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Focusing on the reward, product, or outcome isn't very effective.

Instead, we should focus on the process (flow of time, and the habits and actions associated with that time).



Edit: Gold! :)

The bulk of what follows are notes from a class that I and 200,000 more students all over the world are finishing this week online from the University of California, San Diego called Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects and the textbook A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra).

The book and the lectures are incredibly well cited. You can download the lectures free.

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When we focus on the reward or the product of the task that we need to perform, it doesn't really address the real reason that we're procrastinating, and can release stress related chemicals making us even less motivated.

Why we procrastinate: When we think of something we have to do that's unpleasant or uncomfortable, it literally triggers neural discomfort in the part of our brain associated with pain: the insular cortex. Focusing on the reward or the product/outcome of the task can amplify this neural discomfort because the task has yet to be performed.

So what happens when we procrastinate? We first think of the thing that we don't want to do. Our insular cortex receives that discomfort/pain message and our brain immediately switches our attention and thoughts to something else that's pleasant, temporarily relieving that discomfort and triggering a cue for us to do something else. We're distracted and procrastinating now. This only temporarily eases the discomfort of that neural response.

The good news: It's absolutely normal to feel negative or uncomfortable thoughts when starting anything. Research shows that when we engage in the activity for a couple of minutes, the neural response in the insular cortex eases and we don't feel as much discomfort. In other words, the more we engage in the task we're putting off, the better we'll feel about doing it.

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Movation in our brain

Neuromodulators: These are chemicals that influence how neurons respond to other neurons and whether or not we get out of bed in the morning. Those chemicals?

acetylcholine: This chemical controls focused learning and attention. Supplements exist.

dopamine: This is THE rewards chemical and the most important chemical for motivation; release it and you feel good. Too much, and life sucks over time (stay away from bad drugs). Lose dopamine and you have no motivation. Like, if you literally have no dopamine you go catatonic. No joke. Learn to do things that release this chemical naturally and you're good.

serotonin: This is the chemical that controls your social life and risk-taking behavior. Prozac increases this chemical in the brain. Low serotonin levels means high-risk behavior. The most violent criminals in our prisons have the lowest serotonin levels. Keep that chemical in check.

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Four things to understand about our habits:

A Cue: This is an event that welcomes our engagement or participation. Phone, porn, food, thoughts; you get the idea. Cues are neither helpful nor harmful.

A Routine: This is the mindless activity that we engage in after having received the cue. Routines can be useful, harmless, or harmful.

A reward: Habits develop or continue because they give us pleasant feelings. Procrastination is one of them because it makes us feel good, temporarily. In this way, procrastination is like an addiction. We do it for the temporary good feelings. Immediate reward. We can, however, rewire to become "addicted" to new habits by rewarding ourselves for new routines.

A Belief: Habits have power because of our belief in them. To change a habit we must change the underlying belief.

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Spread out your tasks and your rewards for improved productivity and better motivation.

Our brains have a lot to do. Focusing too long on something is like doing too much exercise. Our brains need breaks from the tasks that we're performing. By breaking our productivity into smaller chunks and taking a break with a reward (remember, we need the reward fairly soon because procrastination gives us the dopamine feel-good chemical now) we'll find it's much easier to be better motivated. The reward can be internet time, tv, book, walk, coffee, etc. I've found that anything I'm doing while I procrastinate can often be used as the reward during breaks.

Pomodoro (google it): Set a timer for 25:00. Turn off interruptions. Focus on your task. Take a break with a reward and let your brain relax for a bit. Hint: You're releasing dopamine with the reward and training your brain to crave the new behavior.

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Changing our procrastination habits

Cues - If we change our reaction to these (see above) we win. Turn off the stuff that distracts you and gently ignore any new distractions while you're focused on your task.

Routine - Rewire here by developing a plan or new ritual to react to the cue. By engaging in new reactions and new routines, and rewarding ourselves immediately after, we'll begin to crave habits that are more productive. I've already been doing this with success more or less, but this information helps me to understand why it works. Perform tasks in smaller chunks. Spread those chunks out to make the project more manageable. Set your timer for 25:00, or shorter, or longer (not very much) and take a break - five minutes minimum but go longer if the task is super taxing.

Reward - Super important! Reward yourself with something to indulge in immediately after your task Doesn't have to be food or cost money. It's your time and your indulgence. Remember: One of the reasons that procrastination is one of our default habits is because we're rewarded immediately for it. We're training our brains to crave a better feel-good response, one that's not too distant in the future, and one that helps us change our habit. No reward = we won't feel good about changing our habit.

