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Punctuality
I set multiple alarms on multiple devices (phone, physical alarm clock, pebble), spaced 10 - 20 minutes apart, starting maybe half an hour before the deadline when I need to get up. This way, if I fall back asleep, I’ll get kicked back up again - in a way that the snooze button doesn’t seem to do. Vibrating pebble seems to work well as one of the devices.
I get a lot of mileage out of Google Calendar (for personal items) and Outlook Calendar (for work items), but I do often miss the notifications, which don’t mandate acnowledgement. My best strategy is to every few days copy to Android’s default Clock app and set an alarm with a label corresponding to the event. Can use multiple different alarm tones/vibration to denote different priorities. I always set two alarms:
- If I need to commute there, I set an alarm about 40 minutes before the time I expect. I usually only have a few things set up per day. If I don’t need 10 to 30 minutes early (so I can use the washroom, finish up what I’m working on), and one at the time of the event.
My Pebble used to fulfill this function, with the ability to set 8 (unlabelled) with the advantages of always being on my person and not bothering co-workers, but it’s since died.
Transportation
Think about backup plans: what if your car doesn’t start. How long will it take for the next bus or a taxi to arrive
For the bus, I got up at 6:20 one time, left immediately, just missed the first bus, and still needed to call a taxi at around 7.
Sleep and waking up
I’ve always had a lot of trouble falling asleep, even from a very young age (though then my bedtime was quite different, of course). A good friend of mine who has a similar persuasion (similar set of hobbies, that is) has professed the same thing to me - unable to sleep because of thinking of projects that seem important (in fact, he lost his job as a result) and a few other acquaintances have reported the same problems.
Anxiety, ruminating thoughts.
Waking up
Saskatoon can be dark in the winter when getting up.
A work colleague mentioned that he had once set up a light in the window to solve this problem.
I bought a Hue bulb. Bluetooth, had to keep re-activating the.
Lamp attempt 1
I really resented needing needing another IoT device just to turn on a lamp.
300 watts of lighting on a Canadian tire light timer.
However, over a period of a few months, I found this didn’t wake me up nearly as reliably as the Philips Hue wake-up routine. I think the reasons are:
- The Hue fades in slowly; according to Reddit does something . Used to have it set 10 minutes from 6:35 to 6:45 AM, now
- Probably most important, the bulb is on the ceiling and well-diffused, lights up the whole room; I can’t roll over and shield my eyes.
- Color temperature is more sunlight-like
Seem to reliably not get out of bed at appropriate time if the hue wasn’t set.
I hate that I will need an account and a hue hub just for a wake-up lamp, but I relented and I now have three Hue warm white 800 lumen bulbs and a Hue Bridge. So far it’s woken me up.
Parameters
In case of power failure, at least one battery powered device
| Hue | Fade in from 6:00 to 6:30 AM. |
Falling asleep
I had one progressive muscle relaxation audio CD which worked incredibly well for a few sessions at the time, which I’ve since lost - slowly tensing and releasing muscles . I’ve tried various ad - university mental health pages are good places to find free sleep audio tracks.
Can get into a vicious cycle if you need to get up early.
A sleep counselor I’ve been going to has recommended ACE, which has been pretty effective. The most effective technique I’ve come up with so far is:
- Complete a round of ACE, which finishes with the commitment: “Full attention to the task at hand”. Setting a timer on my watch for about 8 minutes seems to be a good way to remember to focus.
- Find a part of my head or face that’s tingling a little bit, and try to make that spread.
- If you get distracted and stay awake and then realize - don’t get mad at yourself or try to process that, just directly return to trying to fall asleep.
Two Minute Rule.pdf (33.5 KB)
ACT - Dropping Anchor (Russ Harris).pdf (262.7 KB)
Brain & coping mechanisms
As a scientist (and, obviously, as any person), your brain is a tool which is at the nexus of all activities. Obviously, a lot of focus is put on information to fill your brain with, techncial skills, time management. But it means being calm enough to interact with people and run experiments effectively; it means being able to shut your brain off when you need to sleep; being able to control your mindset and ; knowing when to work late and when to start fresh, picking up on warning signs in yourself. Alex dainis don’t science hungry.
