How about stopped doing? There was a weekend where I had spent close to 20 hours playing World of Warcraft to farm materials and reagents for the epic engineering mount. After I had finished it, and spent the requisite time showing it off in-game, I looked around and realized that all of thrill of lifelong learning and making things in the "real" world has been subsumed when all my spare time was consumed in a virtua…
Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?
201–210 of 785 posts
Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?
#202Here's my list: - Using Vim. Just do it. You'll be more productive than in most other editors, and you can use it over ssh on pretty much any machine. - Using Python. Batteries included means less work for you to do. - Using Django. Ditto - Stopped chasing the latest and greatest JS framework and just use what I know (jQuery and Angular lately). Not worth my time when I already feel very productive. - Use puppet for…
I don't understand the hype behind vim. The biggest productivity boost I find is having an editor which has great code completion and error squigglys as soon as you cause an error.
I'm sure if I made a dedicated effort (ideally with a human present to answer the hard-to-phrase questions) I could work out all the kinks but it's a big hump to surpass.
For example, Eclipse requires you to re-setup your workspace every time you start a new one, and doesn't even have defaults for switching code tabs from the keyboard. The "find in project" feature is cryptic.
And IntelliJ doesn't seem to actually know how to run code; it always wants a "build configuration" that it gives a cryptic interface for and which the tutorial steps aren't very helpful for.
I google to get around the above problems but the answers don't seem to work.
Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?
#203Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?
#204Why are people listing random things they've done instead of what the moment was that led to whatever random thing is listed? Ugh. Edit I've asked a few people to describe their moments instead of just listing what the change was. YMMV, but for me, these are far far more interesting than random lists of things. I may have mis-interpreted the OP's intent, but it sure seems a lot more compelling when you know the catal…
What you're really after is more like "what is a moment in your life that made you rethink things and change your behavior".
I think they're both valid interpretations of the question. There's a common idiom, "an aha! moment", which can refer to either the source of the revelation or the revelation itself.
Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?
#205Earlier quoted context omitted.
Good call. I'm curious, what is your solution to getting more sleep? Frequently those all-nighters come as a result of deadlines and pressure from work. The usual tradeoff is work vs family vs sleep, where often you only get to pick 1. Have you had any success in getting 2 or even 3 of those together?
Just say no. You are better on a full night of sleep for both your family and your job. They need to be understanding there.
Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?
#206Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?
#207Exercise, though others have said that. Personally, I'd say that the thing that changed my life for the best has been Not Giving Tech Support. When I was a teenager I was kinda miserable because some people abused me for tech support. You know, it's nice to give favors, but at some point you're fed up of reinstalling every computer in your block every 6 months. People stop you on the streets and the first thing they…
Agree. Apart from spouse and kids, the only others that get tech support from me are my parents (hey, they raised me and put me through school) and my in-laws (because I'm not an idiot).
Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?
#208Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fasting has messed up my body. I DO NOT recommend doing this. Please consult a doctor first.
what kind of fasting did you do?
Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?
#209Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?
#210Saving for FI (Financial Independence) If I save at my current rate I will achieve FI in 2022. If I had started saving aggressively sooner I would already be FI (I'm in my mid forties). I hate answering to other people and would rather work on my own stuff. FI will get me there. Read the book The Simple Path to Wealth to understand the process. Or this blog post is a good start: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02…
Step 1: Have a job that allows this to be feasible.
Some people only realize 15 years later, after their industry tanks and they're laid off. Then they think, "If only I'd been more aggressive about saving early... I could 'soft retire' now instead of stressing like mad to find gainful employment." The good news: if you're still in your working prime, you might still have time.
The really shitty situation is folks who hit retirement age and only then realize that their savings are insufficient. Govt welfare won't cover you, and you may be past your prime working years (depending on industry or type of job), and instead of having an enjoyable retirement around grandchildren, you're stuck worrying about how you're going to pay for meds. Then you're just fscked.
TL;DR: Even if you don't think you need it now, your future self will thank you!