Belief - Change the underlying belief about the task you're going to perform. Don't tell yourself elaborate stories about how hard it will be or how long it will take. Focus on the process (flow of time, and the habits and actions associated with that time), and not the outcome, product, or completion. Understand that for the larger stuff you'll only be focused in small increments of time, and only on the task at hand. (Hard lesson: Our environment, our friends, our family, and our level of understanding and knowing our place in the cosmos will directly effect whether or not we'll ever believe that anything is worth doing in life, even in small increments of time. By broadening these things or changing them completely, we'll find it much easier to change our attitudes, behaviors, and habits.)

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It's normal to feel negative or uncomfortable thoughts when starting anything. Engage in the activity for a couple of minutes and those feelings will go away. Because research and science.

Don't judge yourself: Allow your mind to relax into a flow of the work or activity you're going to engage in. Everybody sucks at stuff in the beginning. Life's messy and so is the stuff we have to do to get things done. Take breaks and vacations. Research shows that people who balance fun time with work time outperform workaholics over and over and over.

When distractions or new cues present themselves, let them go; gently ignore them and relax back into the process and flow of the activity.

"I'm different and special and I'm a genius and none of this applies to me." No you're not and yes it does. Look, some of us may have more astrocytes than others (look that up) so we have some talent. But without a plan to do something with those astrocytes, we're going to be stuck with the same addiction to procrastination.

Not all procrastination is bad. Sometimes our brain really does need a break, so take one. Sometimes we're spending too much time on a large task and need to break it up into smaller tasks. Smaller tasks makes it more manageable and taking breaks helps our brains relax. Less stress, more dopamine, healthy brain. Balanced leisure time with productivity time makes us more productive. Because research and science.

Write down the things you want to accomplish the night before. This frees up energy in your prefrontal cortex and makes it easier for you to get started. Again, because science. While you sleep your brain processes that stuff and you're more likely to actually do them.

Keep a planner journal to outline what works and what doesn't as pertains to changing your procrastination responses and routines.

No rewards until you've finished the immediate task/pomodoro.

Keep an eye on procrastination cues.

Gain trust in your new system.

Have backup plans for when you still procrastinate.

Be bad at it for awhile.

tl;dr: When we procrastinate, it's because thinking of doing something unpleasant can trigger discomfort in the part of our brain associated with pain. Focusing on the reward or the product/outcome of the task can amplify this same discomfort, because the unpleasant task has yet to be done. Our brain switches to more pleasant thoughts to release dopamine (feel-good chemical), but this only temporarily feels good. In this, procrastination shares common features with addiction. We can tackle procrastination by focusing on the process of the task (the flow of time, and the habits and actions associated with that time), and taking breaks with small rewards.

First: Quit WoW. It is a waste of life (IMO).

Next: read read read

Read books about the social skills you want to acquire. Start with How to Win Friends and Influence People and What Every BODY Is Saying. These will help you with everyday social interactions and will help you a little with interviews. Follow r/socialskills

Read articles on how to get your résumé/cover letter together. Visit job boards like they are your Facebook/Twitter/{insert popular social media site name here} stream. In addition to reading your local city's job sub, visit r/jobs and r/resumes

Read books and articles on relationships. Start with Dating 101 There are a lot of good articles there.

Read articles and books on getting financially fit. Follow r/personalfinance

Read books and articles on anything else you want to learn or improve on.

These have helped me tremendously. Hope they help you too. Good luck.

EDIT: Keep this in mind if you struggle/suffer through change...

That sounds fair for both you and the customers. I don't know, it looks to me that anyone can be an honest salesperson as long as they don't operate under mountains of pressure to make fast sales and if they're OK with the job in general.

​

I have sales experience, but they were always part of my side gig jobs so I was never on fire to make one - or, like with ebooks, they're mine to be sold. I like to think I'm more focused on actually gaining happy customers, even if these come in much smaller numbers than if I tried to sell things more aggressively. But, I can push sometimes as well, like with my ebook here I'm plugging so desperately! :D

I just read this book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. I highly recommend it. It's very Japanese and she's pretty intense, but her basic premise is that we who are cluttered remain that way because we're focused on what to get rid of instead of what to keep. She talks about the emotions surrounding the "I might need it someday" problem and how to work with the sentimental value of items. The key, for her, is understanding the relationship you have with your stuff in order to permanently declutter.

I was completely inspired by her, and I'm starting her method myself this weekend. It's a short book and an easy (and extremely compelling) read. If you do read it, I'd love to hear what you think.

This is a great proTip! Thank you.

Cats are another great wake up timer for anyone interested; they'll make sure you get up.

