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In certain classes of cases*, the best way to find out answers to your questions is to ask them (rather than doing your own investigation).

Not sure if that's borderline punchy.

*For example, when trying to locate something while driving/walking around, when inquiring about poorly documented local activities, when your solution of some problem/research question may have one of many possible flaws (and thus you would need to look up each possible flaw to investigate it, while an expert may be able to spot the flaw immediately), when your quick google search fails to yield clear results, etcetera. Also see this comment.

[The starred things were edited in to improve specificity in response to comments.]

[anonymous]12y00

Before devoting any time to personal investigation or asking others, google the question. This works even more often than you'd expect.

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8wedrifid12y

Usually the best way to find out answers to questions is to do a single google search. If present the search result that includes the domain "wikipeida.org" usually gives decent answers quickly. The parent would be greatly improved by replacing the 'usually' with a more representative frequency ("sometimes") or including a qualifier.

0Qiaochu_Yuan12y

Not sure if I understand the difference. Doing your own research is another kind of asking (e.g. asking the internet). Do you mean asking a domain expert?

See in context

113 Boring Advice Repository

by Qiaochu_Yuan

7th Mar 2013

1 min read

575

113

This is an extension of a comment I made that I can't find and also a request for examples. It seems plausible that, when giving advice, many people optimize for deepness or punchiness of the advice rather than for actual practical value. There may be good reasons to do this - e.g. advice that sounds deep or punchy might be more likely to be listened to - but as a corollary, there could be valuable advice that people generally don't give because it doesn't sound deep or punchy. Let's call this boring advice.

An example that's been discussed on LW several times is "make checklists." Checklists are great. We should totally make checklists. But "make checklists" is not a deep or punchy thing to say. Other examples include "google things" and "exercise."

I would like people to use this thread to post other examples of boring advice. If you can, provide evidence and/or a plausible argument that your boring advice actually is useful, but I would prefer that you err on the side of boring but not necessarily useful in the name of more thoroughly searching a plausibly under-searched part of advicespace.

Upvotes on advice posted in this thread should be based on your estimate of the usefulness of the advice; in particular, please do not vote up advice just because it sounds deep or punchy.

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[-]ModusPonies12y1170

When in need of a conversation topic, ask a question about the other person's life. Anything about their life. (If I can't think of something else, I ask about weekend plans.) Listen for what part of their answer they're most interested in. Ask followup questions about that thing. Repeat as necessary.

People like to talk about themselves. This cuts awkward silences down to nothing and makes people like you. I've also learned all sorts of fascinating things about my acquaintances.

[-]Elithrion12y290

Although it should be noted that while this is usually a good idea, it doesn't work on everyone and you should notice if your conversation partner doesn't seem very enthusiastic about talking about themselves. (Yes, I do mean myself - not a big fan of vacuously discussing what I'm up to, most of the time.)

4therufs12y

In this situation, what would you suggest for your would-be interlocutors? Would it be acceptable for them to make clear that the conversational ball is now in your court and be fine with nonconversation meanwhile?

4Elithrion12y

Realistically? They'd start asking me how my things are going, and then I'd give some vague general comments and instead ask them how their things are going and then we'd talk about their things. Not sure what to do in the symmetrical case. Maybe try to find non-personal topics to discuss (e.g. books and other fiction, politics, anything else) with the major challenge being finding out which topics both people are interested in (and don't disagree too much on).

6A1987dM12y

The stereotypical example of that is the weather.

6Desrtopa12y

Is anyone actually interested in the weather? I thought it was the stereotypical thing that people turn to when they can't think of anything interesting to talk about.

[-]scotherns12y250

It is the sterotypical thing to talk about, but the point is not the actual weather. It is signal that they would rather be talking to you than be silent. It's an invitation to start a conversation, since people don't routinely come up to you and say 'I would like to being a conversation with you - please suggest a topic'. They say 'Raining again!' instead.

0[anonymous]12y

Also, talking about a shared experience is powerful, no matter what that experience is. Compare other generic conversation topics: if you both saw the same movie lately, or both watched [$SPORTS_EVENT], then that's a shared experience. You can't necessarily rely on the other person having seen the latest cultural whatsit, but you can be pretty sure they've experienced the weather.

9NancyLebovitz12y

I'm somewhat interested in the weather-- it affects my quality of life. One problem with being asked about one's life-- when some people do it, I feel like I'm being interrogated. I've got a friend who makes it feel like being interviewed by someone who's got a friendly interest, but I'm don't even have a theory about what creates the different effects. I've got some ability to do small talk. What I'd like to be able to do is bet better at making a transition to more interesting topics.

0therufs12y

Hmmmm. Challenge accepted.

0[anonymous]12y

Agreed! Regardless of the reason, pressing someone who wants to disengage is a Bad Thing. (Although I'll note that, if done right, this technique doesn't have to be vacuous. The key is to let the other person guide the conversation towards the things they actually do care about. This takes practice, but it's worth it. Interested people are interesting.)

[-]jsalvatier12y100

Do you have more examples of specific questions you like to ask? I've been trying to figure out a good way to get people to talk about the people in their lives (friends, family etc.), just cause I usually like to hear people talk about that.

Simple things I've asked are:

Do you have family around here?
Do you have siblings?
Do you have roommates?

But I'd like to figure out how to get people to tell me stories and descriptions of the people in their life.

[-]ModusPonies12y140

EDIT: I just now realized that your comment above is a great example of the sort of follow-up questions I'm talking about. Well played.

Examples from the past week:

Started with the "how was your week" thing. The guy had been on an MIT board discussing their strategy for building MOOCs, and I got to hear a lot about business models in education and how that's changing with technology.
Him: "I'll be leaving early tomorrow." Me: "Where are you going to be?" Well, he's helping his son move, and also trying to deal with the previous landlord because apparently his grandkids damaged the walls, and there's all sorts of drama around that...
I overheard someone talking about hockey. I know absolutely nothing about the sport, so I asked some extremely basic question, I can't recall what. I learned a little about the structure of the game, and then a lot about how stricter enforcement of the rules in recent decades has changed the dominant playstyles.
Right now, in my IRC window, I am hearing about changes to World of Warcraft in the ~5 years since I've played after asking about a cryptic comment someone made about downloading a patch.

As you can see, this is a... (read more)

2MalcolmOcean12y

I really like that. It gives you a good sense of how they relate to people and also how probably what they value, assuming they give any indication at all of why those people are important.

0jsalvatier12y

Thanks! :)

[-]lsparrish12y1011

Try to live close to where you work. Failing that, try to work close to where you live. Commuting takes a lot of time and you don't get paid for it.

[-]Dr_Manhattan12y580

Alternative: commute effectively. Taking a train to NYC from Long Island I get almost 2 hours to read/watch lectures or entertainment. Some days these are 2 best hours of the day.

[-]Pablo12y200

A few months ago I got a new job that required me to commute for two hours each day. I tried doing many different productive things while sitting on the bus (the means of transportation I used), including reading, listening to audiobooks, watching videos, and even meditating. Eventually, however, I reached the conclusion that doing Anki reviews (using the AnkiDroid app) was, by a wide margin, superior to all these other activities. If you own a smartphone, you might want to give it a try. (And if you don't own a smartphone, you might want to consider obtaining one.)

4Dr_Manhattan12y

Good advice, I think a lot here depends on the quality of the commute. Big heavy trains are the most comfortable and lent to most potential productive activities. Anki-on-smartphone you can do while standing up in a subway.

1MTGandP12y

What do you use Anki to review? I see that lots of people use it so it seems valuable, but I don't know what I would use it for.

4Pablo6y

See here.

1Pablo12y

I use it for all sorts of things. I even listen to music on Anki. :-) In addition to arundelo's link, you may want to check out this list of Anki decks by LW users.

1arundelo12y

Here are a few things I use it for.

[-]A1987dM12y100

Not all people can read on trains comfortably. (Likewise, some but not all people can sleep on trains comfortably.) Therefore, Beware of Other-Optimizing is particularly relevant.

[-]William_Quixote12y130

I don't know, but I suspect this might be trainable. As a young child I used to get very nauseous reading in the back seat of cars. But since I would get bored with nothing to do, I would read until I was to nauseous to continue, and then try again once I felt better. At some point I stopped getting carsick from reading. I don't Know that I trained this though, it's possible I just grew out of getting carsick, all sorts of stuff changes as you get older.

2A1987dM12y

I suspect it's fairly common to become less carsick with age (it happened to me as well, and it's not like I trained -- I hadn't read in a car for years before trying to do that again and noticed that it bothered me much less). Anyway, in my case the problem is not sickness (I don't get sick at all when on rails), but just that I can't concentrate very well when on a train. So I can read short stories or poetry no problem, but I usually don't even try to read textbooks or papers.

0taryneast11y

I still get carsick when reading on buses or cars. I no longer get sick when reading on trains. I used to be truly awful to take in a car (every single car-ride I got sick). Even now, when i do get sick... I don't recover. I have to stop the car, wait half an hour (at least) before moving on (or eating, or anything apart from sitting on the ground feeling miserable). I don't know if it's trainable... it has gotten better in the past 30-odd years... but not gone away totally.When i learned to drive - I learned how to avoid as much of the g-force-inducing movements as possible. I always choose train-transport over other transport. but I am just one data-point.

[-]Sabiola12y180

IMO the optimal distance is 15-30 minutes by bicycle. That'll give you some exercise you don't have to do anything extra for, that doesn't take a lot of time. I've been working from home for close to 2 years now, and my fitness has taken a big hit. I've just started to ride my bicycle for about half an hour daily, but the problem is, I don't really need to do it, so it's easy to skip it if I'm busy or just don't feel like it.

7Error12y

I've considered this several times because I'm in range for it; but always reject it on the grounds that I don't want to sit around feeling like dried sweat and stink for eight hours. How did you deal with that when you were biking?

[-]Sabiola12y100

I put on deodorant in the morning, and I don't race, I just go ~16-17 km/h (on average, that is; faster on straight stretches, like ~20 km/h). On a normal city bike, not a racing bicycle. I might get a little sweaty sometimes, but never so much that I got smelly. (Edit: typo)

2Creutzer12y

For what it's worth, I do exactly the same thing with the same result.

0Emily12y

Ditto. Hills can add some sweatiness even if you go very slowly, if your range of gears isn't wide enough.

[-]wedrifid12y100

I've considered this several times because I'm in range for it; but always reject it on the grounds that I don't want to sit around feeling like dried sweat and stink for eight hours. How did you deal with that when you were biking?

Showers. (One of the advantages of large workplaces.)

1taryneast11y

and sometimes if not at your workplace, then nearby (or in a gym/mall/etc nearby that is willing)

0Kenny12y

I actually do race (when I actually bike to work) and I've almost never had a problem as long as I just wipe off the sweat when I get to work. I do tho bring a separate set of clothes (shirt and pants), as even in the fall and spring I completely soak my shirt (probably because I wear a messenger bag).

0Sabiola8y

Just happened to see this old comment. Sure enough, the cycling got skipped more and more often, until I just forgot about it completely. I really need to find something fun to do to get myself moving again.

[-]OrphanWilde12y180

Alternative: Prioritize the ability to telecommute over raw salary, if you're in an industry where you're able. Consider the time spent traveling when considering jobs.

If you can telecommute, also consider that you can live in a different state. Your paycheck can go further still when you aren't paying income taxes.

[-]twanvl12y200

Telecommuting might not be the best thing for everyone. At home I have less social interaction and more distractions.

7NancyLebovitz12y

I've heard that telecommuting makes promotion less likely. If so, then you need to consider more than your current salary.

[-]OrphanWilde12y150

Promotion?

What, you want to put me in a position where I'm responsible for what a bunch of -programmers- do? Did I do something wrong?

[-]Qiaochu_Yuan12y180

And commuting is apparently just fairly horrible in general.

[-]Paul Crowley12y280

Practically all of the discussion I can find about this is very US-centric, and so conflates "commuting" with "commuting by car". A long public transport commute that was ideal in other ways (train journey, no changes, door-to-door, frequent trains with seats, signal) could be much preferable to a shorter drive; I use my commute to read, look at my TODO list, catch up with blogs etc.

0[anonymous]10y

Euro here, I used to enjoy commuting by car more than by subway now: * personal space * safety from potentially aggressive travellers, the annoying drunks who try to yell at people on the subway * it is an exciting activity to drive as long as you can find tricky routes with little traffic, these will be usually narrow roads where you don't even need to exceed the 50 km/h speed limit to make it feel risky and exciting and if you do, no police there. * feeling middle class, not mixing with the "proles" * more freedom in choosing how to dress, less having to take the weather into account * resisting the temptation to drink alcohol right after work, at least starting later in the evening * music without annoying earplugs * hands-free phone calls, my dad used to be excellent at it, he was an entrepreneur and phoned through his whole 45 min long commute, by the time everybody arrived to the office every employee and subcontractor was briefed, problems reported back, things were in motion. This way the commute is worktime. * having useful stuff with me all the time in the trunk And now I am nostalgic for my car. We live car-free now because it is very expensive, €80 mandatory insurance a month etc. but sure as hell I would want to have it back.

4gjm10y

I would not recommend combining this with this In fact, I think there's good evidence that hands-free phone calls are considerably more distracting than drivers tend to think.

4beoShaffer12y

Also, consider remote work.

2passive_fist12y

Our neighborhood is a residential one that's fairly close to the main city center. Our streets are almost always lined with rows and rows of cars of people, many of whom come from distant parts of town, park their car here (to avoid ridiculously expensive parking fees in the city), and then take a 30-40 minute bus to their workplace. Now I used to think that my 30 minute commute was bad. The buses come just twice an hour and are never on time, there's always traffic, and half the time you wind up standing. But these folks just astound me. I just can't imagine doing that each day - driving to a residential neighborhood, finding a parking space, then enduring the horrible public transit system, then doing the exact same thing in reverse to get back home. I hope they're getting paid tremendously well.

[-]RomeoStevens12y880

A major mental change that allowed me to own less things was someone mentioning "treat craigslist as free storage." The idea being that if you ever really need X you can get it fairly easily. But this extends to retail goods as well. I now keep in mind that everything that costs<(.1)(paycheck) is already mine and I only go pick it up if I really, actually, need it.

3Joshua_Blaine11y

This is a nice comment. It's a useful frame of reference and I especially like it because it jives well with the intuitions I've developed since I started studying Economics. And probably my identity as a Neat Person and someone who enjoys experiences over things.

[-]Shmi12y790

Start your post or comment with a summary when posting anything over 3-5 paragraphs.

[-]ESRogs12y290

Also: use paragraphs.

[-]Alicorn12y731

If, realistically, you aren't going to do a thing, proceed immediately to figuring out the best way to not do it.

[-]twanvl12y180

the best way to not do it.

This sounds too punchliney. What do you actually mean? What part of not doing it needs figuring out? How to avoid it? What to do instead? Something else entirely?

[-]Alicorn12y260

How to avoid it at minimal cost, retrieve the resources spent on preparing to do it, get some of the (refactored) results you wanted out of it, and update on the information that you're not going to do it to avoid being in situations where you're supposed to do equivalent things later.

0[anonymous]11y

Can you give an example?

0Alicorn11y

Already did.

1Matt_Simpson12y

The best way not to do something is to do the best thing you could be doing instead in the best way.

[-]Stabilizer12y120

Very insightful. Not boring at all.

[-]Qiaochu_Yuan12y510

Too insightful! Not boring enough!

7jsalvatier12y

Intriguing! Do you have any concrete examples? I'm having a hard time visualizing any.

[-]Alicorn12y440

From today:

"Yeah, I'm not gonna get around to making those cookies today. I will put the butter back in the freezer, instead of leaving it out on the off chance I change my mind."

Basically, don't be poised to do things when poising takes resources and you won't do the things.

[-]Dorikka12y181

Basically, don't be poised to do things when poising takes resources and you won't do the things.

I much prefer this version to its grandparent.

[-]therufs12y691

If you are looking for employment, tell everyone you know. I have gotten 100% of my jobs from friends saying "hey, did you hear about this one".

5taryneast11y

This includes posting "I'm looking for a job" publically on your facebook page, on linkedin and any other social-networking you may have. Use the magic of the internets to reach out to as many friends-of-friends that you can. note: don't do this (or only post to friends) if your current employer does not know you are looking elsewhere...

2Benquo11y

Related: When looking for a job that is different from whatever you're doing now, go on informational interviews. Come up with a list of specific things you are curious about, related to the field - intensity of work, skills used, related jobs, terminology that's unclear to you, advancement opportunities - and ask those questions during the interview. The point is not to get a job from the person you're talking to, but to search many nodes of your social network. If you decide you do want to work in their field, you should ask, "Whom do you know, who's hiring?" And always, always ask, "whom else do you know that I should talk to?"

3therufs11y

It took me a long time to believe people actually liked to talk about their jobs/companies and were quite happy to refer me to other contacts, but it seems to be true.

1simplicio12y

Yes, this. Even with a good resume you might cold e-mail hundreds of companies and never get a bite. Knowing somebody almost always gets you to interview stage.

