What is Something You Recommend (and why)?

Read Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It's about a psychiatrist's experience in Auschwitz, and helps with identifying purpose and finding meaning in life.

Try to be 1% better and whatever you're focusing on improving. It's manageable. It's realistic. It adds up.

Get lots of sleep, and exercise regularly.

Even if you're in a job you don't like, you'll still feel okay about life (serious depression issues aside).

Everything seems 10x worse when you're not sleeping well.

How do you sleep well? Get rid of your TV. Seriously, throw it out. You don't need it. Read a book that doesn't pertain to your career 30 minutes before you intend to go to sleep.

Conversely, for years I've followed the rule of watching fiction TV shortly before bed - this started when I was single and read research saying that you sleep better if you see human faces just before bed.

It seems to have worked.

I cannot recommend running enough. It's the best form of free therapy (well, after you buy proper shoes that is) on this planet. I don't run huge distances anymore (25+ km on weekends was regular, I've run two marathons, but now I stick to lifting mostly at the gym) but I've never gone on a run I've regret in a decade of doing it.

Very true, I always have a hard time getting out the door, but even when I come back panting, light-headed, and sweating like a mad man, I am always happy I did it and it really does make you energized(at least after the half hour or so it takes your body to get your energy level back up)

Wow, I don't find running leaves me energized. While I enjoy running (and especially long distance running), I find it leaves me drained and often depressed afterwards. I don't get the Runners High that so many mention, if anything I get Runners Low.

I generally enjoy the run and find it helps me lose weight in the long term, but I also find it saps my productivity because I feel so terrible & drained afterwards.

[Since my post is so negative, let me add a recommendation for an iPod Shuffle or Bose QC25s while running. I find the music helps me run 10 - 20% faster if I choose the right music, typically music by Pendulum.]

I try and practice mindfulness when I run, thinking about my breathing and steps, etc... I leave all my technology in my locker. A shuffle would be better than a phone, though. I've been considering one but I'm a big Spotify user. Sorry to hear about the post-run low :/

iPod + offline mode works for me :-)

On the topic of shoes, I recommend the Vibram Five Fingers, but there are some caveats involved. The main issue I have had is blisters (mainly on my big toe and the ball of my foot). For me wearing socks are a must (the injinji socks are great, but I found other toe socks at uniqlo that work just fine). Shoe size is a tricky thing, and some styles are definitely better than others in regards to comfort (I bought a pair I don't use at all because there is so much more friction on the areas where I get blisters). One of my feet is bigger than the other, and the general recommendation is to go with a snug fit, but on my bigger foot the big toe was poking into the end, and I feel like this messed up that foot a bit. I've since bought a pair of the larger size and I use my original pair on my smaller foot, and the new pair on only my bigger foot. Based on my experience too short is bad, and in general too large is probably bad because of the added friction.

Also, running barefoot style takes a lot of getting used to in regards to form. Keep your runs short at first so you can develop muscles that help you keep good form. Running in bad form exacerbates the blister issue and potentially can lead to other injuries. I've had some issues with my knee where the ilio-tibial band connects on the outside, but some stretches for that muscle have alleviated that issue, and my main limitation has been the blisters. As far as the blisters go, as long as I stick with a consistent running routine, don't overdo it and keep good form, they tend to be less of an issue. Also after having quite a few my skin has now started to toughen up. Combination of tough skin from healing a bunch of them, good form, and better shape and I think I will be able to run indefinitely without them being a problem.

The reason I switched to these shoes was because when I started running I would go through a $100+ pair of running shoes in less than a year. I would have problems with the cushioning in them becoming imbalanced, and a lot of pronation. This actually caused some legit injured feet for me and lots of foot pain that kept me out of running completely. Although there was the knee pain and the blisters with the five fingers, overall my feet feel great and the pain is nothing near what I had when I ran in regular shoes.

