There are many things that people talk, do or sacrifice in order to get better or simply achieve some outcome. Some may do a diet to shed some fat, others would start a morning jog to keep themselves fit. None of these things seems to be pleasurable, yet for a greater good we do them – you know what I mean.
For quite a while I was looking for golden hacks that will do magically 20% effort changing 80% of the expected outcome, as Pareto’s rule sounds quite compiling, but is it true?
For once, I can tell, it is not all that easy. Naturally for me, as with many other people, I am lazy and not a well-disciplined individual. So I won’t lie – on paper it is all good, as long as it sticks with you.
Fortunately, some of them stuck with me.
Focus
This has been my key problem since I was young. I tried so many things, but nothing worked as advisable as binaural beats. About the 40Hz frequency of binaural beats I learned from Dr Andrew Huberman podcast, and I use typically this 30-min session just before or during demanding tasks. Especially once it is paired with TDCS (Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation) an astonishing hack. Mind that there are others few good binaural beats music on YouTube for free that I can recommend, i.e. my favourite track or when music annoys. There are also some paid solutions I can always try if you are interested.
Another thing I started to notice, my brain is not as fast when I roughly past the age of 32, however I realised that there is a hack—the mysterious supplement helped me to recover snappy and clear thinking. I learnt about it from a documentary film on Netflix called Fantastic Fungi. By overhearing the magical word neurogenesis next to Lion Mane, I immediately got immensely curious. At that time I had to do some research and soon after ordered my first batch of Lion Mane supplements. I was captivated by neurogenesis a.k.a. brain cognition, yet there are indicators that it can also help people with dementia, depression, anxiety, diabetes or cancer (quick overview). However, you should conduct your own research.
“Diet”
I don’t really pay much attention to this, apart from my mornings where I only have coffee (sometimes bulletproof coffee if not too lazy) instead of breakfast. This is practically an intermittent fasting formula to keep yourself fresh and in check.
Moreover, I figured out that I do not tolerate cow milk and gluten. This was not particularly helpful for my bowels. So about two years ago I eliminated it from my diet. In the end, I stopped eating most sugary stuff since they almost always contain combination of both and lost almost 10 kg (mostly fat) without any extra effort. This recommendation came from a naturopath who also recommended me some probiotics to rebuild my gut. Since May 2023, during holidays in Portugal I got cheated with ingredients in my dishes and to my surprise I was fine’ish, meaning my body has already recovered. I value my health more, and after such a long time, I don’t mind sticking to this idea for 98% of the time.
Physical
In recent years, I kept light gym and swimming in my schedule to counterbalance the sedentary lifestyle, until my friend enlightened me about zone 2 training. So did my little research that led me to decide to add it to my schedule and replaced swimming. Somewhat, I did not see it as really beneficial as my recent “discovery”.
Surprise! This led me to another biking exercise that blew my mind – REHIT (Reduced-Exertion High-Intensity Interval Training). A less than 9 minute routine that pushed my resting heartbeat from about 67 mark down to 58 in about 3 weeks time! The difference was massive. I noticed a fast recovery after intense exercise, or simply was able to fast pace walk stairs up with 3x10kg luggage to the 6th floor (elevator was broken after coming back from holidays) without massive tiredness. I was able to recover my breath to normal, almost immediately after it. When normally I would have to take a few deeper breaths for a minute or so even without any load. In technical terms, this workout efficiently increases the maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max) according to the inventor Ulrich Dempfle (interview). Mind that I did not purchase his bike to yield those benefits in my case.
Another game changer in the field of fitness is the X3 Bar – in a nutshell, a bar with freely rotating hooks at the end for rubber bands. I did look into that read book of the inventor. All sounds well, there is lots of hype too, but is it all real? I don’t know. You can find both stories of positive and negative, but one thing is for sure, it can stick with you and that is the winner! Even though I bought a rip-off one from Amazon, I am very happy with it. It takes about 10-20 min to exercise. I do it in the morning 4–6 times a week. I see a change in musculature and posture, I see a pump, and I get tired of it very quickly. For such an effect, which I would need way more time and effort to get from just a gym, it is just efficient.
What did not Stick
There are a few things that might be good habits or things to do, worth revising.
Wim Hoff and box breathing seemed to be good and made some positive impact on my cognition and calmness (I am a rather calm person). I just did not see as much impact on my daily stuff, plus the setup in the case of the Wim Hoff one kinda added unnecessary friction.
Morning cold showers, it works! Gave me some freshness, lightness and mind clarity, especially nice to haves in the morning. However, the issue I had is that water in pipes is colder during winter season. So, whenever it gets a bit warmer, water does not get cold enough, yielding it useless. Seasonality does not make it too sticky in my case. Perhaps, we could invest in a future and buy a freezer to keep the water at the right level throughout the entire year.
Keto diet – I think it is down to diet per se. The idea and some facts behind it speak to me. I know it can be a Pandoras box and there are always two sides of the coin. Anyway, this type of eating sits well with me but not with Yurema, making it more difficult to maintain at home. Also, a somewhat simple no-milk no-gluten policy gave me very good results by cutting out on a lot of unnecessary foods, snacks that eliminated the sugar spikes that keto tries to address.
Meditation – there is so much science behind this, so many apps, so many courses, books, podcasts, yet I have not caught a hook. To be honest, I am determined to give a go to Dr Joe Dispenza’s meditations. Perhaps, you will motivate me to try again.
Wrapping Up
The none-sticky life improvements could be endless. I feel like it is worth mentioning those, but not dwelling too much. What are your working and none working habits, hacks or other life game-changers? Please share in the comments section, as I would love to hear your ideas!