I've been looking at this on Amazon for some time, curious how bright it is, really

I'd love to try these. There are two windows in my room, and I'd love to put these on each shade. At $250 a pop they are a little expensive for a glorified alarm clock, but waking up to the sun sounds fantastic to me. All hail the sun god.

I agree that if you are used to the air handler, that may be a different story, but for people not used to forced air heat (like guests) the on off of the air handler is not subltle at all.

Just say you like to sleep with a fan on and use a desk fan. Box fans actually move air more quietly than a smaller fan, so for this purpose a smallish desk fan is probably best.

you aren't the only one who thinks natural noise is better noise, but thats an option too:

https://www.amazon.com/Marpac-Dohm-DS-All-Natural-White-Machine/dp/B000KUHFGM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1482344003&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=white+noise&psc=1



I really don't care if you think I'm a dick, but your lpt sucks.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg has some valuable insight into stuff like this.

In particular, he references what he calls "keystone habits." They're different for everyone, but for example, some people find that making their bed in the morning makes them more likely to be productive through the rest of the day. For others, it's exercise. Or flossing. Or packing a lunch.

After reading this book, I made it my New Year's resolution to both make my bed and floss every day. I was a good 95% successful with the resolution, and I still am several years later.

It hasn't changed my whole life, but I find that with a tidy bed, I'm more likely to pick up dirty laundry. And once my bedroom is neat, I want my kitchen neat too...

I'd recommend picking one thing that takes just a few minutes a day and committing to doing it for three weeks. See if just doing that doesn't help you break the cycle.

Same. I just ran through this summary and I'm really not impressed. This in particular sounds like a tall stack of anecdotal horse shit:

> After many experiments on himself and others, he emphasises that the key factor in waking up with energy is that you tell yourself before you go to bed, that you would be getting enough sleep that night and would wake up in the morning feeling energised and ready to go. Regardless of whether its 4 hours or 9 hours, if you acknowledge and accept that you’ll be getting a good amount of sleep, then you’ll feel great in the morning.

I think I'll stick with The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson, thanks.

Pre-frozen (i.e.: flash frozen and kept frozen continuously) veggies and fruits are also many times more nutritious than canned- and nearly as nutritious as fresh (but fresh always tastes best and gives you the best dietary fiber)

Also, if you stock up on frozen food and fill your freezer, it will be more energy efficient. This is because your freezer is constantly leaking small amounts of air in and out (which is the main reason why it has to keep cooling your food). This principle also applies to fridges, but food will rot in the fridge so you have to be more careful (though you can pack it full of empty milk bottles filled with water, especially if you have a water filter you prefer to drink cold water from).

For all you thermodynamics nerds out there, q(energy from leakage)= ∆T • Cp(specific heat capacity of your food) • m(mass of your food). You're getting the same amount of leakage, but if you increase mass, it decreases the average ∆T.

EDIT: Holy crap I botched that formula. Fixed now though.

Also it bears mentioning that the Cp of air is about 1, Cp of ice is about 2, and the Cp of water is 4.184-ish at most relevant temperatures.

EDIT2: If anyone wants to experimentally verify me, this works great for measuring energy usage and is relatively cheap.

What I do is bring something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E7FMY3U/

It isn't universal, but most trips only cover one or two styles of plug anyway so I just take what I need for that trip. This single-style adapter is smaller and lighter than a universal adapter, and if you look at the picture you'll notice that they have output connectors on both the front and the bottom. This means I can insert my adapter in-between any existing occupied outlet. This is great at places like an airport, where you might be trying to crowd around a few limited outlets.

If I'm not traveling light (only phone and tablet) then I then also carry a small travel power strip, like the one below, so that I can have more outlets for things like my laptop:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F9YN2M/

I feel better waking up to a sunrise simulating alarm clock like this one:
Philips HF3520 Wake-Up Light With Colored Sunrise Simulation, White
It simulates a sunrise and slowly wakes you up naturally. I was a skeptic at first, but it's helped me so far. It's definitely better than being jostled by a loud, obnoxious alarm. Hope it gets better-- good luck!

I would recommend this book to everyone. Life changing. A purge takes a while but my wife and I have subtly changed our buying habits after reading this. We try to buy only things we LOVE rather than just any ol good deal

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Changing-Magic-Tidying-Decluttering-Organizing/dp/1607747308/

Also came here to post a link for musicians earplugs. I have these ones by Eargasm and they're great. I've been going to shows since the nineties and only recently started wearing these, but wish I always had. I even wear them at sporting events and loud bars - they actually make conversations easier. Don't have permanent tinnitus and would like to keep it that way.

Improve yourself & learn things

Habits

Learn about habit formation. Watch tiny habits, check out the subreddit Xeffect or read Power of habit.