3therufs11y

Extremely belated reply, but for what it may be worth, I didn't actually have contacts at some of the jobs, just friends keeping tabs on some outlets I didn't (for example, neighborhood listserves I wasn't subscribed to, printed postings at businesses I didn't frequent.)

0[anonymous]10y

Interesting, I got only one that way, and that was a former coworker, not a friend. How are friends are supposed to do if I am good at working at an entirely different industry than they do which they don't understand? And how could they know of open jobs in mine? Well, I figure this only applies for specialists.

1Richard_Kennaway10y

I think it more likely that it reflects different cultural backgrounds between you and therufs, both the local microculture around yourselves and the larger cultures of where you live. My picture of the archetypal LessWronger is a twenty-something in a place like Silicon Valley, working in computing, living with, working with, and mixing with the same sort of people both online and in meatspace, with no more than the fuzziest of lines separating "work" from "leisure" and "coworkers" from "friends": it's all LessWrong memespace. People from the former and current Russian-controlled states (and you seem to be describing that from personal experience) have a rather different milieu.

0[anonymous]10y

My mental image of LW is New York. Not sure why. Perhaps because a lot of people have Jewish names. Yes, the aspect of AI topics sound more Valley. But LW is a bit too altruistic for what I thought of the Valley, I would imagine the Valley as kinda egotistical Libertarians, even Objectivists, and I would associate effective altruism, charitable giving, these kinds of ethics stuff with NY. I always thought NY is "nicer", more in the bleeding-heart kind of stuff, more typically liberal, more social conscious, while the Valley is more "I deserve privilege because I am smart" kind of stuff. And LW gives me these good-guy vibes definitely, not the me-first vibes. I find it interesting how work and leisure is not separated. Importing leisure into work sounds like discussing work related things at parties, apparently it suggests being really enthusiastic for that work, it is not something done just for the money. Importing leisure to work, hm, it sounds like having a really trusting employer :) BTW my life experience is mainly Europe, but all over it - post-Soviet, UK, "can't hear you over our No. 1 quality of living" type of stuff in Vienna in Austria, etc. etc. very varied. This kind of thing - doctors befriending engineers, having no idea what each other do - happened a lot of times.

0ChristianKl10y

There's no good reason to pick work for which one isn't at least partly enthusiastic for skilled and smart people in Western society. Even when nobody who was at our last LW meetup in Berlin works at the same company 5/7 people did talk about work in a way that influences their work in a meaningful way. Building friendships with your coworkers is good for the employer. Just because some of your friends do have other professions, doesn't mean all of them have.

0[anonymous]10y

I think there. Perhaps with multiple-generation middle-class Westerners who look forward to inherit wealth this is not the case. But first-generation ones, or multiple-generation ones who come from a poor or broken family it is the case. People may talk about the welfare state but in reality it only keeps you out of the direst poverty, but it does not even cover living in an average sized rented apartment. That is around €800 a month in Austria for example with utilities, and that is roughly how much the welfare is and then you have not eaten anything or bought a shoe. So if you don't look forward to any help from parents nor inheritance, you have a pressing need to find any work to pay bills and secure a basic comfortable exsitence. That is on the expense side. And on the income side, it is basically so that if you go look at job ads on e.g. Monster, they tend to cluster in a certain kind of industries and jobs: I see lots of logistics and accounting but very few about historians or drawing comics books. Even in those industries, only a subset offers a straight line in the sense of get a degree, find a relevant job kind, often e.g. they are looking for salespeople where no degree assures you a job, it is mostly life experience you gather anyhow. Thus, for most of the decent, not burger flipping jobs, you don't have this straight line. The logistics or accountant expert can just get a degree and apply for job ads, but the salesperson cannot and the historian cannot and the comics drawer cannot. They need to rely on their social skills, networking, which only works for extroverts or people who generally like people and so on. The whole thing is not sure, not secure, not "promised", and maybe it works out in the long run, but does not necessarily make you meet the next bill. So basically people who can rely on parental support can pursue these fun careers because they can afford to spend years on building their network and diggin themselves into their niche industry

0ChristianKl10y

I made a point of speaking about smart and skillful people. Of course there are unskilled people for whom it's difficult to find meaningful work. Of course the salesperson needs social skills, that's what being a sales person is about. If you don't enjoy social interaction then pick another job. Neither Dilbert nor Randal needed anybody to give him a job. Those are the comics that I actually read and both of those people make money from their work. Of course they both have skills that they didn't develop through a degree, but I don't think that's a problem. Warehouse guys don't have cool jobs, but having a motivated workforce is useful in most circumstances and relationships facilitate it.

0[anonymous]10y

Somehow we are misunderstanding each other. Let's take Dilbert. It is a skill developed outside college, but without anything like a clear job and career promise. Relying on only this IMHO takes a lot of courage. Having a Plan B, like draw comics but also learn to be an accountant, is probably what they did unless they are very brave. In this case, the question is do people have passions or interests that are monetizable, for comics drawing probably does not come as a career choice, but more of a hobby as first.

0ChristianKl10y

I don't buy the premise that a "clear job and career" promise is needed for anything.

0[anonymous]10y

Needed for feeling safe. Needed for not needing courage. Needed for not feeling existential angst, insecurity or anything like tht. Needed against the nagging feeling "will anyone ever really pay for this bullshit I am doing here?" One thing I did not mention that if your parents instilled a no pain no gain mentality into you, then you feel like if you are enjoying yourself and doing something you like, you are not gaining anything, you are using up capital, wasting time and you feel you cannot possibly get paid for it in the long run.

0ChristianKl10y

Basically "lack of skill". Basically "lack of skill".

0[anonymous]10y

No, I don't see it is the case. It could be an underestimation of skill, or the underestimation of the environment's suitability for that skill. And the instilled mentality has absolutely nothing to do with skill, it just makes one kind of puritanical.

0Vaniver10y

Hmm. As an American, my view of the two is flipped, but both are in the reference class of "elitist cities that lean heavily liberal and have a strong cultural class."

[-]RomeoStevens12y680

Spend more money/time on optimizing boring things you use a lot:
Shoes
socks/underwear
Mattress
Tailored clothes
Hygiene products that work well for you
Kitchen accessories (part of the reason you don't cook healthy meals for yourself might be because your kitchen work flow sucks)
Ergonomic setup at computer

[-]Viliam_Bur12y450

socks/underwear

Find what is best for you, and buy a lot of them. Then you can ignore this topic for a long time.

If you buy more identical pairs of socks, if some of them get destroyed, you can make pairs of the remaining ones. On the other hand, if you buy similar pairs, you will waste a lot of time sorting them.

Mattress

...and a pillow (or two). Try different sizes and shapes.

Kitchen accessories

For example a cutting board should be large and easy to wash. An increased size can make cutting much easier.

[-]sixes_and_sevens12y150

If you buy more identical pairs of socks, if some of them get destroyed, you can make pairs of the remaining ones. On the other hand, if you buy similar pairs, you will waste a lot of time sorting them.

I recently had a sock cull, in which I got rid of every sock that couldn't immediately be visually matched with one of its fellows. I must've reduced the total number of socks I have by about two thirds, but the overall availability of matched socks is now much higher.

9Error12y

I have tried this with pants, because I have trouble finding comfortable ones. Unfortunately by the time I have a pair of pants that I'm sure are comfortable and I'm ready to buy five more of them, nobody stocks the same model anymore.

5mare-of-night12y

A mail order catalog that doesn't change much might help with this, if you can find one that has the sort of clothes you like. Both LL Bean and Land's End usually carry the exact same thing or close to it for several years. I don't have much experience with others besides those two, though.

2byrnema12y

In this case, they might be found inexpensively on Ebay. I know exactly what shoes I like to wear to work, and I buy a couple pairs on Ebay whenever one of the colors (brown, blue, black) wears out. It's up to you, if you're willing to wear used shoes (you can also buy them new) but the pair I'm wearing look brand new and cost 1/20th the department store price. I also buy identical pairs of socks in bulk. When they did stop selling the brand I liked, I got rid of all the old type knowing how much trouble it is to match different brands of the same colored socks.

7Viliam_Bur12y

I am lucky to have many pairs of identical socks which have their sizes written on the bottom side. Nobody sees the bottom sides of my socks, but it is so easy to look there when sorting them. So they don't get mixed with the older socks of the same color. If in the future I don't have the same luck, maybe I could just make some marks on the bottom sides. For example one small colored dot, using a washing-resistant color. The most work would be finding that color. But marking the already sorted socks, that would be a question of a few seconds.

5byrnema12y

That's an excellent alternative to throwing out perfectly good socks. This is something I can immediately apply to the socks of my children, since the issue there is that they're necessarily white-but-different-sizes (and it's difficult for me to tell just by looking at them whether they're 'little' or 'medium-little'.)

0taryneast11y

Pay attention to what qualities work well for you. Next time you buy pants... consider yourself entering a "trial period" of, say, one month. Wear them a lot during that month. At the end of the month: if they fit all the good qualities. and have no bad qualities... go buy another pair - you have now entered the second phase... which lasts, say, 3 months (time can be varied as you get more skilled at this). At the end of the three months... if you've decided these pants are really awesome and comfy... you should still be within the same season in which the pants first came out - and can go buy another five pairs (or whatever makes you happy). The idea being: after a month, if you put in a concerted effort to pay attention - you can probably tell whether a pair of pants will be perfect for you.... but if you're unsure - then buying just one extra means you have at least got two pairs of really good ones, but haven't spent too much extra if you suddenly find out that they fall apart on the dot at 2.5 months old. By the time you hit the longer period - you'll have worn them for a season and should have a very good idea of whether they fit really well (=1 to buying more), and whether they are wearing out unusually fast (-1 instead).

8Will_Newsome12y

(For casual clothing, short (like, no-show) black socks are mostly more fashionable than white socks.)

2jsalvatier12y

For men, navy or possibly grey are good defaults for non no-show socks.

0mare-of-night11y

Depending on where you're using it. When my roommates leave the kitchen to cluttered to use, a small cutting board that fits on the desk in my bedroom is really nice to have. (Use case is usually eating cheese or carrots while doing homework - it doubles as a plate. I wouldn't want to chop meat that way.)

[-]Qiaochu_Yuan12y100

Previous LW discussion about ergonomics.

[-]FiftyTwo12y650

If you feel sad when you shouldn't feel sad consult a medical professional or therapist, they can help.

[Wish I'd realised that a few years ago.]

[-]jooyous12y260

How do I know when I shouldn't feel sad? Also, it's scary. :(

[-]RomeoStevens12y400

The parent post shouldn't have made you sad.

[-]therufs12y180

How do I know when I shouldn't feel sad?

My personal metric has been that it's reasonable to feel sad when there's a specific event (as opposed to a circumstance) to be sad about (death of someone close to me, breakup of a relationship, loss of a job.)

But whether or not you "should" feel sad, professionals can help.

Also, it's scary.

The voice that is telling you that awful things are loitering just outside the edge of your awareness, I call The Jerkbrain.

I can self-report that directly and emphatically addressing it as such (usually "shut up, Jerkbrain!") has had helpful effects including:

increased aptitude for dealing with problems in the physical world
much less energy wasted dealing with problems that exist only in distant possibility (and maybe not even there.)

I am not my jerkbrain, and you are not yours, either.

7jooyous12y

I guess it would be helpful to have a "normal" range of time in which it's reasonable to feel sad or weird after a death, break-up, etc. Sometimes, it feels like they all pile up.

[-]The Dao of Bayes12y110

If it's been more than a year, and it's disruptive to your daily life (trouble enjoying pleasant things, pervasive thoughts, crying spells, difficulty functioning at work, difficulty connecting with new partners, etc.), it's probably worth seeking help.

Heck, if it's been more than 3 months, you'll probably benefit from help.

If you have friends you trust, asking them is probably best, since they'll know how important that particular person was to you.

If you feel like it's "all piling up", that's a sign that you're dealing with more than you know how to cope with. That's exactly when getting someone else to help can be most useful.

Now I just need to convince myself to take my own advice here :(

2simplicio12y

Yes, I called it the Saboteur. I think this might be a very helpful piece of advice for non-depressed people. Locating self-defeating thoughts and behaviours "outside" yourself and telling them to take a running jump is a great technique.

[-][anonymous]12y170

If you find this list describes you well some fair portion of the time (say, more than 20%, though even that sounds like a lot given what I know about people who don't have chronic depression), that's probably a start.

As to it being scary -- yeah, it is. One really important thing to do ahead of time if you decide to seek help is figure out how to make a safe exit if you're uncomfortable, or don't want to continue with a specific provider. Some people find that easy; others find it challenging. Not sure which you are, or how much trouble you have asserting your own boundaries, but it's a very useful skill.

One practical matter of safety here: if you want to walk away from someone and you're worried they might escalate, know that in most cases they can only act without your consent if they believe you pose some specific danger to yourself or others. Think about what you're going through that might be interpreted that way, and be careful before sharing anything like that if you think you might want to stop seeing that provider.

[-]juliawise12y220

figure out how to make a safe exit if you're uncomfortable, or don't want to continue with a specific provider.

Yes. The first therapist I saw was so bad that I called him to cancel after the first visit (though I still didn't have the guts to say it in person). Keep in mind that this is always an option. "I don't think this is a good fit" is a totally acceptable thing to say to a therapist or doctor.

4Sabiola12y

Wow, a lot of things on that list describe me. I'm not even feeling that unhappy... I thought it was just low self-confidence plus some nasty ugh-fields.

5juliawise12y

Regardless, is low self-confidence getting in your way and making your life worse? If so, seeing a therapist might be one way to work on that.

[-]TimS12y140

I think a functional definition is best. Do your negative thoughts (sadness, depression, anxiety, or suchlike) interfere with your ability to live your life (hold a job, attend social events, etc)? Then talking to a therapist may be helpful.

You wouldn't be ashamed to visit a doctor for advice on how to deal with a nagging cough - emotions that impose a similar level of difficulty can be improved with expert attention.

4[anonymous]10y

I seriously don't understand this. E.g. in post-Soviet Eastern Europe lot, really a lot of people go through life functionally in the sense of being able to hold down a job, stay in a marriage, raise kids, while being wholly joyless / anhedonic and just doing it from a sense of duty. And coping via drinking etc. Are you talking from the viewpoint of a culture where people refuse to do things they don't enjoy and thus their anhedonia becomes visibly dysfunctional? For example, social events aren't "mandatory" in the sense job/family are (in the sense of your parents probably did not drill it into you that you must do these to be allowed to not feel worthless about yourself), they are mostly for fun, so it is difficult to say what it does with functionality if we do not link functionality with joy. Again the people I am talking aboud do not attend to social events, if getting shitface drunk with the neighbor does not count as one. At any rate I do not yet see a culture-neutral link between anhedonia and dysfunctionality, it seems they are only strongly linked if people define functionality itself as an enjoyable, autonomous life, but when people think they were born to fulfill certain mandatory roles and tasks, they can go through it efficiently while still feeling totally empty inside.

5[anonymous]12y

For instance if you are having thoughts of self-harm.

4buybuydandavis12y

Talk to some friends first. Much of what we fret over are problems shared by others, or problems that we have blown out of proportion for ourselves. Much of depression is trying to live up to a false image of yourself that your friends don't have.

8FiftyTwo12y

Plus, y'know, neurotransmitter deficiencies.

0[anonymous]12y

Unless you're talking about feeling sad for like two weeks in a row, that's excessive -- do this first. (Unless you're not counting “I have slept/eaten/whatever less than usual lately” as “you shouldn't feel sad”.)

-5roland12y

[-]latanius12y650

If you are trying to do X, surround yourself with people who are also doing X. Takes much less willpower to keep doing it.

[-]beoShaffer12y460

On a related note make sure that they are people who are actively doing X, or at least making credible progress towards it not just professing a desire to X. This is an easy mistake to make.

6sanddbox12y

Doesn't this, to a large extent, describe LW?

0beoShaffer12y

Which part?

3sanddbox12y

[-]RomeoStevens12y580

Learn to cook at least a handful of simple, cheap, fast meals. This will have more effect on your resolutions to "eat healthy" than temporary spurts of mega-motivation.

(also recognizing that spurts of motivation are temporary in general, do not rely on them for lasting change)

[-]Viliam_Bur12y120

Also make a list of those recipes (including ingredients) and store it somewhere in the kitchen.

When you catch yourself repeating the same three recipes over again, just look at the list for a new-old inspiration. Do it before you go shopping, so you can immediately buy the necessary ingredients. (If you go shopping on your way home from job, maybe you should put the list online so you can read it before leaving your job.)

[-]Error12y100

Related: Shop with a list. Do not buy anything not on the list. If possible, do not put anything on the list that doesn't require cooking to eat.

(not having anything snackable on hand is a great way to ensure that you only eat when you actually need to. Most people won't go out of their way to cook just to satisfy the "hrm, I'm bored, let's eat something" impulse.)

[-]Viliam_Bur12y150

If possible, do not put anything on the list that doesn't require cooking to eat.

Exception: vegetables.

not having anything snackable on hand is a great way to ensure that you only eat when you actually need to.

Preparing a snackable version of vegetables (e.g. clean a few carrots, cut them to small pieces, and put them into the bowl) and putting it next to your computer could be an easy way to make yourself eat more vegetables.

