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Ask HN: What are some life optimization tricks you have discovered?
Like:
- You can turn on the electric kettle while pouring water into it.
- _zzaw 3y agoIf you're on an iPhone, turn on "Website Settings > Use Reader Automatically" for any Substack site you browse to. The next time you visit, you won't have to bother dismissing the "plz subscribe to my shitty newsletter" box that Substack forces on you.
- Quinzel 3y agoOh my gosh, thank you for that wonderful piece of advice.
- throwawaysleep 3y agoI look to monetize all my wasted time as much as possible. So I do those survey for cash or airline points during standup. Extremely low value, but given that I am trapped in standup (worthless to me) and it is too short to do something more valuable, I may as well. Worth half a business class trip to Europe every year.
- jitl 3y agoWhy not work a whole second job remote?
- throwawaysleep 3y agoI work three of those, but this standup starts before my other two jobs and is too short a block to do much of anything anyway.
- satvikpendem 3y agoCurious, does anyone at Notion work multiple remote jobs?
- jacknews 3y agoI just wasted a couple of days on a coding test for an agency, where the actual client job is in the US, and turns out to require US hours (10 timezones away). There are a lot of tells that either the 'client' is actually a US-based remote worker, or someone from the agency, working at least this job remotely and outsourcing the actual work, eg the only 'interview' slots are at lunch time, pitiful rates, etc (but I need any work now). I'm guessing this is quite a common scam.
- fuzzfactor 3y agoI work to not need monetizing my spare time.
- gregjor 3y agoPay more attention to your grandparents and parents, learn their common sense so you don't discover "optimizations" and "life hacks" from blogs. You will save time not having to discover things people have known for centuries just by paying attention.
- throwawaysleep 3y agoVerify that their optimizations and life hacks still make sense in the modern era. My grandparents are luddites.
- bequanna 3y agoMuch “common sense” advice contains things are universal truths about living life and have long-term payoffs. These are quite clear looking backwards but not as obvious at the time. In other words, about half of your life will be lived after you’re 40. Start preparing for that very long period.
- DANmode 3y agoThey might be able to teach you the proper way to can!
- kiernanmcgowan 3y agoCaffeine is an appetite suppressant, which makes a pot of coffee a quick and easy low cal breakfast.
- true_blue 3y agoThis is one I use a lot! I've found coffee to be very helpful for weight loss because of this. I have my coffee black usually, though. It's probably less helpful there if you use a lot of sugar.
- kiernanmcgowan 3y agoExactly! I’ve lost 10lb just by replacing breakfast with coffee. The key is to make sure that you don’t over eat at lunch, so I tend to have two smaller lunches at noon and 2pm.
- glandium 3y agoOne thing I heard is that sometimes the brain misinterprets thirst as appetite, and that drinking (anything) instead of eating can be the first appropriate response (but obviously, if appetite doesn't go away, eat). I don't know if it's actually true, but this strategy works for me.
- vosper 3y agoKnow how you value your free time. That you can know when it makes sense pay other people to do things you don't want to do, or which take away from time you'd rather spend on something else. Some examples: - Cleaning the house (not the easy stuff: do your own dishes!) but bathrooms, windows, deep-cleaning carpets etc... - Landscaping and gardening - Grocery delivery or ordering online for pickup Do you really wanna spend half your weekend on this stuff? Goes triple when you have kids.
- jitl 3y ago[flagged]
- jackphilson 3y agodon't know if referrals are okay, might lead to a conflict of interest
- satvikpendem 3y agoWhile I like the meal delivery service as I've been looking for something similar, I flagged your comment for linking to referral-code URLs. If anyone else wants to strip URLs of tracking and referral codes automatically, I use: https://github.com/jparise/chrome-utm-stripper https://github.com/jparise/chrome-utm-stripper
- joshxyz 3y agothe guy is hustlin. respect, haha.
- idontwantthis 3y agoKettlebell swings are an incredibly efficient exercise. I’m in the best shape I’ve been in in years, for 1.5 hours per week in my bedroom with 3 weights and two yoga mats.
- joshxyz 3y agowhat are the weights in lbs you use? and what specific swings do yoy recommend? thank you
- idontwantthis 3y ago12kg for warmups, 24kg for 2 handed swings and 16kg for Turkish getups. Read Kettlebell Simple and Sinister. It’s silly but very informative and detailed on how to lift safely and effectively. Watch YouTube videos too and record video of yourself until your form is perfect.
- pawelduda 3y agoAgree! You won't likely get ripped but it's the best time/results ratio routine I found
- Quinzel 3y agoMy life optimisation tricks: 1. Do not watch TV. 2. Meditate. 3. Take vitamin D supplement. 4. Only buy black socks (and always have a pair).
- speedgoose 3y agoDon’t tell the fashion police but you don’t have to wear matching socks.