• Meditate. There are an insane amount of benefits from meditating. It increase the size of the grey matter, IQ, EQ & Memory just to name a few. Link
  
  
  
• Read more books. Intelligence without knowledge is much less useful. Link1, Link2
  
  
• Exercise. Exercising regulary boosts IQ along with many other benefits. Link
  

I got a sunrise simulator and placed it far enough from my bed that I have to sit up to use it, works great for me. It slowly increases the light and alarms only at the set wake up time and makes me feel less suddenly struck awake. I usually wake up about 5 minutes before peak brightness and just relax and slowly warm up. Once the sound starts I have to sit up and turn it off and it works perfect.


https://www.amazon.com/Philips-HF3520-Wake-Up-Colored-Simulation/dp/B0093162RM

This is really important. I have at least one friend in their 20s with tinnitus, not good.

I bought these ear plugs, and have bought them for other people. Well worth it. Some day I'll save up for a trip to an audiologist and real musician's ear plugs, but until then these $9 ones have all the same hearing protection ability, and sound much better than foam ones.

The OP is 100% on the mark, folks. People underestimate how hard wired we are for habits. A wonderfully easy read really drives this home and provides a lot of great information on how to fundamentally change your life in better ways.

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Habit-What-Life-Business/dp/081298160X

A couple whetstones is just about the simplest that you can do, one coarse and one fine. I like using traditional whetstones, and I get great results, but when I am lazy, I use a guided sharpening system of some kind. Pull through sharpeners destroy your blade, making nicks into bigger nicks. Don't use those. I use a spyderco sharpmaker or a lansky system when I am lazy, and for people who don't want to spend hours and hours getting good at freehanding with whetstones, these are probably the best options. Links are below.

If you have more questions, or are truly interested or into knives, come check out /r/knifeclub

http://www.amazon.com/Lansky-Deluxe-5-Stone-Sharpening-System/dp/B000B8IEA4

http://www.amazon.com/Spyderco-Tri-Angle-Sharpmaker-Sharpener-204MF/dp/B000Q9C4AE

Awesome! Thanks for that.

http://www.amazon.com/Show-Me-How-Instructions-Everyday/dp/0061662577

LifeProTip: With a camera and a copyrighted book, you can generate that sweet, sweet link karma with a series of brief excerpts. Make sure you completely fail to give the author credit so no one steals your karma machine!

I got Eargasm plugs from Amazon which are pretty good. I also got a pair of Vibes after seeing them on Shark Tank. I prefer the Eargasms slightly but both are pretty good performance especially considering the value.

But now I'm probably going to invest in a custom pair due to hearing loss and tinnitus. They actually take a mold of your ear canal and make them just for you but they're damn expensive!

You should consider Frequency reduction values table. I made a little research on this theme, asking vendor for the frequency tables. Here is the table for ~$20-30 earplugs for musicians:

Vendor \ Average reduction Value | 125 HZ | 250 HZ | 500 HZ | 1000HZ | 2000HZ | 4000HZ | 8000HZ
---------|----------|----------|---------|--------|--------|---------|---------
Crioxen Earplugs | 15.1 | 15.4 | 17.1 | 19.9 | 26.9 | 17.7 | 29.9
ER20XS Earplugs | 14.5 | 14.2 | 17.1 | 21.1 | 25.3 | 20.5 | 23.3
Eargasm Earplugs | 14.7 | 14.8 | 16.8 | 20.3 | 24.3 | 21.4 | 25.7
Reverbs Earplugs | 14.1 | 13.9 | 15.2 | 18.7 | 22.2 | 18.3 | 22.1
LiveMus!c Earplugs | 13.5 | 13.5| 14.5 | 17.9 | 23.1 | 18.2 | 20.1
Surefire Defenders | 12.7 | 12.9 | 13.2 | 16.8 | 19.9 | 19.2 | 19.1

It can help to prevent .
You can find some other comparison for earplugs for gigs.

Travel protip: Buy one of these instead == http://www.amazon.com/Monster-MP-OTG400-BK-Outlets/dp/B000F9YN2M

Fits easier in your backpack, you can take them on planes, and people are a lot more friendly about sharing the only outlet in the terminal so you can charge your electronic things

ninja edit, I accidently two letters.

Idk why people just don't use lamps, light strips or something like the Phillips light clock. If you just have a friggin light source behind/near your screen, you won't have that problem.


Example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0093162RM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_2ErxybRVQTMTM

Works great for night gaming, where I barely blink for like ten hours.

Go on Amazon. Same exact foam, same mattress, more than half the cost. We got a king sized memory foam for $300 and we love it.


