Lifting weights.
30 years later than I should have, but better late than never.
Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
221–230 of 478 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#222Lots of folks mention: taking their lunch, or anyway not going out to eat. I did the opposite: I go out to lunch every day. Gets me out of the office, out of the rut, meeting other people (never eat alone!) and working out relationships (business or otherwise). Then back to work, energized and with a fresh outlook. But of course I'm at a different place in my career, where the cost is something I gladly afford for th…
You can always take a packed lunch to the lunchroom, or to a park, etc.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#223Started working out, started vaping (and stopped smoking). Noticeable quality of life increase in just a few weeks
Not started working out but I also ceased smoking about 15 months ago and replaced it with vaping. Tremendous increase in life quality followed.
Unless you live in SF, which just banned flavored vape juice. SF -- a place where you can buy pure THC crystal, but banana flavored nicotine is banned.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#224A morning routine involving no phone, computer, etc. for the first hour of the day has been great for me. I usually wake up, make coffee, read for about 30 min, and then gratitude journal and plan my day. (I use Panda Planner purely for convenience, I'm sure a blank sheet of paper works as well.) This allows me to set my own schedule and prioritize my day, rather than reacting to the demands placed on me by others. I…
and then gratitude journal This sounds terrible to me, which means I should probably look into it in order to curb my increasing cynicism.
This is a part of CBT and loving kindness meditation. Laurie Santos has done research on this topic which is worth checking out.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#225I 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.
Club soda would probably be fine.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#226Reading books. I was never a reader as kid. And, for the last 10 years or so of my adult life, the only reading I've done was programming tutorials, documentation, and whatever I ran into on the web. Certainly, there wasn't any reading done for fun.
But, last month after picking up lunch one day, I actually walked into the used book store and bought a book. Yesterday, I started reading book #4. Kinda surprised I went through the first few so quick.
I've been reading on my lunch hour most days, but spent this weekend going through 2/3 of one I started last week.
Not sure how much it's "paying off", but I'm definitely staying off my phone/web at lunch. The stories have me more engrossed than I anticipated too.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#227Daily meditation and gym.
I have realized changes take way more time that I ever thought it would. That being said, before long, you are different and a little proud of your better new self.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#228Reducing 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 redu…
Reminds me of the No S Diet (http://nosdiet.com/). Also created by a computer programmer :D
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#229Unsubscribe from every mailing list.
Just did this, the only good part about the GDRP spam tornado.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?
#230Just show up - I started this last year going to the gym - if I didn't feel like going to work out, I just went to the gym and messed around, did whatever I felt like, even for 15 or 20 minutes and then left. The discipline has translated into other projects - a camper reno, a game engine, etc. Just showing up is more than half the battle, even if you don't accomplish much on one given day.
When I started going to the gym, I had to deal with a lot of internal resistance. Feeling embarrassed about being old and fat and obviously totally ignorant about what I was doing.
A few months with a personal trainer got me past my fear of the gym. That was huge.