What I Learned in 2020

This is inspired by the post 100 Tips for a Better Life by Conor Barnes. I recommend you go read that if you haven’t.

Almost none of this will be new to you, but there is value in reminding yourself.

  1. Learn about things that you are curious about. Seems obvious, but put effort into it.
  2. When you find a book that seems interesting, add it to a list. I use the Audible wish list. For regular books I just buy them on Ebay or Amazon.
  3. If you have a task that takes less than 10 minutes, just do it now.
  4. Keep a list of reminders. I like to set them so they notify me at weekly or monthly intervals.
  5. Don’t take any small excuse as a sign not to work out. If you skip one day, definitely don’t skip the next.
  6. Ordering yourself fun little toys on Ebay that take weeks to arrive is very fun.
  7. Setting up a home desk with good equipment is well worth the cost. Your monitor, chair, keyboard and mouse should be good.
  8. If I start gaming, I don’t sleep enough.
  9. Businesses are hard to start. Try to test an idea before building the whole thing.
  10. Go on walks.
  11. Give away things you don’t really like.
  12. Gigabit internet is not worth it. You won’t notice the difference between that and 300-500 Mbps. Save yourself the money.
  13. Have a computer you really like to use, opting for a chromebook leads to much less productivity.
  14. The point of creating an audience is to get feedback. Twitter or karma are not meaningless.
  15. You won’t get an opposing opinion if you don’t seek it out.
  16. Make sure the thing you are buying doesn’t charge via micro-usb.
  17. Do small programming projects. It will help you learn and it’s a great creative outlet.
  18. People who are good writers or speakers have put a lot of effort into it.
  19. Life is unpredictable, make sure you spend it with people you love.