Ask HN: What lifehacks actually changed your life?

Having several in-progress books I’m reading at once. Didn’t read much before, now about two books a month.

Moving from an apartment where my desk had a view of a parking lot, to a house with a river view. Thought it’d be nice only temporarily, but a year later I still feel happier and more motivated.

Stopping ambien use. I realized it’s better to sleep when I’m actually sleepy and wake up late rather than wake up early but feel depressed and brain-foggy.

Tracking my work hours but not pomodoro-style, but by setting tiny tasks and seeing how fast I can complete them. Aiming low with total time, defining spending 3 hours per day spent in actual deep concentrated work on the most important task a successful day.

- Nuts, seeds, vegetables. Some fruit. - Vitamin B12 and D3 supplements. - Water

I save money by not needing chronic medication, feel very calm, have no trouble with my bowel movements, eat when I want to, and have lost body fat despite leading a mostly sedentary lifestyle.

I also save more time than most in eating this way.

I sometimes eat ice cream. When I do this, my heart rate picks up dramatically and makes me feel uncomfortable afterwards. But hey, I love ice cream.

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Going on walks, and hill climbs with a weighted backpack seems to fix my back pain instantly.

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I recently learned that I can take all the leftover vegetable ends and skins and boil them to make vegetable broth.

1. Intermittent Fasting. I had gained a lot of weight after an accident. It helped me get back into shape. I was always a very active person. So I never had to watch what I eat but late twenties and my injury forced me to watch I eat. I'd often feel bloated, heavy, and tired. Fasting regularly for at least 18 hours was something I had to work on but it's just second nature to me now. Feel a lot more energetic and light :)

2.Picking hobbies that I'm serious about. I've always been one of those people that would pick up something and drop it after a couple of months after getting that initial sense of achievement.

I didn't change this habit right away. Instead, I actively searched for something that would really, really click. Landed on drawing and downhill skating. I've been skating for 2 years straight now and drawing is catching up. I think around 6 months now.

Having something you're really passionate about outside of work, man, it's like a different kind of medidation. Especially something as dangerous as downhill skating. I started it as a fat and out of shape, tech guy in his late-twenties. The improvement I could see was what kept me motivated through the scary novice times where I'd get injured frequently. Honestly it was really scary. But now, it's a great outlet where I can get into a hyper-focus state and just exist. Because if you don't do that, you might actually die, haha.

3. Not a hack but something I've noticed in many part of my life is that the more relaxed and loose you are, the more precise you can work. I had learnt this while learning to play the drums back in highschool but never thought about applying this to my daily life. The realization hit when I was learning to draw. But it works in almost anything.