This is the one we got, there's other brands for about the same price, this one just has a lot of good reviews

Zinus Memory Foam 12 Inch Green Tea Mattress, King https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q7EPV8O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_iZFJAb574PG48

I really love stand alone white noise generators. I used to live in the middle of the bar district in downtown Austin, and picked this up. Also available as a cheaper single speed here - the single speed is the higher speed on the dual according to reviews.

It's some of the best money I've ever spent on sleep.

Another good pair that I found on amazon for $18 - great reviews

http://www.amazon.com/Alpine-Hearing-Protection-MusicSafe-Classic/dp/B0032BYCWG

I bought this one about 5 years ago. Still working well. You also need an app. I personally bought Torque Pro for $5, but they have a free version as well.

If you go to more than one concert a year do yourself a favor and buy specially designed ones for listening to music. They do a much better job of making the music sound more natural and they aren't that expensive.

I'm a DJ and have been using Etymic Research ER-20s for probably close to 15 years now (bought them when they were originally EarLove). They are only $13 on amazon (several sized & color options):

http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ETY-Plugs-Protection-Earplugs/dp/B0044DEESS/

If you don't like those, here is a run down of some other brands with various prices (most are around $20-$30 or so): http://djtechtools.com/2015/11/09/best-dj-earplugs-for-the-club/

3M Headlight Cleaner System

Works amazingly well. I love it. Really cheap too.

Philips Morning Wake-Up Light With Colored Sunrise Simulation and Dusk Fading Night Light, White, HF3520

I have the older model, but this thing is worth every penny. I used to sleep with the light on to ensure that I woke up with my alarm. (My wife is much happier now!)

I've seen several of these illustrations reach highly in LifeProTips and even this came in second on the front page.
I found the book at my girlfriend's house and spent a good 45 minutes reading through it (to her annoyance) and found it really good so I would rather redditors buy it than have scanned pages show up every couple of days.
PS: I promise I am not Derek Fagerstrom

This thing saved my life. It helps me wake up more naturally and I am the opposite of a morning person.
I am seeing some cheaper versions that may be just as good.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0093162RM/ref=psdcmw_509324_t1_B003XN4RIC

A great book on understanding body language is "What Every BODY is Saying". It's written by an ex-FBI agent and was a really interesting read

Good ear plugs make concerts sound better. Seriously. Get a good pair too, suggestion below.

https://www.amazon.com/Alpine-Hearing-Protection-MusicSafe-Musicians/dp/B0032BYCWG

Yeah. Edge pro is the expensive one, you can get any angle you want, and the much cheaper lansky version has set guide holes for the rods.

Yeah, my crocks sticks work and your sharpmakers better. I just wanna try something different.

Sure! I don't have a Safeway near me, but this is the one I use and it's fantastic:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Tungs-Products-Stainless-Cleaner/dp/B00064JGBO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367713197&sr=8-1&keywords=tongue+scraper

We use this alarm clock from Phillips and it simulates a sunrise for 30 minutes in the morning. We have it synced with another Phillips light on the other bedside table as well as the lights in our kitchen so the whole house lights up like a sunrise. It's helped us quite a bit, especially in the winter in Canada getting up early for work. Hope this helps!

https://www.amazon.ca/Philips-HF3520-Wake-Up-Coloured-Simulation/dp/B0093162RM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511724255&sr=8-1&keywords=philips+sunrise+alarm+clock

And you didn't even mention getting some of these to protect your ears from permanent damage?

Also, much love for the FutureSonics FS1 In-Ear headphones. They're my favorite headphones I've ever owned, I have them with the apple iphone cables from ultimatebuds.com

Oh yeah? Well I'll do you one better! I found the one I was talking about too! What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People. On a serious note, I had to reply out of a necessity of competition. But yeah agreed (5th time), it's interesting how much an effect body language has even though most of it isn't even intentional, but still has a lot of implications.

The Marpac Dohm-DS White Noise Sound Machine is great for people who need a fan to sleep. I've had one for years.

I own both the Etymotic plugs and these ones from Eargasm

They both work well but the Eargasm ones are way more comfortable and go on my keychain.

https://www.amazon.com/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-Counterintuitive/dp/0062457713/

This book is pretty good. It's not exactly as the title says it is but it has some entertaining and insightful conversation that may apply to you if you are too hard on yourself.

It's a fact that changing from incadescent to LED will save you energy. On something like a refrigerator it's hard to tell how much. You can't just look at your bill and say "hey, every last bit of energy i saved compared to last month is because I changed my bulbs in the fridge." I'd recommend getting one of these for proper energy comparisons.

