Things To Stop Doing In Your 20s | Hacker News Reader

Things To Stop Doing In Your 20s

thoughtcatalog.com

47 pointsnikunjk19 comments

"Stop treating errands as burdens. Instead, use them as time to focus on doing one thing, and doing it right. Errands and chores are essentially rote tasks that allow you time to think. They function to get you away from your phone, the internet, and other distractions. Focus and attention span are difficult things to maintain when you’re focused and attentive on X amount of things at any given moment."

This is a great point. It's exactly why I've never liked suggestions to "automate" chores, and I've never felt a huge need to use services like TaskRabbit. Too much of life is already dedicated to the pursuit of productivity. Going to the grocery store is one of those little tasks that gives you room to breathe. There's a relevant quote by Thich Nhat Hanh that I like a lot:

"While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means that while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes. At first glance, that might seem a little silly: why put so much stress on a simple thing? But that's precisely the point. The fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions. There's no way I can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves."

http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/G%20-%20TNH/TNH/Fro...

Except if your mind worked like that, you'd never be creative. To think you can focus on one thing is to ignore all the times you came up with a solution to a problem after ignoring it for a while and doing something else.

Who says creativity can't happen while you're washing dishes? Just because you're doing the dishes doesn't mean that ideas won't form in your head. Part of what mindfulness is about is letting thoughts drift through your mind: you're trying to be conscious of your thoughts and actions, not eliminate them.

And in any case, nobody says you have to focus all the time. But if you make no room for serendipity, serendipity will not occur.

derleth just did.

> Who says creativity can't happen while you're washing dishes?

It can't if you actually focused 100% on washing dishes. Which is my point exactly, which you seem to be perfectly missing.

The whole concept of 'mindfulness' is contrary to serendipity. It is also, thankfully, contrary to how intelligent minds work.

This is actually the first time I've come across a list (X things to do ...) that was not pure BS.

Yeah, this was an astonishingly valuable list of "shit not to do, if you're trying to grow up."

The fact that this isn't a "10 things..." kind of list says a lot about its quality in the first place.

How about stop "stop doing things" and start "start doing things". More seriously, while identifying the problem can be good, you should focus on the solution. Which hopefully also is more concrete.

Because you start figuring out what's right for you only when you stop indulging in what's wrong for you.

Not in my experience. I'm still indulging somewhat in things that are wrong for me, but at the same time I've started doing things that are good for me.

You really want to eat chowmein but it'll be 2 hours before they are ready. But you're hungry now and so you fill up with chips, cola, donuts, and pizza.

Two hours pass and the chowmein is finally ready. But now, you're not. Your hunger is gone but you have yet to full-fill your desire for chowmein.

I generally avoid list posts like the plague. This was actually a good one.

After asking several of my co-workers (some well above 40) to read this, they said that this not only holds true for people in their 20s but serve as a great reminder to everyone.

Great list. However, these are things you should work on before your twenties. You need to get an early start!

I am 44, #16 takes a lot of effort sometimes, still working in #17...

Enjoyed this list greatly, #17 certainly holds true for me.

Number 8 holds true.

It's interesting to think about how broadly to apply some of these. For example, 'investing in things you value' seems to focus most on money, which limits its applicability in two ways: First, there are a number of things, like software, where monetary cost doesn't correlate strongly with actual value. Second, investing time is often better than thinking money can solve the problems you have, especially in terms of gaining self-sufficiency.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com