I use WordPress with lots of caching and CloudFlare, but for some reason the caching wasn't working and I couldn't get it up. Had to move it to Medium and will fix the blog soon.
I don't think this is surprising at all. You're brought up through primary/secondary education where there is a very definite requirement of when and where to be. College hits and that requirement is softened, and procrastination works out a-okay for all sorts of people. Finally, you land a tech job with flex hours and where remote is okay - suddenly you have to exercise self control in a manner that hasn't ever mattered before.
While it seems to me that the 'ideal' (hugely qualified and highly subjective, that word) answer is to practice that self-control (and with that, go through the ups and downs of succeeding and failing at exercising it), the solution that Jesse has found is effective and doesn't have too much overhead. I like it.
I think it says a lot about your character that you want to try to maintain being a real person rather than another startup founder with his head in the clouds.
As someone who would love to work from home / run a business again someday you've given me an idea on how to instill a little structure. I struggled with it when running my own company before.
I've actually experimented a fair amount with my sleeping patterns. For the most part, I find that when I wake up in the morning, I feel tired no matter what (up until around ~10 hours of sleep). What I've also found, however, is that this tiredness usually doesn't translate to how I feel for the rest of the day — I feel good all day no matter whether I get 6 or 8 hours.
The first night of using a CPAP machine, I woke up in about 4 hours and felt like Superman. I am not exaggerating. I suspect I gained 20 or so IQ points.
After about a month, I merely felt normal, averaging about 7 hours of sleep a night.
For diagnosis you need to go to a hospital that does sleep studies. They will hook you up with a sleep apnea machine and sensors and they will monitor your sleep overnight.
I was diagnosed with sleep apnea at around 20, which is rare for a young, healthy person. In my case I think it's just genetic because my dad has it. But I figured out something was wrong because I would sleep 10-12 hours and still wake up feeling exhausted. I wore the CPAP machine for a few years and that helped, but now I don't think I need it anymore. I sleep about 7 hours without it and feel fine.
After I got married, and my wife observed my sleep apnea, I did a sleep study. My apnea was infrequent/mild enough that the doctor considered CPAP unnecessarily invasive/expensive.
She told me to take a sock, put a tennis ball in it, safety pin it to the back of a t-shirt, and sleep in that.
I'm picking that it cushions the blow when his wife kicks him. On a related note, I had a friend who resorted to using duct tape over his partners mouth. Other than being rather brutal and terrifying to see in half light it worked wonders I'm told - better than the prescription tongue depressor thing.
In the US, diagnosis is made in a one-night sleep clinic with an EKG and an adjustable CPAP. If you do this, make sure to tell the technician that if you register apneation, you would like a CPAP titration calibration done immediately. This saves you (a) another bad night's sleep in the clinic and (b) insurance hassles.
Then you go back to your doctor, discuss your need for a CPAP or APAP machine right now, and possible longer-term treatments.
Depending on insurance specifics, it may be much cheaper to buy a CPAP from an online source than via a full-service insurance-covered medical equipment company. Saving 50-75% is not unusual.
I had a sleep study done. Initially, it was done as response to high concentration of hemoglobin and low testosterone. I had been really tired for so long I didn't even realize how bad it was until I had my first night of sleep using a CPAP. The only way I could cope would be to drink caffeine continuously at work just to be able to focus, even sitting while at work was too much, I just wanted to lay down.
I was diagnosed with sleep apnea during college, while I was my fittest. Running every day, lifting weights, etc. I felt great, besides the fact that I couldn't get myself out of bed.
I still haven't started using a CPAP machine, as I have developed other coping methods (sleeping on one side helps dramatically). I have considered doing another sleep study though, to get some more information and start with a CPAP machine for backup.
Stop drinking coffee. About 7 years ago I cut out all caffeine and I've found myself being less tired and more alert in the morning. Granted there are days where I don't want to drag myself out of bed mainly when I know I need sleep, but I no longer feel like a zombie until coffee in the mornings.