Earlier you said no other change in behavior (in regard to your electricity bill). Do you turn on/off your bathroom/bedroom/etc lights at the exact same time all the time? Maybe a few nights you turned off the TV a little earlier. Etc etc... it all adds up. Congrats on your lower electricity bill, I feel you about the tiered rates. I charge my electric car in the garage every few nights, it hurts. (I signed up for EV usage but haven't heard back from PG&E).

You might consider reading 'The Power of Habit'. I recently started reading this and it has some interesting information on how the brain forms and executes habits as well as giving some advice on how to change them.

Or if you don't want to read the book you might consider searching "habit loop" on the internet and getting your learn on that way.

For the price, Etymotic earplugs are pretty good.

I really enjoyed this book which touches on pomodoro and many other study/work techniques. Well sourced with too!

My headlights were much more hazy than that, so I spent a few bucks on this. Worked like a champ!

This is a good one I recently bought and has good reviews:

BAFX Products 34t5 Bluetooth OBDII Scan Tool for Android Devices https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005NLQAHS/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_5Dv6wbFD1XW5Y

Check this book out. It's a fun read with good advice.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck

Some high quality musician ear plugs can be found on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Alpine-Hearing-Protection-MusicSafe-Musicians/dp/B0032BYCWG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1486987439&sr=8-3&keywords=musician+earplugs

https://www.amazon.com/LiveMus-HearSafe-Silicone-Triple-Noise-Cancelling/dp/B00H2F87I8/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1486987439&sr=8-4&keywords=musician%2Bearplugs&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Protection-Earplugs-Standard/dp/B0044DEESS/ref=sr_1_5_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1486987439&sr=8-5&keywords=musician%2Bearplugs&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Earasers-HEM001-Musicians-Plugs-Medium/dp/B00E2D9HAA/ref=sr_1_10_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1486987439&sr=8-10&keywords=musician%2Bearplugs&th=1

Cheers

If you have a drill, get a 3M headlight restoration kit. Comes with all the sandpaper pads, compounds, etc that you need, and it's easy. $15 well spent, IMO - took me a couple of hours to do both headlights because I took my time, but they turned out like new.

you might want to look into getting a tongue scraper. this is probably the best $7 i've ever spent.

These are what I bought before my wife and I went to a Fallout Boy concert in Lincoln last October. They worked fantastic. I could still hear all the great highs and lows of their music but it was reduced to a level that wasn't going to damage my ears. 10/10 would buy again.




https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015WJQ7A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use the Kill A Watt : Helps so that you know what not to keep running. Used to run my air purifier all the time, then found it was running at 160W.

I've used post it notes to stick to various things, showing the consumption. Helps to quickly decide whether it should be used sparingly.

Dr. Tung's is the best one.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00064JGBO

These two things combined:

1. Marpac Dohm-DS Dual Speed Sound Conditioner
   
2. Hearos Xtreme Protection
   
   Put the noise-maker near you, and pop in the super-soft amazing ear plugs.

As 43 year old who was reckless with loud car stereos, concerts, and clubs, please protect your hearing. I have had permanent ringing in my ears since I was 30. I never used headphones-they were not as popular as they are now. The damage is from car stereos, about 10 concerts and 10-15 trips to loud clubs. I was not front row at the concerts, I didn't have a $3,000 car stereo. The ringing never goes away. Not only do I have the ringing, I can't hear as well as many people my age who don't have damage. I have to ask, 'what was that?', 'I didn't catch that' many times in a day. When other people ask, 'can you hear that?!', my response is almost always, no, I just hear ringing.


Use these https://www.amazon.com/ETY-Plugs-Fidelity-Earplugs-Standard-Frost/dp/B0015WJQ7A/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1487008346&sr=8-1&keywords=etymotic+plugs when you are at concerts or anywhere loud. You will actually be able to hear better, more clear, and you won't be damaging your hearing.

This one is cheaper http://www.amazon.com/3M-39008-Headlight-Restoration-System/dp/B001AIZ5HY/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1345951794&sr=1-1&keywords=headlight+restore

Worked great for me.

$20 on Amazon gets you your own bluetooth OBDII reader that works with the free Torque Lite app on a cell phone.

Outside of old cars (\<1996) and some fancy european cars, it can read basically everything on the road.

More money, but this will give you more flexibility. I learned about these devices from another redditor. With this device, check your own system and turn off your own engine light. I bought it because I plan on buying a used car in a few months and want to plug it into any potential car I am thinking about buying to read the computer

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NLQAHS/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My buddy highly recommended that book to me, but I haven't given it a read yet. It's "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life".