6Kindly12y

In my exprience, following this advice leads to me skipping approximately every fourth meal. Edit: to my detriment.

1NancyLebovitz12y

Does it generally make sense to cook one meal at a time rather than making a larger batch?

3RomeoStevens12y

the time savings from batch cooking do add up surprisingly quickly, especially when you include cleanup.

1Error12y

Not if the idea is to deliberately introduce trivial inconveniences.

4Decius12y

Converge what you enjoy eating with what you can cook.

2[anonymous]10y

Objection: simple, cheap, fast meals don't exactly need to be cooked. Wholemea rye bread has an insulin score of 56, better than fish, a satiety score of 154 and decent amount of fiber. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_index Put anything on it and call it a sandwich. The taste sucks, but it is a good-conscience meal in 20 secs. Cooking has multiple definitions, I personally don't consider a scrambled egg with onions cooking, or a grilled cheese sandwich or a salad, and I used to live on these kinds of stuff for years. If the bread part was wholemeal rye and you added vegs, it is decently healthy. Yeah I know for some people this would be called cooking, but I think cooking begins at the level of the five mother sauces, this is not cooking, just hot food preparation.

0gjm10y

For reasons I realise I don't know[1], the primary meaning of "cook" for me is to make nontrivial changes to food by means of heat. (Consider the word "uncooked" as applied e.g. to meat and eggs.) So, for me, scrambling eggs counts as "cooking" even though it's not exactly a difficult task. Other forms of food preparation shade gradually from not-cooking to cooking as the effort expended and the extent to which the food gets transformed increase. So putting together a sandwich or a simple salad isn't (usually) "cooking"; grilling cheese on toast just barely is because heat is involved; making (say) ice cream is just barely "cooking" even if you do it without making a custard, because you're doing something quite nontrivial to the ingredients (I guess applying cold is a bit like applying heat); etc. [1] It looks as if the OED largely agrees (most of the senses it lists explicitly or implicitly give preference to the application of heat) and also doesn't really know why (it says "cook", v., is derived from "cook", n., and says nothing more about the etymology of the former; the latter has always meant anyone whose job is preparing food, without any particular preference to doing so by applying heat).

0[anonymous]10y

Interesting! I realized now that I consider ice cream making cooking, because it is a higher skilled thing. My wife makes several no-heat cakes and I consider it cooking. My mental image of cooking is stirring something with a wooden spoon, a something made from multiple ingredients. Probably because my ethnic culture is sauce-oriented. I should also add that in my native language to cook and to boil are the same words and I never fully grasped the difference in English. So I would cook a soup but roast a chicken.

0gjm10y

In English, to cook is to prepare food, especially by applying heat, but there's no assumption of a particular means of applying heat. Boiling and roasting are both varieties of cooking (in both senses). So are zapping in a microwave, searing on a griddle-pan, grilling under an electric overhead grill, etc. I think you could say the following: "When you make meringues, they don't really cook in the oven, it's more that they slowly dry out". So maybe "cook" means not merely "to prepare food by applying heat" but something more like "to prepare food by applying sufficient heat to denature proteins", the underlying idea presumably being something like "to heat food up enough to make it safe to eat". Of course I'm using "'cook' means not merely X but Y" as shorthand for something like "a lot of skilled native English speakers, when they use or hear the word "cook", are thinking about Y as well as X". So what I really mean is that when I use or hear the word "cook" the following ideas are all somewhat active in my brain: * preparing food * heating things up * making food safe by killing bacteria and parasites * performing a skilled activity * making something particularly tasty but for me there's no very strong activation of, e.g., * boiling as opposed to other modes of heating * stirring as opposed to other skilled cooking-related activities I dare say that if I attempted to draw a stereotypical instance of "cooking" it would be quite likely to involve stirring a pot or pan, but it would be quite likely to involve someone wearing a chef's hat and apron too and those obviously aren't part of the meaning of "cooking".

0[anonymous]10y

I looked a bit into the etymology. It is not helpful. Cook as a noun or to cook means the same thing all the way down to Latin coquus and to PIE *pekʷ-, with only the later having one more meaning: to ripen. Heat application is there all the way, but not really specifying how. I would suggest that probably people boiled or simmered more than they roasted in historical times, because, well, convection, that makes even hardest meat sooner or later soft without burning it, and does not waste nutrients into the grease falling into the fire. For example, if you have an old rooster, a soup or a stew is really the only option. However, roasting seems to be a higher-prestige way - medieval nobility is commonly depicted feasting on whole roasted animals, not sure how accurate that is. Perhaps the prestige comes from the difficulty. Roasting a whole ox, which was a way inviting a whole town to party, is very, very difficult. Back to practice: I recommend telling people "learn to prepare a few easy meals" this sounds less scary than "learn to cook".

0Lumifer10y

More likely from the fact that you roast meat and poultry which are expensive foods compared to grains and vegetables.

-2Jiro10y

If cooking means heating food up until it is safe to eat, I couldn't cook carrots or apples. I would suggest that a word can mean different things in different contexts, and especially, a more general meaning and a more specific meaning. Saying that meringues aren't cooking is a use of the more specific meaning.

[-]ModusPonies12y560

If a complete stranger or an acquaintance can do something useful for you, ask. (Politely. At a convenient time. With an appropriate amount of honest flattery.) If they say no, don't press them.

Failure case: make someone else feel important. Success case: get a favor, maybe make a connection.

[-]beoShaffer12y310

Always remember to thank them after they agree to help you and again after they've actually helped you, see for reference Ben Franklin effect , the 299th rule of acquisition, and the power of reinforcement.

[-]ModusPonies12y300

A thousand times yes! And since this is a thread for boring, useful advice, I'll include the general version: Thank people who do things for you, whether or not you asked them to do it. It conditions them to help you. Thanking people reliably and sincerely is a powerful tool, and while there's a bit of skill to doing it well, it's more than worth practicing.

1beoShaffer12y

Does anyone know why the rest of my comment isn't showing? There should be links to an article on conditioning, an article on the Ben Franklin effect, and the rules of acquisition.

6arundelo12y

See if it's one of these problems. If not, I'll look at your Markdown source code if you email it to me. (My username AT hotmail.com or gmail.com.)

2beoShaffer12y

That worked, I had en.wikipedia instead of http://en.wikipedia.

0NancyLebovitz12y

I don't know, but you have a chance of finding out if you click on the edit icon (the pencil in a square) for the comment. There's probably something wrong with the way you formatted the links. See if the Show Help box has anything useful.

0beoShaffer12y

I've done both and it looks correct.

4Rukifellth12y

I'm worried about tactics like this being overused. Pleasantries really do become mechanical through repetition, and I'm not sure if short term benefits are worth it. More likely than not, a person may be conditioned to think that flattery is only given before a request.

6ModusPonies12y

That is definitely a danger. It's important to also express honest appreciation when you have nothing specific to gain. (I've been making an effort to do more of that, lately.) If you do, you and your peers will be justifiably happier, and you also get to use tactics like the above without poisoning the well. You should be a good person to everyone you meet — it is the moral thing to do, and as a sidenote will really help your networking

9MixedNuts12y

Failure case: They feel compelled to help, resent you for it, and destroy your reputation by speaking ill of you.

8Arran_Stirton12y

Preemptive Solution: Leave a line of retreat, make sure that there is little/no cost for them if they choose to refuse; thus reducing the likelihood that they will help you out of compulsion.

4MixedNuts12y

How do you do that?

[-]Arran_Stirton12y100

As far as I know there's no single sure-fire way of making sure that asking them won't put them in a position where refusal will gain them negative utility (for example, their utility function could penalize refusing requests as a matter of course) . However general strategies could include:

Not asking in-front of others, particularly members of their social group. (Thus refusal won't impact upon their reputation.)
Conditioning the request on it being convenient for them (i.e. using phrasing such as "If you've got some free time would you mind...")
Don't give the impression that their help is make or break for your goals (i.e. don't say "As you're the only person I know who can do [such&such], could you do [so&so] for me?")
If possible do something nice for them in return, it need not be full reciprocation but it's much harder to resent someone who gave you tea and biscuits, even if you were doing a favor for them at the time.

Of course there's no substitute for good judgement.

1Joshua_Blaine11y

Connected to this: A preemptive favor is more likely to result in later requests (even if larger than the initial favor) being fulfilled, but the end result may or may not be a more positive opinion of you. The abstract of this paper seems to indicate increased liking of a stranger that does this, but paywalls and general laziness prevent me from getting a more comprehensive idea of what can happen.

[-]Richard_Kennaway12y550

Never post a web link that requires readers to click on it to find out if they want to click on it.

7sketerpot12y

On that note: middle-click (or Ctrl-click) on links while you're reading to open them in a background tab. Later, glance at the tab to find out if you want to have clicked on it. If the answer is "No, I don't really want to have clicked on that link," just close the tab. (The downside is that this may lead to tab explosions on web sites like TV Tropes.)

[-]Qiaochu_Yuan12y521

Obtain a smartphone. It will make your life better. (If you don't have one because you feel like they're overhyped, remember that reversed stupidity is not intelligence.) Here is a list of things I use my smartphone to do, in no particular order:

Record things I want my future selves to do in RTM on the go
Record sleep data using Sleep Cycle
Take notes on conversations using either voice memos or Evernote
Record various kinds of things in Workflowy, e.g. exercise data
Respond more quickly to emails (people I know have debated the value of doing this, but I get really annoyed when other people take a long time to respond to my emails and don't want to do that)
Receive calendar alerts, alarms, and Boomerangs from my past selves that remind me to do things
Look things up, e.g. on Wikipedia, on the go (e.g. when I am waiting in line for something)
Read academic papers on the go
Search my email for important information on the go, e.g. the location of some event or an ID number of some kind
Look up directions on the go, e.g. to the location of some event
Look up places on Yelp on the go
Look up prices and reviews of an item I'm considering buying IRL on Amazon

There is a possibility ... (read more)

[-]habryka6y150

Many years later, I think the effects of owning a smartphone have probably turned net-negative for me, and I've historically been more happy in periods that I did not have one.

My guess this has to do with the internet becoming more pervasive and the marginal value of the internet being more accessible being negative.

3Sherrinford5y

It may be worthwhile figuring out how to minimize the disadvantages of smartphones.

[-]taelor12y100

Look things up, e.g. on Wikipedia, on the go (e.g. when I am waiting in line for something)

Upvoted for this. I think possibly the single biggest impact of the existence of smartphones is that in a world where its possible to carry device cappable of accessing Wikipedia in your pocket means that no one ever has an excuse for being ignorant of basic facts about any subject that they had a reasonable amount of time to prepare for.

Another thing: I've found that listening to podcasts while doing mindless, repetative tasks (mowing the lawn, washing the dishes, cleaning) makes the process much, much more enjoyable.

[-]therufs12y100

My main objection to smartphone use is that by putting anything you want to pay attention to at your fingertips, it can introduce a certain distance from what is actually going on. I would not advocate, say, spending your 4 hours at the DMV observing your surroundings (that would be a waste of time). But I am concerned that time spent with portable Internet corresponds to ever thicker-walled and less-apparent echo chambers. Is this an issue you have thoughts on?

By way of example, I'm trying to think about the difference between reading a novel on the subway and reading the internets on the subway; the main distinction is that when I'm reading the novel, I'm aware that I'm not actually paying attention to my surroundings.

6The Dao of Bayes12y

If I'm interacting with people, I treat it as rude to pull out my phone without asking. If I'm already not-interacting-with-people, I don't see why it would be any worse than a book. So many other people have smart phones that "socialize while waiting" is dying off regardless of what I do, and a book generally kept people from trying to strike up a conversation anyway. As to the "not aware I'm not aware"... I've always felt equally towards books and smart phones. Possibly a bit more aware with my smart phone, actually, since dropping it or having it stolen is a much bigger deal.

3Qiaochu_Yuan12y

This is probably true, but I think this is a small negative and is outweighed by the large positives. If you decide you want to pay more attention to your surroundings with a smartphone, you can add an RTM item or use calendar alerts to remind yourself to do that periodically.

4Pablo12y

Indeed, one of the ways in which owning a smartphone has improved my life is by reminding me to do things which I need to do regularly in order to change a trait or habit. For instance, I used to have bad posture, which I corrected after setting A HIT interval timer to vibrate every 10 minutes, and interpreting these vibrations as reminders to improve the way I was standing or sitting.

1TheOtherDave12y

I infer that when you read the internets, you aren't aware that you aren't paying attention to surroundings. I have trouble understanding why that is.

8A1987dM12y

(And having a camera good enough that text in pictures stays legible is sometimes very handy IME.)

1OrphanWilde12y

The only feature I regularly use on my phone is the alarms. They're absurdly useful. Advanced alarm functionality alone is worth the price of admission.

4tgb12y

What exactly is 'advanced alarm functionality' and how do you recommend using it?

2OrphanWilde12y

I'd hesitate to pin it down to any particular feature set, but the following two features have been very useful to me: Date-based alarm scheduling - I don't want a feature-heavy calendar application running on my phone, so this has been useful. Custom text for alarms - Useful for gym reminders; I can plan exercises for each day in advance, rather than deciding what to do in advance. (Again, I stay away from feature-heavy applications. I like lightweight.) Day-based alarms, and multiple alarms, while trivial features on most smartphone alarm apps, are in fact quite useful, and weren't present in my pre-smartphone phones. I have two alarms set for waking up, for example; the first tells me to down an energy drink (Xenadrine drink mix, supposedly for dieting but my favorite energy drink, or Redline energy drinks, are both awesome for this) or extra-large cup of coffee. Thirty minutes later, when the second alarm wakes me up, I wake up easily and without grogginess. (Alternatively, you can use an alarm application that wakes you up in the ideal part of your sleep cycle. That's a bit... feature-rich for me, however.)

0The Dao of Bayes12y

How do you have a cup of coffee ready to go before you wake up? I'd think it would be cold and unpleasant...

1OrphanWilde12y

...cold and unpleasant? You mean perfect? Yes, I like my coffee cold. I like my soda and beer warm, too. I'm just that kind of guy.

3The Dao of Bayes12y

I suspect that the vast majority of coffee drinkers disagree with you, and thus your advice is probably inapplicable to most people there. I could be wrong, but you're the first person I've ever met who considers 8-hour-old coffee to be a good thing.

0OrphanWilde12y

8 hour old coffee is insufficiently aged; it has yet to achieve peak bitterness.

0The Dao of Bayes12y

You missed the point...

1OrphanWilde12y

You missed that I already acknowledged other people don't share my tastes, which was the point about liking warm beer and soda. You can substitute in your own preferences, even if it's a coffee pot set next to your alarm clock/phone scheduled to turn on shortly before your alarm goes off; it's unnecessary to copy the specific implementation to get utility out of the general concept. At that point I was merely being amusing; missing the point was rather the point.

[-]Stabilizer12y470

Don't smoke.

7AlexSchell12y

Also seriously look into regularly using other sources of nicotine unless it's included in your workplace's drug screens.

-6OrphanWilde12y

[-]buybuydandavis12y460

The 80/20 rule is especially true for cleaning. Better to get it 80% clean twice as often than 99% clean half as often.

3A1987dM12y

Not to mention the fact that getting it 80% clean will take much less that 80/99 of the time it'll take to get it 99% clean.

[-]The Dao of Bayes12y100

My understanding of the 80/20 rule was "80% of the work takes 20% of the time", so this seems already covered?

1A1987dM12y

Yes, what was I thinking?

2RomeoStevens12y

Eh, I do this too since optimizing for saying more obvious things. But on net it's been a big improvement and worth the occasional brain fart.

[-]Stabilizer12y430

Don't beat yourself up.

[-]Vaniver12y420

Stop doing stupid shit seems relevant.

To summarize: if you're good at something and it doesn't seem like it's taken serious effort to get to where you are, there's probably some low-hanging fruit that you haven't picked, because you haven't looked for it. Put a serious effect into improving and fixing your small, frequent mistakes.

[-]Viliam_Bur12y310

It's a meta-boring advice: Instead of looking for new cool things you could learn, do the boring work of fixing the mistakes you make.

3[anonymous]12y

Link doesn't work.

3Vaniver12y

Updated to the web archive link; hat tip to KnaveOfAllTrades.

3therufs12y

For ramblier inspiration, see also Stuck In The Middle With Bruce.

[-]lsparrish12y380

Take melatonin a half hour before your desired bedtime. Set an alarm on your phone so that you remember to take it at the exact same time every 24 hours. This gets you to bed at roughly the same time every night and establishes a steady 24 hour cycle, but requires almost no willpower expenditure since you are already awake and it's just a matter of taking a quick pill. Worked for me.

[-]Viliam_Bur12y190

My upvote goes mostly to the "set an alarm on your phone" part. So boring; so useful!

[-]aelephant12y210

I can confirm this. I set alarms for the most ridiculous things -- eg, "Umbrella" 5 minutes before I leave the office so I don't forget it.

4brilee12y

Set double layers of alarms. I've turned off the first one and slept another two hours, way too many times!

[-]RomeoStevens12y290

Get in the habit of not turning off alarms unless you're doing the thing you're supposed to do. This sounds impossible for some people I know. I used to be one of those people that would set 10 snoozes. But simply doing what the alarm says immediately IS a trainable skill. Every time you set the snooze you're reinforcing setting the snooze.

