u/Material_Tutor_7820

I was thinking about this. I realized that if something really happened to me my family would not be able to get to anything. We have many things that need passwords and extra verification now which is good for keeping things safe but it is a big problem if there is an emergency. I started making a legacy folder. This is a folder with a USB drive and some papers that have all my important passwords, special codes to get back into my accounts and instructions on how to get into the accounts that matter the most to me. It is of sad to think about this but it is much better than leaving my family without any information when they are already going through a tough time. My legacy folder is going to have all the information my family needs to access my accounts. I am putting my master passwords and recovery codes in my legacy folder. I am also including instructions, on how to use them to get into my accounts. My family will be able to use my legacy folder to get into my important accounts if something happens to me.

I used to wonder why I felt so tired. My body felt wide awake even when I was really exhausted. Then I figured out that I was looking at a screen with a light behind it until the moment I closed my eyes. It is, like trying to stop fast when you are going very quickly. It just does not work that way. Now I have started doing something I call a sunset. This means that I turn off everything with a screen one hour before I actually want to go to sleep. At first this was really boring. The truth is, my brain actually gets a chance to relax now. I found out that I do not really need to look at one thing on my screen before I fall asleep.

I always used to end my day with a bad headache and my eyes felt like they had sand in them. When you are looking at code or a screen for ten hours without stopping your eyes just get tired. They have trouble focusing on other things. I have started doing something that really helps me: the 20-20-20 rule. What I do is this: every twenty minutes I look at something that's twenty feet away from me for at least twenty seconds. It is a thing to do but it really helps my eyes feel better because it makes the muscles, in my eyes relax. If you do not take these breaks your vision is going to get really tired and it might even get hurt. I follow the 20-20-20 rule because it helps my eyes and it makes me feel better.

Honestly we are all way too dependent on GPS. I realized the day that if my phone died or the network went down I would probably struggle to find my way across town without the GPS telling me where to turn. The GPS is something I use all the time. It is not always reliable. I went out. Bought a physical map of the city to keep in my drawer. The physical map of the city is something I like to have it is school but it is a weirdly grounding feeling knowing I have a fail safe that does not need a signal or a battery. The physical map of the city gives me a feeling. Plus actually looking at the layout of my city on paper gives me a better sense of direction than just staring at a small screen the GPS screen is small. The GPS is useful. The physical map of the city is better, for understanding the city

The idea of having no emails in my inbox is really not worth my time. I used to spend a time going through emails that I did not need and putting them in folders just so I could see that I had no emails left to read It did not really help me with the things I was working on. Now I just do not pay attention to how emails I have. I would rather use thirty minutes to write one email that actually helps someone than use ten minutes to get rid of a bunch of emails that I know I will never read. I think it is better to focus on my work than to focus on cleaning out my inbox. I should just do my work. Not worry about my email inbox. Having an inbox is not as important, as getting things done. I will just ignore the number of emails I have. Do what I need to do.

I feel much better now that I do not check my phone as soon as I wake up. Normally people like me just turn over. Start answering messages from other people before we have even had a cup of coffee. It is like beginning the day by being on the defensive. Now I keep my phone face down for one hour. I think about what I really want to do. By the time I finally look at my phone and the apps I am in charge of my phone. My day, instead of just doing what my phone and the notifications tell me to do. I am in control of my phone and my day and my phone is not, in control of me.

The biggest mistake we make is letting our phones be the thing we see at night and the first thing we see in the morning. Our phones are like a problem. If your phone is on your nightstand it is like sleeping to a door that takes you back to all the things that worry you and your job.

I started charging my phone in the living room. It has completely changed my sleep quality. I sleep a lot better now. You find out quickly that nothing in your email or your social media is so important that it cannot wait eight hours.

Give yourself a place where you do not use phones or computers. Make this place for you and your phone is not allowed there. This place is, for relaxing and your phone is not part of it.