Many otherwise superbly technically skilled people at work have had their opportunity to produce good work in the organization impaired or removed altogether because they could not maintain their sanity (or could not maintain appropriate) relationships.
Other people to prove themselves they work until they are unable to function,
I enjoy working late and fooling around, and I have sometimes found the “bonus hours” I can create between 7-10 pm (or later) can be my most productive. But it must be recognized that this is, in some sense, a choice. Easily argued that the most important scientist of the 20th Century was Bardeen
The book’s opening and closing chapters address the following questions: Why are some scientists, despite obvious achievements and stature, less well known than others? What makes for “true genius”? and What is scientific creativity? The authors believe that, in general, personalities less flamboyant and eccentric than, say, Einstein and Richard Feynman fail to register on the popular cultural radar because, historically, we have associated genius with certain psychological and behavioral traits that originated in the Romantic Period myth of the genius as extravagant, absent-minded, “superhuman,”—“unbalanced, a bit mad perhaps, a recluse,” and “possessed by (rather than endowed with) creative power.”
Hoddeson and Daitch use Bardeen’s life and work as the basis for a more nuanced profile of “real geniuses,” whom they believe to be characterized by such qualities as perseverance, motivation, passion, talent, confidence, focus and effective problem solving—characteristics and skills that can be nurtured and developed. This more egalitarian portrayal offers hope for all those who may contemplate a career in science, even those who, like Bardeen, are modest and unassuming.—
https://www.americanscientist.org/article/john-who
Metacognition
Something I’ve noticed with regard to mental health is that it’s easy to get wires crossed and misattribute why you are feeling a certain way. Is that person really doing something to make you grumpy, or is there an endogenous stressor that’s making you more sensitive to otherwise innocuous behavior?
metacognition.
2 minute rule. If I’m stuck ruminating or anxious about something, I set a 2 minute timer on my watch. Close my eyes, sit down, and do nothing to resist the thoughts, think as much as I want about anything, until the timer goes off. This usually helps snap out of things.
Healthcare
Allergies
I’ve had issues with my nose running continuously in the fall to winter season.
I started with diphenhydramine, definitely worked but I would get nosebleeds and all sorts of negative symptoms, especially if I took it two days in a row. Tried out a few other options, Loratadine (Claritin) didn’t prevent the symptoms. I now take Ceterizine hydrochloride (Zyrtec or generic) 5 mg (half tablet) upon symptoms, full tablet (10 mg) if they persist after a half-hour or so. I’m okay with this, except that it claims to be non-drowsy but it does mess with my brain significantly.
I understand there are injectable antihistamines which might be something I want to look into.
Misc
[details=“Antiperspirant”]
"Apply antiperspirant twice a day (in the morning and at night). Why? At night, you sweat at a slower rate, which allows more antiperspirant to sink down into your sweat ducts. "
Just learned about the difference between antiperspirant and deodorant. Especially if I’m trying to avoid driving to work, in the middle of summer, . Tried Old Spice pure sport combination antiperspirant. Worked well, dry all day, except it’s almost impossible to remove at the end of the day. Switched back to the deodorant-only Old Spice classic. Wearing an undershirt is sufficient to prevent stains, and this is what I’ll keep doing.
General
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Other gross hygiene stuff
- certain areas.
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> markup like blockquote's should even work on github!
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Gilbert’s syndrome
Eyes were yellow, bilirubin levels were high (25 vs typical 22), but doctor suggested Gilbert’s, other liver values were normal, not dangerous but if I get unwell those levels might spike
Important dates
Car insurance renewal Jan 30th.
Paying taxes
I use ufile. In 2022 I submitted the tax return on March 5th.
Use automatic import from CRA. Tried on March 1, 2023, T4 hadn’t been updated in CRA yet.
