Cooking. This is something that I never knew that a) I could do b) would be something I would do c) it would improve my quality of life. I was never big on hobbies. I wouldn't say that I would call it that either since it seems like 99% of the population does it. Daily I might add. But I realized that it makes a big difference in day to day quality of life.
The benefits: Cooking is so much fun and if you do it right you get to eat something really great!
Most people just see it for what it is healthier, or if nothing more as a means to saves money. But it is also rewarding and with a linear learning curve you even get benefits from modest effort. Though they continue to be present even when you get more skilled at it. In other words there is a continued benefit, the more you invest time learning the better you will get. I don't think that there is a limit.
To summarize by cooking you will save you money, improve your health and make you more popular and attractive to anyone. Alright, the last bit was maybe a bit of a stretch. But it is fun! I am surprised that more of my friends don't cook for themselves.
Sure it can become expensive. Cooking utensils cost money. But you don't need them all. And not in the beginning. I’ve bought a lot of things now that I have gotten used to it.
Though it has been an on going process. When you strt you don’t need much, just a cook top and a few pots and pans. You can even find these in usable condition from the thrift store. Throw in a cutting board, a spatula, and a knife. That is about it.
Everyone in the world cooks, not just rich people in America.
Clearly nice gadgets, while nice, are not required.
My dad is a big MLB fan. He can tell you statistics until you go insane, but that is beside the point, not until he runs out. He never runs out.
The other day he shared Shohei Otani’s career plan with me. It is more like a life’s worth of aspiration. He found it on facebook or one of his usual hangouts. It was a snapshot of a TV screen with some notes. They read:
… out with the sun!
You could say that your bed is comfortable, it is safe. Nothing can hurt, you, but you also can’t do anything from your bed. It is a cage that you have to be willing to leave. Are you willing?
I am.
Picture this a young woman at home sitting on comfy chair in front of window relaxing in her living room reading book. There’s something magical about the smell of fresh air in the morning. The stillness, the tranquility. You miss out on that if you are still under the comforter. So it is in bed early, up early for me. It really is that simple. There are so many great reasons that sleeping early is difficult to achieve on a regular basis.
To do so consistently you must manage your time effectively. But it is as simple as that.
Therefore getting up in the morning itself isn’t the only thing that will add to your productiveness.
I believe that choosing the hard option is always best. Getting up early, at least at first is hard. Still if you are willing to get out of bed at 5 or 6am is going to provide you with so much more time than the rest of the world.
It comes down to a sort of self-mastery. But only in the beginning.
In a world where competition is the fruit of success, you must understand that getting up at these hours puts you ahead of pretty much everyone. If done successfully this will give you the slight edge in pursuing whatever you choose. You can argue that this is all subjective to the individual and maybe some people can get work done at night time. On the other hand I would argue that it’s actually a more intelligent act to wake up as early as possible.
Why?
Because you can take advantage of the quite hours of the morning. This time can be utilized to get more done and start your day off better. Staying in bed is self defeating. Defeating this obstacle reinforces a healthy mindset. If within the first minute of the day you successfully overcome this hurdle, you are more likely to do the same with your day. It is a pattern that will repeat itself in other aspects of your life as well.
How common is it for you to be in a breakneck rush in the early hours, before work, university, whatever do for a living? For me it as like that all of the time, up, teeth, hair, makeup, food (no just coffee). This left me in a really stressful state with no ideal way to start the day.
I made a change though so instead of the hectic rush to get out – picture instead – I have exercised, eaten some healthy food, read a book that I enjoy, had a refreshing shower. Research has always shown that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And exercise has benefits on our focus and concentration, even in our short term memory. It is also easy to use to use to our benefit.
As humans are very habit oriented.
That is to say that we fall into routines very easily. And while structure can provide great benefits, it can also go the other direction and that is the one most people choose. It is easy, fun, and comfortable.
The longer that I do it has made one thing clear for me it really does make me more successful. No wonder some of the most successful people emphasize the importance of starting your day off early.
Just remember eight hour of sleep. No more, no less! 
My creativity seems to be most potent when I have something else to do. To phrase it better, I would say that I am more motivated to write when I am actually not able to write. My brain uses its potential for creative thought, especially when I am not able to sit down any and actually write.
I use my phone for shorthand notes.
I think we call it procrastination.
It’s a productivity technique. One where you get stuff done by procrastinating on something else. I had been holding back on cleaning out the garage it kept going until it was time to do my taxes. What would you know, our garage is now spotless. That sudden cleaning, our spotless garage only really sounded like a good idea when I had more pressing things to take care of. I’ve always felt that it was simply a desire to not be in this situation right now.
I think we call it procrastination.
I do a lot of writing at work.
Writing and my creativity as a whole is more personal for me. I know you may have heard me say it before but it is sort of fantasy, used for escapism.
Every book that I write gets my full attention. They could be published today if I were to pursue it. I don’t. Still I enjoy having the idea of publishable work. Something that I could show to people even if I never actually do that. At least not outside of a small group of friends.