Everything I Know

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Rules ​

Life ​

  • Make. Learn. Write. Design. Share.
  • Set tasks & goals. Plan. Focus.
  • Never miss writing down a good thought/task/note and storing/sharing it accordingly. Be it via voice memo or writing it down, it should always be recorded to be done/considered for later if it has any merit. Share freely on internet for feedback/advice.
  • One task at a time. No distractions. Always mindful of my actions & thoughts. Be calm. Value time.
  • First make it work. Then optimize (pretty, efficient, documented).
  • Ask questions. Be honest, clear & concise. Document everything (thoughts/decisions/processes/knowledge). Learn/Build in public.
  • Simplify & minimize everything. Don't repeat myself. Remove friction. Focus on essentials. Use what I need. Focus on things I can control. Think positively. Be optimistic about the future.
  • Cut out noise (no analytics, likes..). No time wasted. Decide on what matters to me. Focus on it. Maximize impact & growth. Filter consumed information to optimize for signal.
  • Think from first principles. Learn from mistakes. Reflect. Adapt to changes. Think deeply. Move in right direction. Move fast. No regrets.
  • Embrace change. Be proactive. Be bold, fearless & open. Take ownership. Never give up. Never complain.
  • Don’t eat animals. Don’t hurt any person. Don't waste anything.
  • Don't compare myself to other people. Don't be jealous. Don't obsess over anyone. Don't stalk. Learn from every human I admire/like. Use it to improve my life.
  • Don't listen to haters and nonconstructive feedback. Pay attention to genuine feedback and learn from it.
  • Surround myself with people who inspire me & I can trust to do good. Be my true self. Inspire others. Do things that bring joy and energize me.
  • Create art. Meet people (friendly reach out). See places. Be inspired. Reuse work & ideas. Do what I love. Value myself, my work and freedom to create anything I truly care about from anywhere on Earth.
  • Well being of my family/partner/animals above all. Highest quality food and bed for everyone.
  • Be consistent. Start early. Done > Perfect. Do the simplest thing. Solve problems. Take/do things slowly and methodically. Enjoy the process.
  • Optimize and streamline my workflow & processes I use to get things done. Complete my 6 life habits.
  • Don't judge/hate anyone. Attempt to see another person's point of view. Be kind. Show love & empathy. Self love. No ego.
  • Don't lie to myself nor anyone else. Be confident in my thoughts & actions. Be decisive. Seek & give candid feedback. Respond politely. Don't let any words/feedback hurt you.
  • Always seek to improve and change myself, not others. Grass is not greener on the other side, it's greener where you water it. Don't dwell on imperfections, find beauty in everything.
  • Don't stay in bed. Wake up fast and start the day. Keep straight posture & spine.
  • Create & update rules based on new life experiences. Adapt each rule to suit my life best. Break off all bad habits I have. Learn new positive habits. Seek new novel experiences/relationships. Collect stories. Be a great friend.
  • Learn from the past. Don't make same mistakes. Don't dwell on what has happened or what I can't change. Don't fixate on anything (people/items/..). Anything outside of this moment is imagination. Move onwards. Live each moment. Let past go.
  • Happiness comes from being grateful and appreciative for what I already have. Don't waste time trying to measure my success/happiness by what anyone else thinks it should be. Try and live by my own rules/values.
  • Be happy. Love myself. Be playful. Make new nice memories and enjoy each moment in life. Savor close relationships. Look towards the future. Be optimistic. Appreciate what I have.
  • Take all the shots at things. Approach. Message first. Release. Share freely. Share a lot.
  • Save/learn/index everything valuable. Index smart. Use AI to surface content.
  • Aggressively pursue my goals. No distractions.

Health ​

  • Exercise. Start every morning with a workout & shower. 40+ min cardio/weights daily.
  • Eat whole food pescatarian nutritious diet.
  • Drink lots of water & tea. Limit coffee. No sugar.
  • Reach optimal micro & macro nutrient goals, supplement where needed.
  • Go on walks or do exercise throughout the day when possible as breaks.
  • Brush/floss teeth properly (morning/evening) & wash + clean face daily. Smell nice. Wear clean clothes that make me feel great.
  • Apply sunscreen when going out for long time. Don't frown. Don't touch face or mouth with dirty hands.
  • Accept and love my body and self. I am perfect as I am. Don't care what other people might think of me.
  • Never sit for long. Sit up right (good posture, never slouch). Use great chair. Be comfortable & ergonomic. Use standing desk & vary between sitting & standing. Take breaks.
  • Sleep fully & well. Don't limit sleep. If need to wake up early, go to sleep early. Sleep as much as body needs (~ 8h often).
  • Everything in moderation. Avoid any damaging drugs (i.e. alcohol/opiates). Health above all. Limit psychedelic use.
  • Lead a happy, mindful, stress free life. No worries. No anxieties. Be calm. Clean up.

