This is a linkpost for https://markxu.com/if-you-weren't
My friend Buck once told me that he often had interactions with me that felt like I was saying “If you weren’t such a fucking idiot, you would obviously do…” Here’s a list of such advice in that spirit.
Note that if you do/don’t do these things, I’m technically calling you an idiot, but I do/don’t do a bunch of them too. We can be idiots together.
If you weren’t such a fucking idiot…
- You would have multiple copies of any object that would make you sad if you didn’t have it
- Examples: ear plugs, melatonin, eye masks, hats, sun glasses, various foods, possibly computers, etc.
- You would spend money on goods and services.
- Examples of goods: faster computer, monitor, keyboard, various tasty foods, higher quality clothing, standing desk, decorations for your room, mattress, pillow, sheets, etc.
- Examples of services: uber, doordash, cleaners, personal assistants, editors, house managers, laundry, etc.
- You would have tried many things at least one time.
- Examples of things to do: climbing, singing, listening to music, playing instruments, dancing, eating various types of food, writing, parties.
- You wouldn’t do anything absurdly dangerous, like take unknown drugs or ride a bike without a helmet.
- You wouldn’t take irreversible actions if you didn’t know what the fuck you were doing.
- You would exercise frequently.
- Types of exercise to try: climbing, walking, running, soccer, football, yoga, hiking, fencing, swimming, wrestling, beat saber, etc.
- You would reliably sleep 6-9 hours a night.
- Obvious things to try:
- melatonin
- blackout curtains
- putting black tape over LEDs on electronics
- experimenting with mattress, pillow, blankets, sheets, etc.
- blue light blocking glasses
- You would routinely look up key numbers and do numerical consistency checks during thinking.
- You would have a password manager.
- You would invest money in yourself.
- Recall: money can be used to buy goods and services.
- You would use a email’s subject line to succinctly describe what you want from the person.
- For example, if I want to meet with my advisor, I’ll send an email with the subject “Request for Advisory Meeting” or something similar. If I want someone to read a draft of something I wrote, the subject would be “Request for Feedback on <Title>”.
- You would have a good mentor.
- One way to do this is to email people that you want to be your mentor with the subject “Request for Mentorship”.
- You would drink lots of water.
- You would take notes in a searchable database.
- You would summarize things that you read.
- You would have tried making your room as bright as the outdoors.
- You would carry batteries to recharge your phone.
- You would have tried using pens with multiple colors.
- You would read textbooks instead of popular introductions.
- You would put a relatively consistent dollar value on your time.
I’m sure there are more things that I tell people that can be prefaced with “if you weren’t such an idiot…”, but that’s all I got for now.
A post I like by @Mark Xu (who agreed to my crossposting in full).
Some more from me:
- You would make it easier to capture your thoughts.
- Examples: a pocket notebook, taking more voice notes
- You wouldn't keep all your money in your current account.
- You would get help when you were stuck.
Skipping showering is easy actually.
Caveat: people differ in body odor based on genetics, hormones, and armpit microbiome. I personally am privileged to not smell bad, therefore I don't shower until my skin or hair starts to feel icky (a few days).
I used to get dandruff a lot even back when I was showering daily. I saw r/HaircareScience saying sulfates and other chemicals in typical shampoos dry out the scalp and make it overcorrect by producing more oil. this matches my experience. Shampoo is like coffee; it creates dependency. Later, when I stopped showering daily, I did some experimentation and found that if I used shampoo, my scalp would actually feel worse the day after. So I just went cold turkey.
Now, my hair routine is: brush it every morning, use normal conditioner every time I shower, and use clarifying conditioner if my hair feels icky.
I saw people on r/parkour talk about running barefoot, so I gave it a try. The impact hurt at first, but I focused on landing on my forefoot, I immediately learned the technique and honed it over a few runs. Then I was able to use this technique even while having my shoes on.
At the time, I reasoned that this skill would allow me to be prepared in scenarios where I was wearing high heels or something, because I had the option to take them off and run. Which is true but moot: now I prefer to wear shoes with a "zero drop" because they pack light, are cheap, and comfortable to me.
Walking strictly slower than running. Most things if done faster will give you more stress, but pure movement done fast both saves time and is healthy.
I tried to give up walking for Lent - except when inside or walking with a group of people, and I can walk when out of breath. Honestly I've forgotten to do this sometimes. But it's fun and I'm getting better.
I also don't have a sports bra, or any bras really because I've grown out of my old ones. This is definitely me being an idiot, but to cope I've discovered how to run with long gentle strides such that when the foot lands it loads the energy into the arc of my foot like a spring, using my leg and foot almost like a suspension, and this eliminates the jerky shockwave that would make my tits hurt. It's easier on the knees and saves energy I think, but harder on the achilles tendon probably? (I don't trust my biomechanical description here.)
warning that these things can have surprising tradeoffs. my energy-saving technique for descending stairs / slopes quickly also makes me more likely to slip, for instance, though I think I am better at catching myself than most people...