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

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

#381

Post by bantic »

stnmtn wrote: post #379
bantic wrote: post #370

I took a month-long sabbatical last Fall to learn a new skill (machine learning). I had a project goal to keep me focused on making progress and staying practical: making an ios app that will use ML to "recognize" the letters on a Boggle game grid and "solve" it, printing out all the words on that grid. I made large strides during the month but the project wasn't quite working at the end. After the sabbatical it was…

I think the last bullet point you listed must be really helpful. I don't remember where I read it, but I recently heard Hemingway used to do something similar where he would write to a point that he really wants to continue, then stop for the day, so tomorrow morning he excitedly picks back up and finishes what he was so excited to write the day before. I feel like that's probably an incredibly effective habit for ke…

Yeah. I think I get a little extra subconscious background-thread-processing boost when I do this.

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

#382

Post by leandot »

Couple of trivial ones with good results:

Noted down the websites that I visit when I am waiting for something to finish, selected the ones I don't really need and blocked them. That reduced the context switching significantly.

Also started to brush teeth right after dinner, which avoids the occasional snack afterwards.

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

#383

Post by xutopia »

jumbopapa wrote: post #159
kieckerjan wrote: post #140

A cold shower in the morning. It is quick, cheap, easy on the skin, wakes you up and makes you feel like a champion.

A warm shower seems like such a big luxury to abandon.. don't know if I could do this.

The best of both worlds. Do the warm one and finish with colder water as far as you can comfortably take it. Do this repeatedly and over a 30 day period you should be able to go fully cold without an issue. Then you can lower temperature on starting temperature and in another 30 days you can go cold all the way.

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

#384

Post by zschallz »

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…

You may be able to host your development environment cheaper. Hetzner works out to be almost the same price as electricity of keeping my desktop up all the time for me.

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

#385

Post by neves »

elros wrote: post #138
projectramo wrote: post #127

Almost all the habits here are about sleeping and exercise. Exercise is one of those things that once you start, you crave so it is easier. But sleep wasn't solved for me till I got a personal tracker. Suddenly I started to care when I measured how little or how much REM I got. So I think if you get a personal tracker and track your steps and sleep, a lot of the rest will fall in place.

I've been trying to solve the sleep part of the equation for a few decades. I'm yet to try a sleep tracker. Do you have a personal tracker recommendation?

I just have the very cheap Mi Band 2. I don't know how precise it is, but it really tracks the amount of sleep I have.

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

#386

Post by thorin »

raztogt21 wrote: post #327
abhiminator wrote: post #270

I started meditating recently after having been carpet-bombed by its potential benefits for years across various media and platforms, and now, after a few weeks of regular practice, I must say this -- I was pleasantly surprised by how much my outlook toward life changed since I started practicing 'mindfulness' -- a type of meditation involving focusing on the present moment with the understanding that buzzing thought…

I was about to post the same. Guided meditation has improved my life drastically. 10 minutes on the mornings, helps me to stop rushing it. 10 minutes at the end of the day, refresh me for the next 2-3 hours. Currently, using the Headspace app. And it is not cheap, where I live it cost roughly (about 1/4 of a monthly college degree job salary), it was worth every penny. Trying to get my girlfriend to use it. No luck s…

Insight timer may not be as good but it does have a free option. After following a meditation course I find it plenty good enough.

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

#387

Post by QuasiAlon »

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…

1) I may sound like a total n00b, but don't you find it hard to code only from a command line environment? I mean, you can't use IDEs with SSH, right?

2) I'm going to be that guy that chimes in and says you have to be careful with code you write on company's time / using company equipment. So, be careful with that.

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

#388

Post by QuasiAlon »

bsvalley wrote: post #252

This will sound a little boring to you but the following 5 habits made me stronger after only 2 weeks. I suffer from general fatigue (I did a million check up with specialist and nothing came out). I've tried so many different things to boost my level of energy naturally, that's the result of a long study and experiment: - Cutting caffeine to only one coffee on the morning and taking that coffee at least one hour aft…

> I suffer from general fatigue

I think I do too. I'm always tired and weak. Check ups and blood works are OK, and doctors I see just say 'there's nothing wrong with you, you're probably just depressed'. Nope.

Very frustrating.

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

#390

Post by turc1656 »

barleymash wrote: post #305
DoofusOfDeath wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope you'll update this post in a few weeks / months. It sounds very counter-intuitive based on prevailing wisdom. It might also be a good idea to have your physician check your blood glucose levels, other markers of pre-diabetes, and liver-function enzymes.

Totally, I actually had a physical scheduled for last week, before realizing I scheduled it for a date I was going to be out of town. So unfortunately I had to reschedule for August. But anyway, there is a decent amount of people who are following this plan, and if you are interested, you can find a lot of anecdotal experiences (including people reporting on their blood testing, etc) by googling "Starch Solution" or…

This sounds dangerous. I am not on this diet and don't know anything about it but I second the recommendation to closely monitor your blood sugar levels because the science on that is clear. While I do the opposite (high fat low carb), I still monitor my blood sugar anyway, just for good measure (because I have too many people close to me with diabetes).

If you are interested, here is the test kit I have: https://www.amazon.com/TrueMetrix-Monitoring-Glucose-System-... also available here, cheaper, as an add-on item: https://www.amazon.com/McKesson-06-RE4051-43-Metrix-Monitori...

And here are the lancets and test strips that go with it (in bulk): https://www.amazon.com/Metrix-Monitoring-Blood-Glucose-Strip... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IAI2XI0/ref=oh_aui_sear...

If you decide to monitor using this, you should check your waking blood sugar and it should be 180 is problematic. 200+ is pre-diabetes. 2 hours after a meal it should definitely be Regarding the high carb concept - this seems to go directly against our genetics. The human genome was basically "finalized" in its current form at a time when we had no large sources of carbohydrates because we couldn't cultivate anything like rice and potatoes. So our diet at the time consisted primarily of foods that are high fat and moderate protein, as well as greens and vegetables. One thing to note about high fat diets is that they should be high in natural, saturated fats like animal fats and nuts, not the garbage oils like vegetable and canola oil, which a lot of people and businesses drench their foods in.

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