Items I Find Valuable
A couple of people have blogs I find useful, and one type of post I’ve found disproportionately useful has been lists of items they find useful. For example: Low tech stuff I recommend - Alexey Guzey. In no particular order, here are a few things that will bring you great value if you happen to be just like me.
#1 - Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Canceling Headphones
- I’m very sensitive to noise, and these are amazing. I previously used Bose Quiet Comfort 35s. The Bose headphones were plenty good, and I do prefer the tactile buttons to the the capacitive touch controls, but the noise cancelling on the Sony headphones is way, way better. I have these on most of the time, even if I’m not listening to anything.
#2 - Earplugs
- I personally buy the large boxes of Laser Lites, but the specific type doesn’t matter all that much. I’ve never slept well. I still don’t, but now noises aren’t part of that problem.
#3 - Manta Sleep Eye Mask
- You may have noticed a pattern here, and yeah, I’m annoyingly sensitive to external stimuli. Light-proofing your bedroom is one way to go, but it’s not always an option, and it doesn’t help when you’re not home. I’ve tried several sleep masks, and this is the best of them. It’s the only one I’ve found that completely blocks light without being uncomfortable. I’m sure others have come out in the last couple years, but these work great for me.
#4 - 55” Computer Monitor
- Alright, technically it’s a TV, but it works for me. Massive screen space is underrated, and monitors are overrated. I bought my current monitor on Black Friday 6 years ago, and it’s still the best monitor I’ve used, including a 49” curved ultrawide that I ended up giving to my wife (works great for her!). I can easily have 6 windows open at a time without any of them feeling cramped. The ultrawide was great on width, but not enough to make up for the loss in height, and there was no good way to set up both in my office.
#5 - A good can opener
- I didn’t realize there were meaningful differences in basic kitchen utensils until I bought an OXO can opener. I’ve had this thing for over a decade now, and it’s a huge step up over the ones I used before.
#6 - A 12 button mouse
- I’ve got the Razer Naga Pro, but anything with a lot of buttons and a good hand-feel will work. I use a lot of shortcuts and macros, and having 12 buttons right at my thumb is a godsend. The most common use for me is changing video playback speed on the fly.
#7 - Caffeine Pills
- Back in college, I tried too many pre-workouts. Then I realized that caffeine provides 95% of the effect, is extremely more cost effective, and isn’t likely to ever upset my stomach. I’m an outlier on my response to caffeine, but whatever your response, you may as well cut out the fluff.
#8 - Dry Mouth Spray
- For whatever reason, my nose often gets stuffy at night, which leads to me breathing through my mouth, which then gets dry, which wakes me up. I discovered this stuff a few months ago, and it’s amazing. This is the type of thing I’m on the lookout for. Cheap, small things that have a disproportionate impact.
Let me know if you’ve got anything that makes a big difference for you, especially if it’s low cost and high value.