12 times (reps) correctly without getting exhausted/fatigued. Then correctly do 4-5 sets of that exercise, with 1-2 minutes between the sets. Optionally increase the weight a little between sets, and reduce the number of reps so that you can do at least 8 reps in the last set.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#84I've always been an engineer and enjoyed being that for almost 25 years now. Learning new things was kind of my way to end my work days.
One thing I admired and never really understood was people that went out every day posting new content, tech tutorials etc. almost daily, being active on Twitter, engaging with other people. Being a kid from the 1970s these things were really weird for me because they are digital and not analog.
So I decided to actually try it out and try living as one of the guys producing helpful tutorials and engaging/mentoring on Twitter and other platforms.
I think it might be a great habit to cultivate because it pretty much fits into moving beyond my comfort zone.
Would be nice to hear from others who tried this thing and hear if it actually was rewarding. For now, I just suspect it will pay off in the long run.
[1]: https://twitter.com/marenkay/status/1006286995767877634 [2]: https://marenkay.com/2018/06/11/symfony-user-provider/
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#85Stop buying stuff. I was a compulsive spender. Never bought on credit mind but I’d blow my entire paycheque after bills on stuff like cameras, hifi, the latest Apple doodad, etc. I literally stopped buying anything not required for my day to day sustenance. No Netflix, started renting what I wanted to watch which forced me to be more picky with my expenditure and time. No more eating out except for special occasions.…
Would like to add "habit of drinking water" to this list. ANY beverage whether its coffee, soda, tea - is easily 4 to 6 dollars and is an entirely made up requirement.
Would like to add making your own water Kefir to the list as a replacement for soda. Super inexpensive, relatively easy, really healthy, and tasty.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#86I stopped playing Heroes of the Storm and any games that aren't relaxing. If I am going to take some time off and play a game, I just play a simple retro console game. Play sessions are 15 minutes instead of 4+ hours. Not worried about "losing" or being griefed, etc. I don't care about "getting to the next level" or "opening up a loot crate" or any of that gamification / skinner-box stuff anymore.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#87Stretching in the evenings. Lower back pain is almost completely gone, range of motion in my neck is expanded.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#88Switched to a ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting 5 months ago. My sleep quality, mental clarity, ability to focus for long periods of time and mood swings have all improved dramatically. I am also shredding fat at a pretty good pace and apparently also gaining muscle (I lift every single day if I can).
Same here! Keto + eating at evenings only + StrongLifts.com. Improved my mood, my energy levels. I feel so much better with it and every time I slip and do a cheat-day I do feel really awful after. Cannot imagine going back to eating any sugars now.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#89Replacing alcohol with water, except for occasional social events. Too many times I’d come home dead tired mentally and reach for a cold one, which inevitably led to…another cold one haha. Replace with water (bonus if you add a little apple cider vinegar to it!), you’ll feel better and your body will thank you. No non-social drinking allowed!
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#90I stopped playing Heroes of the Storm and any games that aren't relaxing. If I am going to take some time off and play a game, I just play a simple retro console game. Play sessions are 15 minutes instead of 4+ hours. Not worried about "losing" or being griefed, etc. I don't care about "getting to the next level" or "opening up a loot crate" or any of that gamification / skinner-box stuff anymore.
This is one of the reasons I'm playing World of Tanks a lot recently rather than PUBG. It can be frustrating sometimes (when I play badly) but it's generally much more relaxing and leaves me in a better mood in the evening.