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Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

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Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#651

Post by andai »

Vertical tabs for web browsing.

It lets me keep everything in one window, and reveals the true nature of internet browsing (an ever expanding tree, rather than a randomly edited list).

You can see which page spawned which ones, which is a blessing for keeping the structure organized.

Plus the vertical list is much more readable than microscopic tabs or ones hidden with horizontal scrolling. Also, horizontal screen space is cheaper!

I use the Tree Style Tab add-on with FireFox, it's the most solid one I've tried.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#652

Post by nextos »

andai wrote: post #651

Vertical tabs for web browsing. It lets me keep everything in one window, and reveals the true nature of internet browsing (an ever expanding tree, rather than a randomly edited list). You can see which page spawned which ones, which is a blessing for keeping the structure organized. Plus the vertical list is much more readable than microscopic tabs or ones hidden with horizontal scrolling. Also, horizontal screen sp…

I would add tiling window managers. My computer feels different. Tech literate people even ask what OS am I using.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#653

Post by mrfusion »

patio11 wrote: post #9

Every time I start seriously exercising this hits in about week ~4. Sadly, I only generally keep it up for 6 months before falling back to old habits. Professionally: email lists. If you have any reason to have a blog, you should have an email list. It surfaces the identities of the people who are actually interested in what you have to say, and ties people to you much, much tighter than "Oh yeah, that thing you wrot…

What happens in week 4?

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#654

Post by conception »

OhHeyItsE wrote: post #143
chollida1 wrote: post #126

3 things for me: 1) Meditation, I used to think it was something hippies did. I now think its worth 10 IQ points. I honestly can't recommend it enough. 2) Sleep, I'm getting close to 40 and the last 2 times I pulled all nighters I ended up deleting pretty much all the code I wrote from 11pm onward. 3) Occasional Fasts. I normally fast from 6pm until noon the next day but I now do one 3 day fast each month. I think th…

Any meditation tips? I've gone through multiple fits & starts but I just can't keep my mind from wandering.

This group and their app helped me a lot. http://www.10percenthappier.com/

Meditation for skeptics.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#655

Post by akcreek »

chris11 wrote: post #242
akcreek wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a really small business in the translation industry late last year. Since purchase our monthly revenue has grown ~ 190% and we have solid plans to continue the growth. We have 4 people on our internal team, but everyone works remote and part time (approx. 20 hours/week) including me. Our main workforce is made up of freelance translators (about 45 of them at the moment). I handle development, marketing, stra…

How do you handle the separation between home and work? I've noticed that when I am working for an hourly wage at a business I appreciate not having to think about work after I leave.

I've never really had separation between home and work. I started my first business in college and have worked for myself ever since. I've had offices/warehouse related to some of the ecommerce stuff I've done, but even then I'd work from home a lot. My brother is a developer at an agency that I sometimes consult for. They keep a desk open for me there too so if I want to work around people I'll go in there.

So there isn't much physical separation of home and work and there is really no mental separation either since I own my own business.

For the most part I'm able to turn it off when I need/want to. If I'm not feeling productive or just want to do something else I can set the work down and pick up a guitar, go work out, ride a motorcycle, go see a movie, etc. and not think about the work until I get back to it. If I couldn't do that I'd probably prefer more separation of home and work.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#656

Post by cade »

davelnewton wrote: post #101

Why are people listing random things they've done instead of what the moment was that led to whatever random thing is listed? Ugh. Edit I've asked a few people to describe their moments instead of just listing what the change was. YMMV, but for me, these are far far more interesting than random lists of things. I may have mis-interpreted the OP's intent, but it sure seems a lot more compelling when you know the catal…

While visiting my parents a month ago, they had a scale sitting out in the bathroom. My five year old daughter exclaimed, "Daddy, look how much I weigh! ... How much do you weigh?"

If you had asked me without a scale for reference, I would have said 160 pounds.

It was 172.

172 isn't a crazy weight, but not realizing I'd made it into the 170s (which I'd never been before) while simultaneously believing I was 12 pounds lighter was definitely a "moment".

After a month of very low carb diet, exercise, and other lifestyle changes, I'm down to 153 and feel much better too. :)

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#657

Post by craigdfrench »

tjbiddle wrote: post #290
patrickk wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotal, I was like you, extremely skeptical of meditation. Seriously, try it, it's free! Immediate benefits: * Clear, focused mind. I stop hopping from topic to topic in my mind "oh should I tidy the apartment, work on my website, etc etc" to a far more focused state. What you should do next is there with extreme clarity. You stop reading random junk on the internet too, and get down to it * Much better sleep (thi…

A very helpful tactic I've learned recently is to not focus on not having any thoughts but instead - realize they're going to be inevitable, and when they pop up, acknowledge that it's a thought, a feeling or, an emotion - and let go of it.

I have been using Muse (no affiliation) which has a headband that measures brain signals, for me, it seems like it is able to tell when my mind has wandered off thinking about life's minutia, when I am supposed to be concentrating on breathing. It gives the feedback by stirring up the sound of waves and wind and really tries to get you back on track. This is my prompt to let go and recommit to focusing on my breathing and then the waves and winds will calm down again.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#658

Post by mrfusion »

geoffreyhale wrote: post #437

TL;DR: Stop working out. Blasphemy, I know. Summary: A decade long love-obsession with "health and fitness" has taught me that 99% of what our health industry says is nearly-useless or unhealthy. Half the battle of "health" is to stop self-destruction: drug-abuse (obvious), working out "hard" (less obvious). Replace gym and repetitive activity with natural exploratory movement. If you are "supposed to stretch" after,…

Can you share some examples of what to replace exercise with?

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#659

Post by md8 »

chollida1 wrote: post #126

3 things for me: 1) Meditation, I used to think it was something hippies did. I now think its worth 10 IQ points. I honestly can't recommend it enough. 2) Sleep, I'm getting close to 40 and the last 2 times I pulled all nighters I ended up deleting pretty much all the code I wrote from 11pm onward. 3) Occasional Fasts. I normally fast from 6pm until noon the next day but I now do one 3 day fast each month. I think th…

No 3. What procedure do you follow for fasting. Could you elaborate please?

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#660

Post by RandomOpinion »

ninkendo wrote: post #42
jacobkranz wrote: post #10

For me it was psychotherapy / dealing with both my physical & mental health. I now meditate 2x a day, run, and lift weights.

Any advice on how to seek it out? I'm at the point where I want to try it but I don't know exactly what to seek out. Should I talk to a general practitioner and get a referral? Just google some stuff and pick somebody close to me? Any kind of "yelp for therapists"?

Your insurance may or may not require a referral and may or may not restrict the available mental health professionals you can see, so check with them for their policies first. No need to be shy about it; they'll see the bill after your clinic visit anyway.

Finding a mental health professional is kind of subjective, so recommendations are not necessarily helpful. (Do pay attention to negative ratings though.) Even the most qualified ones can't help you if you don't "click" with them, so you may have to shop around a little. Don't be shy about switching if a psychiatrist or therapist isn't working for you; they're used to it.

Lastly, and this is my opinion only, if you have a teaching hospital nearby (e.g. at your nearest major university) with mental health services, you probably have a better chance of not getting a psychiatrist/therapist that's incompetent. No guarantees but a better chance. (Depending on your confidence in this thesis, it may even be worth paying out of pocket if they're not in your insurance network. After all, what is your sanity worth?)

Good luck.

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