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Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
201–210 of 478 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#20250 pushups, 50 situps, 50 bodyweight squats, and 3x1 minute planks (left, right, middle) every day followed by a shower before I go to bed.
Stretch my hamstrings every day. I, like much of HN, sit at a desk all day and my hamstrings had gotten incredibly stiff.
Earn at least 1 crown a day on duolingo.
I feel better and I sleep better.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#203I've started bringing my lunch to work. It saves me around $50 per week. If I funnel that into my student loan, I'll save about $15,000 in interest from making the extra repayments. That's the magic of compounding interest.
I started this while in gradschool---left gradschool about six months ago, after seven years. It is so funny how this particular habit has stuck on me. I have found I actually enjoy cooking now [...]
Yes! I've been doing it for 3 years and I found another benefit which is improvement to my "skill" in cooking. I have a lot more intuition on cooking times, required temps for recipes, and general choice of ingredients. Doesn't sound like much but it's nice to be able to _quickly_ put together a good tasting meal
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#204Reducing my portions for food, even if it's healthy stuff. I've found that it's helped me drop a considerable amount of weight yet still be able to have things I want to have, even if they're unhealthy. I started playing around with it towards the end of college and its helped me reduce food spending, intake, overall weight, and I've been shrinking dishes so the dishes I do have to do are smaller. In the vein of reducing portions, limiting certain foods to certain days of the week and committing to it has become much easier (i.e., Friday and Saturday are the only two days of the week I'll have pizza barring special occasions).
I've been trying to make exercise and working out seem positive for years now, but I don't get the rush from it that everyone else seems to. Lifting things up and down is boring, running on the treadmill or elliptical is boring, and I'm not in that kind of shape to do some kind of hyperactive training regimen. I basically just do it because sacrificing 30 mins to an hour at the gym after work and then the commute time back home is a fair trade off for not having to worry about a lot of health complications down the line.
One that I was into at my last job and that I've been trying to reintroduce is a nap after work. At my last job, I'd come home and take a nap for an hour or so, and wake up feeling like doing something. This got crushed by introducing above exercise: I'd go work out, come home and say "oh I'll take a nap", and wake up an hour or so before I had to sleep.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#205Learned how to cook easy dishes for my family. My wife and I for years went all out on cooking stovetop dishes that take an hour or more of chopping and other kitchen labor before the meal and another 30-45 minutes of cleanup afterwards. Exposure to Spanish dining habits on a vacation, use of time-saving tools such as an electronic pressure cooker and rice cooker, and learning how to use an oven for simple dishes rea…
Do you have any new favorites? I'd definitely like to move in this direction with my family's cooking.
Last night it was baked chicken drums with simple rubs - one cajun and one provencal. Scored the chicken parts on both sides with ~1/2"/1 cm deep cuts, poured on some olive oil, rubbed in salt and some dried spice mixes we had lying around the cupboard, lay them flat on a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and baked for 1 hour at 425F. Prep There are a dozen more ways you could do this dish, including brining, marinade, other types of rub or spice, other parts, or whatever.
Optional: You can pour off some of the liquid (which can make a gravy) and/or flip the chicken near the end.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#206I've started bringing my lunch to work. It saves me around $50 per week. If I funnel that into my student loan, I'll save about $15,000 in interest from making the extra repayments. That's the magic of compounding interest.
Yes! Magic indeed. I wish you good luck in keeping that habit!
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#207Quit Facebook( which really means just access it 2mins per week on a Sunday, just because I'm on a few groups ). Close down Instafart.
Quit watching porn, after realising the health risks are not worth the benefits.
Quit buying sweets of any kind, especially sugary ones, for myself. I still buy chips for everyone when meeting with friends. I still eat sweets as long as they are made at home. And yes, I have cheat days. So it's not perfect.
The benefits trickled down, phone usage went down etc. etc.
So I got into the habit of quitting, and seeing things for what they are.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#208Actually sitting down to train my memory once a day. At a bare minimum I memorize the order of a pack of cards, but I try and work in other exercises when I have the time. I'm in the process of memorizing my first book. Super helpful if you're an IT guy and need to remember a bunch of different IP addresses, usernames, and passwords. Also people love it when you remember their name. Highly recommend taining your memo…
If someone wants to do this but a little more productive (imo), get anki (or similar flash card app) on your phone and memorize words in a foreign language that interests you
Flashcards are nowhere near the same thing, or as useful.
I'm talking about cultivating your memory like a muscle. That way, when it comes time to use it, you actually can.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#209Walking home every day. It's about an hour or so, vs my 20 mins on public transport, but it's become a good time of meditative reflection and has provided me with some fitness benefits. It's also time I'd otherwise spend just reading the internet or playing a videogame anyway. Also, trying to meal prep a large number of the same dish to avoid buying lunches during the week and thus spending a large amount of money ne…
Can confirm. I walked 30 mins to work back and forth 5+ years ago every day, and I never seemed to gain weight. I felt pretty great as well. Now I have a car (and work from home, so I don't need to walk to work)...
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#210I completely cut out carbonated drinks, I recently went to the dentist and was expecting the usual "You haven't been looking after your teeth" spiel but instead was told my teeth were in great shape. It's also been very good for my overall energy levels, I suspect that those sugar highs/crashes were worse than I had realized.