7Qiaochu_Yuan12y

Yes! For example, if you have trouble getting up when you hear an alarm, you can repeatedly practice lying in bed and setting your alarm for one minute from now, then immediately getting up when you hear it.

0Xom12y

While you're at it, you might as well practice getting up, getting dressed, making the bed, starting the kettle (or whatever you would do for breakfast), etc. (Disclaimer: I haven't done this; I've only read about doing it.)

0Fhyve12y

You might want to make the habit a bit shorter than that so that it is easier to practice and repeat a lot.

[-]wmorgan12y370

Always negotiate on salary, i.e. ask for more than their initial offer. Patrick McKenzie explains why.

[-]lsparrish12y340

Watch your internal monologue for two patterns: Hero stories where you are in the process of solving problems, and victim stories where you are incapable of solving problems. Attempt to reinterpret victimization stories into as-yet-unresolved heroic stories.

[-]ShardPhoenix12y320

Tips on giving a speech or presentation:

Practice your presentation several times out loud (if possible).
The first thing you should talk about after introducing yourself and your topic is why the audience should even care about your topic (and don't assume it's obvious).
If using a hand-held microphone, hold the microphone near your mouth, not in front of your chest.
If you're using a computer for slides or a demo, set it up ahead of time if possible.

[-]Viliam_Bur12y200

If you're using a computer for slides or a demo, set it up ahead of time if possible.

This. In my experience at least 50% of computer presentations started at least 15 minutes late because of some technical problems. But people always believe that the computers are the same everywhere, therefore nothing could go wrong. (Then they turn on the projector and see only a blue screen. Or the light bulb is burned out. Or a remote control is missing; or a cable. Or the presentation is in PDF and the computer can only run Powerpoint, or the other way round. Or it's a different version of Powerpoint. Or the computer does not recognize the memory stick in the USB port. Or, most importantly, something else.)

1A1987dM12y

Seriously??? I always save my presentations as PDF in order to be sure that they'll run on whichever computer I'll use -- is that not a reasonable assumption?

2Viliam_Bur12y

Depends on how reasonable and computer-literate is the person who prepares the computer. I guess this improves over time; most of my data are like 10 years old. (I met people who didn't know that Internet is not the same thing as Explorer, or that companies other than Microsoft make software too.) Probably the risk is lower if a person prepares the computer for presentations of many different people; and higher if it is usually for the same three or four people from the same organization. Lower if the organization is computer-related (university teaching computer science, IT company) and higher otherwise.

6buybuydandavis12y

This applies to posts as well. If you've got a long one, start by giving the reader a clear idea of where you're going and what his payoff will be. Motivate the reader.

0therufs12y

If you are nervous about a presentation or performance, practice while standing on top of your bed. In a pinch, a picnic table or playground equipment will also do.

[-]therufs12y110

If you are going to try to stand on a picnic table, check to see how and whether the top is attached to the base.

[-]tgb12y310

Get some decent winter clothes if you live in a climate where this is necessary. I can't tell you how many people I know at my college that have been going here for four years, complain about the weather, and don't own anything more than a sweatshirt to keep them warm. If it's windy, a raincoat can go over a fleece-style under layer and makes a huge difference. If it rains or snows, get some boots and maybe some wool socks. A hat and some gloves work wonders, too. Glove liners work nicely as light-weight gloves that can keep your hands warm when either driving or walking places but will get wet quickly if you put your hands in snow. There's no reason to be uncomfortably cold.

[-]RomeoStevens12y280

Long johns seem to be something that a lot of people who didn't grow up in the snow never think of. Standing around in freezing weather being cozy is awesome.

6A1987dM12y

Conversely, sometimes people wear dark-coloured, tight-fitting, full-length clothes and then complain about the heat. I understand why in certain situation someone might not want to wear tank tops or shorts, especially if they (think they) are not very conventionally-attractive, but lighter colours, looser-fitting clothes would still help. Combining the two, I've meet at least one person who would dress more or less the same way in January and July and complain both about the cold and about the heat. ---------------------------------------- EDIT: I meant “I understand” in a descriptive way (‘I think I know what's going on in their minds’), not in a normative way (‘ugly people had better please cover their bodies’). Body policing is evil and I'd rather not do that.

2OrphanWilde12y

Look for the clothes somebody who has to work in the absolute worst of that weather buys. Oilcloth dusters and hats are versatile all-weather gear, and available in tractor supply type stores. Australian cuts are the best I've encountered; since they're designed for airflow, they're appropriate for hot weather, and can be mixed with more typical winter underlayers to provide all-year protection.

[-]Dr_Manhattan12y290

Be helpful. I have built a significant network of useful people, and in many cases the relationship started from from me offering to do small favors - as small as helping put away chairs after a lecture - and striking up a conversation.

Addendum: while on occasion I use this technique consciously, there is some concern about seeming transparent (still don't let this stop you, especially with unique opportunities at stake). Best reward yourself for being a helpful guy/gal, make it part of your self image. As your status grows it will be quite natural to offer help to important people (I once got the nerve to offer help to a very rich mayor of a major US city, as I had something to offer. Nothing came of it, but still).

[-]FiftyTwo12y290

Google it.

4Tem4210y

And always read multiple results, even if that means having to Google with a different search string.

[-]curiousepic12y290

Some previously posted boring advice about maintaining an exercise routine:

I was successful in keeping a strict (but light) exercise routine for a year. Here are the main things I think helped me form the habit:

Not worrying about quantifying, or optimizing. I would immediately get into the rabbit hole of analysis, when I knew that any exercise was much better than procrastinating until I found the perfect method. Once the habit is formed, then you can optimize it.
Reduce physical inconveniences to actually exercising. The thought of going to a gym immediately turns me off, so I knew it had to be at home. That meant obtaining equipment. To keep it simple, this consisted of a yoga mat and a resistance band.
Doing it right after waking up. I think this was vital to habit formation, as my mind wasn't very active, and it was easy to fall into routine. Only very rarely did I find myself considering not exercising.
Doing it every other day - not too often to get burnt out, and not too infrequently to form the habit. In order to keep a consistent sleep schedule and not have to wake up very early, I alternated morning routines - exercise days and shower days. My workouts weren't intense enough to necessitate a shower immediately after. Also, I worked it in with my intermittent fasting routine on non-exercise days.
Tracking it. Noting days that I exercised did give me a couple of achievement hedons. The effect diminished, but not before the habit was formed.

[-]RomeoStevens12y220

Once the habit is formed, then you can optimize it.

I think this is really important and not mentioned enough.

5Sabiola12y

Yes; but beware even then. I had a simple weightlifting routine once upon a time. Then I decided to improve it: I'd start using different weights for different (and more varied) exercises, and recording them. Pretty soon, I'd given it up altogether. Now I'm thinking of starting the simple routine again (but it isn't optimal! waaah!), and even sell the bench that takes 15 seconds to adjust between different exercises, and just use the suboptimal stepping bench that takes 1-2 seconds to adjust. And that reminds me. When I bought that stepping bench, I started using it right away, just stepping on and off, every day for 15 minutes or so. Then I bought a book about stepping. I was doing it all wrong; you had to use music, and it had to have a specific number of beats per minute, and you couldn't just step on and off, you had to use complicated (for me, most people would probably find them quite simple) patterns. No more stepping...

2Qiaochu_Yuan12y

Yes, this is why I tried to install a habit of trying new things before optimizing exactly which things to try and how to try them.

[-][anonymous]12y100

Find a physical activity that you enjoy.

[-]OrphanWilde12y160

On this note, something I've discovered:

Jogging sucks when you're overweight. Jogging is awesome when you're already fit.

Try things again as you progress. You may find them considerably more pleasant.

2[anonymous]10y

On the plus side, you can build massive arms and shoulders from simple push-ups when you are overweight. Don't need no gym, at least, if you like that sort of be-scared-of-me look. There is no way an obese, say, over 120 kg person could master the 100 push-ups challenge and not have brutal arms and shoulders. However, it will not be 7 weeks, more like a year. This is really the primary silver lining obese people tend to forget. Just throwing that kind of body around, like playing tennis or going boxing, builds massive muscles. I tell obese people hardgainers probably already envy your calves. One of the hardest muscles to grow and poof you got it for free.

2curiousepic12y

Yes, in fact, weekly contra dancing is starting to replace my previous exercise routine!

3OrphanWilde12y

Find what works; if something doesn't work, find something else that does. If it stops working, immediately start looking for something else in turn. I don't exercise at home because it's too easy to rationalize that I'll do it in five minutes, and never actually do it. Whereas if I go to the gym every day on my lunch hour, there's little room for procrastination.

[-]beoShaffer12y270

In addition to optimizing boring things you use frequently you should optimize boring things you do frequently. You usually need to set a side a time to do this, rather than hope you remember to do it when doing a boring thing. On a related note beware reoccurring commitments. Remember, for less than a dollar a day you can waste 300 dollars a year.

[-]catherio6y*240

If you have ovaries/uterus, a non-zero interest in having kids with your own gametes, and you're at least 25 or so: Get a fertility consultation.

They do an ultrasound and a blood test to estimate your ovarian reserve. Until you either try to conceive or get other measurements, you don't know if you have normal fertility for your age, or if your fertility is already declining without knowing it.

This is important information to know, in order to make later informed decisions (such as when and whether to freeze your eggs, when to start looking for a child-raising partner, when you need to decide by before it's too late, etc.)

(I wrote more about this here: https://paper.dropbox.com/doc/Egg-freezing-catherios-info-for-friends--AbyB0V0bRUZsCM~QbeEzkNuMAg-tI98uI9kmLOlLRRuO80Zh )

4Raemon6y

(note that the link doesn't work for me, and I assume most people, which makes it seem a bit odd to include if you intended to keep it friends-only)

7catherio6y

Nah, it's purely a formatting error - the trailing parenthesis was included in the link erroneously. Added whitespace to fix now.

2Elo6y

Also note. Consider donating eggs or sperm.

[-]RomeoStevens12y240

Whenever you need something for which just buying the popular version on amazon won't work, seek out the enthusiast forum for whatever it is you're trying to buy. They usually have a sticky that will flat out tell you what is considered a great cost/performance item by experts.

Disclaimer: you should not do this if you are the sort of person to fall down the rabbit hole of new enthusiasms.

0FiftyTwo12y

Alternatively if there isn't a sticky the top scoring posts in the subreddit on the subject will probably give you good information.

[-]RomeoStevens12y240

Requisite meta: Pay attention to boring things that people who have accomplished goals you want to accomplish do more.

[-]LoganStrohl12y230

Learn how to remember people's names.

Of course you're horrible with names. That's because you haven't learned how to learn them. You evolved to know something like 100 names at a time, so your software needs an upgrade if you want to do more than that. Use the mnemonic technique called "linking" or "chaining". This video is cheesy, but it's exactly how I do it.

Calculate the VOI on giving this a try. If you go to conferences very often, or have lots of students, or live in a large city or something, it's probably really useful to you to be able to remember names. Especially given that you can google any name you manage to remember. And consider the psychological effects! A person's name is her favorite word, and knowing it is the password to her attention.

By the way, I'd be very interested to hear from any face blind people who have experimented with this.

ETA: This is also a fantastic party trick I use all the time.

3Sinal10y

Link for the video doesn't work

1Vlad Sitalo2y

Curious if people found good alternative videos/intro materials for this that worked well?

0DSimon11y

Seconded on that video, it's cheesy but very straightforward and informative.

[-]Richard_Kennaway12y230

Never take gossip at face value.

When you eventually hear the other person's side, don't take that at face value either.

[-]OrphanWilde12y220

A few random tips:

Reminded by the conversation about phone alarm clocks - if you have trouble getting up in the morning, schedule two alarms, one thirty minutes prior to when you want to get up, and the second when you actually want to get up. Set an energy drink or large cup of coffee next to your phone/alarm. When the first alarm goes off, drink the coffee/energy drink, and go back to sleep.

Invest in an automatic soap dispenser for dish soap. http://www.amazon.com/simplehuman-Sensor-Sanitizer-Brushed-13-Ounce/dp/B003JTCAHK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362766673&sr=8-1&keywords=simplehuman+soap+dispenser is what I use; it's refillable, adjustable, and accepts just about anything. (I previously used one of those dispensers with proprietary refills; they were expensive, dispensed too much soap, and when I drilled a hole in the top to refill it, it refused to dispense soap, although that may have been some kind of error on my part.) Makes a small but noticeable difference in the pleasantness of doing dishes.

Invest in good tools, and keep them in good repair; if it's a one-off task, get it used, but get it good. Exceptions - tools which are more work to maintain than they... (read more)

[-]TheOtherDave12y150

if you have trouble getting up in the morning, schedule two alarms [...]

Also, experiment with going to sleep earlier.

1NancyLebovitz12y

How is an automatic soap dispenser better for dish soap than a pump soap dispenser? I agree that it's better to have soap in a container that you don't have to pick up and open every time you use it.

0OrphanWilde12y

I'm not sure that it is, having never used a pump dispenser, but one-handed operation -could- be an advantage, depending on the dispenser in question

0simplicio12y

I really love my daylight alarm clock. It costs about $150-200 but I feel it was worth it. YMMV.

[-]jooyous12y220

Map things:

Sanity check when you're using a maps-enabled device to get around. It might not be showing you the correct thing. Also, it might be showing you the correct thing, but you might be reading it wrong. (Well maybe not you, but definitely me.)
If you've moved to a new area, avoid using map services to get around and work on your own internal brain-map. You don't want to live somewhere for a year and be helpless without your phone.

7sixes_and_sevens12y

Related: buy a small and reliable compass. Not a compass app for your phone, but an actual compass. GPS, your own spatial awareness, and reasonable assumptions about geography can all let you down, but north is always north. Edit: I will now ruin the punchiness of this comment with an explanatory edit. I do a lot of walking around a large city. Google Maps is fairly reliable but leaves much to be desired. Establishing GPS location, battery consumption and occasional out-and-out wrongness are common bugbears, so I started trying to navigate without it. The biggest problem I found was orienting myself. Surfacing from a subway stop only to have no idea which direction was which, I'd sometimes fall back to GPS just to check what direction I was facing (which Google Maps is really bad at anyway. Anyone who's ever done that "let's walk ten metres in this direction to see what way I'm pointing" thing will know what I mean. I played around with some compass apps, which are just as much of a pain as Google Maps. Eventually I just gave in and bought a compass.

8wedrifid12y

Almost equivalent: Buy a lightweight and reliable spear. Not a speargun or an effective modern weapon, but an actual pointy stick. Guns, the rule of law, supermarkets and the reasonable assumptions that your geographic location contains no dangerous predators can all let you down. But a pointy stick is always a pointy stick.

4sixes_and_sevens12y

This is an unfair comparison, especially in light of the explanation given in the edit. OP's point was that GPS can frequently be unreliable. In terms of navigating without it, basic orientation is typically enough to get you started, and "smart" substitutes for a compass are strictly inferior to an actual compass.

8wedrifid12y

The edit does indeed change things. If I was replying to the edited version rather than replying to the original version I would reply differently. But judging a reply because it does not apply to what is now a completely different comment is an error that I strongly discourage. Almost all of the value of the advice comes from the two additional paragraphs. Even then I suggest it somewhat exaggerates the relative value of carrying a magnet. This distracts from the probably overall more valuable advice of doing an additional 15 minutes research when purchasing a GPS device in order to maximise reliability.

0sixes_and_sevens12y

The edit came hot on the heels of the original comment. Based on comment timestamps it seemed likely that you'd read it.

[-]wedrifid12y190

The edit came hot on the heels of the original comment. Based on comment timestamps it seemed likely that you'd read it.

Welcome to the joys of race conditions. Even when you click the edit button the instant after you comment, for all the time spent writing the additional paragraphs anyone who loads the recent comments page sees the original. Then, for all the time they spent replying to your comment---and sometimes even replying to other recent comments on the same page load---they are not notified of any changes to your comment. So if either the edit takes a long time or the reply takes time, synchronization errors will frequently occur.

I sometimes realize that a comment of mine needs elaboration, or perhaps needs to be tempered somewhat with substantial argument rather than mere dismissal. In those cases where I expect the difference between the edit and the original to matter I often use a work around. I copy the text of the original then delete it. I then write the new 'edited' version and submit it as a fresh comment. (Corollary: If I fail to take such precautions I blame only myself!)

5The Dao of Bayes12y

I know my city layout, so I always know where North is. It might require walking (gasp!) as much as a block, but even that is ridiculously rare. Trust me, this is superior to a compass. The big problem with a compass is that it is Yet Another Thing I Must Remember To Carry. If I use it regularly, forgetting it will probably suck since I don't have a backup. If I use it infrequently, why bother with the hassle of one more thing cluttering my purse? And what makes you think I'll remember to pack it on the days I do end up needing it?

4sixes_and_sevens12y

If you don't frequently experience navigational problems, clearly a compass is not a sensible investment. I have to say, I've made questionable suggestions on LW in the past, but the tone of the responses to this one has been baffling.

