Brand, thing, behavior, method, advice, mantra, etc.
I swear by Blackwing pencils.
Also, the ‘two minute rule’, which has really improved my life: “if it takes two minutes or less to do, just do it now; if it takes longer, schedule it.” I’ve got untreated attention issues and it’s very easy for me to notice something needing done, and overlook or procrastinate it because it seems inconvenient in the moment. Having a totally painless rule that forces me to acknowledge that thing I should pick up, that trash bag I should change, etc, or, to at least put on my calendar anything I mustn’t forget in the long run has been great for me.
uBlock Origin forever and always. I’ve recently reinstalled Windows within the last 30 days and thus have a fresh installation of my browser and uBlock Origin – I have already blocked 609,521 ads, wild.
https://ublockorigin.com/ (Platform links at the bottom)
Make sure you use it with Firefox. It works better.
“You are under no obligation to be the same person you were 5 minutes ago” - Alan Watts
This one is a bit hard-won for me. You see I used to be an asshole. It was my brand. I thought “it’s just in my nature”.
Fortunately, I was also a student of religion (mostly because I was a militant atheist. Know your enemy and all that). Studying Buddhism, I began to observe the nature of self. I found enough distance from it to see its transient nature.
I realized being an asshole was a choice and I could just as easily choose otherwise. Soon I began to discover this was true of most character traits.
I’m not saying you don’t have consistent patterns of behavior. I’ll hopefully always be curious and analytical. But for the most part, the way you conduct yourself and where you focus your attention is a choice.
So, if you’re not happy with who you are maybe don’t be so attached to the idea of 'who you are". And if that seems hard, observe what you pay your attention to and try to find the distance between observation and behavior. In that gap lies the choice you make, consciously or not, to be “you”.
No offense, brother, but this is a great example of my swear-by.
Don’t write a “wall of text.” Even if a reader is interested, it’s hard to read the whole thing.
Separate your wall into smaller sections, use bullet points (esp at work) if it helps.
Use small sentences. Forget what they told you about keeping similar ideas in one paragraph. You’re not Salinger, and no one is expecting you to be.
This is a digital age, and our job as not-salinger is to convey information.
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No offense taken
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These are salient points
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I edited my post
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I hope it’s easier to digest now
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Thank you for the constructive criticism
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Try leave everyone and everything better than you find it.
A few years ago I read a post about self improvement where someone wrote about the concept of no-zero-days to form habits. It basically means you just need to do something meaningful every day to make it count, even if it’s something very small. Read one page in a book - no zero day, do 10k steps - no zero day…
Of all the things I read and tried in the past to change my behavior, get more active, learn new things etc, this by far worked the best for me and basically changed my life.
Right now I have 18 different habits I’m tracking on my phone. Things like reading, learning Spanish, doing chores, solving a puzzle on lichess, taking a cold shower, learning something about world affairs/history, taking care of my finances, meditating etc…
I don’t need to do all of them, one is enough. But because they require so little effort I quickly started to do more and developed habits I don’t need to force myself to do.
Now I have a 1500+ day streak on Duolingo and do 2-5 minutes of Spanish lessons every day. For more than 4 freaking years. This eventually ended up in visiting a language school in Spain last summer. One of my best vacations ever.
I read almost daily and found interest in new genres. I get enough exercise at least a few times a week. I educated myself about finances and now I don’t live paycheck to paycheck, paid off my debt and started to save something.
I later read about this concept in the book Atomic Habits and found variations of it in songs like Little Acorns by the White Stripes. In the end it’s about breaking things up into small, easy pieces so you don’t get overwhelmed or give up before you even start.
If anyone asks me what I swear by it’s this. It’s like magic.
If you wouldn’t take advice from someone, then don’t accept their criticism.
Zebra F-301 Pink Barrel / Black Ink 0.7mm
I had been using the regular F-301 pen since my early twenties. A year ago, I found a seller on Amazon that was selling the pink barrel / black ink F-301’s for what works out to be $2.10 a piece. My pens tend to go missing from time to time at work, so I bought a bunch.
Worth it.
I see your blackwings and I raise you my mechanical contestant - the uniball kuru toga. The rotating lead gimmick actually works pretty well and the elite has just such a nice weight to it because the barrel is this nice knurled metal thing (I think the advance upgrade is also metal, but I don’t have that one to compare)
Speaking of uniball, while I’m normally a fountain pen adherent, my go to non-fountain pen is the uniball eye. Such a surprisingly nice pen for the price, and while it’s not exactly the same, because it’s a liquid ink roller ball it’s still much nicer to write with because you don’t have to apply pressure to make it write.
Oh I’ve been curious about mechanical pencils with rotating lead! The rotation mechanism activates whenever you lift the tip up off the page right? Do you think it would still benefit folks who mostly write in cursive?
They’re neat (I’ve only tried Uni’s), though imho I prefer the manual control of a regular mech/pencil when writing in cursive, because then I can choose when to rotate the lead (ie by rotating the entire pencils).
If you’re used to writing with pencils you don’t even think about it anymore. It’s as natural as dotting an
i.It behaves closer to a regular mechanical pencil for cursive, but there is some difference. Ngl I use mine for maths and numbers and diagrammes so I don’t run into that issue a lot
I too like fancy pencils. Mitsubishi’s range are my faves.
I just bought a dozen pencils from the Hi-Uni range and I’m super excited to try them out. I’ve heard so many good things about them from fellow pencil enthusiasts.
Don’t skimp on anything that separates you from the ground: shoes, tires, mattress, etc. Your body will thank you later
The philosophy of Bill S Preston, Esquire, and Ted “Theodore” Logan:
“Be excellent to each other”
It’s really not that difficult to do the right thing, be an upstanding citizen, and contribute to a decent society.
Party on, dude
party on @dirigibleprotein and @Aurenkin!
Respect is given
Disrespect is earned
Fountain pens, good inks, and good paper.
The cost difference is so small, and the output is significantly better than anything I’ve ever written with a ballpoint.
Not to mention the enjoyment around the rituals and processes that go with.
It’s also better for your hands if you do a lot of writing! You’re not constantly applying pressure like you are with a ballpoint so your hands don’t get as tired
Sugar alternatives like allulose and monkfruit have been making my life so much better recently. A little more pricey than sugar, but so much better for you and allows me to keep enjoying a sweet cup of tea in the morning without any of the downsides
Random list but I am told I am a unpaid ambassador for:
- Vitamix
- Zero inbox for work
- Stoic mindfulness / negative visualizations / Momento Mori
- Birkenstocks , even if they went a bit downhill
- Star Trek
- Chimes peanut butter ginger candy
- Tea…in general
- Merino wool socks
- Lemmy
Learn to be curious. Don’t know that word, define it. Never heard of that person. Wikipedia. Ever wonder how a combustion engine works. Look it up. I grew up when I had to write things down and go the library. We live in an age of wonder with unlimited knowledge at your fingertips. There is no excuse for ignorance today. You’re just being indolent. Learn to be curious 🧐
Also. Admit when you are wrong and apologize.
