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Actions That Made Me Happier

garyharan.com

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Re: Actions That Made Me Happier

#41

Post by kalid »

thirdstation wrote: post #28
kalid wrote: post #19

I like the phrasing of the title, i.e. keeping track of what actually works. One tip that's helped me: when something makes you feel good, add it to feelgood.txt. Over time, you'll start to see patterns (vs. the random, fallible memories/ideas we have about what makes us happy). Every few days or so I'll have a random entry [7/23/09: felt good to chill with Andreas. played games, chatted, had bfast, etc. hospitality.…

Great idea! I made a remember-mode template for emacs so I can store happy thoughts whenever they occur. If you use org-mode and remember-mode you can add this template to your org-remember-templates: ("Happy Thought" ?h "* %U %?" "~/happy.org" "Happy Thoughts") Doing so made me happy, so I added it to the file, which in-turn produced happiness. Ahhh, recursive happiness.

Ah, I've recently switched to vim so I can't reap the benefits :).

I have contemplated geeking out and tagging these entries [blog] [exercise] and similar, so I could later analyze what areas give me the most satisfaction. But that's too much -- it's enjoyable just browsing through vs. letting grep do all the work.

Re: Actions That Made Me Happier

#42

Post by zackattack »

wallflower wrote: post #21
pasbesoin wrote: post #15

I had the pleasure of spending a week with a group of techies in Montreal (referenced in the post). Definitely a nice and interesting crowd to hang out with (and have a drink with (which did NOT == get blitzed)). Once I read Montreal, that part clicked a bit more. The value and pleasure in such does depend on the crowd and attitudes. Back here and at the corporate job, having drinks has usually been about awkwardly c…

Yes, since alcohol is a depressant, if you want someone to indirectly associate you with being stimulated, coffee.

Dude that's genius. I never thought of it in that way before.

Re: Actions That Made Me Happier

#43

Post by robryan »

TheSOB88 wrote: post #5
xox wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand the logic about the strategic importance of drinking with coworkers but I have always felt it imposed some kind of obligation that I was somewhat uncomfortable about while I was single but much more so since I got married. The burden of the obligation for me is such that it outweighs any benefits I feel it could have in relation to my happiness. Those times when I have gone out with coworkers it has prod…

Maybe that's indicative of a larger culture problem at your company. I can't really see people at a bar talking about politics - are you sure you drank enough?

See I actually much prefer having big intellectual conversations with people when I'm drinking, including things like politics. Much better than the "dude I'm so wasted" type conversations.

Re: Actions That Made Me Happier

#44

Post by SteD »

dazmax wrote: post #8

In the "removing small frustrations" category: getting a second power cord for my laptop. It makes me happy twice a day when I don't have to fish my cord out to bring it to work/home.

A docking station + a 19" monitor works great for me both at work and at home.

Re: Actions That Made Me Happier

#45

Post by jambalaya »

zackattack wrote: post #30
quickpost wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like that. A lot. I'm going to create a feelgood.txt on my work computer right now. I'm also thinking about creating a feelbad.txt - so I know what to avoid in my life.

The flip side of this is it can be very hard to make changes in your life when you realize that people to whom you may be very close .. are no longer good for you.

I came back here to this comment. How has anyone dealt with this situation?

Re: Actions That Made Me Happier

#48

Post by colinprince »

sketerpot wrote: post #31
Goosey wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/

No matter how many times this is posted, I can't upvote it enough.

One other alternative is the Instapaper Text bookmarklet

Look for it two thirds of the way down this page:

http://www.instapaper.com/extras

Re: Actions That Made Me Happier

#49

Post by zackattack »

jambalaya wrote: post #45
zackattack wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The flip side of this is it can be very hard to make changes in your life when you realize that people to whom you may be very close .. are no longer good for you.

I came back here to this comment. How has anyone dealt with this situation?

Can you email me with your phone number? I'll give you a call. (zackster@gmail.com)

Re: Actions That Made Me Happier

#50

Post by sabat »

timcederman wrote: post #24
sabat wrote: post #13

Makes me want to go to one of the SV/SF Hackers and Founders meetups. On drinking with co-workers: point taken, but if you are actually having mood problems, watch the alcohol intake. It's a depressant.

You're thinking of the wrong definition of "depressant". Alcohol is a physical depressant.

It's a psychological depressant as well.
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