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@yashkaf | |||||
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1 like = 1 way to live better. I'll try to keep a ratio of 50% things I actually do, 50% things I should do but don't. twitter.com/vgr/status/120…
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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1. Eat lunch alone. Catching up with co-workers 5x/week doesn't do much beyond what you'd get from 1x/week, and a good podcast is more interesting than your best colleague.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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2. There are more great podcasts than you'd ever have the time to listen to. If it sucks after 10 minutes, skip half an hour ahead. Still boring? Delete and move on. Obviously, do the same for books.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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3. Buy a $20 bar of soap on Amazon just to see how it feels. If it doesn't do much for you, go back to $4 bars. Liquid soap has a very low ceiling, so don't bother.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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4. Put a reminder on your phone to call your grandma. Ask her to tell you about some of the dumbest shit she has ever done.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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5. If you love dogs but can't own one, volunteer to walk a neighbor's dog once a week. Dogs are part of the share economy.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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6. Have sex in a public park at 1 am. 10% chance of getting caught = 10x erotic excitement.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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7. Do vacations where you just spend two weeks in a city. You'll run out of touristy things to do and discover the climbing gyms, live shows, art classes that you'll love. You'll also be forced to start actually chatting with the locals.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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8. Ask people to stop giving you non-consumable gifts. A physical thing that's not 100% what you need costs more in storage and opportunity cost than it's worth.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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9. Take a tab of acid and hang out with a 5-year-old as equals.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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10. The #1 measure of an exercise program is "is this fun enough to keep me coming back to the gym?" I don't care how "efficient" HIIT is, it's for masochists.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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11. Binge a show/video game for a couple of weeks, then take a break from TV for a couple of weeks. Trying to limit yourself to an hour a day is less fun and more addictive.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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12. If you're not obese, have you considered that losing 20 pounds will not actually solve your problems? Keep your weight stable, and work on the insecurities that make you scared to take your shirt off.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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13. If you live in a big city, it's fine not to cook. The cooks at the Mexican spot on the corner are better than you and appreciate your patronage.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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14. Any <$100 purchase that may turn into a hobby is worth it even if the hit rate is low. Sports equipment, a musical instrument, art supplies... If it doesn't catch, gift it to a friend.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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15. Find a medium of expression and do it every day for three months. If you're a words person - 100 Tweets. An artist - 100 sketches on Instagram. Music/dance person - 100 TikToks.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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16. Expensive personal lube is worth every penny. Same for hot sauce. Just don't get the bottles mixed up.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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17. You just read 17 tweets in a row. Close your eyes and count to 10 to break the dopamine loop and make sure that browsing Twitter is the thing you want to do most right now.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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18. If you have too little social life, wake up at 10 am every day. Too many people bothering you - wake up at 5 am.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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19. If you can't give it up completely, try to constrain the bandwidth of how much you hear about politics. On Twitter, for example, you should mute 90% of the people on your timeline that talk about politics and mute the least-charitable term in every tweet that makes you angry.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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20. Give meditation a 50 hour trial with a good app or guidebook. If it ain't your thing, give it up.
P.S.
The best places to meditate are cathedrals and church pews.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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21. Play a competitive team sport, but don't show up if you're not ready for 100% effort - your teammates can tell.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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22. If you're not having fun on dates, think of something you enjoy and do that as a date. Painting class dates, hiking dates, ping pong dates, board game dates...
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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23. Learn to be ok with nudity and to disentangle it from shame and sexuality. Go to a nudist lodge, or just throw a nude non-sexual party with your trusted friends.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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24. If you're bored at home and hate it, move to Brooklyn. Stuck on another crowded subway and hate it - move to a college town in the mountains. The city you live in has a massive impact on your life. If you're single, consider also the dating market and gender ratio of singles.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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25. Yes, moving to a new city will make you restart your social life from scratch. But is that a bad thing? Are you sure you have the best reputation / social role / circle of friends you could have?
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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26. Any life advice that isn't aimed at you personally is not designed to be followed to the letter. Try to resonate with the overall philosophy that generates it instead.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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27. Do blind tastings of wines, then just keep buying the $10 bottle one you like best. Novelty is good, but let's be honest: you can't really tell different Malbecs apart that much. But buy great wine glasses - they last much longer than the bottle.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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28. Put art on all your walls. If you can't afford originals, buy prints. Can't afford prints, buy posters. The selection criterion is a piece that you can stare at for at least 10 minutes straight the first time you see it. When you find better art, take down the old stuff.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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29. If you're thinking about doing that degree, think twice. Can you start doing now what you hope to do with the credential? If it's a PhD, think ten times. Also underrated: dropping out of grad school one year in.
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Jacob Falkovich
@yashkaf
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14. pro |
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30. You won't get money, status, fascination, impact, and career capital at the same job. Pick two, get the rest elsewhere in your life.
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