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Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

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Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#311

Post by rconti »

dotsamuelswan wrote: post #287

After a single week of using a physical daily planner, I realized I'd accomplished more in the previous week than I had in the past 6 months. No looking back. Every Sunday I write down a single thing to accomplish for each day of the next week: Read a chapter of a book, Write a post about a specific topic, etc. Procrastination is super dangerous when there isn't a deadline. Way too easy for "tomorrow" to turn into ne…

My biggest problem with planners and to-do lists is I don't consult them. I've tried evernote, I've tried google notes, I used a Palm Pilot 20 years ago. I think technology is better for me because it's always available, but simply having a todo list doesn't cause me to remember to check it. I never think "hey, I'm bored, I wonder what's on the list!"

Any advice?

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#312

Post by dominotw »

andrepd wrote: post #217
chollida1 wrote: post #126

3 things for me: 1) Meditation, I used to think it was something hippies did. I now think its worth 10 IQ points. I honestly can't recommend it enough. 2) Sleep, I'm getting close to 40 and the last 2 times I pulled all nighters I ended up deleting pretty much all the code I wrote from 11pm onward. 3) Occasional Fasts. I normally fast from 6pm until noon the next day but I now do one 3 day fast each month. I think th…

Not a hippie, but you do meditation and fasts... Okay, that came out a bit incisive. Do you have any scientific backing to support those claims? I'm especially interested in fasting. Not eating for 3 days a month does not seem especially healthy. Then I see the claim that it cures cancer and forgive me if all my alarm bells go off.

what could possibly be 'scientific backing' for meditation.

Sounds ridiculous to even ask.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#314

Post by nugator »

bonsai80 wrote: post #169
umbs wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree with all three, but #2 for me has now become the very important due an incident last week. I pulled an all nighter and next day rear ended a vehicle near a traffic signal because I dozed off for a second. The impact was minimal and no one was harmed. It was the first accident with my fault in 15 years of driving. I am approaching 40 and have 2 young kids. I cannot get my priorities wrong at this point. Many liv…

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?

I would say work vs kids vs wife (quality time) vs hobbies vs sleep vs income. I have prioritised kids, wife and sleep. I work as a deceloper contractor in Sweden and only work 80% (32hr/week) in order to ger everything to work. So income, hobbies and spending lots of time working is not what I'm doing right now. I try to see the big picture and might increase those three things when the kids are more independent. But right now they need their father and I want to have a goid relationship to them. Plus they are fun.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#316

Post by rconti »

cookiecaper wrote: post #115
bencollier49 wrote: post #22

Hmmm, hate to admit this: Use a Mac for work rather than Linux. The unixness combined with availability of the likes of MS Office, together with the genuinely beautiful interface has really increased my throughput. Secondly: Doing 1.5 hrs exercise daily.

I've used Linux full-time for 11 years; booted into Windows about once or twice a year to try out a game, and had a Windows VM for photo editing (DxO doesn't work in WINE, and afaik, there are no good replacements for it). Just a couple of months ago I switched to Windows as the host OS and Linux in a VM running in the background 24x7 (off the raw disks, so I am virtualizing the same system that I ran as my host OS,…

Seems like OS X is the perfect solution to this. I used Linux on the desktop exclusively from 1995 to 2002 but haven't run it on the desktop since. (I still manage fleets of Linux servers of course).

I simply don't see any value in desktop Linux for my job, and using Windows makes it too hard (like trying to build a ship in a bottle).

YMMV, of course, depending on your work.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#317

Post by 33W »

Another223 wrote: post #152

Podcasts! I was considering jobs on the buy-side and a friend recommended a couple of financial podcasts. Knowing that part of the interview would be about my financial style and what industry leaders I followed / read I had a strong incentive to give them a try. I quickly became hooked. More convenient during my (on-transit) commute than a book and there's such a vast range of topics available to keep you interested…

I got started with podcasts about a year ago. Great while I'm working on things I don't need to really focus on, walking the dog, driving, etc.

Listing my financial ones:

Marketplace

Marketplace weekend

Radical Personal Finance

Slate Money

Freakonomics

Planet Money

Non-financial ones:

Parent Savers

Intelligence Squared

Intelligence Squared US

HBR Ideacast

Happier

Serial

Common Sense with Dan Carlin

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History

NPR Politics

The Economist Radio

Stuff You should Know

99% Invisible

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#318

Post by LukeB_UK »

Switched jobs.

I was living and working in a town that's somewhat boring and not the most inspiring. I came to the decision I needed to leave when there was a restructure going on and I realised that I wasn't learning anything and didn't really have anyone to learn from as well as the fact that the company wasn't really investing in learning and progression.

I've been at my new job for just over a month now and have been learning loads. The company actively invests in learning and personal development, with one of the benefits being a fund to spend on that as well as them providing training needed for my role. We've also recently been allocated some time to spend on personal learning/development.

I now work in a city so it also got me to move out of that town and closer to the city which has been good for my social life.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#319

Post by desdiv »

Sukotto wrote: post #20

Declining to reveal my previous salary when negotiating a new job. I ended up with a significantly better salary than they originally offered and never even said a number. Just built a good rapport with the hiring HR rep and agreed that the offered amount would be totally reasonable for [someone else with good experience]. Then I pointed out that I also bring to the role [additional, relevant, and desired experience]…

I'm not a dishonest person in general, but I have zero problem with lying about my previous salary in order to gain a negotiating advantage. I feel that it's simply none of their business how much I used to make, and that if they're presumptuous enough to ask then a made-up number is what they deserve.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#320

Post by rconti »

yodsanklai wrote: post #51
ZeroGravitas wrote: post #29

Commuting by bicycle. Fresh air and exercise, all packed into the same amount of time it would have taken me to drive and park, even enjoyed the thrill and mental challenge of forcing myself out in the rain and snow. Took some shortcuts and explored areas I've never been to before.

Same here. I was cycling a lot until I got my driving license. Then it was only 10-15 later that I got into the habit of using my bike again. The less I use my car, the happier I am. Now I really wonder what prevented me from doing it sooner!!

I need to get back into it. I'll bike to work for a week or two, then fall off the wagon. That said, I LOVE cycling, have always loved it, and am glad I rediscovered it a decade or so after getting my driver's license.

I still love cars, a huge hobby of mine, but I actually enjoy them more when I'm not driving every day.

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