Focus ​

  • Break problems down using first principle thinking. Solve each step one at a time. Know the end goal. Don't over optimize.
  • When focusing, do the active task. No news/distractions. No context switching.
  • Spend mindful time on all devices. On iOS, listen to podcasts/books, read/chat. Minimize things that can be done faster on mac.
  • Do bodyweight exercises during the day to regain focus. Change environments for inspiration.
  • When focusing, listen to silence/rain or ambient sounds. Or my Focus/Inspired playlists. Dark Noise & Endel are nice too.
  • Only have essential notifications setup. iOS is always in Do Not Disturb mode.
  • Say no to things. Set constraints & limits.
  • Never give up if problem's worth solving. Optimize for long term growth over short term gains.
  • Always breathe fresh air. Open windows or work outside. Have proper lighting.
  • Wear clean & comfortable clothes.
  • Only use the bed for sleep. Start each day quickly by waking up & standing up.
  • Don't overthink things. Clear up any confusions. Don't be stuck. Ask for help.
  • Use priority system for everything and don't go outside its bounds. (i.e. Notion Learn page or Goodreads currently reading list)
  • Minimize exposure to politics or news that I have no real control over or can actually influence. Focus on what's within my control & is aligned with my goals!

Ideas ​

  • Share all ideas I have. Add relevant description and links to describe the idea clearly.
  • Start building early. Validate ideas. Iterate fast. Ship often. Listen to feedback.
  • Look for patterns to draw inspiration for novel ideas.

Learn ​

  • Always learn new things but be purposeful & focused. Learn fundamentals for clarity.
  • Document everything. Don't repeat things. Link instead.
  • There are no dumb questions. Do some research first though.
  • Build things from scratch to understand. Minimal version that works.
  • Draw or sketch to distill complex ideas. Think through problems together. Discuss.
  • Watch videos at 2x speed, unless it hurts comprehension or it's entertainment.
  • Listen to podcasts/books at fastest speed I can comprehend. (Podcasts: ~1.4x + smart speed, Books: ~1.25x).
  • Teach what I know in a clear way aided by visualization, narrative & interactivity. Learn and teach in public.
  • Always have faith in my capability learn new skills, no matter how hard or mystifying the task seems.
  • Archive all digital content of interest to me to LA. Links, images. Every network I use, archived. Everything neatly tagged, sorted and indexed how I like. Should be able to find anything within seconds.

Write ​

  • Be clear in what I want to share. Be concise. Cut out everything that’s not surprising. Remove noise.
  • Use proper punctuation and capitalize things appropriately. Use simple language. Be concise & clear.
  • Use imperative tense for briefness when making tasks (2Do, Trello, GitHub issues). Add useful details where needed.
  • Remove unnecessary and filler words. Use adverbs sparingly, they often undermine your point. Instead of really like, say love. Say more with less.
  • Don't assume and say that something is straightforward or clear.
  • Don't write assertively when reflecting on personal experiences (no should do, you have to, do ..). Instead say it from personal point of view (I try, I seek). Does not apply to docs/guidelines (where assertion is useful and needed).
  • Writing/teaching in earliest stages of understanding something is most valuable as you haven't built any biases and approach thing with a fresh mind. Its okay to be wrong (sincerely) and update my writing based off new constructive feedback.
  • Minimize use of articles (a, an, the) as they in most cases add noise.
  • Hyperlink words/phrases appropriately. Use descriptive link labels (no this).
  • Use headings to separate sections in articles/docs.
  • Fix mistakes with spell checker.
  • Format text to focus attention. Bold = strong emphasis. Italic = soft emphasis. Syntax highlight Code blocks.
  • Don't repeat myself / duplicate content. Link instead.
  • Add screenshots/screencasts where appropriate. Take accessibility into account (good visibility of text).
  • Clear my thinking and journal. Look back on the day and plan the next.
  • Keep my writing & thinking (especially the wiki) up to date with my latest view on things. Things/opinions change, update accordingly.
  • Write in my journal often and routinely. Either as day evaluations or whenever something interesting happens in my life. Focus on how it made me feel and how influences my life.

Tools ​

  • Only use what is necessary. Experiment with new tools/apps but never keep things I don't need. Applies to everything.
  • Run less software/code. Only run what I use and need. Keep all systems clean & purposeful.
  • Invest in learning/using/building new tools.

Share ​

  • Share everything I know and made.
  • Submit bugs and feature requests as soon as I encounter problems I can't solve. Twitter, email, in-app or feedback assistant.
  • Say things that contribute to the conversation. Be honest. Be nice. Don't insult anyone.
  • Keep things I shared up-to-date where appropriate (wiki, snippets, homepage). Especially main pages like rules, workflow, goals, projects, about & now.
  • Proactively update anything I find to be wrong or not well expressed. This includes content that isn't my own. Openly express feedback.
  • Only make promises I can keep.
  • Don't gaslight. Be empathetic and respect other's feelings.
  • Don't ignore people in conversations. Listen. Ask questions & be genuine.
  • Openly share things unless it's hurtful speech.

