Habits

Goals 🎯

  • Use Notion to list weekly and semesterly goals by context (e.g. recruiting, classes, health, etc.). Good goals are modest and measureable.
  • Set aside time each day to identify goals. It can coincide with shower time or walking to class. Spend time each week reflecting on progress towards goals and time allocation.
  • Sharpen the saw. Don’t let focusing immediate goals prevent growth and exploration of new things.

Health and Wealth 🏃💰

  • Use a budgeting app integrated with bank accounts to automatically track expenses and assist with setting goals. Mint and You Need a Budget are great apps.
  • Put savings in a index fund like Vanguard’s S&P 500 index.
  • Meditate for 5 minutes every morning. Apps like Calm or Headspace are nice, but a quick search for “meditation” on Youtube is just as good.
  • Get 8 hours of good sleep, every night. No blue lighting three hours before bed. Turn on night mode on all devices. Put phones in a different room. Consider reading before bed. Recognize if naps don’t work.
  • Jog or workout every day. Make physical exercise non-optional, just like eating or sleeping. If you care about body fat/composition, invest $20 in a Renpho Scale.

Time ⌛

  • Use time blocking wtih Google Calendar, marking off 30 minute+ periods to focus on a specific task.
  • Multitask when the focus tradeoff is minimal. Some ideas: e.g. work on homework during class, listen to podcasts while traveling, brainstorming in the shower, etc.
  • Spending more than 30 minutes in unproductive commutes? Purchase a GOTRAX XR Elite scooter.

Attention 👀

Tasks ☑️

  • Assignments are due when they are assigned. Before reaching for YouTube, think about how stressful it is to rush a last minute paper or problem set. Work done now is fun earned later. Set a task when the assingment is due, and a reminder when the assignment is released.
  • For larger projects, segment tasks into smaller pieces that can be completed in a work session. Prioritize.
  • Start off with a difficult task. Knocking out an easy task first feels good, but isn’t the best use of energy.
  • Alternate contexts to avoid burnout. Instead of doing three C.S. problem sets in a row, mix in some econ homework, recruiting, or consulting work.

Inbox 📥

  • Take advantage of extensions. Use Streak for email tracking/schedule sending, ClearBit to find contacts, Checker Plus for one-click access to your inbox,
  • Use labels and filters to set up multiple inboxes. Before wading through emails, use keyboard shortcuts to perform a speedy “first pass” and categorize truly important emails.
  • Unsubscribe from and/or filter useless emails. When signing up for promotions, use a burner/spam email. Create filters to send Piazza notifications straight to hell the archive.
  • Reuse templates (e.g. for scheduling meetings) with Gmail’s built in email templates or an extension like Briskine.

Happiness 😊

  • Customize the Daylio app to track desired habits. Especially consider adding social and personal goals. Log habits daily.
  • Practice gratefulness. Whether through an app or notebook, write three good things that you’ve brought about each day. Consider building gratefulness into a meditation routine.
  • Socialize. Relationship quality is the strongest predictor of long-term happiness.
  • Regular social media / technology detoxes can help break unhealthy dependencies.

Space 🧹

  • Put things back right after using them, parallelizing when possible. An exception is bulk processing: washing all the dishes together, weekly sweeping, etc.
  • Schedule chores like laundry, cleaning, taking out the trash, etc. into the calendar instead of waiting for a crisis to react.
  • Physically section off living space. Have a place to work, a place to sleep, a place to eat, etc. Don’t touch that fucking laptop in bed.

Learning 📚

  • For classes, write minimalistic notes (in an app like Typora or Bear) and complete homework in Latex. Store files in a GitHub repository synced across devices.
  • To memorize facts, use the Anki flashcard software and download cards for any topic: geography, languages, etc.
  • Read, god dammit. Pick up a book at the library or buy one off Amazon. Misbehaving by Richard Thaler is a good one.
  • Put those ears to work. Spend time finding interesting podcasts or e-books to listen to while traveling, exercizing, cooking, etc. Consider keeping track of a media diet.

Sources & Inspirations 🔎