Posted February 14, 2006 — 40 Comments
by Josh
So a couple of weeks ago I posed the question asking when (or if) you showered. The response was absolutely stellar with over 130 responses. So huge thanks for that.
Here are the results:
54% of you shower in the morning
24% of you shower in both the morning and evening
22% of you shower only in the evening
Now for my answer.
I shower twice a day. I shower at night immediately before I go to bed and in the morning soon after I wake up. Why? It ultimately goes back to getting a good nights rest.
I didn’t start showering in the evening until I wrote the first post about this, but I’ve been doing it since then and can’t believe I hadn’t started sooner.
It perviously took me 30 minutes to an hour to go to sleep every single night for as long as I can remember. Since showering at night, I’m out of it within a matter of minutes.
Like others who shower at night, I find it helps totally relax me. I turn the water on as hot as I can bear it and just stand there for about 10 minutes. I’ll then do a fairly quick bathe and from there go directly to bed. It usually helps to get your hair as dry as you can with a towel, but a little dampness will help you feel refreshed when you lie down.
So my suggestion? Shower at night right before you go to bed and shower again when you wake up. Try if for atleast one week. If you don’t get to sleep faster and sleep better…you can kick me in the shins.
Popularity: 100%
Posted in Methodologies, Philosophy — 40 Comments
Posted January 22, 2006 — 47 Comments
by Josh
A little bit of background to bring you up to speed on where I’m at in life. Back in July I graduated from college. The same month I married the woman of my dreams. That same month as well we moved across the country from Mississippi to Colorado. We both were extremely fortunate to have parents who went above and beyond to make sure we were provided for which ultimately meant we started our new life together without a dime of debt…college, cars, etc were all paid for. And to clarify that, they didn’t serve us everything on a silver platter. We both have held jobs everyday of our life since we were 16 and paid for all of our possessions. They just worked hard to help pay for a quality education and essentials like transportation….something we plan on doing our best to offer our kids as well.
We currently live in a two bedroom apartment but, as with most people, would love to get into a house as soon as possible…mainly because paying rent feels like money going into a deep dark pit of nothing. But what we’ve really started debating lately is the idea of saving for a house over quality of life. We’re certainly not of the mindset that material things make life better…but in a way they do.
Do we save now for a house or buy the night stand so we aren’t using a plastic crate? Do we go out to eat tonight or cook at home? Do we get a fish tank or just do without?
Obviously these are all pretty superficial things. But to some extent they aren’t. All these little things bring some sort of indirect joy to life. Having a level surface to put a lamp and a clock at night, enjoying a fun night out and a tasty meal at a restaurant, and adding a few little swimming creatures to the room all just bring something to the table that getting in a house sooner than later just don’t seem to be able to do.
I have many friends who are of the camp that we should save every penny we can to get a house, a new car, a __________. But I’m a firm believer that expensive things aren’t necessarily what to strive for in the short run…sure it’s a necessity to save money and we will eventually get that house…but what I believe is that, in the long run, life we’ll seem much more enjoyable if I lighten up a bit with my money and chose to live a bit more spontaneous and care free.
There’s obviously no right or wrong opinion here. What are your thoughts?
Popularity: 22%
Posted in Philosophy — 47 Comments
Posted October 26, 2005 — 5 Comments
By Keith
Have you ever worked with someone who can’t seem to do things on their own, someone who needs their hand held all the time? What about someone who questions everything that crosses their desk? Or maybe, you’ve experience the opposite end of the spectrum; someone who never asks for permission and is always begging for forgiveness? Or the micro-management type, who needs to be involved with everything at all times.
I’ve worked with all these people, and I’ve been them at one time or another. In my mind none of these ways of working is very healthy to a team environment and they’re almost always a roadblock to getting valuable things accomplished. Now, I’m not 100% sure how these behaviors start, but my guess is that it starts with trust.
Or lack thereof.
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Popularity: 8%
Posted in Philosophy — 5 Comments
Posted July 22, 2005 — 6 Comments
During the summer months it can be pretty hard to get motivated. The sun is shining, people are smiling, spirits are generally high and there’s lots going on to distract you from work and getting things done. So, how does one keep up and keep focused?
You don’t, well unless your working on building that ultimate sandcastle or teaching your kid how to throw a baseball. You get your butt out there and soak up some summer sun!
At least that’s my opinion. I try and take advantage of my summers as much as I can. Work and Life should be balanced in my book and in the winter (here in Seattle) there are plenty of days where I have no problems just working, working, working.
If you really must work, maybe doing things like washing your car, or mowing the lawn or some nice relaxing gardening would make sense. But I really think you should play as much as you can.
With that, I’m off—have a good weekend everyone.
Popularity: 5%
Posted in Philosophy — 6 Comments
Posted July 18, 2005 — 13 Comments
Life and the Web are funny at times.
At any given moment I’ve got from 5 to 20 posts in some kind of draft form. Usually that form is notes with a title. I keep these around for times when I’m at a creative low and have nothing to talk or write about. This post was one of those that had been lingering in my drafts for a few weeks.
But then I came across this article via Lifehacker and I knew I had to come back to this issue and get this post out to y’all.
It’s all about the work/life balance and how time spent away from work can make you a better worker.
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Popularity: 5%
Posted in Philosophy — 13 Comments
One of the things I alluded to in my last post was confidence. I talk about “owning” something and having the courage to follow through. I realize, however, that this is not always easy. For some of us confidence comes harder than for others.
I was always envious of those folks who could just get up in front of people and “own it”, you know? The people who are totally comfortable in front of crowds? Those who always seem to speak with confidence and always know what they are talking about? I mean, I bet they never feel like they don’t know what they’re doing, right?
Wrong.
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Popularity: 8%
Posted in Philosophy, Motivation — 10 Comments
A week or so ago I was laying in bed working on my Powerbook. My fiancee, Staci, leaned over to me and asked, in her cutest 5-year old girl voice, “Are you going to snuggle-buggle with your ‘puter-wuter all night?”
I chuckled and replied, “Yeeeah. What of it?”
She went back to her book, good-naturedly mumbling something about “what a geek” and I went back to my business, content and happy. I got to thinking about this interaction a day or so later and that train of thought took me all over the place and dropped me off right here.
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Popularity: 5%
Posted in Philosophy — 10 Comments
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