This is a summary of practical life tips, explained for my simple commonplacing and your public consumption. Consult my method to see how I built it.

NOTE: I no longer consider any of these essays to be sufficiently right anymore. I keep it here for archival purposes, and am currently working to migrate all non-opinion aspects to this notes page, with this site existing as a TL;DR.

Sleeping Well

We spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping, so sleep is essential for balancing the rest of our lives.

Not getting enough sleep is very, very unhealthy.

Sleep typically transitions through four stages that cycle for approximately 2 hours.

Everyone has a general sleep pattern unique to them, which requires disciplining habits to change.

There are many varieties of perfectly healthy sleep cycles you can adapt.

Additional reading

Awareness

We must be aware of ourselves before we can perform any self-improvement.

Awareness isn’t particularly easy because we’re in constant conflict with the world around us, and self-reflection is lonely.

Meditation is merely a simple, necessary mechanism to slow down our thoughts.

Once you’re familiar with meditation, try advanced reflection by focusing on various perspectives and thoughts.

However, meditation only helps to find problems, and it typically doesn’t give any solutions.

Additional reading

Happiness

Happiness, or satisfaction, is simply the absence of desire.

  • Happiness is critical for wellness, and we’re morally responsible for it.
  • Happiness is a choice, largely driven by what we focus on.
  • However, stressors can interfere with our ability to find happiness.

Unhappiness comes from stress, caused by a mix-and-match of the following factors:

  1. Unmet needs
  2. Unchangeable things
  3. Unresolved trauma
  4. Unmet expectations
  5. Substance abuse

Without finding a permanent mental place of happiness, we’ll fall back into cynicism.

We find our optimism by shifting our perspective:

  1. Getting rid of low self-esteem.
  2. Living in the present.
  3. Learning gratitude.
  4. Finding control of ourselves.
  5. Releasing things that give us stress.
  6. Avoiding things that make us unhappy.
  7. Interacting with others.

We need a loving and dynamic place where everyone is free to live and grow together, also known as a healing environment.

Additional reading

Old Content

Critical Needs

Success

  1. Defining Success — what it is
  2. Attitude Adjustment — changing motivation
  3. Making Realistic Goals — planning around reality
  4. Optimizing Your Routine — improving flow
  5. Persevering — persisting against failure
  6. Staying Humble — maintaining success

Money

  1. Why Money Management Matters — why it’s worth it
  2. Everything About Debt — how debt works
  3. Budgeting & Goals — know what you want
  4. Wise Spending Concepts — how to spend

People Skills

Important Improvements

Better Mind Management

Better People Skills

Better Home Management

Romantic Relationships

Parenting

Better Careers

  1. Preparing for the Search — know where you want to go
  2. Making Plans — setting goals
  3. Image Crafting — building a personal brand
  4. Job Hunting — marketing yourself
  5. Interviewing — impressing employers
  6. Closing the Deal — deciding and transitioning

Better Body Maintenance

Better Fun

Other Critical Problems

Severe Hardship

Disaster Preparedness

Autism

Modern Society

Miscellaneous

About/FAQ

Why “Adequate”?
  • This world tends to reward greatness with more great things. But, with a bad hand in life, the world is often unfairly cruel, and punishes you for things you couldn’t have known.
  • This site converges and consolidates everything related to self-help:
    • YouTube videos and TED talks
    • Advice columns and blog articles
    • Discussions with professionals
    • Book and executive summaries
    • Social media feeds
    • Forum discussions
  • This is for people who don’t have enough time or focus to read, or simply want the plain facts.
    • If you want persuasive explanations or many examples, there are 10 best-selling books on each of these topics that do it better than me.

What’s up with the logo?
  • It’s a visual representation of Adequate and Life (AL), intentionally designed as adequately as possible.

I can’t read this website!
  • For whatever reason (e.g., limited electricity access, incarceration), you may not be able to view this site. I created an inferior book format for your needs. It’s the cheapest Amazon will bind and sell a 361-page book. Try to get it used somewhere.

Who are you, anyway?

I’d like to use some of your content.