Some Great Tips for a Better Life
Author, podcast host, computer programmer, and avid reader, Scott H. Young, offers some excellent advice.
What I read: “12 Obvious (and 12 Not-So-Obvious) Tips for Living Better” by Scott H. Young. Published September 2024.
I’m always on the lookout for wisdom. Good life lessons can come from anywhere. When they come from writers and thinkers I respect, I pay attention even more.
Scott H. Young is one such writer and thinker. Since I have a deep interest in optimal learning strategies as evidenced by my past writings including my book, The Art of Self-Education: How to Get a Quality Education for Personal and Professional Success Without Formal Schooling (paid link), great articles by Young and his books Get Better at Anything and Ultralearning (paid links) make me pay attention to what he writes.
Of the 12 tips he offers, I agree with all but one, and I only have minor quibbles with that one. I’m not going to comment on all the tips. I recommend you read his entire article. But here are some of my thoughts about a few of them.
Regarding fitness, I did an experiment this past week and decided to exercise every day as Young suggests. Some days I just did pushups and that was it. Other days I walked a couple of miles. Yet other days I did a yoga session. But every single day I did something.
What did I learn from this short experiment? Young is correct, at least for me.
A surprising strategy to make it stick is to commit to exercising every day, rather than only a few times per week. While this sounds harder, it can actually make it easier to form a habit since the pattern is consistently reinforced.
I now have it in my daily notes to do some form of exercise every day. It does seem to solidify the exercise habit better for me.
My only naysaying among the 12 tips is number two about productivity, and my contrary opinion does not entirely negate what he’s saying. I simply think we’re far too focused on productivity as a culture than we should be. We are an overworked society with societal or self-imposed goals continually placed out of our reach which can engender a constant sense of never doing enough.
I’ve written about this topic before. In “Embrace the Process” I encourage people to deprioritize specific goals and outcomes and instead lean into the process. In “Stop Dangling Carrots” I contend that creating goals can be problematic, at least some of the time.
Still, I do get what Young is saying and I’m not going to suggest that the productivity suggestions he’s offering won’t work for other people. But I hope people keep it all in perspective and balanced because the hamster wheel of life can be a very real and troublesome thing.
When it comes to money advice, he’s “right on the money,” so to speak. Years ago, I read the superb The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (paid link) by John C. Bogle, and Bogle offers essentially the same advice.
Simple investing works better. Putting your money in a low-cost index fund, investing the same amount, regardless of the ups and downs of the market, and not touching your money until retirement beats 85%+ of the portfolio wizards clamouring to take your money.
This is the savings and investment strategy I’ve followed for decades, and it works.
I’ll comment on one more of Young’s tips about reading. I consider my lifelong reading habit the main contributor to whatever success I’ve achieved. It’s helped me be gainfully employed. It’s helped me foster a diverse set of interests. It’s helped me better able to contribute to conversations. It’s helped me improve myself and my critical thinking skills. In my opinion, along with exercise, developing a regular reading practice will benefit everyone.
Like Young, I have books always loaded on my Kindle and my phone’s Kindle app, audiobooks loaded on my Audible phone app, and paper books scattered around the house as well as one packed in my backpack should a certain book be best presented in paper form.
The easiest way to read more is to always have a book with you. I aim to have three: a Kindle edition on my phone, an audiobook through Audible, and a paper copy in my backpack or by my nightstand.
I’m not a fan of encouraging fast reading, however. I think we all read at whatever speed we read. I took speed reading classes when I was younger and all it did was make me consume more books but hate the reading process itself. Nowadays, I read at whatever speed I read at and am happy with whatever speed that ends up being. I just want people to read, no matter how fast or slow.
The rest of Young’s tips are equally good.
I encourage you to sign up for his free newsletter too. It’s excellent.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from the book link. You can use this link to access all my writings and social media. My content is usually open and free to view, but for those who are able your paid subscription (click the Subscribe button) or patron support are always appreciated.