3gwillen12y

People pattern-matched it to a curmudgeonly and irrational dislike for modern technology, because they have never tried actually using the magnetic sensor in a smartphone as a compass, so they aren't aware of just how unreliable those sensors are.

0The Dao of Bayes12y

Apologies if my tone was overly critical or hostile. It was a cool suggestion, and I'm glad I heard it. I just don't think it's a practical suggestion for most people, given the other alternatives out there these days :)

0nonplussed12y

Surprised no ones mentioned this, but what's wrong with a phone compass app? They don't use GPS, they are actually measuring the local magnetic field, and they don't delay whilst 'getting a lock' or anything. And it's not like they use much battery power. Agree that a compass is superior to GPS for orientation, but I'm not seeing why it can't be an app.

1sixes_and_sevens12y

1) I don't trust the reliability of any of the compass apps I've tried. There's enough variance on them to make me doubt what they're telling me. 2) I generally want to be looking at Google Maps on my phone when I'm trying to orient myself.

0The Dao of Bayes12y

Most areas of most cities have fairly intuitive street layouts, if you learn them. If I'm in Northeast Portland, and I am on a numbered street, then I am either heading east (number gets bigger) or west (number gets smaller). If it is a named street, then I am either heading north (number gets bigger), or south (number gets smaller). Most named streets do have numbers, but you can also go off the building numbers. I don't know why it took me 25 years to really accept this, since I grew up being told about this, but most cities genuinely DO use a coordinate system, and learning it makes that sort of thing trivial :)

9Larks12y

... in the US. In Europe, they're intuitive only if you were born there or know a lot of history. (Of course South Parade is further north than North Parade!)

2The Dao of Bayes12y

Fair, and thank you for calling me on it. I get the impression that a majority of LessWrong readers are in major US cities, so I'm leaving it up as useful to them :)

0jooyous12y

Yep, same here! One time I had a bus route displaying on my phone but I was facing the wrong way, so I got on the bus going the other way and didn't realize until the route ended in a sketchy area at 9 pm. I don't think I necessarily need a compass because I usually can orient myself if I stop and think, I'm just bad at it and don't like doing it for some reason, so I try to avoid it and don't ever get better.

1sixes_and_sevens12y

I tend to find myself explicitly thinking "right...which way is north?", then beginning an elaborate round of detective work to figure out the answer. Being able to check my orientation as easily as checking the time is glorious.

2[anonymous]12y

Ironically enough, over the weekend I was searching for a more systematic way of using the sun to tell direction (besides moves east to west, and is in the south at midday (northern hemisphere)) and found this - Wikipedia: how to find north using an analog watch

4MixedNuts12y

If you're terrible at brain maps, learn a bunch of routes. If you're terrible at that too, carry paper maps.

0A1987dM12y

Actually, I found that using sat navigators for a while improved my sense of direction rather than worsening it, so that, even when I'm not using a navigator, I'm way better now than I used to be before I owned a phone with a navigator.

1jooyous12y

Really, as you're walking/driving? That's really interesting! I noticed whenever I start hearing directions, my brain shuts off and starts taking directions. Even if I know where I'm going! Which is pretty frustrating when I have a passenger who starts describing what I know to be the wrong way to go.

0Nornagest11y

I use navigation services quite often (as much for traffic mitigation and ETA as for directions), but I never use voice guidance, even on long, unfamiliar trips. I think that offers the best of both worlds: you're never going to get seriously lost, but you still need to check your surroundings against the map frequently, which builds a mental map. This may not be reliable if you're bad at multitasking or aren't very visual, though.

[-]RomeoStevens12y220

As per Yvain: Use amazon prime

As per me: Also use slickdeals, sign up for alerts for things you need but don't need right now. You can then safely forget about it until an email alerts you there is an excellent deal on one. I use this for things I need to buy intermittently such as supplements.

Don't forget to check retailmenot for coupon codes when buying online.

6someonewrongonthenet12y

I don't understand...the benefits he mentions are a result of Internet shopping in general. How does Amazon prime, a $79/year deal for free two day shipping significantly improve upon this? Also, if you are in school, Amazon Student lets you get the 2 day shipping free.

0RomeoStevens12y

Cognitive load. Shopping for the best price online can be just as stressful and just as much a waste of time as shopping in real life. By contrast training yourself just to buy the first item that looks good enough will (TDT) save you lots and lots of money/time/stress in the long run. 2 Day shipping as opposed to variable shipping (and tracking your packages) means you can buy a lot more items without having to plan too far ahead. I can often go a day without something but can't go the possible 5-10 business days that many other places offer. Amazon student is a good tip. anyone with access to a .edu email address can get it free for a time and half off after that.

[-]Yossarian12y210

In addition to making lists for "work," make one for things you want to watch, read, and/or play. You'll feel more productive and motivated even when taking a break from work.

3BlazeOrangeDeer12y

However, make sure that the things you put on your list are things you actually want to do. Otherwise it may take away from the effect.

2FiftyTwo12y

Workflowy is good for this.

0beoShaffer12y

On a similar note using the Getting Things Done organizational system and/or the website remember the milk provides a good way to organize you lists.

0[anonymous]12y

Just wondering, are you the RatWiki Yossarian?

[-]Crux12y210

I used to forget to brush my teeth a lot, or even when I'd remember I'd shrug it off out of some sort of extreme level of laziness. Here's how I fixed it: I put my toothbrush in my shower. I brush my teeth in the shower. Saves time, makes it easier to remember, and it's less boring since I'm multitasking.

[-]RomeoStevens12y100

Shaving in the shower is useful for me as well.

6jsalvatier12y

Plus you get to spend more time in the shower!

3Elo11y

I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE! Started doing this about a year ago. Have not looked back.

0tadrinth12y

I finally started brushing regularly when I finally tried an electric toothbrush and began brushing immediately after I showered at night.

[-]Paul Crowley12y200

Wash your hands before every meal.

1ChristianKl12y

For what reason? Which concrete benefit do I get from following that advice?

[-]Xachariah12y170

In a study of children in schools, setting up a 'handwashing event' 4x per day cut sick days in half. Another controlled study on hand sanitizer showed a 20% decrease in sick days.

Here's a replication on sanitizer showing 20% reduction in illness rate for college students.
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/03/Sept03/090203/75n-0183h-c000075-att-14-vol154.pdf

Here's one in Pakistan where incidence of Pneumonia and Diarrhea in children were cut in half.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16023513

Here's one in China where intensive handwashing programs for child schools cut sickness by ~40%. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17556631

The short of it is 20% to 50% fewer contagious sicknesses, depending on your current habits (assuming what holds true for children or college students holds true for you).

4maia12y

This seems like a pretty big assumption for many adults. Children and college students are likely in much closer quarters with many other people than a lot of office workers. (I'm a college student, though, and will try to take this advice!)

1[anonymous]12y

Except when they come in direct contact with the food, isn't washing hands after going to the bathroom and before cooking enough?

9juliawise12y

Notice how often you touch your lips and the area under your nose. For most people, it's pretty often.

7[anonymous]12y

Then here's some more boring advice: * Learn to use eating utensils and napkin properly. * Avoid touching your face.

4tut12y

This is true. However, touching your face makes you look uncertain. So it is probably a good idea (as a simple social hack) to stop touching your face.

6Elithrion12y

It's probably better to just wash them anyway so you don't have to plan out whether you'll be touching bread and fruits or not.

[-]lsparrish12y190

Identify emotionally draining people in your circles and spend less time with them. Alternative: Identify and fix major sources of emotionally draining interactions in people you like to spend time with.

[-]Eneasz12y190

Get a credit card with no annual fee (preferably one with 1% cash back). Pay absolutely everything with card (only rent/mortgage, loan payments, and utilities should be paid in a different way, and that's only because they don't accept credit card). Pay it off in full once every month (the same date every month, and only once a month) before the due date so you never give the credit card company anything more than the actual cost of what you bought.

This makes it incredibly easy to track your finances. Rent/mortgage and loan payments are fixed. If you make a steady monthly wage you know exactly how much money you are getting every month and exactly how much you have left for all non-loan expenditures. That number should be at least $100 more than you pay to the credit card to pay off your past month of living every month.

When you bank more than usual in a month you feel awesome. When you have to pay more than you made in a month you realize immediately and can take quick steps to curtail it.

This also gives you real-world data as to what living costs, helping you to avoid the planning fallacy.

8beoShaffer12y

Using a debit card gives you most of the same benefits, but has slightly different costs. If your doing this it makes sense to research which one is best for you.

[-]William_Quixote12y120

In general, a credit card will be the better option.

1 cards are safer and more fraud resistant. A credit card company has to cancel a false charge if you tell them to, it's much harder to get a bank to give you money back to too up an account. 1.5 related to one, you want to not give your bank account number out more often than needed

2 more credit cards have benefits than debit cards do.

1latanius12y

Also consider mint.com. Draws awesome graphs. (It only works for US bank accounts only though...)

2VAuroch12y

Points against this: Money spent via card has much less immediate mental impact than spending cash. When you pay more thanyou make in a month, you realize it only at the end of the month. When you spend cash, you feel the impact on your finances directly. The pattern I use, which I stumbled upon mainly by accident: For necessities, use a card (I use debit, but this is interchangeable with credit from this perspective). For luxuries, use cash. This insulates you from impulse purchases and has a short feedback loop discouraging you from spending too much. Drawbacks: This doesn't work for online purchases and may hurt somewhat in that regard.

3Eneasz12y

Interestingly, I've been using card and online banking for so long that I seem to have internalized "money is the number stored in the bank's computer/my mental register". Recently I came into a steady flow of cash (long story), and I didn't want to go to the bank every damn week to deposit it, so I started paying for groceries and restaurants with that cash. It felt like giving away play money and getting real goods and services in exchange. "You mean I can give you some colored paper slips, and you'll just give me $100 worth of groceries? It doesn't reduce the money I have in the bank? And I'm not going to jail for this?" It was weird.

0mare-of-night11y

In the US, Mint.com can give you nice graphs of when and how you spend money, too.

0Error12y

My partner and I manage our finances this way. It works excellently.

[-]Daniel_Burfoot12y180

Whenever you make an investment, try to begin capturing value from it as soon as possible after spending the money/time for it. Converse: if for some reason you cannot begin exploiting an investment until a certain date, delay purchasing it until that date.

(I learned this from playing the board game Agricola, where a common error mode is to use the "Expand House" action early on, but then delay the "Family Growth" action. The former action is an expensive prerequisite of the latter, which is the one that actually benefits your position. The smart move is to do Family Growth ASAP after Expand House.)

5kpreid12y

Note that this applies to entertainment and hobby purchases. Put the stuff on a wish list and let it sit, until you know you (will) have the spare time to enjoy it.

2Error12y

Catch: Some entertainment items aren't available at a later date. For example, certain video games. (I'm looking at you, Atlus.) Still good advice, just take into account future availability -- especially if you care about having it new and not used.

5kpreid12y

Oh, good point. One natural (not artificially limited) case of this is: other players, and public servers, for online multiplayer games.

4Error12y

That's actually a much better example than mine. Journey, for example, is fantastic, but a large part of what makes it so will be lost when the playerbase shrinks and/or the servers shut down.

[-]Crux12y180

If you're trying to learn a foreign language, get a channel in that language and leave it on in the background, occasionally sitting down to watch for a few mins, for example while eating breakfast. Do this for a year. Improvement doesn't always have to take effort.

[-]Richard_Kennaway12y170

If what you are doing is not working, do something else.

1nilsherzig11mo

How do you know that it's the wrong way? You might just haven't figured it out yet

2Richard_Kennaway11mo

If (after giving it a reasonable go) you can't tell whether what you are doing is working, it's not working.

[-]beoShaffer12y170

Building off of an earlier comment. Setting alarm(s) for anything you need to at/by a specific time increases the chance you will actually do them, while decreasing the amount of time you spend worrying about doing them. Corollary, this can make your watch/alarm clock/smartphone a single point of failure for a huge chunk of you life, so take good care of it and/or have a back up.

ETA: "worrying about"

9RomeoStevens12y

This reminds me that I need a better alarm app so I don't have an ugh field about setting alarms.

1FiftyTwo12y

Agreed, random anecdote: I once slept for literally 16 hours after my phone died overnight.

[-]wedrifid12y120

Agreed, random anecdote: I once slept for literally 16 hours after my phone died overnight.

That suggests rather strongly that the sleep pattern you typically force on yourself isn't healthy!

[-]Pablo12y160

I just posted this on my Facebook wall and realized it might belong in this thread:

If you think you spend too much time on Facebook but don't know what to do about it, try this: set the password to a long string of characters (say, 50 letters or numbers) which you need to manually copy every time, and log off when you finish your session. The daunting prospect of having to manually enter this information will discourage you from logging in unless you really desire it. I went from checking Facebook a dozen times per day to just one or two times. (Tip courtesy of Piers Steel, The Procrastination Equation.)

2A1987dM12y

LeechBlock has an option to prevent you from accessing the settings until you retype a random 32-, 64-, or 128-character code. I think it's a brilliant idea.

[-]FiftyTwo12y160

Meta: Perhaps we should all pre-commit to rewarding people who say boring but true things, in general upvotes and/or social cache goes to people who say interesting things regardless of truth.

6Mestroyer12y

Boring true things tend to be already known, and not as useful as true interesting things. If it's boring enough, it is a waste of time to say. I think what people in this thread are looking for are true things that are not as interesting as normal, but not really really boring. 1+1=2.

[-]sixes_and_sevens12y150

If you spend a lot of time frustratedly explaining to people why you don't do some common social activity, consider giving in and just doing it.

There have been a few discussions on Less Wrong about how to explain to people why you don't drink. I eventually got so frustrated at having to verbally offset the mistrust I received through not drinking, I just went ahead and started drinking. It obviously depends on your social situation, but for me this amounts to maybe four glasses of wine a month, which is a ridiculously good trade-off.

[-]Emily12y150

Can you find nicer friends? No one has ever been weird about the fact that I don't really drink. (If anyone tried to be weird about it, I think I would claim there was alcoholism in my family - there's not, as far as I know. And not be friends with them.)

3JDM12y

Without outright asking or commenting, people can still subconsciously judge, especially in certain situations or social groups. For example, I am the president of my chapter of my fraternity. Some people interested don't drink. While for the most part people look past the not drinking, there are some activities or events where drinking is common. We have had some non-drinkers still enjoy themselves, but some have been scared away as a result of said activities. I think an equal precursor to the idea of being judged for not drinking is how you handle being around others who are. If you can still enjoy yourself without the alcohol, in a lot of cases being judged for it is in your imagination. If you sit there awkwardly in the corner sober while everyone else is having a good time, the judgement is very real. It's just not entirely for the reason you think.

0Emily12y

Yeah, not surprising. That doesn't sound like it adds fun for anyone. (I have been in that situation a few times, but never by choice.)

0JDM12y

I wasn't the most social person when I started hanging out with the fraternity I ended up joining, so I did some of that at first, even when I did drink. It took some time to get out of my shell a little. I have since improved with that, indicated by the fact that I was voted to be president, with the main job of being the "face" of the house. I do my best to help people who are in that role become more involved, whether they choose to drink or not, because I was in a similar role my first year. Some people, and it does generally seem to be the non-drinkers, resist that, and they mostly end up not coming back. Drinking is far from all we do, but it's one of the ways we relax and get to know people, so people not being social to at least some extent do end up treated differently. My recommendation if you don't drink and go to social situations where people do is to simply have a good time. Be social, smile, feel free to be a little animated, and you'll be alright. There are plenty of nights where people drink where I choose not to (often because I'm broke), and while some nights I will have alcohol handed to me because I don't have a cup in my hand, for the most part people don't know if I'm drinking or not. (Unless I do a 12 foot beer bong of wine. Then they can tell.) If you don't make things awkward, most people won't either, and the ones who do will be handled by others.

0Emily12y

Sure, that's my usual approach. Times when it hasn't gone like that have been times when I have very much not wanted to be wherever I was and for one reason or another been unable to escape. I think such a situation is more noticeable to others (and to the one experiencing it, perhaps...) when the person in question is sober than drunk!

[-]OrphanWilde12y130

After putting polyurethane on the floor of a house, I had an -excellent- reason which few people questioned: After polyurethaning the floor, alchohol started tasting like polyurethane smelled. (To this day it still hasn't faded completely. I stopped drinking entirely for a long time there, and still can't do straight whiskey shots, which was my old standard. Went from tasting pretty good to... awful.) Takes about thirty seconds to explain, and most people accept it just based on the weirdness of the reason.

1Sabiola12y

Mistrust? Why would people mistrust you if you don't drink?

[-]DanArmak12y190

It's a refusal to participate in ritualized social bonding, and that signals you aren't willing to relax around other people and don't consider them to be part of your social in-group. If you're not drinking, that may also mean you get to keep your guard up while everyone else is saying and doing silly or even forbidden things.

I can't drink because of my medications, and I always get teased about it. "Come on, just one shot is fine..."

0buybuydandavis12y

Or it signals that you are comfortable asserting your own values in contradiction to a group. That's a very positive signal to me, but probably generally negative.

3BlazeOrangeDeer12y

Or maybe they think that your non-drinking is not a value of yours, but a value of another group that you are choosing over theirs.