If I had access to free coffee every morning I would grab 2 cups every morning. :-)
I do get what you're doing here. By making an external commitment to people, you simultaneously get up on time to meet your commitment, feel better about meeting it, and get a little exercise. And $35 a week can pay for a round trip ticket to Hawaii at the end of the year.
when i sleep more i actually get up feeling more tired. in fact it feels as if my mind was wrestling all the while and has been active for quite some time.
Do you have a sunrise simulation alarm clock? Buying a Lumie was probably the best thing I've done to make myself feel awake. Also, put an alarm clock on the opposite side of the room and leave a piece of fruit by the bed to eat in the mornings. It works wonders.
This speaks so much to how the dot-com boom has changed and how young adults are re-re-re-experiencing it.
A complete full circle to the point now where to gain an authentic real world experience means to step outside of the echo chamber to do real work just to feel something real.
When they spoke of hipsters in 2001 this... this is it.
The harder something is to do the more justifications we come up with to justify what it is we are doing. Employees sometimes works harder when they are paid less. Don't fall into making this same mistake.
Great article. I've been thinking in this lately. We, which work on tech, spend all of our work time thinking in how to resolve a problem. It doesn't matter if it is backend or frontend, but we have to approach a problem and resolve it.
I think I am a little tired of doing this all the time. Sometimes, I wonder how it would be to have a mechanical job where I have to think less and do much more, mainly physical tasks. Your experience seems a good example of this, and I think I am going to try if I find the time.
His job would only help your cardio and leg muscles, for the most part. You could just go running or biking on your every morning and get the same effect. I'd save the gym membership for those looking to maximize gains elsewhere as well.
The accountability is key, too. Joining a gym you can go whenever you want -- which also means you can not go whenever you don't want. If people are relying on you for their morning bagels, you don't have an option, and removing the choice to opt-out can be crucial.
I don't think he took up a biking hobby ... he took a very small part-time job for which he uses his bike. Big whoop indeed, you don't need to bike a marathon or work a double shift to impact your life.
...and if you actually read the article you'd see that the distance involved is completely inessential to his purpose. Also, you don't know him or how many bagels he's hauling around. I can guarantee you that I can find a balance between any given person and some number of bagels such that physical exertion happens in a "measly" 1.6 miles.
I recently picked up a consulting job with a company in a completely different time zone from my own.
I have to wake up at 4am and I'm done for the day at noon. It's been a week so far and I'm loving it!
I wake up, put on some Nujabes[1] and make myself a cup of coffee. Then get to work (I work from home). It's magnificent! By the time I have to pick up my son from school at noon, I'm done for the day with the entire afternoon free to me.
I'm going to have trouble switching back to a regular 9-to-5. Waking up early is almost pure pro's and minimal con's.
I've taken two separate part-time jobs while working full time elsewhere.
The first one was while I was working for the federal government. I commuted one hour each way and after spending two years in a mid-sized bedroom community I still had no friends where I lived. I got a job at a local coffee shop filling in where needed which was usually either opening up from 6 to 8A.M. or closing up from 6-10P.M.
I immediately got to know a lot of locals from the college students and young people who worked alongside me to the professionals who came in earl to the stay-at-home moms and dads that came in mid-afternoon.
I learned how to make a great espresso made some spending money and a bunch of friends. It was a great experience.
The second job was while working remotely as a developer in a tiny rural town. I took a job as a fitness instructor at a local studio and, again, met a lot of people I wouldn't have otherwise and got to make a real personal impact on many people's lives helping them get fit and stay healthy.
The author does a great job summarizing the benefits of this kind of job. There's so much more than money that can add tremendous value to your life.
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[ 2.4 ms ] story [ 203 ms ] threadhttps://cloudup.com/cJLT_TN6ZsX
While it seems to me that the 'ideal' (hugely qualified and highly subjective, that word) answer is to practice that self-control (and with that, go through the ups and downs of succeeding and failing at exercising it), the solution that Jesse has found is effective and doesn't have too much overhead. I like it.
Low paying: check
Early morning: check
Exertion requiring: check
Not that it's not extremely worth it of course.
