Life stuff
It’s easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time -Clayton M. Christensen
- Try to quit (or drastically reduce) your caffeine intake. You’ll sleep better, and get sick less.
- Have non-computer hobbies - you’ll need the balance.
- Actively seek out better workplaces and working conditions. Strive to work at the best.
- Memento mori - don’t waste your life on stupid shit.
Coffee
If coffee is sour, it’s under-extracted.
Sleep
- Buy black-out curtains for your bedroom windows, and keep electronic lights to a bare minimum
- Only use your bedroom for rest. Don’t eat/watch TV/etc. in there
- Caffeine can stay in your system for 12 hours (give or take a few hours). Determine when you want to fall asleep, and then set your last-cup limit accordingly (eg if you go to bed at 9PM, no coffee after 9AM)
- Avoid books/stimulating literature (eg stick to light fiction instead of riveting political manifestos) in bedroom
- Stop checking phone before bed - set a “light’s out” for screens an hour or two before bedtime
- No alcohol after dinner, since alcohol is bad for sleep
- Exercise regularly, but avoid anything strenuous 3-4 hours before bedtime
- Get out of bed if you can’t sleep, don’t ruminate about the inability to sleep.
- If you can manage it, take an early afternoon siesta (<30m)
- Have a consistent wind-down routine that’s fairly mindless, like completing next day’s prep before bed
- Consider nasal saline spray if you live in a dry climate
- Take any pain medication (eg acetominephan) 30m before bed so there’s time to for it to kick in before sleeping
- Don’t cheap out on your mattress - you’ll get bad sleep and a bad back as well
- Weighted blankets are good for some folks (not all), try one if you haven’t yet
- If your sleep still sucks, talk with your doctor. Insomnia research still has new techniques emerging