Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?

#351

Post by sunwicked1 » Tue, Jun 12, 2018, 4:52 PM UTC

projectileboy wrote: post #91

sunwicked1 wrote: post #59

New Habit: Learn something daily - Learning French: I finished Duolingo app's course, now experimenting with plugins and more apps to learn French. - Learning Ukulele: I picked it some 6 months back. Still, a long way to go. Benefit: 1)When I encounter something difficult to learn, I panic less. I understand the incremental process and the highs and lows of learning a new skill/concept. 2)The fun of learning, knowing…

I strongly recommend Pimsleur language courses as an addition to Duolingo. They’re especially great if you spend any time in a car.

Thanks will give it a try.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?

#352

Post by songzme » Tue, Jun 12, 2018, 4:52 PM UTC

theWheez wrote: post #321

songzme wrote: post #219

I started sshing into my desktop at home to write code. I've never been so liberated. I can literally code from any computer I borrow (friends or library) and pick up exactly where I left off (tmux session) with the same text-editor configuration (vim) instantly. I realized that my previous desire to have the latest macbook so excessive, and now I'm happy with just a light and durable $200 chromebook. I teach a few p…

What environment/language do you primarily code in?

nodejs + python. Vim as a text editor for everything, including mobile dev with react-native. Expo for React-Native is godsend.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?

#353

Post by songzme » Tue, Jun 12, 2018, 4:55 PM UTC

firefistace77 wrote: post #312

songzme wrote: post #219

I started sshing into my desktop at home to write code. I've never been so liberated. I can literally code from any computer I borrow (friends or library) and pick up exactly where I left off (tmux session) with the same text-editor configuration (vim) instantly. I realized that my previous desire to have the latest macbook so excessive, and now I'm happy with just a light and durable $200 chromebook. I teach a few p…

I second this. I did this while I was at University and it helped not only ease up my backpack (went from carrying a big gaming computer on my back to a 2 pound chromebook) but it also allowed me to work almost anywhere anytime cause of the battery life and the fact that essentially the entire campus was connected. Couple this with some x-forwarding for GUIs and you got basically the same high end computer anywhere y…

wow it's so awesome you started doing this in College. I wish someone would have taught me this back then, could have saved a few thousand dollars and headache from picking and buying laptops.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?

#354

Post by OldSchoolJohnny » Tue, Jun 12, 2018, 4:55 PM UTC

barleymash wrote: post #168

glastra wrote: post #78

Switched to a ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting 5 months ago. My sleep quality, mental clarity, ability to focus for long periods of time and mood swings have all improved dramatically. I am also shredding fat at a pretty good pace and apparently also gaining muscle (I lift every single day if I can).

I've been trying the opposite lately -- a high carb diet. I've mostly been modeling my eating style after Dr. McDougall's "Starch Solution" plan. He basically believes that humans are designed to eat starchy foods (potatoes, whole grains, etc), and that fats are bad (healthy fats -- like from avocados -- aren't necessarily unhealthy, but aren't great if you are trying to lose weight). So one of the core tenets of thi…

Wow, you're really "zagging" when science is "zigging", interesting to hear how that turns out for you, please keep us updated. I personally have gone from what you describe many years ago to paleo, then to keto and now to complete carnivory. Each step I feel better and shed more weight, think more clearly and have more energy.

However modern science is also positing that there may be people who thrive on what would be terrible for other people due to genetic or microbiome differences so I'm curious how it turns out for you.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?

#355

Post by matwood » Tue, Jun 12, 2018, 4:58 PM UTC

terryjsmith wrote: post #104

Just 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.

Showing up is huge. I've added a couple more recently that are related.

1) Get up at 6am every morning even on the weekends and go right to the gym. It sucks for a little while, but it has really raised my life productivity to a new level. My sleep has gotten much better. My head hits the pillow and I'm out. I naturally stopped looking at my phone after 9-10pm because I was just ready to sleep.

2) Anytime I think about something I don't want to do, I stop whatever is I'm doing and do that thing instantly. It has really flipped around my mindset, and made me realize many of these things I put off only take a few minutes anyway. So much is done, that I end up with tons of free time at the end of the day to work on other things. Freeing my mind of nagging procrastination also does wonders.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?