Being woken up at 7am and getting that daily dose of smiles is exactly the same if not better!
Each one of his "issues" for me, are helped by kids.
They "help" me get up early, they keep me grounded and my tech-world concerns mean nothing to them.
I think it says a lot about your character that you want to try to maintain being a real person rather than another startup founder with his head in the clouds.
As someone who would love to work from home / run a business again someday you've given me an idea on how to instill a little structure. I struggled with it when running my own company before.
"every day, getting out of bed is one of the hardest things I do"
"Every night, when I crawl into bed, I’m exhausted by all I’ve done that day."
Your body may be telling you that you need seven hours of sleep. Or eight.
How would your life change if you went to sleep an hour earlier, but you woke up feeling good?
After about a month, I merely felt normal, averaging about 7 hours of sleep a night.
I was diagnosed with sleep apnea at around 20, which is rare for a young, healthy person. In my case I think it's just genetic because my dad has it. But I figured out something was wrong because I would sleep 10-12 hours and still wake up feeling exhausted. I wore the CPAP machine for a few years and that helped, but now I don't think I need it anymore. I sleep about 7 hours without it and feel fine.
She told me to take a sock, put a tennis ball in it, safety pin it to the back of a t-shirt, and sleep in that.
Then you go back to your doctor, discuss your need for a CPAP or APAP machine right now, and possible longer-term treatments.
Depending on insurance specifics, it may be much cheaper to buy a CPAP from an online source than via a full-service insurance-covered medical equipment company. Saving 50-75% is not unusual.
But a lot of times you'll get scheduled for a clinic anyway...
I still haven't started using a CPAP machine, as I have developed other coping methods (sleeping on one side helps dramatically). I have considered doing another sleep study though, to get some more information and start with a CPAP machine for backup.
I do get what you're doing here. By making an external commitment to people, you simultaneously get up on time to meet your commitment, feel better about meeting it, and get a little exercise. And $35 a week can pay for a round trip ticket to Hawaii at the end of the year.
EDIT: OK, a lot of people talking about that below.
- wake up after ~6.5 hrs of sleep, use the bathroom, grab something quick to eat and drink a pint of water
- go to sleep again and wake up after ~7.5 hours
- rejoice
It's a hard one to do, and sometimes I can't fall back asleep after the first waking up, but when it works I feel pretty amazing.
Don't ask how I discovered this, I'm not sure myself.
A complete full circle to the point now where to gain an authentic real world experience means to step outside of the echo chamber to do real work just to feel something real.
When they spoke of hipsters in 2001 this... this is it.
So ... I still have to go?
If this works for you, and makes you more effective for your company, awesome!
Have you given any thought to the long term effects of sleep will be for you?
I have to wake up at 4am and I'm done for the day at noon. It's been a week so far and I'm loving it!
I wake up, put on some Nujabes[1] and make myself a cup of coffee. Then get to work (I work from home). It's magnificent! By the time I have to pick up my son from school at noon, I'm done for the day with the entire afternoon free to me.
I'm going to have trouble switching back to a regular 9-to-5. Waking up early is almost pure pro's and minimal con's.
[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTH7XefE85A
The first one was while I was working for the federal government. I commuted one hour each way and after spending two years in a mid-sized bedroom community I still had no friends where I lived. I got a job at a local coffee shop filling in where needed which was usually either opening up from 6 to 8A.M. or closing up from 6-10P.M.
I immediately got to know a lot of locals from the college students and young people who worked alongside me to the professionals who came in earl to the stay-at-home moms and dads that came in mid-afternoon.
I learned how to make a great espresso made some spending money and a bunch of friends. It was a great experience.
The second job was while working remotely as a developer in a tiny rural town. I took a job as a fitness instructor at a local studio and, again, met a lot of people I wouldn't have otherwise and got to make a real personal impact on many people's lives helping them get fit and stay healthy.
The author does a great job summarizing the benefits of this kind of job. There's so much more than money that can add tremendous value to your life.