I Can’t Believe How Quickly Home Automation Has Changed My Life (Amazon Echo Alexa, Hue Light Bulbs, and the Power of Routine)

I can bathe my apartment in green light whenever I want. I don’t ever do it, but it’s nice to have the option. This is (sadly) not my lamp.

Getting up early or getting into a regular sleeping pattern has never been easy for me. But it just got a lot easier.

Since I moved back to Seattle after a failed but worthwhile experiment to be a nomad, I’ve been on a mission. I have full control over my environment and I’m making it as friendly as possible to my goals. A big reason why I decided to stop traveling and come back in Seattle is because I began to feel out of control. I didn’t have a home, a place I could go to, completely unwind, and be unabashedly introverted for as long as I wanted. 

It didn’t take me long to make what some might say are “dumb, overpriced purchases.” I’ve bought 7 light bulbs that cost $50 a piece. Yeah, that’s $350 for some light bulbs… I’ve also bought 3 Amazon Echoes and a Hue Smartbridge. All in all, I’ve paid more than $500+ to be able to automate my apartment lighting. And it’s been one of the best investments I’ve ever made!Read More

You Have More Energy Than You Think

Stock photos are great.

Most of us wallow well below our energy potential because we “treat” low-energy feelings with low-energy activities. When people feel tired, they’ll often do something like watch TV or take a nap because those activities don’t require much energy. It seems like a great match, but the best response to low-energy feelings (when it isn’t bedtime) is to engage with high-energy activities such as exercise.Read More

Hidden Mechanisms Change (Or Ruin) Lives

I’m endlessly fascinated by counterintuitive truths.

When something generates the opposite result of what you’d expect, that means there’s a deeper, hidden mechanism at play. It means that the most obvious factors are less meaningful than the factors you have to work to find.Read More

The Hidden Danger of Fitness Tracking

What’s the point of doing this move if her watch can’t track it? Hmmm?!

Exercise is getting more and more popular, which is good. Fitness trackers from Fitbits to phone apps are also increasing in popularity. It’s good that people are becoming more aware of how active they are, but it comes with a subtle, dangerous downside.Read More

Your Choices Today Compound for Life

Let’s just say you’re going to live until 100 years old. Congratulations, that’s a long life!

On your 99th birthday, your foot is amputated because you stepped on a chainsaw. Terrible, I know. But what if, in your 100-year-long life, your foot was amputated at the age of 25? There’s a big difference between living 75 years without a foot and living one year without a foot.

Within that stupid example is today’s topic, which is that the decisions you make now will ripple for the rest of your life. Read More