• Audible: http://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/The-Subtle-Art-of-Not-Giving-a-F-ck-Audiobook/B01I28NFEE
  
• Physical book: https://www.amazon.com/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-Counterintuitive/dp/0062457713

I bring this in my travel kit. Compact and perfect for hotels or airports.

try this?

I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for but it's a good book on organizing.

My dentist gives me a fantastic tongue scraper that looks kind of like this. I love it:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Tungs-Products-Stainless-Cleaner/dp/B00064JGBO

I used the free version to check the error code and clear them (it was a false positive and it hasn't come back, but it would have prevented me from passing inspection)
The device I used is this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NLQAHS/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00

Try this book. My girlfriend swears by it and it has even helped me. It feels really good to declutter, you just need to do one thing at a time.

I got mine at a local pro audio retail store. But you can get them online.
http://www.amazon.com/Alpine-Hearing-Protection-MusicSafe-Classic/dp/B0032BYCWG
I like those because it gives you a keychain tube to keep them in. You also get two different filter caps. They're comfortable enough to keep in for around 2 hours. Gets a little annoying after that.

Oh. didn't the kit come with oil? The Lanksy kit comes with oil: http://www.amazon.com/Lansky-Deluxe-5-Stone-Sharpening-System/dp/B000B8IEA4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457290766&sr=8-1&keywords=knife+sharpening+kit although, i guess, the Spyderco doesn't. I didn't see the Spyderco one in store when i was shopping :)

Would these type of plugs be good for a regular concert attendee?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B019M576XW/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1&th=1

Ever since I stated using a tongue scraper this hasn't been a problem and my tongue feels extra clean I got this one: http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Tungs-Products-Stainless-Cleaner/dp/B00064JGBO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372722372&sr=8-1&keywords=tongue+scraper

As a live sound engineer thats works 6 to 7 concerts a week, this is amazing advice. I'm personally a fan of this brand of earplugs.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B019M576XW/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1522822648&sr=8-2-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=eargasms+ear+plugs&psc=1

These are also a good option. It comes with two pairs. 23db and 29db, plus a connecting string so you're less likely to lose them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00H2F87I8/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1522822728&sr=8-2&keywords=live+music+ear+plugs

I have tiny ears so the squishy ones don't work for me. These stay in my ears! Etymotic ETY-Plugs High Fidelity Earplugs, Standard Fit, Frost Tip https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015WJQ7A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_aY-0AbMF8JW3R

If you're looking for good shoes, try Allen Edmonds, Red Wing, Thursday Boots, RM Williams, and /r/goodyearwelt in general. Of course, comfy tennis shoes are great too and there's a reason old people who stopped "giving a fuck" wear Reebok and New Balance.

For beds, try a lot of the new foam beds that have come out recently. TempurPedic has been overcharging people for too long. This bed will drop down to ~$350 every so often, and it's a great mattress. I also have a $1000 Loom and Leaf mattress which is basically a Tempur Pedic clone but I prefer the cheaper mattress because it's a bit firmer. Tempur Pedics are way too soft in my opinion, and they give me back problems.

One other thing this post fails to mention is exercise. It's hard to think of a better investment than 30 minutes of exercise a day.

I use them for concerts and the gun range. Work great I can be in a loud area and still understand the person next to me. So I bought two one for me and the person with me at a concert or whatever loud area. They come with holders so you can keep them on key chain or whatever.

http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ETY-Plugs-Protection-Earplugs/dp/B0044DEESS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1368721955&sr=1-1&keywords=etymotic+research

here's the one i use. Very simple and robust.

To save space, I haven't found anything better than this one from monster (ugh) - http://www.amazon.com/Monster-MP-OTG400-BK-Outlets/dp/B000F9YN2M/

I have this one, if you can find it somewhere I recommend it. Small enough to carry everywhere and can be very handy.

Earplugs! There have been a few recommended in this thread. Surprisingly I didn't know that these sort of earplugs don't actually muffle sound, but just lower it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032BYCWG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I just ordered one myself as per the recommendation. If you want I can let you know how it sounds when I get it. I say it's a small price to pay and a smart investment towards a healthier life.

These are what I wear at every concert I go to; everyone should have a pair of these (or a similar ear plug). They drop all sounds by 15 db (or maybe 20 db, I forget), and since they're clear hardly anyone will notice you're wearing them.

