Staying Healthy and Sane At a Startup • Hacker News Board

Re: Staying Healthy and Sane At a Startup

#21

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Sep 08, 2010, 12:00 AM UTC

cperciva wrote: post #13

jkincaid wrote: post #7

One other thing that has helped me keep my sanity: wash and fold laundry service. You take your dirty laundry, put it in a bag, and they'll clean and fold it for a modest fee (the place around the corner from me is around $1.10 a pound). In urban areas you can find services that will pickup and deliver. It's a luxury, but it isn't that expensive (especially if you typically rely on coin-op laundromats anyway) and it'…

the place around the corner from me is around $1.10 a pound The pricing is based on weight? It seems to me that the time it takes to fold a pound of clothing varies dramatically based on the type of clothing...

[deleted]

Re: Staying Healthy and Sane At a Startup

#22

Post by bentlegen » Wed, Sep 08, 2010, 12:05 AM UTC

phjohnst wrote: post #6

Mongoose wrote: post #3

One tip I'd add to the diet section is to drink enough water. I find that always having cold water at arm's reach helps keep my mind fresh and alert. Also, making the switch from coffee to tea can have innumerable benefits to one's energy level and overall health.

A thousand times yes. Having water at hand and always sipping is a really great way to tame hunger and oral fixations, and is great for your body to be flushing itself out. I find that tea doesn't give me as much of a high as coffee, but it lasts longer without any come-down. Awesome.

Tea puts me to sleep. I can drink the most caffeinated tea on the market, and I'll be nodding off in an hour. It's a real pain because I have difficulty digesting coffee, and I'm looking for alternatives. Appreciate any suggestions.

Re: Staying Healthy and Sane At a Startup

#23

Post by mrbird » Wed, Sep 08, 2010, 12:08 AM UTC

One more I'd add: Pick a time after which you will not check your email.

For me it's 10pm. Too many times I'd be winding down the day, getting ready for sleep, and decided (more like, was subconsciously compelled) to check my email one last time. Every so often, some nagging issue would come up that, in hindsight, definitely could have waited till the next morning, but once I started thinking about it, there was no way I could rest until it was resolved. This obviously cut into my sleep time (not good for the long term) and also often left me in an agitated state that made it harder to get good sleep.

Maybe it's 6pm, maybe it's 2am, but I recommend drawing the line somewhere, so that you can preserve the quality of your downtime.

Re: Staying Healthy and Sane At a Startup

#24

Post by jfb » Wed, Sep 08, 2010, 12:13 AM UTC

al3x wrote: post #18

jlees wrote: post #5

A lot of this applies to working for yourself, or for a big company. Startups exaggerate the extremes of stress and crunch, but I pretty much do all these things (and have done for the last 18 months or so, so ~8 months of BigCo and ~10 months of CEO) and they work equally well in both contexts. As long as you're working somewhere that you can go and take a walk when your wheels are spinning. Things that I've found h…

I probably should have put massage in there. I don't get massages regularly, but man do I ever feel better when I do. Good suggestion.

When it all gets to be too much, I like to go the Imperial Day Spa (on Geary & Fillmore) and just soak for a while. Then, the acupressure. Highly recommended.

Re: Staying Healthy and Sane At a Startup

#25

Post by city41 » Wed, Sep 08, 2010, 12:14 AM UTC

Mongoose wrote: post #3

One tip I'd add to the diet section is to drink enough water. I find that always having cold water at arm's reach helps keep my mind fresh and alert. Also, making the switch from coffee to tea can have innumerable benefits to one's energy level and overall health.

I was up to about 4 cups of coffee a day and my sleep was suffering because of it. So I gave up coffee altogether and I now drink a lot of tea (mostly herbal, caffeine free). It was pretty painful for about two weeks, but I feel so much better now it's just crazy.

Re: Staying Healthy and Sane At a Startup

#26

Post by timcederman » Wed, Sep 08, 2010, 12:16 AM UTC

phjohnst wrote: post #6

Mongoose wrote: post #3

One tip I'd add to the diet section is to drink enough water. I find that always having cold water at arm's reach helps keep my mind fresh and alert. Also, making the switch from coffee to tea can have innumerable benefits to one's energy level and overall health.

A thousand times yes. Having water at hand and always sipping is a really great way to tame hunger and oral fixations, and is great for your body to be flushing itself out. I find that tea doesn't give me as much of a high as coffee, but it lasts longer without any come-down. Awesome.

How does drinking water "flush [your body] out"? I often hear this by proponents of extra water drinking, and I'm intrigued as to what physiological benefit drinking too much water is supposed to allow.

Re: Staying Healthy and Sane At a Startup

#27

Post by jmahoney » Wed, Sep 08, 2010, 12:18 AM UTC

mrbird wrote: post #23

One more I'd add: Pick a time after which you will not check your email. For me it's 10pm. Too many times I'd be winding down the day, getting ready for sleep, and decided (more like, was subconsciously compelled) to check my email one last time. Every so often, some nagging issue would come up that, in hindsight, definitely could have waited till the next morning, but once I started thinking about it, there was no w…

I'd go further than that. Leave work at work. Don't check work email out of the office. Don't take work home: stay late if you must.

This is harder to manage if "the office" is actually your home but it's important to make it work.

You can't really help where your brain wanders in your downtime, but there's no need to encourage it by doing work in your downtime.

Re: Staying Healthy and Sane At a Startup

#28

Post by city41 » Wed, Sep 08, 2010, 12:19 AM UTC

I ride my bicycle just about everywhere: to the office, grocery store, restaurants, everywhere. It's a great way to get exercise and doesn't cut into your schedule all that much, because due to traffic lights you can often get to where you are going on a bike only slightly slower than in a car.

Also starting the day after my 7 mile commute is fantastic, my brain is rocking and ready.

Re: Staying Healthy and Sane At a Startup

#29

Post by jamesk2 » Wed, Sep 08, 2010, 12:38 AM UTC

bentlegen wrote: post #22

phjohnst wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A thousand times yes. Having water at hand and always sipping is a really great way to tame hunger and oral fixations, and is great for your body to be flushing itself out. I find that tea doesn't give me as much of a high as coffee, but it lasts longer without any come-down. Awesome.

Tea puts me to sleep. I can drink the most caffeinated tea on the market, and I'll be nodding off in an hour. It's a real pain because I have difficulty digesting coffee, and I'm looking for alternatives. Appreciate any suggestions.

Try some Yerba Mate. Tea is made from the roots of that plant and has enough caffeine to give you a nice kick when you need it.

Re: Staying Healthy and Sane At a Startup

#30

Post by gnubardt » Wed, Sep 08, 2010, 12:45 AM UTC

bentlegen wrote: post #22

phjohnst wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A thousand times yes. Having water at hand and always sipping is a really great way to tame hunger and oral fixations, and is great for your body to be flushing itself out. I find that tea doesn't give me as much of a high as coffee, but it lasts longer without any come-down. Awesome.

Tea puts me to sleep. I can drink the most caffeinated tea on the market, and I'll be nodding off in an hour. It's a real pain because I have difficulty digesting coffee, and I'm looking for alternatives. Appreciate any suggestions.

have you tried yerba mate?