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Handbook for Life: 52 Tips for Happiness and Productivity
zenhabits.net — Best "lifehacks"-type post I've ever read. Full of ideas and useful links.
davemcarlson- 1655 diggs
- digg it
- BillVick, on 10/11/2007, -11/+12Life can be a journey of joy or one of the mundane. Great article on focusing on what is truly important.
- royall64, on 10/11/2007, -3/+31Keeping a journal is great, but you shouldn't write in it every day if you don't need to. I used to keep a journal, and I would just write down ideas and concepts whenever they came up.
Reading is important too. One should always have a book to read. It pains me to see all these kids today who say things like "Reading? Who do you think I am, Albert Einstein? Reading's for losers."
Another tip that isn't in there:
Don't be afraid of being weird. Plenty of successful and intelligent people are the weirdest ones you'll ever meet. - Birdoftruth, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1agreed, research Bob Proctor for more info
- gamebittk, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2- Limit your information intake. In our lives today, we get a tremendous amount of information through email, blog feeds, reading websites, paperwork, memos, newspapers, magazines, television, DVDs, radio, mobile phones and Blackberries. Not only can this be overwhelming, but it can be distracting and can fill up your life until you have no time for more important things. Go on a media fast to get control over your information intake, and to simplify your life.
^^^ No more Digg?
- Be lazy. There’s a time to be productive, and there’s a time to be plain ol’ lazy. I like the latter, and do it every chance I get. Does that make me a lazy person? Probably not, but even if it does, I don’t care. It makes me happy, and the kids love being lazy with me.
^^^ I've got this one covered. I'm a Digg user! - Zaxcomp, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1@gamebittk
No digg is an information condenser IMO. It gathers all the "important" news allowing you not to have to go search for it yourself, and with the built-in category filters you can condense this news even further to your needs. - sockpuppets, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12#53: When in doubt jerk it out.
- Scrollfx, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Is it just me or a lot of these tips seem impractical and out of your control?
Like "work less". Sure we all want to work less and spend our times doing other things we like. But unless we are millionaires, we have to work a lot to make money to pay bills.
What is he going to advice us to do next? "Become rich so you can live in comfort and security" O.K, I guess I'll try that. I wasn't going to do that, but now I will. - marx2k, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3@scroll: There is a chain of events with each one of these tips. Working less also means owning less - living simpler. The reason you may have all of these bills you work your life away to pay is because you have too many posessions and/or live too complicated.
Living simpler is good advice for anyone - diggcopblowme, on 10/11/2007, -0/+42. Do less.
I've been all over this one for a while now. - cheeze69, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2"Like "work less". Sure we all want to work less and spend our times doing other things we like. But unless we are millionaires, we have to work a lot to make money to pay bills."
You'd be surprised how many of our "bills" and other expenditures are purely optional and to some extent wasteful. I've recently taken a look at my life and realized that, even though I feel "tight" now, I could easily live on half as much income if I were willing to cancel crap like Netflix, extra TV channels, eating at restaurants, etc. And I don't mean living like a hermit either, just with much less frivolous spending.
People who say "but I can't find a job that pays as well" or think like the quote I included above tend to be the ones who have lots of the HD satellite channels, XM radio, drink loads of expensive coffees, waste tons on sporting events and souvenirs, and do many other things they don't consider living without.
You can live with less. Therefore, you can work less.
- royall64, on 10/11/2007, -3/+31Keeping a journal is great, but you shouldn't write in it every day if you don't need to. I used to keep a journal, and I would just write down ideas and concepts whenever they came up.
- djc0, on 10/11/2007, -8/+4"Develop intimate relationships"
Amen.- gamebittk, on 10/11/2007, -7/+7It's only worth it if those intimate relationships are under $125 per hour.
- SeaMowse, on 10/11/2007, -8/+7Gread article! I'm printing it out and will be hanging it up, here in our computer room. :-)
- DiggLord, on 10/11/2007, -4/+1That's gread, good for you!
- TheWhiteOtter, on 10/11/2007, -4/+34To the submitter: what is wrong with the word tips? Why does everything have to be a "hack" all of a sudden. I'm 21 and I'm already annoyed at the slang some people are using...
Down I go.- mattmollysdad, on 10/11/2007, -9/+2did i miss the part about great sex?
- gamebittk, on 10/11/2007, -8/+4Well, the submitter did use 'tips' in the title... And lifehack is just a netslang term [no, not 1337speak, n00bs]. It's not really that annoying, and to nerds, surprisingly, it makes sense.
- braydonf, on 10/11/2007, -2/+11You obviously didn't do the count to 10 hack. ;)
- DougPenn, on 10/11/2007, -7/+7They forgot "Win the ***** lottery".
- royall64, on 10/11/2007, -5/+5Awesome tip man! I'm gonna go right now and win the ***** lottery as if I do it every day! It's so simple and realistic; why didn't they think of that?
- noblepenguin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3When you try to be ironic with someone who's using irony you just end up sounding like a jackass.
#53?…
- varshney, on 10/11/2007, -5/+5Was looking for something like this really messed my entrance exams and had been feeling low for a month almost sucidal ):
- bbarker, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I've heard suicide referred to as a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
- sogracefully, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2... go to a therapist, not digg?