0Sabiola12y

Interesting. I knew people think that way in Japan (I was thinking about asking sixes_and_sevens if they were Japanese), but there, people don't mind if you actually do silly/forbidden things when you're drunk (or so I've heard).

4A1987dM12y

I can't speak for everybody, but I think this is the reason why I tend to dislike non-drinkers.

1Sabiola12y

Huh, you got a downvote for that? That wasn't me! I probably should drink less myself, and I tend to think of non-drinkers as "sensible people who didn't like the taste of alcohol when they were teenagers and didn't give in to social pressure" (like my mother, my sister and my husband).

[-]Matt_Simpson12y150

Upvote comments that you think are useful on LW in general, not just comments you found personally useful. (A note to myself as I read this thread).

7latanius12y

As for this thread: wouldn't upvoting commens that you think are useful for someone else but not for you be actually an indirect case of other-optmizing?

2Matt_Simpson12y

I think so.

0Decius12y

With the expectation that others would reciprocate by encouraging behavior that benefits you.

1Qiaochu_Yuan12y

I think that depends on the current number of upvotes the comment has. I'll upvote comments with no upvotes that I personally found useful by way of thanks.

0Matt_Simpson12y

Sure, I'm just saying that personal usefulness shouldn't be the only reason you upvote.

[-]Yossarian12y140

Give people permission to bug you.

If you commit to doing or following up on something for somebody, tell them to bug you if you don't get back to them about it. You'll feel less stressed about remembering or being obligated to do it because you've shifted at least some of the responsibility to them and given yourself external pressure, which is ultimately more efficient than relying on your own willpower anyway.

Conversely, give yourself permission to bug people, though without judgment. You know how you feel when you have email in your inbox that you know you really ought to get to, but don't? Somebody is feeling that way about your email right now. How helpful would it be if they electronically tapped you on the shoulder as a reminder? More helpful than getting more and more resentful because they've forgotten/don't care/don't consider you valuable enough to bother replying.

[-]Prismattic12y130

I was moved to post this by the fact that numerous LW participants apparently find the preparation and consumption of food to be such a huge imposition that they're willing to try rather radical interventions just to avoid cooking and eating. Assuming that such steps don't appeal, may I suggest some more mundane ones.

Write a weekly meal planner. This eliminates the extra cognitive load of having to think about "what am I going to make for lunch/dinner" on a rolling ad hoc basis. It also makes it more likely that your grocery shopping purchases will actually match your consumption needs.

To the extent possible, parcel the ingredients out by meal in your refrigerator as you stock it. This saves preparation time later.

I can't guarantee it will work for everyone, but I think a typical individual can save themselves both time and stress concentrating meal selection and the early stages of food preparation all at one time per week, rather than repeating the process on a daily basis.

2TheOtherDave12y

I absolutely endorse this. I don't bother with it anymore because I enjoy spontaneous cooking (and find it soothingly meditative much of the time), but during the first few months after my stroke when cooking (like everything else) was hard work, I found that organizing my food prep for the week (and cooking in large quantities, and sticking to minimal-prep techniques like roasting and crock-potting) saved me much-valued hours.

[-]Viliam_Bur12y130

Avoid weird people.

(Negation of #1 geek social fallacy.)

Of course this advice works only with some definitions of "weird", and I don't want to make it too long, but I feel it is very useful. The point is not to avoid anyone who is off-center in any Gauss curve, but to avoid specifically people who impose a huge cost on you and on people who associate with you, usually because of their serious lack of some social skill. Certainly, nobody is perfect, but don't commit the fallacy of grey.

[-]fubarobfusco12y210

"Weird" is too general here.

The advice on "Five Geek Social Fallacies" has to do with dealing with people who are not weird but rather unpleasant. The examples used are of people who are obnoxious, offensive, smell bad due to poor hygiene, or hassle newcomers. These have to do with behaviors (or lack of care) that are not distinguished by their eccentricity but by causing harm and aversion to others.

So, for the boring advice:

Distinguish harmless eccentricity from harmful eccentricity. You may travel in weird social circles, wherein you recognize that being weird doesn't make someone bad ... but just because someone is weird does not mean that they are nice, either.

(Weird social circles may also choose to exclude some behavior that is harmful but not weird. For instance, there is nothing weird about making jokes that hinge on gender stereotypes (e.g. "women are bad drivers" or "men are buffoons"); these are quite common and ordinary, found in mainstream sitcoms, stand-up comedy, and so on. But a weird social circle that cares about being welcoming to gender-nonconformists may want to say that gender stereotyping is not acceptable.)

7buybuydandavis12y

Everyone head for the exits. This site is full of weirdos by prevailing societal conventions. I'd say instead to advertise what kind of person you are, so that you attract and repel the right kind of people.

2TheOtherDave12y

I think I would only endorse this if it sorted under "Don't avoid otherwise-valuable people just because they are weird."

1Viliam_Bur12y

OK, second attempt: Always remember that a company of weird people costs you your social capital. Make an estimate of costs and benefits. Multiply the costs by 10 to compensate for bias. Check again whether the benefits are real or imaginary, or could be obtained cheaper otherwise. Note: The number 10 probably feels to big. For most weird people, the correct multiplier would be 2 or 3. But a few of them are black swans.

6TheOtherDave12y

I agree with "Don't neglect the costs of weirdness."

1A1987dM12y

Not if the people in my social circle are themselves weird.

[-]PECOS-912y130

Floss.

[-]OrphanWilde12y150

For those who hate flossing, consider investing in a waterpik or similar product. My breath went from persistently horrible to perpetually pleasant when I started using one.

2[anonymous]12y

Using antimicrobial mouthrinse is more efficacious. "... in combination with toothbrushing, daily use of the tested mouthrinses may result in a higher interproximal plaque reduction than daily flossing."

3wedrifid12y

"Floss, brush and use an antimicrobial mouthwash".

1RomeoStevens12y

this is contentious AFAIK, and flossing has more benefits than plaque reduction. It's better than nothing though.

0Sabiola12y

I use interdental brushes to clean between my teeth. I find those much more pleasant, and I think they clean better too.

[-]LoganStrohl12y120

Don't wait until things are horrible before making them awesome.

0metatroll12y

Too late!

[-]Mestroyer12y120

If you're picking out a CPU or graphics card for a custom-built personal computer, ignore basically every number the manufacturer provides to quantify its performance, and go look at some benchmarks. Not because the numbers the manufacturers provide are inaccurate, but because there are so many factors that go into how good hardware is besides the those numbers, that you will never get as accurate an estimate from them as with direct measurement of the performance.

Also, make sure they are compatible with your motherboard.

[-]TimS12y120

When starting a business, know your costs. The amount you need to earn (today / this week / this month) to break even is a number you should have essentially memorized. Beware ignoring so-called minor costs or failing to allocate costs to revenue sources.

AKA know your "nut".

[-]John_Maxwell12y120

If there's a goal you're working on that looks like it's going to take a lot of time and effort to achieve, spend a good chunk of time thinking about much faster ways to accomplish the goal before taking the slow route. Quick fixes and shortcuts aren't always bad.

Try to think critically about everything, not just the things you and the people you know of habitually think critically about.

Don't ignore obvious, commonsense explanations in an effort to be interesting. Keep in mind that the world is a complicated place and there's lots you don't know. Apparently hedgehogs (people who make confident, frequently wrong predictions based on simple models) are more likely to get media attention (and, based on my observations, internet attention as well). So, as a corollary, if you're thinking something outrageous, that idea likely found its way to you because it's outrageous, not because it's accurate.

[-]Stabilizer12y110

Don't get worked up about jumping through administrative hoops such as filling forms, filing tax returns, sending applications. Especially don't go on a moral plane and say things like, 'I shouldn't have to do these things' or 'This is degrading'. It is much more easier to just do the work which cannot be reasonably argued with. Further, if you don't, you can stand to lose a lot. And not for interesting reasons. Think of it as one-boxing on Newcomb (though without the million dollars).

[-]simplicio12y140

Don't get worked up about jumping through administrative hoops such as filling forms, filing tax returns, sending applications.

Also, if you make a half-decent salary, ask yourself whether you ought to be doing it at all as opposed to delegating it to e.g., a tax professional.

Probably one of the most important rationality skills I have learned is to really internalize the principle "my time is worth something" and spend money on delegating tasks I find annoying or time-consuming.

5OrphanWilde12y

I tried delegating my taxes to a tax professional last year. It took -more- time, not less. This year it could potentially save my time, because I already know my deductions are going to be pretty significant. (1/5th of my pretax income last year went towards a new roof. And I bought a new computer for work. And a bunch of other homeowner investments that AFAIK are deductible.) As opposed to last year when the "professional" ignored me when I told her my deductions wouldn't exceed the standard deduction, and insisted on going through mounds and mounds of paperwork and receipts, trying to get me $1 over the standard deduction. (I think we ended up about $50 short, and that was after some very... creative deductions.) Be cautious with professionals who think they know more than you about your business, I guess.

1RomeoStevens12y

Also, laundry, dishes, and cleaning. If you have potentially lucrative side projects going it can be stupid NOT to free up your time.

4MixedNuts12y

Sounds a lot like "paperwork is a mild annoyance to me, therefore people who claim to find it painful are just being drama queens".

3Stabilizer12y

No. Paperwork has definitely been more than a mild annoyance to me and has cost me a lot in missed opportunities and money.

4MixedNuts12y

Then shouldn't you be including advice on how not to get worked up about it?

0wedrifid12y

That sounds a lot like losing.

[-]Elithrion12y110

Although this may not be for everyone, I'd recommend listening to audiobooks. The main advantage is that you can easily listen to them while walking or taking public transport, while cooking, while exercising, etc., which I personally find makes these activities a lot less boring.

I've also found that my personal rate of reading is faster with audiobooks (using RockBox with an mp3 player to speed up playback to 3-3.5x) than with normal reading, at something like ~450 words/min or ~1.3 pages/min. Most of the speed increase comes from me being really slow at reading normally due to getting distracted, focusing too much on thinking through one part, or just forgetting to read quickly, but still.

4FiftyTwo12y

Podcasts as well, there's lots of good content and with an adjustable speed player (e.g. beyondpod) you can absorb it fast.

1VAuroch12y

I've found myself totally unable to focus on audiobooks/podcasts for any length of time except while walking. Any advice for me and others like me?

0Elithrion12y

I agree with tut that increasing speed might help. Sometimes if I listen at default speed, I find my attention drifting off mid-sentence just because it's going so slowly. (Conversely, at higher speed, when my attention does drift off briefly, I sometimes miss a full sentence or two and have to rewind slightly.) If that doesn't work, I don't really have many other ideas. Maybe you could try other repetitive mechanical actions to see if they coexist well with audiobooks. For example, maybe cooking, drawing, or exercising might work (if you do any of those). In general, I find it easy to not miss anything in an audiobook so long as I'm simultaneously doing something that does not also involve words.

0tut12y

1 Listen while walking (ie if it's the only time it works, and if you walk often, then just use the opportunity when you have it) 2 Try listening at a higher speed when doing simpler things

0VAuroch12y

I don't walk often; if I did it wouldn't be an issue. Also, I'm skeptical increased speed would help. If I'm not doing anything else while listening, my attention drifts away, which I don't think would be assisted by increasing the speed. The lack of related physical action is the main issue; I find it enormously difficult to not fidget away any focus I had.

1tut12y

Why do you want to use audiobooks? The usual reason is so that you can learn or enjoy a good story while you are doing other stuff. If that's the case for you, then do that stuff and your lack of physical motion is solved. If you have another reason, have you considered taking up walking just to enjoy your audiobooks and for exercise? How about knitting? Woodcarving? Keeping ones body occupied is not an unexplored problem. As for speeding up, I was a lot more sceptic that it would help me concentrate on videos before I tried it.

1JDM12y

I've found the opposite. I will occasionally listen to audiobooks while driving or working out, but even with accelerated audio I read 2-3 times faster than audio can do. Also, reading allows control of the pace. Certain sections are denser than others, and with a book you can slow down through those parts without losing pace on the filler.

0SherkanerUnderhill10y

I have listened to audiobooks for about a 6 months. Recently I started to spend less time on audiobooks and more time on thinking. Not much evidence is gathered, by so far thinking while walking seems more useful for me.

0Tenoke12y

You listen to them at 3-3.5x while doing other things? How do you increase the speed, do you only increase the tempo? Do you change the pitch at all?

2Elithrion12y

Yes, I find that that's about the current limit for me catching every word. I think it used to be a bit slower a year or two ago (~2.5x), but I'm not sure if maybe I just pushed less then. Mostly I have no trouble doing other non-group things while listening, except I can't do anything involving words (including daydream level thought chains) or anything overly mentally challenging (e.g. non-trivial math). (If I concentrate really really hard I can listen to something and read something at the same time while understanding both, especially at lower playback speeds, but I find myself unable to maintain this level of concentration for more than a few sentences.) Not sure I understand what you mean by "tempo" (as opposed to speed). On the computer, I use VLC, which increases playback speed without shifting pitch. Walking around, I use a Sansa Fuze (not +, and v2) with Rockbox firmware installed. Rockbox lets me go up to 250% playback speed without pitch shifting, and then requires +1% pitch for every additional 2.5% speed thereafter. I actually find VLC less clear than my mp3 player at high speeds, although not sure if that's because pitch increases helps comprehension or because my sound card is worse than the player or something (I guess I should test it some time).

0wedrifid12y

I second your advice and am curious what sources of material you consume this way.

2Elithrion12y

Mostly p2p sources, to be honest, supplemented with LibriVox for public domain titles. I'd like to be able to buy more, since there are a lot that just aren't available by other means (especially less popular or newer books on more serious topics), but my current budget doesn't really allow for it.

1FiftyTwo12y

You can take audible's free month then immediately cancel if that fits your morals.

3wedrifid12y

(And if it doesn't... fix your morals!)

[-]jklsemicolon12y100

If you're good at something, do that thing.

(Obvious caveats apply.)

6Qiaochu_Yuan12y

So it's not obvious to me that this is a good idea. On the one hand, comparative advantage. On the other hand, fixed vs. growth mindset: you can change what you're good at, and this might be valuable. Aaron Swartz wrote a nice blog post about how restricting it is to be good at one thing because it feels like you shouldn't do other things that I can't currently find.

6jklsemicolon12y

Yes; "do that thing" should not be confused with "do only that thing".

4FiftyTwo12y

The Joker

[-][anonymous]11y90

I used to have a lot of trouble getting up in the morning, and would frequently arrive to work or lecture at the last possible minute. The one change I made that had the largest impact, beyond strength of coffee or wake-up time, was to switch from showering after breakfast, near the end of my morning routine, to showering first thing when I get out of bed.

I now get out of bed, throw on my flip-flops, grab my stuff to shower, throw a pita in the toaster oven for 10 minutes to make a start on breakfast, fix coffee using the electric kettle, and shower. Aft... (read more)

[-]Donovanable11y90

After you get a haircut you like, ask your stylist to describe what ey did/what the style is, ideally in the vocabulary of the trade. For instance, my current style includes a face frame, long layers, and some other style words.

Write it down, stick the note in your wallet, forget about it until the next haircut. You get the benefit of repeating instructions as they would be described from one hairstylist to another and are less likely to fall victim to terrible cuts or the poor memory of your regular stylist.

As someone who is less productive with a bad haircut (I have to pin unruly lengths out of my eyes, etc), this has saved me time and confusion.

4MaximumLiberty11y

After you get a haircut you like, get a friend to take a picture of you from all four sides (and top, I suppose) with your phone. In future haircuts, show it to the stylist.

[-][anonymous]12y90

Start saving extra money while you are young.

[-]RomeoStevens12y170

I disagree with this one if you mean in the sense that "compound interest will make you rich!" meme. If you mean in terms of having emergency funds and or saving for shorter term freedom (being able to quit your 9-5 temporarily if an opportunity you want to pursue comes up) I agree.

[-]Viliam_Bur12y260

Maybe the saved money itself during youth is not as important as starting a good habit. Then when you start making decent money, you already have a habit of saving them, and you are already familiar with how it works (you don't have an "ugh" field about money and saving).

[-]RomeoStevens12y110

strongly agree. I get a lot of mileage out of the rule of thumb "keep your lifestyle expenses a pay raise or two behind you."

0A1987dM12y

I agree -- though there have been times when I was more frugal than in retrospect I wish I had been.

1MileyCyrus12y

What's the problem with the "compound interest will make you rich" meme? Is it inflation?

[-]Swimmy12y140

Compound interest gains most of its power when large amounts have been saved. So if you don't make much money, compound interest simply won't make you rich, you won't be able to save enough (though you can still have a decent retirement). If you make a lot, it doesn't matter as much anyway. If you're middle class and willing to save half your income, then it might make you rich, but that is a painful 30-40 years. Explore the graphs and savings calculator here for examples of what you would need to do to have a million by 60.

7tut12y

Mostly that life is too short and interest too low for that to really happen before you die.

2A1987dM12y

I think that meme originated in a time when interest rates were a lot higher than today.