Learning to Cook - Alton Brown started me down the path of learning cooking from a science/chemistry point of view. After a year of on and off research I've been able to make meals from just things I find on sale over the weekend. It's almost like a puzzle. The pieces are all the food on sale (potatoes for $0.49 sign me up!) and the final product is full meals that I cook. (Plus always good way to impress another by cooking for them).

Monogatari (Anime Series) - It is a jumbled mess that is a jumpy as it is deep. If you don't want to see any fan service at all in your anime I would skip over this. If you don't mind that (or enjoy it) this is a great anime. It doesn't knock my favorite anime (Cowboy Bebop) off of my Number one slot, but this one is a great that I would wager will stand for the future. (Bakemonogatari is the first season).

Don't Panic - There's a reason it is written in big bold red letters on the universe's best selling book.

Google Play Music - my favorite music collection service. Same price as Spotify ($10/month), but with the bonus of being able to upload 50,000 of your own song files (for any oddball music you have that isn't in their collection) as well as YouTube Red. Generally less buggy and doesn't have Spotify's streak of weird/terrible software design choices. (there's a script for porting your playlists over from Spotify: https://github.com/rckclmbr/pyportify )

Tweetdeck - I'll bet a lot of people on HN already use it, but to any Twitter users still using twitter.com instead of Tweetdeck, I highly recommend giving it a shot. The abundance of information on screen will be overwhelming at first, but give it a day or two, and your brain figures out how to make sense of it and love it.

Pushbullet - Receive and write text messages from your PC via Chrome extension. Receive push notifications for just about anything. I combine it with IFTTT to receive alerts for RSS feeds of blogs and comics I like (my recipes if anyone's curious: https://ifttt.com/p/oxguy3/shared ).

If you're a nail biter, I can't recommend N-Acetyl Cysteine enough. I was a nail biter for my entire life - I don't think I'd used a clipper in over a few decades. On a recommendation I tried NAC and haven't bitten my nails since. I don't even take it anymore - after a few weeks the urge to bite never came back.

It was actually a key moment of enlightenment.

First, I realized how powerful, yet fragile habits can be. By forming habits, you can do things effortlessly for years on end without even thinking about it. At the same time, small interruptions can derail the behavior permanently.

And second, I realized that what we eat can influence our behavior in ways which are imperceptible. When I took NAC, I didn't feel any different - I just didn't bite my nails. It got me thinking that I should be more careful about what I put in my body, because even little things can make a big difference. Since then I've learned to cook, and now eat a far healthier diet than I used to.

A couple of suggestions of ideas that have worked well for me.

- Find a purpose in life. This does not have to be some big, grand thing but just something that you are passionate about. For example, I like to create products and businesses.

- Help others because that gives greatest joy. I have deeply thought about what makes me very happy and I realized I feel really good when I have helped someone even in a small way.

Sketch. I've transitioned my UI/UX workflow completely from Photoshop and haven't looked back. The hype is real and well-deserved.

Truman Capote's book - In Cold Blood. Also, The Great Gatsby. There are countless phrases littered throughout both where I just think 'fuck, that is really something'.

Keto. It's easy to stick to and I've consistently lost weight. I no longer have brain fog, bloating, and I can't even remember the last time I felt hungry or craved sugar.

Buddhism / meditation. It helps being thankful and to understand that there is something more to life than what is on the surface.

The Doors because, well, Jim Morrison.

Water. Seriously, drink more of it.

Kettlebells. They're a good, time-efficient way to get a bit of aerobic and a bit of anaerobic exercise. Especially useful if you have problems that stop you running, e.g. foot problems or knee joint issues. Just make sure to get the technique right before you push yourself with them.

Taoist Tai Chi http://taoist.org

It helps with balance, dexterity, openess to change, learning, letting go, relaxing and much more, both mentally and physical.

I got rid of 20 years of back pain and livea more healthy and balancee life now.

Keeping a journal or diary. It's great for mental health and creativity. Not to mention the many benefits of more focused journals (food, shop journals, etc...)

If you live on a coast or where they treat roads with salt, then wash your car periodically to prevent rust.

learn touch typing if you havent already