- bbarker, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I've heard suicide referred to as a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
- phenom2k7, on 10/11/2007, -12/+6Somehow this site always gets listed on digg, even though it's full of useless BS. 99% of the site just reiterates common things you should already know. Are people really that ignorant.
The guy has 6 kids and two jobs and manages to blog. Shouldn't of had 6 kids if you've got to the point where you have to regurgitate the entire internet to get a few bucks from ad revenue.
-- Haplo, on 10/11/2007, -9/+3"Shouldn't of had 6 kids" - http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39273376,00.htm
Furthermore, why are you posting your BS on digg like "we" care? Go do something productive. - royall64, on 10/11/2007, -4/+1"Are people really that ignorant."
YES? People are stupid. You need to be more cynical. - optikalblitz, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2Speaking of "common things you should already know,"
You probably shouldn't *have* skipped english class.
- Haplo, on 10/11/2007, -9/+3"Shouldn't of had 6 kids" - http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39273376,00.htm
- varshney, on 10/11/2007, -9/+2Why the hell anyone who posts any positive comment gets his comment digged down , ?? Anyways you can digg this comment dow too , maybe this is the way digg works ANYTHING POSITIVE HAS TO BE DIGGED DOWN
- royall64, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Complaining about getting dugg down is a one way ticket to getting dugg down more.
- loneraven, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2too many tips contradict each other... which is kinda weird.
- kcmcgruff, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4As far as the "improve your life" blog postings go, this one is actually pretty good. I have been working on this as my resolution this year and just about all of these tips fit right in there. Is it for everyone? Nope, but then again, not everything IS for everyone - except the basics of course.
- joefreeza, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1http://duggmirror.com/offbeat_news/Severe_reverse_culture_shock_What_the_are_you_looking_at/
- Scrollfx, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2Basically all the tips boil down to this: Do stuff.
- aelias, on 10/11/2007, -4/+852 Tips to getting people to read your crappy blog.
Tip 1: Make a "Top 52 tips for" article and fill it with links to your blog.- royall64, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2Tip 2: Submit the article to Digg and watch the users flow in.
- psbpv3o, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4I like the list...does that make me a loser?
- emptyother, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0Oh yes. A big loser... In "their" eyes somewhy.
They say all of this is "common things that you should already know". I should ask them: "Are you happy? Do you feel good about yourself? Almost all of your time?" They probably say no. I ask them: "Have you tried all the things on this list to get happy?" They again probably say no. Then i ask them: "But isnt this stuff common things that you should already know makes you happy? Why are you not doing them?"
- emptyother, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0Oh yes. A big loser... In "their" eyes somewhy.
- PhilMoskowitz, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2I dunno, maybe for teens or young adults but most of this stuff was conceptually void and stultifyingly obvious to anyone who hasn't been living in a veal box their entire life. No idea how this made the front page.
- SeaMowse, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3I have an idea how it made the front page.
Perhaps some of the diggers here on Digg want to take a break from seeing stories on a 'code', the war, George Bush, Rosie or any celebrity for that manner, Ron Paul or any presidential candidate, or any other subjects that regularily makes it to the front page.
Hmmmm... what is the average age of everybody posting comments here on this thread? Rhetorical question of course.
- SeaMowse, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3I have an idea how it made the front page.
- bshock, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2If I had to summarize this list, it might be something like: "Learn to enjoy the flavor of the ***** sandwich life gives you. Nothing that requires hard work -- especially hard mental and emotional work -- is ever worth the effort."
- po43292, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4I like the second to last one. "Be lazy."
- MatttK, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4I've got a better list to be more productive.
1. 52 tips is way too many. Go do some work instead of reading them all.
2. Don't waste your time whining about it in the comments section, like I'm doing now. - qwerty2159, on 10/11/2007, -0/+215 and 16 completely contradict each other
- jamesob, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0What's that scent wafting through the air?
Ahh, yes, pseudo-intellectual yuppie *****, that's the one.
Find my passion? Aww yeah, I'll google that one. - Alfarin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1My head hurts after reading that; I think I've just taken in a little too much information which is directly opposite of what it suggests!!
- triclipse, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0||| Don’t compare yourself to others. .... (those models on magazines with amazing abs) ... |||
But what if my abs are better? - pimpnmagnum, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2C'mon guys, these are just suggestions. I have been following a few of these for the last year or so and I have been a lot happier. But if you want a simplier list:
1. Live below your means.
2. Try to understand others point of view.
3. Don't compare yourself to others.
4. Don't feel that you have to conform. - ironrex, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1"The first part of compassion is empathy — and this ability to understand how others feel can be developed through practice."
Actually that's sympathy.... empathy is when you've actually experienced what the other person has felt. It's important to understand the difference because if you tell someone you empathize with them they'll ask about your experience, then when you say you haven't had one they'll think you're a dumbass.- peachyglow, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0you don't have to experience something to show empathy
- anjulsahu, on 02/11/2008, -0/+0It is a concise guide to happiness.
Be Lazy is my Mantra for my Happiness! :)
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