7A1987dM12y

I have seen people argue for the reverse, on the grounds that the money you'll save while in your n-th job (for small n at least) will likely be negligible compared to the money you'll make when in your (n + 1)-th (or is it (n + 1)-st?) job.

5Viliam_Bur12y

This worked for me before I was 30; later my income stopped raising quickly. I admit this could be because I made a few stupid choices. But I think that for most people their incomes stop raising rapidly at some age. Is there a rule of thumb which would work well for both situations? For example "always save x% of what you made N years ago"? ... Oops, that is exactly the opposite of what this article suggests. A smart seeming advice, which no one would ever use in their real life.

0A1987dM12y

I had taken “young” in Trevor_Blake's comment to mean “in your twenties”.

0Viliam_Bur12y

Then I agree. I just didn't see that word used in your response, so I misunderstood it to be without time limits. (By the way, most people seem to use the word "young" meaning "age <= my_age" or later "age < my_age". Just ask a teenager whether twenties is young or old. Then ask a 50 years old person whether thirties were young or old. So an advice based on "while you are young" has very high potential to be misunderstood.)

0A1987dM12y

(That was what the “for small n at least” part was for.)

[-]Elithrion12y90

In certain classes of cases*, the best way to find out answers to your questions is to ask them (rather than doing your own investigation).

Not sure if that's borderline punchy.

8wedrifid12y

5Matt_Simpson12y

You're right - and I think this is a common failure mode of the population at large, but my most common failure mode is not finding something in a quick google search then failing to just ask someone else who probably knows while either wasting too much time searching or giving up. At the risk of the typical mind fallacy, perhaps this is the most common failure mode of the average LW member as well. If the grandparent could somehow be changed to target people like me better, I think that would improve it the most.

2Elithrion12y

Okay, well, edited it to be a lot more specific at the cost of punchiness, which I suppose was pretty much the point.

0[anonymous]12y

Before devoting any time to personal investigation or asking others, google the question. This works even more often than you'd expect.

0Qiaochu_Yuan12y

Not sure if I understand the difference. Doing your own research is another kind of asking (e.g. asking the internet). Do you mean asking a domain expert?

[-]fubarobfusco12y340

Sometimes people are willing to spend hours privately researching something — in an intellectually unrewarding and tiring state of incomprehension — when by simply asking an appropriate friend, coworker, or forum they could get a clear and explanatory answer that would much better serve their needs. Scholarship is a virtue, but wasting time and energy is not.

In technical workplaces, this is especially a problem when people think they shouldn't ask for help, out of fear of admitting ignorance. Some folks will spend hours struggling with bad, inadequate, incorrect documentation and beating themselves up over it, for the sake of avoiding admitting to their coworker that they're not quite sure what the third argument to that function is supposed to be.

3NancyLebovitz12y

Any suggestions for best forums for questions that don't have obvious places to ask? I've been happy with ask.metafilter.com, but I haven't used it lately.

3ChristianKl12y

If your answer fits any of the categories of Stackexchange that's usually a good place for a question.

2fubarobfusco12y

Reddit has a number of these, e.g. /r/askscience for general science explanations, /r/answers for "everything you ever wanted to know about anything but were afraid to ask." There are other specific Q&A subreddits for history, social science, and estimation of unusual quantities.

1buybuydandavis12y

This is probably the biggest waste of time in tech. Who knows what isn't identified and properly leveraged. People are punished for saving time by seeking direction of those who know better (they don't know their jobs), and those who know better aren't rewarded for the work they save others.

9The Dao of Bayes12y

On the other hand, you also have the problem of people who will ask questions that could be answered in a 1-minute Google search or by reading the documentation, thus breaking the flow of the senior programmer and wasting 30 minutes of their time. It does go both ways. My personal policy is to spend 5-10 minutes searching if I'd be interrupting someone's concentration.

[-]Stabilizer12y80

Before heading to the gym for a workout, plan out your workout in detail (what exercises, in what order, how many sets, how many reps) and preferably carry a piece of paper with the workout written on it. This leads you to getting more done in less time. But more importantly, this prevents decision fatigue from draining your willpower; and you need willpower in large quantities to finish your workout.

0FiftyTwo12y

Apps like fitocracy allow you to copy/paste workouts to make this easier

[-]OrphanWilde12y80

Bring your coat - but don't wear it. Being cold burns calories and improves circulation.

On that note, does anybody have any boring advice for cold-weather exercise? I can jog in 110 degree, 100% humidity weather, no problem. I grew up in the swampy parts of Texas. Heat and humidity are no problem for me. But jogging in cold weather - < 60 Fahrenheit - is killer; my throat feels like I'm swallowing jagged chunks of ice.

2AlexSchell12y

Re: jogging in cold weather -- throw in some nasal breathing (~10-15% of breaths) and take periodic short breaks during which you just walk (every 1 mile or so).

1Decius12y

Breathe primarily in and out of your nose; anecdotally that helps keep your lungs from drying out due to the low dewpoint. Also, drink enough water to pass clear urine four times a day to recover moisture loss (also due to low dewpoint)

0Dues8y

Put a scarf or neck warmer over your mouth. Your throat will thank you. If that's too warm, you can use one of those little medical masks or chew a piece of gum.

[-][anonymous]12y80

If you are feeling just a little sick, do not go to work. Apply for sick leave and stay home. Not only will you recover more quickly by getting more rest, you also protect your colleagues from getting infected.

[-]Desrtopa12y120

I think the usefulness of this advice depends on the person receiving it. For some people, this translates to

"If you can muster up even a little excuse not to go to work, don't go."

1Decius12y

If they are adult about whether they would rather attend work reliably and receive the benefits which do accrue or not, it remains good advice even if they discount future paychecks more than skiving today. Granted, that group has some confusing personal issues and probably inconsistent values.

[-][anonymous]12y70

6ThrustVectoring12y

Getting a bidet is better as far as pampering your sensitive regions goes. Especially if you easily get hemorrhoids.

-2OrphanWilde12y

Wipe back to front, rather than front to back. Yes, it's more awkward. It's also more effective and requires less toilet paper, and fewer strokes.

[-]The Dao of Bayes12y170

Downvoted: This is potentially harmful advice if you have a vagina.

The majority of cases of cystitis or urethritis are from E. coli, the normal flora that lives in your gastrointestinal tract. This helps you digest your food, but if you wipe from back to front you risk smearing it to your urethral meatus (pee hole). Then the bacteria get into a sterile environment [your pee hole] and cause a UTI. This was traditionally taught in medical school to be "Honeymoon cystitis" as many women would get UTIs after their vigorous honeymoon weekend and come back with this normal infection. Maybe we see less of this these days with premarital sex and living together.

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5805108/which-direction-should-i-wipe

0Shmi12y

And the rest of the article says that there is no conclusive evidence either way.

5The Dao of Bayes12y

That feels a bit mis-representatative: There's no conclusive evidence, but there is weak evidence in favor. The first doctor says it doesn't matter, the second says it does, and the three linked studies say (mildly harmful, no effect, no effect), with small sample sizes. The first doctor also explicitly states that he'd still wipe front-to-back if he were female! I'd call that weak evidence towards harm, i.e. this is potentially harmful advice.

[-]maia12y100

I'm told this is unhygienic, because there are bacteria that you don't want to move from back to front. This may only apply to females, though.

3wedrifid12y

I'm boggling. There are people who wipe front to back? That never even occurred to me. (And so) imagining that way now seems more awkward, not less.

3The Dao of Bayes12y

Like maia said, females get told this is unhygienic. Not the first time I've seen advice-specific-to-one-gender generalized to another, especially since OrphanWilde is generalizing the other way in recommending back-to-front :)

2OrphanWilde12y

I'm honestly not sure what percentage of the population does what. It's one of those pieces of information that gets completely uncommunicated in our culture. ...so tempted to start a poll... but no.

0satt12y

Maybe we could ask Andrex to run one!

1FiftyTwo12y

I don't think I wipe in any consistent direction or pattern. But now I will be very self conscious next time I do so,

[-]lsparrish12y70

You can get soluble fiber (for example, dextrin, which is long indigestible chains of glucose) from the store. So if you aren't eating enough fiber due to how inconvenient vegetables are, you can start with this. It will make you thirstier, less hungry, and more regular. It also seems to improve blood sugar levels. The popular brand for dextrin is Benefiber, however I have only tried WinCo's version, Qualifiber. I paid $5 for 38 servings of 3.5 grams, which are 1/3 a daily supply at full strength.

Note: Fiber intake should be increased gradually, and with ... (read more)

[-]RomeoStevens12y130

AFAIK, the evidence that fiber is good for you independent of increased fruit and vegetable intake is poor.

3OrphanWilde12y

Whether or not it's good for me in and of itself, adding fiber to my protein shakes eliminated the desire to snack. Although it definitely decreased my desire to consume the protein shakes, as well... I'm currently rewarding myself with a cigarette each time I drink one to try to train myself.

3RomeoStevens12y

ah I hadn't taken satiety into consideration. It is indeed useful for this, and there doesn't seem to be any detrimental health effects.

[-]taryneast10y60

Budget some money each month towards substantially improving your life.

Look for the best, lowest hanging fruit (ie objects, classes and experiences that will have the most impact per dollar spent)

Ask others to recommend things - so you don't just think of the things you already know about.

Note: I've set up a page to collect these ideas here: http://lesswrong.com/lw/li4/low_hanging_fruit_for_buying_a_better_life/

[-]Rukifellth12y60

Read literature with an old writing style, especially if you dislike said writing style. The more opaque and complicated, the better.

I find that I'm a very fidgety reader, unconsciously skipping words, or even whole sentences, skimming over words I don't actually know the meaning of, and failing to connect the context of words that I do know the meaning of with the rest of the narrative or lecture. This I do with both literature and more importantly, when reading science. I've decided to read At The Mountains of Madness and penalize myself for every time... (read more)

0glennonymous10y

Proust's In Search of Lost Time, with its famously long and complicated sentences that often take four or five reads to parse, is great for this. As a bonus, it's Great.

-2[anonymous]10y

...and sometimes, those old books will surprise you in a good way. I'm struggling through W. Scott's 'Waverley', and there's a Lady who was in danger from a hidden Enemy. Unfortunately, even though he is known to the Good Guy, accusing him of ill intent is politically unwise, so the Good Guy conceals himself and 'stalks' the Lady as a peasant, ... She is bewildered, but doesn't tell anyone because they would think her given to fancy. He saves her life as a forester, and she sees divine intervention in this and prepares to enter a convent. (She is thought to lose her mind when she tells her observations.) He then reveals himself, she UPDATES her beliefs and they [probably] marry. A Bayesian happy end! How cool is that?

[-]Benya12y60

As a pedestrian or cyclist, you're not all that easy to see from a car at night, worse if you don't wear white. High-visibility vests (that thing that construction workers wear, yellow or orange with reflective stripes) fix the problem and cost around $7-$8 from Amazon including shipping, or £3 in the UK.

04hodmt10y

Less than £2 on eBay. I bought mine for 99p including postage, but I can't find any for that price now.

[-]Larks12y60

Don't get arrested.

2Bugmaster12y

IMO this sentence is too general to constitute useful advice. It's like saying, "don't get killed". Well, yeah, that's a good idea, but how do you actually implement it into practice ?

[-]RomeoStevens12y110

Try very hard to avoid doing two illegal things at the same time (and if you go to 3 you're just asking for it). This is one of the biggest ways people get caught.

0Larks12y

Avoid committing crimes, especially near police. I think the people already know this though.

5Bugmaster12y

In most countries, including the USA, it is prohibitively difficult to completely avoid committing crimes. For example, you commit a crime whenever you: * Drive over the speed limit * Sing "Happy Birthday" to someone * Watch a movie at home with friends (depending on the media) * Make off-color jokes in public * Drink alcohol (depending on location) * Post certain kinds of jokes on Twitter * Create software of almost any kind Most of the laws that define such actions as crimes are rarely enforced here in the USA -- until you happen to draw an attention of some moderately powerful person or entity, at which point the enforcement kicks in. However, it would be difficult (though not, I suppose, impossible) to lead a normal life without committing any such minor crimes.

7asparisi12y

Technical note: some of these are Torts, not Crimes. (Singing Happy Birthday, Watching a Movie, or making an Off-Color Joke are not crimes, barring special circumstances, but they may well be Torts.)

1A1987dM12y

I'd remove the comma and “especially”. Why the hell would I refrain from (say) infringing copyright if I had a snowball's chance in hell of getting caught? (unless I thought infringing copyright was bad in itself -- but in that case I wouldn't need to be told to avoid doing that)

3Larks12y

Many people get arrested for committing crimes not in the immediate proximity of police. While obviously we can complicate the advice to an arbitrarily with epicycles to deal with edge cases, I think simple advice is best. If you know enough to construct edge cases you don't need to ask questions like "how does one avoid getting arrested?" in the first place.

[-]Richard_Kennaway12y60

Don't get involved with crazy people.

[-]fubarobfusco12y230

Don't get in a committed relationship with someone who is cheating on their current partner(s) to be with you.

(I learned this one from Tom Sawyer.)

2MixedNuts12y

If you're crazy, prefer getting involved with crazy people and sane people who know how to deal with your kind of crazy to getting involved with well-meaning but naive sane people. And don't get involved with people who don't want to get involved with crazy people, even if you can fake long enough to fool them.

0A1987dM12y

Crazy/sane in terms of literal psychiatric health, of rationality, or of conformism?

0MixedNuts12y

I meant the first, but I suppose it applies to the other two. I don't actually know which kind "Don't stick your dick in crazy" is meant to apply to.

[-]RomeoStevens12y60

Supplementing potassium has a large effect on mental performance for some people, it's cheap and easy enough to be quite worth trying. Personally I add a few grams of KCl (nusalt) to a drink.

7Alex_Altair12y

What is the actual evidence for this? I've only heard gwern say that Kevin said it was good. Google thinks it's for everything but mental performance.

2Qiaochu_Yuan12y

You'll find various anecdotes from other LWers by googling "potassium lesswrong." I've heard something to the effect that AnnaSalamon is essentially a different person on potassium.

1NancyLebovitz12y

Is there any reason to not take potassium in capsules?

6RomeoStevens12y

potassium capsules come in a maximum size of 99mg due to federal law.

-1OrphanWilde12y

Note: Potassium supplements can be next-to-impossible to find. Seriously, I've tried. In three different states. The internet is your friend. Also note: Potassium is fat-soluble (which means, among other things, your body does a -terrible- job of regulating its intake, unlike most other vitamins which will pass through your digestive system unabsorbed if you already have sufficient levels), and dangerous to overdose on. There are treatments if it's caught - essentially, rat poison - but they're not particularly pleasant. Be very careful with the stuff.

9Caerbannog12y

I think it's possible you're conflating potassium (element symbol K) with vitamin K. Vitamin K and warfarin (rat poison) are antagonists. Potassium (as chloride) is quite soluble in water, is prevalent in blood, and is primarily regulated by the kidneys.

4AlexSchell12y

Everything in the second paragraph (except hyperkalemia being dangerous) rings false to me. Potassium ions are water-soluble, vitamin levels are regulated mostly by modulating excretion rather than absorption (pretty sure), and nothing rat-poison-like (warfarin?) is commonly used to treat hyperkalemia. ETA: Caerbannog has a very plausible hypothesis that you're confusing vitamin K for potassium. If so you should retract your posts on the topic.

2OrphanWilde12y

Caerbannog is correct.

4RomeoStevens12y

huh? "for a person with normal kidney function and normal elimination (see above), hyperkalemia by potassium intake would be seen only with large infusions of KCl" From looking around it seems the RDA is 4800mg and the average person gets about half that from diet. I agree one shouldn't be supplementing 5 grams a day, but 1-2 grams (~2-4 grams KCL) seems well well within safety tolerance.

1OrphanWilde12y

For one-time doses, yes, otherwise salmon would be regarded as toxic. For continual dosage, not so much. The kidneys can excrete potassium. The liver can process alcohol. That's not to say it's wise to consume large amounts of either; and long-term potassium exposure has been associated with reduced kidney function (note: the evidence definitely suggests renal failure causes high potassium exposure; AFAIK the reverse causation is largely theoretical at this point). Also note that kidney function can be impaired just by not drinking enough water. I'm not saying don't take it. Although 1-2 grams a day is pushing it -well- into the "You should consult a doctor before doing this" category. I'm saying be really careful when you take it. It's not something somebody should do without research. The issue with supplements is that they don't replace anything you eat. And when somebody does something silly like eat six pounds of salmon in a day, with your supplement level, they're at risk of harming themselves. [Edit: In point of fact, your post reminded me to order some potassium, which I've been meaning to do but haven't gotten around to. I would just prefer a disclaimer on there about being careful with it.]

3RomeoStevens12y

Everything I see in a quick search on google scholar says that healthy adults excrete extra and there is no established upper limit, this implies the upper limit is far enough away that almost no one ever hits it. One data point: One banana contains 400+ mg of potassium and no one has had potassium related issues on a 30 bananas a day (12,000mg) diet.

2OrphanWilde12y

I've been conflating potassium and vitamin K, apparently. Go me!

0RomeoStevens12y

at least your caution didn't go the other way!