These will save your eyes if you're an average concert-goer. Going to concerts without ear plugs is as stupid as staring at the sun. Get a pair of these or similar ear plugs!!!

https://smile.amazon.com/Etymotic-ETY-Plugs-Fidelity-Earplugs-Standard/dp/B0015WJQ7A/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1522823127&sr=1-1&keywords=Etymotic+ETY-Plugs+High+Fidelity+Earplugs%2C+Standard+Fit%2C+Frost+Tip

The blocks with rods that stick out work fairly well. If you want to get serious get an eye loupe and one of the systems that use a guide rod to keep the angle perfect every time (http://www.amazon.com/Lansky-Deluxe-5-Stone-Sharpening-System/dp/B000B8IEA4). But those take some time and quite of skill to usr.


Or if you are lazy and don't care about longevity of the blade get one of the chef's choice sharpeners. They are pricey, but ridiculously easy to use and you can have a razor sharp blade in seconds.

Get some energy meters and take weekly logs of consumption. Multiply kWh consumed by $/kWh in your area, and split the bill accordingly each month

Zinus Memory Foam 12 Inch Green Tea Mattress, King https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q7EPV8O/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apip_RzYUZf7PuV11r

I bought the box spring as well

Highly recommend Dr Tungs Tongue Cleaner

Dear lord it's disgusting how much stuff comes off my tongue. And if you smell the stuff you just scraped, you will know forever that you never want that stuff in your mouth. Same with smelling your floss after using it.

I use the paid version, but that's not necessarily due to any extra features (I'm not sure I use them, or even remember what they are). I just have a thing about paying for software that's worth it, so I just do.

The unit I bought was this one (although it's gone up to 24 bucks according to Amazon).

I have the same issue so I bought this Light Alarm, and I think it works really well. You wake up feeling really refreshed and not being able to pinpoint the exact moment that you weren't no longer sleeping. It sure beats waking up already in fight or flight mode that was my old alarm.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1607747308/

FTFY

im gagging just reading about this. i'll stick with my tongue cleaner.

Not if you buy one for this purpose, such as this folding travel one: http://www.amazon.com/Monster-MP-OTG400-BK-Outlets/dp/B000F9YN2M

I'm currently using a 4-outlet monster powerstrip. It's a beast!


Monster MP OTG400 BK Outlets To Go 4 Outlet Travel Power Strip (Black)
http://amzn.com/B000F9YN2M

I have a few of these scattered in various travel bags.

Toothpaste has abrasive qualities which lends it to secondary uses as a polishing compound. They sell commercial kits that do similar things. It'd probably take half a tube of toothpaste, and a lot of elbow grease to get these results.

late to the party...wanted to reccomend these right [here] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019M576XW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1)

If you have trouble sleeping from the noise, you can buy a noise machine that makes a wind type of noise. I use it since I live in the city and it helps me sleep.

http://www.amazon.com/Marpac-DOHM-DS-Natural-actual-Machine/dp/B000KUHFGM

Edit: In the city I constantly hear search helicopters, life-flight helicopters, ambulance and police sirens all night.

Earplugs like these are designed to be reusable and washed with soap and water. They also dip the sound level down while not messing up the detail in the music. Instead of a muffle, it's a supressed sound. I used them in a Bruno Mars concert and it made the music listenable without making the music so loud that it would damage my hearing.

Stop brushing your tongue and get a Dr Tung scraper from your local Sprouts Market or other hippy grocer.

I had to give up toothpaste because I would gag/puke when brushing. This thing has seriously made it so much better.

http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Tungs-Products-Stainless-Cleaner/dp/B00064JGBO

If you have problems throwing something away you don't need anymore, read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I can't recommend this book enough.

Don't brush it, all your doing is moving gunk around but not out. Instead use a Tongue Scraper or something similar to this. Awesome product and you will see all the crap it removes.

First, buy yourself some construction worker-grade earplugs. You can find them cheaper at Home Depot or Lowe's. Next, invest in some shock absorbing shoes. Those two things will at least dull some of the sensory input you're dealing with.

This is $110 and but I can't seem to find any differences yet of that from the one above. I'm going to purchase it and still keep my loud/annoying alarm on and set it 10 min past the alarm point for this alarm incase I don't wake up.

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-HF3520-Wake-Up-Colored-Simulation/dp/B0093162RM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414242254&sr=8-1&keywords=light+alarm

Etymotic has good ones around $14USD which are what I use and I go to concerts all the time for my job.

Honestly, there are shows that sound better with earplugs in, as it sort of blocks out the really muddy sounds that happen with certain sound systems/types of music/loud volumes.

And consider your hearing in other settings: I might be more sensitive now that I carry and use these frequently but I'm very attune to when things are too loud for me so I even pop them in at loud bars or restaurants, and I can still hold conversations with those around me. And I'm no longer ashamed to cover my ears when emergency vehicles fire off their sirens! Fuck noise!

Edit to add link!