- Quinzel 3y agoPretty sure black socks are not the most fashionable sock anyway. The fashion police can arrest me!
- hindsightbias 3y agoOnly having black socks ensures you never go to the gym. Which is fine, btw.
- Quinzel 3y agoWhat’s the logic behind that?
- tpreetham 3y agoIt's probably not logical. They are hinting at increased sweating.
- Quinzel 3y agoAhh, no problem. I always shower after gym and I wash my feet, including between my toes. On that note, a surprising number of humans do not wash inside their belly buttons, so life optimization tip number 5. Wash your belly button.
- hindsightbias 3y agoBlack socks were associated with dress socks. Wearing dress socks at the gym used to get you weird looks. Now, anything is fashionable.
- pesfandiar 3y agoI categorize my phone usage (in order of necessity) into information, communication and entertainment. Information would be something like using Maps, but reading news, HN, Reddit, and social media are all considered entertainment. This helps me monitor how much "tech" is stealing my time and attention.
- solution-finder 3y agoICE - reminds of Emirates flight entertainment system.
- pfffr 3y agoIf you have the time to do it today, doing so is an investment in having more free time tomorrow, or if tomorrow is busy it is now less stressful. Keep your lighter in the empty part of your cigarette pack (haven't smoked in nearly a decade, but this logic is applicable elsewhere). Find pants that fit/look good/are comfortable and buy 15 pairs. Black clothes/accessories match everything and require less thought.
- akg_67 3y ago> Find pants that fit/look good/are comfortable and buy 15 pairs. Until your waist size changes and excess pairs go to waste.
- pfffr 3y agoI have 15 pairs of size 38 (thanks 'rona years) 8 pairs of size 36. It is stupid to get rid of the ones that don't fit, your weight will fluctuate throughout your life. Also you will eventually need new pants.
- fuzzfactor 3y agoThen try to make sure that both you and your pants are well fit before buying them, as a shopping hack. Then keep your waist size the same over the long term as a life hack.
- xupybd 3y agoGood luck with keeping your waist size into your 40s
- fuzzfactor 3y agoThat's why it's called a hack, there is some luck involved along with the perseverance. In my case I've recently been rewearing a much older less stylish belt as an example of what life was like when Ronald Reagan went from the first low-class actor in memory to become elected president of the USA. It was just barely tight enough to begin with and I ended up having to poke some additional holes so it would still hold up my pants. For that reason it's been relatively ugly for quite some time, but has never failed to fit. A common saying back then was "belt tightening of the '80's". That was 40 years ago, but no better time than the present to break it out again.
- revskill 3y agoMaintaining a toto list every morning. It doesn't matter you do it or not, just the fact of maintaining a todo list is a job itself.
- fuzzfactor 3y agoKeep 12 oz cans of plain sparkling water cold if you are able. Either way submerging one in ice water and spinning at the 2-minute mark will result in the contents becoming as cold as possible within 5 full minutes. When you would otherwise consume a decent portion of beer or soda in a single elbow-raise, reach for the canned water instead. The satisfaction of thirst combined with cooling effect will be quite comparable to either, and healthier to boot.
- IvyMike 3y agoIf you're bad at it, and you can reasonably outsource it to a human, software, or a robot, do it.
- orangepanda 3y ago- Do not buy clothes that need ironing
- rishikeshs 3y agoHow to find these
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- foobazzy 3y agoTry everything, don't get addicted to anything. If you're counting the number of days since you last had it, you haven't truly moved on. Return everything slightly better than you found it. If you want something done properly, do it yourself. Everything has a place. And everything in it's place. - Most of these are about avoiding mental overhead. So that you have more brain capacity left for the people around you and the task at hand.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- menshiki 3y agoMost people have no idea what they are doing. Yes, this does include adults in high-level positions with money and/or influence.
- bawis 3y agoYour truthful comment should be higher.
- SandroG 3y agoMajority own appreciating assets. Rent depreciating assets.
- jacknews 3y ago"- You can turn on the electric kettle while pouring water into it." Is this optimizing for length? lol.
- euroderf 3y agoI define "optimization" to include "minimization of maximum disaster". So, when you're sitting on a public toilet... Before you flush, stand up and turn around, in case you have to skedaddle cos of a blockage or something. And when you stand up, turn around before you pull up your pants, in case your wallet flops out. Heed these words, and the Gods of Public Lavatories shall be kind to you.
- Quinzel 3y agoThis comment made my day.
- Jsebast24 3y agoTalk to people. Practice it every day to get good at it. Everything gets a lot easier when you talk to people. You'll be amazed as how easily things get resolved when you call someone and talk issues over (email and messaging don't count as talking).
- rozenmd 3y agoDrink 500ml of water immediately after waking up. A dehydrated brain is not a smart brain.