". You would have a good mentor. One way to do this is to email people that you want to be your mentor with the subject "Request for Mentorship". You would drink lots of water. You would take notes in a searchable database. You would summarize things that you read. You would have tried making your room as bright as the outdoors. You would carry batteries to recharge your phone. You would have tried using pens with multiple colors. You would read textbooks instead of popular introductions. You would put a relatively consistent dollar value on your time. I'm sure there are more things that I tell people that can be prefaced with "if you weren't such an idiot…", but that's all I got for now. A post I like by @Mark Xu (who agreed to my crossposting in full). Some more from me: You would make it easier to capture your thoughts. Examples: a pocket notebook, taking more voice notes You wouldn't keep all your money in your current account. You would get help when you were stuck. Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org</article></body></html>

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: If you weren't such an idiot..., published by kave on March 2, 2024 on LessWrong.
My friend Buck once told me that he often had interactions with me that felt like I was saying "If you weren't such a fucking idiot, you would obviously do…" Here's a list of such advice in that spirit.
Note that if you do/don't do these things, I'm technically calling you an idiot, but I do/don't do a bunch of them too. We can be idiots together.
If you weren't such a fucking idiot…
You would have multiple copies of any object that would make you sad if you didn't have it
Examples: ear plugs, melatonin, eye masks, hats, sun glasses, various foods, possibly computers, etc.
You would spend money on goods and services.
Examples of goods: faster computer, monitor, keyboard, various tasty foods, higher quality clothing, standing desk, decorations for your room, mattress, pillow, sheets, etc.
Examples of services: uber, doordash, cleaners, personal assistants, editors, house managers, laundry, etc.
You would have tried many things at least one time.
Examples of things to do: climbing, singing, listening to music, playing instruments, dancing, eating various types of food, writing, parties.
You wouldn't do anything absurdly dangerous, like take unknown drugs or ride a bike without a helmet.
You wouldn't take irreversible actions if you didn't know what the fuck you were doing.
You would exercise frequently.
Types of exercise to try: climbing, walking, running, soccer, football, yoga, hiking, fencing, swimming, wrestling, beat saber, etc.
You would reliably sleep 6-9 hours a night.
Obvious things to try:
melatonin
blackout curtains
putting black tape over LEDs on electronics
experimenting with mattress, pillow, blankets, sheets, etc.
blue light blocking glasses
You would routinely look up key numbers and do numerical consistency checks during thinking.
You would have a password manager.
You would invest money in yourself.
Recall: money can be used to buy goods and services.
You would use a email's subject line to succinctly describe what you want from the person.
For example, if I want to meet with my advisor, I'll send an email with the subject "Request for Advisory Meeting" or something similar. If I want someone to read a draft of something I wrote, the subject would be "Request for Feedback on ". You would have a good mentor. One way to do this is to email people that you want to be your mentor with the subject "Request for Mentorship". You would drink lots of water. You would take notes in a searchable database. You would summarize things that you read. You would have tried making your room as bright as the outdoors. You would carry batteries to recharge your phone. You would have tried using pens with multiple colors. You would read textbooks instead of popular introductions. You would put a relatively consistent dollar value on your time. I'm sure there are more things that I tell people that can be prefaced with "if you weren't such an idiot…", but that's all I got for now. A post I like by @Mark Xu (who agreed to my crossposting in full). Some more from me: You would make it easier to capture your thoughts. Examples: a pocket notebook, taking more voice notes You wouldn't keep all your money in your current account. You would get help when you were stuck. Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org</article></body></html>

LW - If you weren't such an idiot... by kave