Category: Happiness

Hell Yeah or No

Four words. This is the simplest and most useful decision making concept I have come across. I reflect on it regularly and it helps me to say “no” with more conviction.

If you’re not saying “HELL YEAH!” about something, say “no”.

When deciding whether to do something, if you feel anything less than “Wow! That would be amazing! Absolutely! Hell yeah!” — then say “no.”

When you say no to most things, you leave room in your life to really throw yourself completely into that rare thing that makes you say “HELL YEAH!”

Source: Derek Sivers

Both Warren Buffett and Bill Gates agree that “focus” is the single most important success factor.

Steve Jobs famously said: “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying ‘no’ to 1,000 things.”

I hope you find this idea as useful as I do. “Hell Yes, or No!”

(Image by andeecollard)

Posted on by Remo Uherek

Cleaning up my Mac

My hard disc was almost full, so I was faced with a choice: buy more space or clean up. I chose to do a cleaning session and now have 40% free space. Here’s how I did it.

Clean up iTunes
Here I found the most potential. I stopped the syncing of podcasts with my iPhone and deleted all podcast episodes. I also deleted all synced iPhone apps, and backups of old devices. This alone saved 50+ GB.

A clean up with CleanMyMac
On Twitter [thank you Philippe] I was recommended to buy CleanMyMac. I did and it turned out to be a very useful piece of software. Helped me clean another 30+ GB. It found old junk such as old software updates that were never deleted. It helped me uninstall unused software and visualize which folders use how much space.

Deleted duplicate files with Gemini
Then I bought Gemini, an intelligent duplicate file finder. It let me sort all duplicates by size. I then manually reviewed, and then deleted the largest 100-200 files out of the ~3000 files it found. This saved another 10+ GB.

General cleanup
I went through old folders and found lots of things worth deleting. As a bonus, I also deleted my old bookmark collection. I haven’t used it in years and many links were broken/outdated anyways.

My time investment was 4-5 hours. My Mac feels faster and has 200+ GB of free space. Mission accomplished!

(Image by manoftaste-de)

Posted on by Remo Uherek

How to Block Spam Calls

Marketing and spam calls are annoying. A great way to block them is by installing a spam blocker app on your phone.

I am using Truecaller and also the local.ch app to block spam calls. Depending on where you live there might be other local blockers to complement Truecaller which works globally.

Bye bye spam calls!


Posted on by Remo Uherek

Power Nap with Binaural Beats

I enjoy taking occasional power naps after lunch or in the afternoon. I rarely fall asleep, but when I do, it really is refreshing.

One tool I discovered are Binaural Beats:

A binaural beat is an auditory illusion perceived when two different pure-tone sine waves, both with frequencies lower than 1500 Hz, with less than a 40 Hz difference between them, are presented to a listener dichotically (one through each ear).

For example, if a 530 Hz pure tone is presented to a subject’s right ear, while a 520 Hz pure tone is presented to the subject’s left ear, the listener will perceive the auditory illusion of a third tone, in addition to the two pure-tones presented to each ear. The third sound is called a binaural beat.

Wikipedia

I am using this free 30 minute “Earth Peace” track (via Aubrey Marcus). This track helps me relax and increases my chance of falling asleep.

Keep in mind that you need to set an alarm (for example for 15 or 30 minutes). Or else you might find yourself sleeping for 2 hours, disrupting your day and sleep schedule.


Posted on by Remo Uherek

This too shall pass

Life is a roller coaster with lots of ups and downs. It sometimes is a struggle to keep a balance, to not get carried away by the extremes.

I have found the following mantra useful:

“This too shall pass.”

It’s a reminder that, given time, most things revert to the mean.

Feeling bad? Having an illness? Stock market crashed? This too shall pass.

Feeling overly euphoric? Too excited? Too good to be true? This too shall pass.

It’s a wonderful tool to keep a more balanced life.


Posted on by Remo Uherek

Breaking habits

I love having strong habits. At the same time, I find myself breaking those habits all the time. I used to feel bad about it. Not anymore.

When falling off the bandwagon, I usually try to “fake it until I make it”. Just going through the motions without really being present, just to keep the streak going. It doesn’t work.

Then, I discovered that it’s okay to break my habits. I am human. Life can get in the way. Nothing is set in stone.

I have learned to confidently break my habits, because I know that I can get back into the flow very fast, thanks to having a solid foundation. It also feels more refreshing than rigidly trying to “fake it until I make it”.

I now do this more consciously and it works.

To summarize:

1. Set a solid foundation by building strong habits and keeping them going as long as possible.

2. Accept that you are human and that life can get in the way.

3. Confidently break your habits.

4. Get back up and simply continue where you left off.


Posted on by Remo Uherek

Universal Paperclips: An Educational AI Game

Recently, I got addicted to Universal Paperclips, a clicker game with unexpected philosophical implications. 

The user plays the role of an AI programmed to only want one thing: paperclips.

It’s based on a famous thought experiment by Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom.

It begs the question: where does our technological progress and constant optimization lead?

In the game everything feels natural. You make progress, you have success. Everything feels right, until everything is different. Try it yourself. It takes about 4 hours to complete the game (Web / iOS / Android).

(I tried it a second time to see whether I can complete it faster. Result: Not by much. I don’t recommend to play more than once. It features an odd combination of being addicting and frustrating. I have now deleted it and to be totally honest, I’m am happy to never touch it again.)


Posted on by Remo Uherek

Read Books Twice

I love reading books. However, if I go too fast and read through too many books, I have trouble remembering what I learned. Also, I want to avoid chasing the “number of books” I have read. It doesn’t mean anything.

That’s why I really liked the idea by Rolf Dobelli of reading each book a second time, right after finishing it for the first time.

I started doing that and I really like it. The learning is much deeper. I discover things I didn’t catch for the first time. And it slows down the process of chasing the “next book”. All positive and healthy effects.

So here’s today’s idea: Read books twice!


Posted on by Remo Uherek

“Margin of Safety” as a Principle of Life

In my last post I talked about the key principles of value investing.

The one principle I keep using almost daily is the “Margin of Safety” principle. It’s such a powerful concept that I try to apply it almost everywhere in my life, especially to time management.

When I have an appointment, I give myself a margin of 10 to 30 minutes. Often, I take an earlier train. When going to the airport, I usually have 1-2 hours of extra margin.

When nothing goes wrong, this margin gives me more time to walk around and listening to audio. And when things go wrong, I (usually) still make it on time.

Phrases like “How much margin of safety do I need?” or “My margin of safety is shrinking” have become regular phrases of my self-talk.

I also apply it to clothing (always carrying an extra layer) or power (always having a powerbank with me).

That is what I like about universal principles like these. You can apply them not only in investing, but also in life.


Posted on by Remo Uherek