#356

Post by OldSchoolJohnny » Tue, Jun 12, 2018, 4:58 PM UTC

sAbakumoff wrote: post #120

bartoszhernas wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here! Keto + eating at evenings only + StrongLifts.com. Improved my mood, my energy levels. I feel so much better with it and every time I slip and do a cheat-day I do feel really awful after. Cannot imagine going back to eating any sugars now.

One of the common side effects of Keto is Reduced Physical Performance. You guys must be unicorns or something..That's not a surpise because you definitely need to be "special" to restrict yourself from eating all day long LOL.

That's not accurate information unless you are referring to the initial phase of getting your body used to a new way of eating. Most people who keep it up report the exact opposite.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?

#357

Post by songzme » Tue, Jun 12, 2018, 4:59 PM UTC

gizmo385 wrote: post #315

songzme wrote: post #219

I started sshing into my desktop at home to write code. I've never been so liberated. I can literally code from any computer I borrow (friends or library) and pick up exactly where I left off (tmux session) with the same text-editor configuration (vim) instantly. I realized that my previous desire to have the latest macbook so excessive, and now I'm happy with just a light and durable $200 chromebook. I teach a few p…

How did you get your company to agree to this? I feel like most companies would immediately shut this down since you're storing company secrets on a non-approved computer.

I don't do company work on my desktop. Instead, I use company computer to ssh into a company cloud to do my coding (All of the company I've worked at either has their own cloud instance or aws/googlecloud/azure flavor). Again, same benefits, I can code on any of my coworker's computer. lol.

Sometimes I ssh into my personal desktop to do personal work from my company computer.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?

#358

Post by OldSchoolJohnny » Tue, Jun 12, 2018, 5:00 PM UTC

turc1656 wrote: post #342

1. Stopped using Facebook (don't have Twitter, Instagram, etc. This includes removing the FB app from my phone (very important for security reasons). 2. No email on my personal phone. Work phone is a must but I use it exceedingly sparingly. I only check it when I am expecting something important during busy weeks (and even then, maybe not). 3a. Stopped commenting on any/all forums, news sites, or any type of social m…

3a rings to true to me. There is no end of ignorant people online and many of them are willfully so and it's a fools game to try to convince them otherwise.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?

#359

Post by OldSchoolJohnny » Tue, Jun 12, 2018, 5:05 PM UTC

INTPenis wrote: post #32

I stopped smoking cannabis a little over a month ago and now I feel all this energy surging through me that I had been missing since 2017. I had been really down since my SO passed away in september but I hadn't smoked what you might consider excessively. The problem was that I smoked too regularly. Like a little pinch in a pipe twice a week. That's enough to keep my body affected by it. And it takes at least a month…

I think it's perfectly valid to lean on the cannabis to get through a hard time and I'm glad it's becoming legal in more places. Every ounce of alcohol it displaces seems to me to be better for people as well. It has far fewer side effects than almost any prescription drug and as anyone who has done it for a time and quit can attest it's absolutely non-addictive.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a new habit you cultivated recently that is really paying off?

#360

Post by matwood » Tue, Jun 12, 2018, 5:07 PM UTC

nickelcitymario wrote: post #347

terryjsmith wrote: post #104

Just 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.

I started this two months ago, too. My motto is "Showing up is the victory." Once I'm in there, I give it my best. Some days my best sucks. I don't worry about that. I got my ass into the gym. It's the habit that matters. It's about consistently showing up. For context, I'm 34 and clinically considered morbidly obese. My relationship with exercise, like virtually all obese people, is one of yo-yo diets and countless…

Sounds like you're on a great path, and I have a couple comments. First, results oriented is great, but health and fitness is a life long thing like breathing. The journey is what's important here.

Second, don't beat yourself up when you fail. We all fail at times. What you can't do is let a simple failure snowball. Recognized you failed and get back on track. A trick I use is not to wait until tomorrow to go to the gym, go right then even if you've already been today. And when I say right then, I literally mean right then if you can.

Finally, don't focus on the scale. Focus on doing the right things every minute of every day and the scale will follow. Again, it's the process and finding how you can live your entire life as healthy as you can.