The specific items on his lists certainly don’t make sense for everyone, but the format has some potential. You just have to fine tune it to your own priorities and needs. For you, maybe “fast food” could be switched to “junk food” (it’s a subtle difference, but it’s there) and put on the once a week list, for…

I just did something similar recently, but had to cut holes in the box I chose and added curtain grommets to finish the holes. It wasn’t a lot of effort, but unless you need the holes to be in a different location, this solution is certainly simpler and easier.

Knowing yourself and showing yourself are two different things. To the extent that either is a meaningful concept, I see no reason why one has to lead to the other.

This was actually my suggestion in response to the How Do You Help Yourself Fall Asleep? article from last month. There was no science involved though; just personal anecdotal evidence resulting from memories being a kid who had trouble staying awake for stuff.

There is no perfect method to determine the "caloric maintenance" point, and yet it's useful to know. Shall we throw away any tools that doesn't meet the standard of absolute perfection, or should we take them for what they're worth? Used in conjunction, taken with a grain of salt and compared with observable results,…

Wow. This couldn't be more timely for me. Just this morning I was disabling start-up items to try to prevent that annoying minimizing thing on a crappy little HTPC I put together out of some parts I had lying around.

Maybe just buy a regular widescreen monitor and rotate it to portrait orientation? If you already have a monitor that doesn't rotate, a cheap Monoprice monitor mount will do the trick.

Maybe just buy a regular widescreen monitor and rotate it to portrait orientation? If you already have a monitor…

It's just a given.

Yeah, TV works for me too, depending on what I'm watching. Late night talk shows tend to work best. I find inconsequential banter very soothing.

The main things I usually do have all been listed, but there is one little trick I use sometimes that hasn't been mentioned:

No problem. Always glad when I have a little something to add to one of your articles. They are consistently and refreshingly rational and BS free.

Great article.

I lived in Osaka in 2003/2004 and often bought beer and cigarettes from vending machines. No card was needed then, but, if I recall correctly, those machines were turned off after a certain hour. I guess the idea was that as long as enough people were around to supervise, it was unlikely that any young people would be…

Although these tips may add up to the same thing, I don't think it hurts to make it explicit: don't let yourself get too hungry. The more hunger builds up, the more strain it is on your willpower and the more likely you are to screw up and the more likely it is that it will be a big screw up.

I definitely need to sit sometimes. Standing too long can affect my concentration. I also don't want to spend too much time adjusting the desk (also distracting). One of the motorized desks might be a good solution (Ikea's Bekant - as reviewed by Gizmodo - seems like a decent choice), but the solution I lean toward is…

I don't eat breakfast (in fact I only eat between 12 PM and 8 PM and once a week skip lunch too for a 24 hour fast), but I wouldn't dream of giving up many breakfast foods. I just don't eat them at breakfast time.

Exactly. Every item on my to do list feels like it has a mental weight or burden I want to stop carrying. It just makes sense to get rid of the heaviest one first.

I find the tasks that I don't want to do, that do not excite or inspire me (the frogs I have to eat, for those who get the reference) are the ones that often seem to give me the most energy. I get feelings of accomplishment and relief that can add to my motivation and willpower, sometimes for days.

Weight losses (or gains) tend to happen in stages with uneven distribution. This means that, if you're losing weight, the fat may primarily come off your belly first and then your legs (for example) and so on. This varies from person to person, but to reveal your abdominal muscles, you'll have to get to the stage…

Great idea. This is very helpful when trying to make sense of the fluctuations and put them in perspective.