We are surrounded by good screens everywhere but when it comes to thinking of new ideas I still like using a physical notebook. Every time I try to use a drawing app something gets in the way. It might be that the battery is running out or it takes a while for the screen to respond or I get distracted by a message. With a pen and paper I do not have to worry about any of that.

A pen and paper are perfect because they do not slow me down. When I am trying to come up with an idea I need to be able to think without anything getting in the way.

Notebooks are great, for thinking because you can feel what you are doing. Writing in a notebook helps me see if my ideas make sense before I start typing on a computer.

A loud computer stresses me out all the time. Most people get used to it. I do not think it should be that way. That humming noise is always there telling my brain that the machine is working hard next, to me. It makes it hard for me to focus.

I wanted my workstation to feel smooth not heard. So I spent an afternoon in the BIOS and fan control software. I customized the fan settings to fit my computers temperature limits. I set the fans to spin really slow until the computer gets really hot. Now my system is usually quiet even when I am using developer tools.

It made a difference for me. I can focus better now. I think silence is not just a nice thing to have. You should set up your computer to be quiet.

We have been led to think by tech ads that if our screen isn't showing 144Hz or more we're missing out. But a high refresh rate feels really smooth, for playing games it can actually be a distraction when trying to focus on work. The smooth movement of windows and cursors is nice to watch. It adds extra visual stimulation that our brain doesn't need for coding or writing.

I started setting my monitors to 60Hz when I'm working on projects. It might seem small. It makes my workspace feel less energetic. A webpage should feel steady. When the screen isn't always trying to be super fast it creates a stable and less distracting space. Stop trying to get the scrolling and try to get the deepest focus instead.

It is really annoying when you are trying to fix a problem with your computer or a coding issue and then you find out that your internet is not working and you cannot look at the instructions. We depend much on being able to get online all the time. If the internet servers stop working or your connection is bad you cannot use your tools.

I have started doing something that helps me with this problem. I download the instructions for all of my computer libraries and hardware so I can look at them even when I am not online. Having all of these instructions saved on my computer means that I am never stuck. It makes me feel safe and like I can do things on my own, which is a feeling. When something goes wrong the person who has the instructions saved on their computer is the one who can actually fix the problem.

I like having my computer libraries and hardware instructions because it means I do not have to rely on a search engine all the time. In an emergency it is good to have computer libraries and hardware instructions that I can look at even when my internet is not working. This way I can fix the problem. Get back, to work.

I have many apps on my phone that I have not used in six months. They just sit there using up my battery and sending me messages. I thought about my phone. I realized it was like a box where I throw everything. Most of the apps that are supposed to help me get things done were actually making it harder for me to focus.

I decided to get rid of all the apps on my phone. I wanted to keep the apps that I really need. I call these my 10 apps. These are the apps that I use to talk to people find my way and do important things. I deleted all the apps. If I need something I can usually just use the internet version on my phone. This has made my phone useful again of a thing that distracts me. It feels great to look at my phone and see that it is not cluttered, with lots of things I do not need. My 10 apps are all I see and that is nice.

The 10 apps I use are:

​Niagara Launcher (The core of the minimalist UI)

​Signal (Privacy-first communication)

​Proton Mail (Encrypted, intentional email)

​Obsidian (Local-first knowledge base)

​Organic Maps (Open-source, offline-first navigation)

​Spotify (Dedicated audio focus)

​Bitwarden (Essential security sovereignty)

​Aeon Calculator (Minimalist utility)

​Solid Explorer (Managing the local file system)

​Firefox Nightly (With uBlock Origin to kill the web noise)

We all have that one folder or app filled with hundreds of articles and videos that we "saved for later" but will realistically never look at again. It is a form of digital hoarding that creates a background sense of guilt every time you see the list growing. It is a graveyard of things you thought you wanted to know.

I deleted my entire read later list and started a new rule. If I do not have the time to read it right now I just let it go. If the information is actually important it will find its way back to me when I am looking for it. This has completely cleared my mental overhead. Stop saving things for a "future self" who is just as busy as you are today. Focus on the information you can actually use right now.