2The Dao of Bayes12y

If I eat 1 banana per day, every day, I will get horrible leg cramps within a week. I really like bananas, so I've spent a lot of time testing this, although it's hardly a double-blind high-sample-size study.

2AlexSchell12y

That's surprising. Muscle cramps are a symptom of hypokalemia (low potassium). Hyperkalemia is usually asymptomatic until you have heart beat irregularities. Also, based on the renal excretion of potassium, I would expect it doesn't accumulate much, and it would probably reach equilibrium in much less than a week, in a person with normal kidney function.

0Douglas_Knight12y

To determine whether the problem with bananas is potassium, try other sources, eg, eat a potato every day. or KCl.

2AlexSchell12y

Can you cite any sources for these concerns? From what I can tell the hypothesis that potassium intake around the RDA will cause renal damage in the long term doesn't have much evidence to single it out for worry.

0OrphanWilde12y

I've been conflating vitamin K and potassium. (Teach me to go on memory.) Fat-soluble vitamins (like vitamin K, and apparently unlike potassium) have long-term exposure health risks - they aren't effectively regulated in the digestive system, and they build up in the body to potentially dangerous levels.

[-]Crux12y60

If you have trouble getting into an exercise routine, try this. Join a gym, and go every single day and do the same exact thing every time. For a lot of people, doing something every day is a lot easier than coming up with a schedule that changes depending on the day, especially if one of the changes is 'do nothing on Sunday' (recipe for doing nothing on Monday too, and then forgetting about the whole thing).

What I do is this. I wake up to my alarm, and then I immediately go eat a light breakfast, and then head to the gym. Once at the gym I stretch for lik... (read more)

[-]RomeoStevens12y100

As per user Wedrifid you can try sucking on a nicotine lozenge while you do the exercise.

5Matt_Simpson12y

This honestly made me smile in a "man do I love LW" sort of way.

1OrphanWilde12y

I started that this month, actually. I don't know if it's because I'm excited about the experiment, or because the experiment is working, or just plain placebo, but I'm a lot more revved up to go work out.

1Viliam_Bur12y

Even if you exercise at home, do the same exact thing every time. (Deciding what exercise you want to make, and how much you want to make, already consumes willpower.)

[-]sumguysr10y50

If you routinely lose things behind the same piece of furniture either move it closer to the wall or block that space, or move it further from the wall to make retrieval easier.

[-]RolfAndreassen10y50

Invest at least 10% of your after-tax income, each month, in a Vanguard index fund. Do not buy individual stocks, nor any actively managed index fund, nor any fund with an expense ratio over 0.5%. If you absolutely must pick stocks, and I admit that I am not blind to the attraction, use a fee-free broker such as Loyal3, and don't count this towards your 10% - use play money for active investing.

If you are looking at your latest paycheck and finding it hard to see where you're going to cut to be able to put 10% into investments, precommit now to starting t... (read more)

[-]Error11y50

(By request)

Shower-drying optimization:

Leave the bathroom door open and the shower curtain partway pulled so humidity doesn't collect in the room. Have an oversized bath sheet in reach (you can get good ones at Costco). When you're done showering, towel-dry hair, then the rest of you, then comb your hair so it doesn't stick. Without humidity in the room, you don't keep sweating so you don't feel clammy. You can get dressed immediately if you're pressed for time. If you're like me and hate putting dry clothes on damp skin, find something you can do for ~15... (read more)

[-]TsviBT12y50

(Fat free) yogurt is cheap, tasty, healthy, lasts a long time in the fridge, and requires no preparation and only one utensil.

In addition to budgeting time, budget mental energy. Cooking may take a bit of time, but it doesn't take much mental energy once you've done it a few times. If you have a bunch of chores to do, don't batch them up completely; batch them into chunks and use those chunks as mental breaks. Just because cleaning isn't fun, doesn't mean it is as mentally draining as learning mathematics. (Too punchy?)

1AlexSchell12y

How, if at all, does fatty yogurt differ?

4RomeoStevens12y

the fat contains the fat soluble vitamins.

0Sabiola12y

Ànd it's tastier, too (IMO, of course).

1Randy_M12y

Health benefits a bit mixed, but it does make a quick breakfast.

0TsviBT12y

Can you be more specific? I didn't do any research, it's just low sodium, high protein, high potassium.

7Randy_M12y

Often times low fat is compensated by high sugar, and some argue that the saturated dairy fat isn't as bad for you as it is made out to be. I'd go for full fat yogurt with some nuts and berries thrown on top, but I understand the paleo view of sat fat is counter-establishment.

3pinyaka12y

This is an excellent dessert.

[-]MaryCh8y40

My kid has recently decided he's into meteorology. First, he just walked around with scribblings of "+5, -11" and hummed a weather forecast theme. This got boring for everybody else, so we explained to him that 'weather' happens in some places, and people watch it for explicit purposes of deciding some matters, not for sheer cuteness. (I don't think he believed me on that one.)

So now we make 'forecasts' - several for Ukraine (first the video, then the sound, for 25 cities or for north-south-center-west-east), Earth ('Australiaaa... thirty-six de... (read more)

[-]James_Miller12y40

Call your cable company to try to negotiate a better rate.

7CarlShulman12y

Which works better if you a) check out the competition from the phone company to get a competing offer or b) call the "cancel my service line" which is empowered to give extra deals. Here is a random article with some further tips along these lines.

[-]MixedNuts12y40

If you want to stop taking prescription meds and they're cheap enough, keep buying them and stockpile.

(Source: Burninate)

3wedrifid12y

Why?

[-]gwern12y110

So you can sell them on Silk Road?

6MixedNuts12y

I was thinking in case you need them again, to avoid the cost of convincing a doctor to prescribe them anew, but that too.

2David Althaus12y

Or ask for a higher dosage than you need, split the pills in half and stockpile.

4MixedNuts12y

Make sure the pills can be split, if you do that.

-2David Althaus12y

Every pill can be split. Use your teeth or a knife if necessary ;) In the case of capsules filled with powder the procedure will be a bit more annoying, but still manageable. Of course, these methods could lead to an increased rate of absorption, so be cautious.

4MixedNuts12y

If a pill isn't designed to be split, it means the manufacturer thinks it's unsafe to split. The manufacturer has expertise you should usually defer to. In particular, don't split bupropion unless you want a seizure.

0David Althaus12y

Life is dangerous. Of course you should search the internet before you try something new. Funny, you should mention bupropion. I actually prefer splitting bupropion pills and chewing them a bit since the faster absorption-rate and thereby shorter action time allows me to sleep better. However, I only take 150mg.

0MixedNuts12y

...got tips or links on that? I'm thinking of doing that on top of my usual extended release intake, possibly in combination with other occasional-use meds such as alcohol.

0David Althaus12y

I don't know, I just bite them approximately in half and chew them...

0MixedNuts12y

Important info you didn't mention: the thing tastes bitter and horrendous.

2David Althaus12y

Oh yeah, sorry about that. I guess my gustatory sense isn't that sensitive anymore ;)

[-]therufs12y40

If you are having trouble finishing tasks on a task list, make a task schedule.

[-]Gunnar_Zarncke12y30

Reduce routine shopping time by

Make a list of items you shop all the time
Shop at a fixed schedule e.g. every tuesday, every 4 weeks, every first tuesday of the week.
Shop the items in a fixed order (possibly matched on you list). Note: Most stores change the order almost never and the order is part of the customer retention program, so you should be aware that this will bind you to the store.
Choose a weekday and time where the supermarket is mostly empty (e.g. in the morning instead of on saturday or in the evening when it may be crowded)
Do the s

... (read more)

[-]peirce12y30

Make commitment contracts for anything important (works best for long term things). Commitment contracts (beeminder.com stickk.com) have basically solved 90% of motivational problems. The more important something is and the lower the initial expectancy of you actually doing it, the bigger contract you make. for example, if you really need to study for an exam, but you know that in this past you have always intended to study for exams but ended up doing nothing, then put a lot of money on yourself doing it. Be wary if there is ever something important that you do not want to make a commitment contract for, as if you actually expect to do it, then making the contract should pose no problem, as you will be unlikely to lose any money.

3Qiaochu_Yuan12y

Good advice, but not boring enough! Beeminder is exciting and shiny!

[-]CharlesR12y30

If you type a lot, buy a mechanical keyboard.

3PECOS-912y

Also, buy one without a number pad so that you can put your mouse in a reasonable location. Normal keyboards are too wide.

0[anonymous]12y

Second this. Used to have huge Logitech keyboard. Couple of months ago bought Microsoft one, and absence of num pad is so good.

[-]Decius12y30

Don't use 'dimmable' LED lights.

7The Dao of Bayes12y

Why?

8Decius12y

The mechanism of dimming is to strobe. Professionals claim that it is imperceptible, and it indeed can't be noticed consciously. However, it becomes painfully obvious when looking at a moving object. Get a bulb of the appropriate brightness and use it.

0The Dao of Bayes12y

I'm fairly sensitive to strobing and I've never noticed that from the strip of LED lights I have. But it also has multiple LEDs (at least 6, 2 each of RGB), so perhaps it's just a different design?

0Decius12y

Are they dimmable or multiway? Does the dimmer switch control the number of diodes illuminated?

2The Dao of Bayes12y

The dimmer switch does indeed control the number of diodes (as well as the RGB balance)

[-]A1987dM12y30

META: There is a good reason to assume that an punchy-sounding piece of advice will be more useful than a boring-sounding piece of advice: all other things being equal, the listener is usually more likely to have already heard the latter than the former. (Of course, “more likely” != “sure”, and also people often do forget advice they've already heard, so it's not like boring advice is always useful; but the tone of this post appears to imply that punchyness and usefulness are not in fact positively correlated.)

7[anonymous]12y

Perhaps we should try to convey useful advice in punchy ways to make them more memorable, and to encourage people to spread them. Aphorisms are probably very popular and widely shared because they convey information which readers likely already know, but which hitherto had never been shared in such a witty, laconic way. Reading an aphorism prompts you to think, "Wow, this is true, and it is so eloquently expressed -- funny how I didn't think of saying it like this." People tend to remember aphorisms better for that reason, and they also tend to share aphorisms more often with their friends, because they want to come across as witty themselves.

4maia12y

Wait, people are more likely to have heard boring advice than punchy advice? Why do you say that? I would have assumed the opposite (punchy advice is more interesting and therefore more likely to be repeated).

-1A1987dM12y

If few people have ever heard a given piece of advice, it doesn't sound boring in the first place, does it?

2maia12y

So you're saying "advice people have heard before is boring," not "boring advice is likely to have been heard before"?

0A1987dM12y

Yes, mostly.

[-]Estarlio12y20

Buying a good microphone and some decent voice recognition software and learning to speak so that the computer can understand you can potentially save you a lot of time if you do a fair amount of prose-style text input.

[-][anonymous]12y20

If you're sad and lonely and hungry and cold and tired and sore and naked and sitting alone in a dark room doing nothing, then get up and put on clothes and eat food and talk to people.

[This comment is no longer endorsed by its author]Reply

[-][anonymous]12y20

Better than treating others as you would like to be treated is to treat them as they would like to be treated (insofar as doing so is within your means).

[-]John_Maxwell11y10

If you want to live longer, consider reading this post on high-impact ways to lead a healthier lifestyle by RomeoStevens.

[-]Benya12y10

You should frequently change your passwords, use strong passwords, and not use the same password for multiple services (only one point of failure where all your passwords get compromised rather than every such service being a point of failure). It's not easy to live up to this in practice, but there are approximations that are much easier:

Using a password manager is better than using the same password for lots of services. Clipperz is a web service that does the encryption on your computer (so your passwords never get sent to the server), and can be inst

... (read more)

2[anonymous]12y

... or you can just store your KeePass database in Google Drive.

1lsparrish12y

You can generate a very strong passphrase with Diceware. Physical dice are more secure than almost any electronic device, and dictionary words let you memorize the randomness very efficiently. This can then be used with KeePass or some other password manager. Also useful for brainwallets and other kinds of data where offline attacks are likely.

-1PECOS-912y

I like the approach of password recipes to have a unique password for each service without needing to memorize very much.

2A1987dM12y

“Furthermore, your unique password should not contain any word in any language.” -- ahem...

1PECOS-912y

The purpose of that suggestion is to protect against dictionary attacks. Agreed that the advice "should not contain any word in any language" is overly strict (better advice would be "should not simply be one or two words in some language"). Regardless, password recipes are a solution for the problem of coming up with a different password for different services. Even using the technique in the comic to remember phrases like "correct horse battery staple", it would be difficult to remember a different password for dozens of services compared to just remembering a single password recipe.

[-]roland12y10

As a man, don't get married unless she is very rich.

As a woman, get married if the law is on your side(which it generally is in most western countries) and if the man has enough financial resources.

[This comment is no longer endorsed by its author]Reply

1MileyCyrus12y

Please delete this comment and don't bring up the subject again. Or if you must, bring up the subject only in the Politics Open Thread.

[-]RomeoStevens12y130

While the way it is phrased here is politically inflammatory, the general piece of advice "be cautious about entering contracts even if your peer group seems blase about them" is probably good.

[-]OrphanWilde12y10

Try using nonstandard razors.

I tried a traditional straight-edge - my experience is that it's too much bloody work just to keep the thing in working order. Also, a wet strop is a ruined strop, in an environment in which it's likely to get wet - not workable if you share bathroom space with other people who may not be as careful of your stuff as you are. Or animals who think it makes a nice chew/scratching toy.

However, you can find straight edge razors which accept single-edge razor blades (the cheap replaceable kind), and also safety razors in either the... (read more)

0RomeoStevens12y

My best shave comes from the disposable single blade old fashioned razors. you can't get them in most stores but you can get them just as cheap as other disposables online. Bic makes some called Bic Metal. i find they do a better job for me than even the laser cut japanese feather DE razors.

[-][anonymous]9y00

For parents who have trouble making the kids go to bed on time, like I do myself:

These past two nights, I lured the kid into bed with "Aurora Borealis" made with three really garish coloured rhinestones and a small flash-light (and with a plate of water & a plate of water and vegetable oil, since I was curious about how the images would change). Put the rhinestones on the floor or into the plate (they float between water and oil, but if you press on them, they sink) and direct light onto them (swishing them around, holding the light closer or... (read more)

[-][anonymous]9y00

For meat-eaters, even a small plant in the kitchen can be a place to pour off juices from thawed meat. Plant gets nutrients, environment gets less eutrophication.

[-]hg0010y00

Advice for if you don't want to go bald.

[-]Error10y00

Two boring items of cooking interest:

On cracking eggs: There's a thin membrane on the inside of an egg's shell. When you crack an egg, you're actually aiming to break that membrane. If you crack the shell but the membrane's still intact, the egg won't split cleanly and most likely you will get shell pieces in your food. Figuring this out reduced my shell-in-food mishaps by something like 80%.

On butter: Real butter (the kind that comes in sticks) is meant to be kept at room temperature when you're going to use it. It lasts a week or more that way in a butte... (read more)

04hodmt10y

Butter is meant to be kept at room temperature only if you're going to use it as a spread. If you mostly use it as an ingredient, or for flavoring vegetables, it's better to keep it refridgerated.

[-]sumguysr10y00

When placing multiple identical items in a fridge, or most other storage, always make room and place them in a row from front to back, so that you always reach for the freshest or open one from the same place.

[-]Gunnar_Zarncke11y00

How To Survive A Death March (as in 80 hour work week).

[-]glennonymous10y-10

Read the Boring Advice Less Wrong thread periodically and do what it says.

[-]jklsemicolon12y-10

Don't be evil.

3The Dao of Bayes12y

Downvoted for being deep/punchy instead of practical.

2jklsemicolon12y

It is neither deep (enigmatic or inferentially distant) nor punchy (counterintuitive or contradicting received wisdom). If anything it's too obvious. (By contrast, if I said "Be evil", now that would be deep/punchy.) It was meant as a companion to this.

[-][anonymous]12y-30

Do not take excessively long, frequent and hot showers.

[-]falenas10812y100

This article doesn't back up what it claims. The evidence:

“The results suggest that recreational swimming can induce significant modifications in some skin biophysical properties related to skin hydration.” This abstract, "Variations of skin biophysical properties after recreational swimming," was published this month as a full paper in Skin Research and Technology.
In this article, Sophie Gardinier et al. describe a study where skin hydration, skin pH, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin temperature and sebum casual levels were measured at 0, 4, 24, 48 and 72 hr after the start of the study. The study was repeated a second time but after the subjects had been swimming for 1 hr between the first and second measuring point. During the control period, none of the skin parameters showed any significant variation over time on all body sites that were measured. In contrast, during the swimming period, significant changes were found 1.5 hr after swimming for skin pH (increased) and sebum casual levels (reduced on upper chest but not on the forehead), while TEWL and skin temperature remained unaffected. From the next measuring point (t = 24 hr) onwards, all changes had disa

... (read more)

0[anonymous]12y

Thank you for doing the research. Much appreciated. This might be a better link.

0falenas10812y

So, I still don't see a citation to a study in that article. Based on anecdotal evidence, I would agree that hot showers tend to result in drier skin, but it would be good to link to a study, rather than an news article reporting on something.

[+]Larks12y-50

[+]metatroll12y-90

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