Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

441–450 of 478 posts

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

#441

Post by superasn »

yorwba wrote: post #178
superasn wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh yes I tried that too but it didn't really pay off for me. That daily streak really helped me stay at it for almost 340 days straight (French). Unfortunately even after daily practice for almost 1 year I can't say I learned anything much (French is a very difficult language and I'm old so that may have something to do with it and YMMV). But anyway seeing I was making no progress I had to quit.

I heard that Duolingo is not good at teaching you how to actually use a language, instead focusing on the parts that are easily measured. Because of that, I never tried it and don't know how accurate that evaluation is, but here's what helped be when learning Chinese: - Regularly meet with a native speaker (1 hour per week for me): they can correct your mistakes and try to explain confusing aspects of the language -…

Thanks, that is awesome advice.

I don't know any native french speakers in my area but I often thought about skyping those number on fiverr where people offer to chat with you and do exactly the same. I can also attest that watching TV serials in french was pretty entertaining (i saw whole 2 seasons of maison close) with and without subs when i was on that 300 day streak.. it really was super fun. But i think at the end of the day it all boils down to practice and repetition and most importantly if you're doing it out of need or just fun (in later case you never take it seriously like you said in your last point which was sadly my case as i really don't have any need for it).

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

#442

Post by japhyr »

owenversteeg wrote: post #211
japhyr wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any new favorites? I'd definitely like to move in this direction with my family's cooking.

Me too, that sounds great. There are so many results for "quick recipes", many of which are expensive, unhealthy, or require a lot of prep.

Yes, often times it seems "quick" means "I've done this recipe 10 times so it's quick for me, here's how quick I can do it!"

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

#443

Post by japhyr »

ilamont wrote: post #205
japhyr wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Thanks for sharing that. I live in Alaska, and we have a lot of salmon and halibut. I'm going to try that approach with halibut. It's similar to what we do, but I'm curious to see what scoring the fish and putting the rub inside the fish will do.

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

#444

Post by barleymash »

grok2 wrote: post #438
barleymash wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

What's your approximate age (or age range)?

early 30s

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

#445

Post by vram22 »

vianin wrote: post #416
vram22 wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In India earlier, people in the South used to brew their own coffee at home, from coffee grounds / powder. There is a special steel utensil for it, with two vertical parts, one of which sits above the other. The top one has fine holes in the bottom of it. You put the coffee powder into the top, then pour some hot water over it, then wait for some time until it extracts the coffee into the bottom part. None of your fa…

It's still here. A lot of tea/coffee shops use it to prepare coffee. It tastes really good.

Cool. Haven't had that kind for a while. Should try it some time.

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

#446

Post by chriswarbo »

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 did the same while at my old job, since it was literally across the street from a gym. I went to the gym during lunch every day, where "going to the gym" just meant turning up and getting changed.

Going during my lunch hour worked better than trying to go in the morning or evening, since I was already constrained to be nearby at the start and end of that hour (plus I don't drive), whereas outside work it was easier to sabotage myself by thinking that I could be doing something "more productive".

There are always plenty of excuses in the moment too, so I adopted a mindset where going to the gym was a given, and anything that encroached on that was an inconvenience; e.g. if I had some errand to run I would instinctively plan to do it before or after work rather than at lunch. As someone who tries to be helpful and humble, it really took effort to prioritise my own wellbeing sometimes!

Another trick I did was to mark every (week)day that I turned up at the gym with a big X on a physical calendar, which gamified it by trying to avoid breaking the current "streak".

Probably worth saying that it worked too! I focused on strengthening my arms (e.g. if I was only there 10 minutes then that's all I'd do) and they went from mostly fat to noticably muscular after about 3 months.

Unfortunately I moved a few years ago and never managed to get back into a good routine :(

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

#447

Post by chriswarbo »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #233
krzjn wrote: post #180

Completely changing my mindset toward success. Only having positive thoughts. All actions start with me to attain my most desired goals. No complaining, no blaming, no hesitating, and no coulda woulda shoulda. Instead, "Next time I'm in this situation, this is what I'll do to be successful." Staying focused on the goal. Failure is only a necessary stepping stone toward success and is only there to tell you how to do…

That sounds exhausting.

It sounds preferable to the fear of failure that I'm guilty of. Riding the rollercoaster of frantic overwork followed by existential dread about being found out to be less than perfect. That is exhausting; plus there's not much to show afterwards except for a pile of meticulously polished but ultimately abandoned projects..

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

#448

Post by chriswarbo »

JanisL wrote: post #210

I 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.

I'm generally quite lax with my diet, etc. but I make a point to never buy sugary soda. This can be tricky, since I'm also addicted to energy drinks for the caffeine (I can't stand tea or coffee), and they're harder to find cheap and sugar free (diet red bull is common, but I'm not that rich!)

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

#449

Post by renaudg »

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've used Beddit, quite good but company has been bought by Apple and I don't think it will ever get any updates as a standalone product.

The most advanced and exciting one is probably the Dreem headband, an EEG that also has features to fight insomnia and even attempts to improve your deep sleep : https://dreem.com/en/

Quite pleased with it, even though the app still has teething problems.

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

#450

Post by simplify »

rolha-capoeira wrote: post #218
simplify wrote: post #174

Capoeira. As someone who doesn't like the gym, the fun mix of capoeira's martial art and self-expression keeps me hooked enough to keep going and stay in shape.

Where/with whom do you practice? If you're willing to share here.

http://www.austincapoeira.com
Post reply on HN