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.
Start Here
- TL;DR – read this if you have a short attention span
- Making Habits Stick – how habits work
- What to Change – the things you’ll need to change
Critical Needs
Necessary Mind Fixes
- Sleeping Well – everything about sleep
- Self-Awareness – understanding oneself
Happiness
- Defining Happiness – what it is
- Fighting Unhappiness – climbing out of unhappiness
- Maintaining Happiness – long-term maintenance
Success
- Defining Success – what it is
- Attitude Adjustment – changing motivation
- Making Realistic Goals – planning around reality
- Optimizing Your Routine – improving flow
- Persevering – persisting against failure
- Staying Humble – maintaining success
Money
- Why Money Management Matters – why it’s worth it
- Everything About Debt – how financial liabilities work
- Budgeting & Goals – clarifying financial desires
- Wise Spending Concepts – principles for expenses
People Skills
- Why People Skills Matter – why it’s worth it
- Making Yourself Presentable – preparing a public image
- Respecting People – setting and honoring boundaries
- Building Friendships – how to make friends
Important Improvements
Better Mind Management
- How Creativity Works – the creative process
- Improving Memory – better retention and recall
- Having Fun – how to enjoy life
- Basic Computer Skills – how to use computers
Better People Skills
- How to Speak – making conversations and speeches
- How to Write – encoded language expression
- Conflicts – difficult conversations
- Dealing with Liars – understanding deception
- Things You’re Allowed To Do (external) – social things you may have not noticed you can do
Better Home Management
- Getting Organized – managing clutter
- Housekeeping – home maintenance
- Decorations & Renovations – improving a home
- Pet Ownership – responsibly owning a pet
- Moving Checklist – everything necessary to move
Romantic Relationships
- Dating – what and how to look for a partner
- Weddings – how to transition from engaged to married
- Life Partner Relationships – long-term relationship strategies
Parenting
- Parenting Babies – working with new people
- Parenting Children – working with extremely inexperienced people
- Parenting/Releasing Teenagers – working with barely experienced people
Better Careers
- Preparing for the Search – why you’re looking for a change
- Making Plans – setting goals
- Image Crafting – building a personal brand
- Job Hunting – marketing yourself
- Interviewing – impressing employers
- Closing the Deal – deciding and transitioning
- Deciding on College – whether college is worth it
- Prolonged Unemployment – prolonging living without income
- How to professionally say (external) – the polite way to express blunt ideas
Better Body Maintenance
- How to Cook – improving food
- Weight Management – diet and exercise management
- Basic First Aid – caring for injuries
Better Fun
- Alcohol Ideas – fun with alcohol
- Coffee Facts – improving coffee
- All About Tea – improving tea
- Throwing a Party – having memorable parties
- Enjoying Vacations & Trips – having great days and weeks off
Other Critical Problems
Severe Hardship
- Overcoming Severe Hardship – handling a terrible experience
- Handling Death – managing the ends of lives
- Overcoming Personal Hardships – other specific personal battles
- Overcoming Interpersonal Hardships – other specific social battles
- Overcoming Society’s Hardships – other specific battles across society
Modern Society
- Insurance/investing/auto ownership/home ownership – many specific modern needs
Autism
- How to Start Looking at Autism (book) – the right way to view autism
- How to Stop Looking Autistic (book) – if you’re autistic, how to not look it
Disaster Preparedness
- What is a Disaster? – the essence of every disaster
- Short-Term Preparation – how to be prepared for something big
- Long-Term Preparation: Staying – how to be prepared to stay afterward
- Long-Term Preparation: Moving – how to be prepared to leave afterward
- Surviving Nature – how to handle life in the wild
- Learn to make outdoor gear (external) – make outdoor gear yourself
- Animated knots (external) – learn to tie knots
Adequate Data
Meaning Checklist – everything necessary for a meaningful daily life
Society
- Commonly Abused Substances – things people often abuse
- Numerous Saving Tips – many ways to save money
- Small Social Rules – culturally important details
Food
- Basic Recipes – simple food anyone can make
- Food Tricks – ways to make food prep easier
- Food Substitutes – things you can replace food with when cooking
- Food Shelf Lives – how long food can keep
Fun
- Fun Ideas – small ways to enjoy life
- Fun Food & Drinks – making food fun
Survival
- Specific Survival Situations – odd, specific things you can survive
- Disaster Checklist – a sensible shopping list for the collapse of society
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 consolidate everything related to self-help:
- YouTube videos and TEDtalks
- 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/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’m Dave Stucky. I’ve devoted my life to battling over-information.
- You might like other things I made.
- Follow my updates here.