News ​

  • Separate information into two levels of quality if necessary (i.e. Twitter Follows / Other).
  • Subscribe to Atom over RSS feed if possible.
  • Be wary of the fact that anyone can lie (on every side) especially when it comes to political news. The truth is often more complicated. Don't jump to conclusions. Have my own opinion/thoughts.
  • Try and not over discuss things that truly don't affect my life in any way.

Compassion ​

  • Value each animal’s life as equal to that of my own. Don't eat or hurt anyone.
  • Minimize suffering caused to other people. Be conscious of other people's feelings.
  • Strive to empower everyone around me to be better. Show compassion and care. Be humble.

Relationships ​

  • Communicate everything clearly. Be honest, kind and empathetic. Don't avoid/ignore conflicts.
  • Acknowledge and apologize for any mistakes made. Learn and improve.
  • Don't be cruel in my actions and words. Treat my partner and friends with respect. You are only as pretty as you treat people.
  • Never underestimate how hurt someone can feel by your words and actions. Stop your behavior as soon as you see a person you care about hurt by you.
  • Show genuine interest and love in the other person's lives. Especially my partner.
  • Make sure you and your partner views align regarding what matters (children, future, open relationship etc).
  • Don't do things in secret if they can be hurtful to your partner (and friends). Don't lie.
  • Don't bring up hurtful topics again and again. Discuss them once and settle on solution, if any.
  • Don't complain needlessly and be a burden to anyone's lives. It's okay to ask for help and hugs. Share your struggles and the wins. Appreciate each other.
  • Go on unique and spontaneous dates. Try and walk every day and spend time together (i.e. get coffee and walk).
  • Don't show bad intentions, the goal of each relationship is to maximize each other's happiness and pleasure in life. Don't take relationships for granted and don't abuse other's love for you.
  • Ask before doing something that can potentially hurt your partner.
  • Assume good intentions. Call out bad behavior in a friendly way. Don't be passive aggressive and don't make many demeaning jokes about your partner/friend. Don't put people down for the sake of a laugh.
  • Take things seriously. Don't let anyone lose trust in you, especially your partner.
  • If you cannot avoid/stop hurting someone, then better stop communication with them, so you don’t continue doing it.
  • If you feel that something is not right, it probably is not right. Deal with it early.
  • Give your partner freedom to be her/himself. Don't force him/her to change for you. Compromise on things that make the other one unhappy or break up.
  • You have power to influence other people, be gentle and kind.
  • You should have complete love for your partner. Everyone should be confident that they won't be hurt by their partner by someone doing something bad behind their back.
  • Your partner should never doubt your love for them.
  • Lift your partner up & listen always. If she/he doesn't like something I did, stop doing it. Don't argue. Don't be stubborn.
  • Express my genuine love for my partner in all the different ways. Hold her/his hand, give compliments (how she/he looks and clothes she/he wears).
  • Ask how your partner feels and listen. Don't disregard their feelings. It’s good response to just hug and listen if I have no answer or solution (all feelings are valid and are not a sign of weakness).
  • Don't needlessly complain about things to anyone. My life is amazing and it's lucky I even exist. Be grateful.
  • The relationship can only get better if both want it to improve.
  • Don't waste time on maintaining one sided relationships.
  • Don't burn bridges unnecessarily. Try be remembered as a good friend.
  • Set your own boundaries for what make you feel well and have everyone you interact respect them or cut ties with them.
  • If you like/love someone romantically but it's not mutual. Cut it off instantly. Respect your boundaries and move on. Don't emotionally invest in anyone/anything that's of no benefit to you.
  • Unhealthy obsession is destructive. Free your mind. Fill your time and fully focus on things you love doing as you get over unrequited love. It will pass.
  • You don't need anyone, including a partner to live a happy and fulfilling life. Just be your best, happy self. Whatever happens, happens. Be assertive with your actions/intentions but don't force anything if there is any conflict/resistance. One message is enough.
  • Take decisive actions with regards to your partner. Make nice plans, execute on them. Don't cause doubt in your partner's mind about your intentions.

Communication ​

  • Show interest. Ask genuine questions. Listen more. Don't interrupt. Don't be annoying and self indulgent. Respect time and don't pressure for response.
  • Praise in public. Criticize in Private.
  • Send cold emails/messages more often. Don't be afraid of no response. Be respectful & concise.

Finance ​

  • Mindfully spend money. Always cut costs on things I no longer use.
  • Read Reddit/online reviews on things you buy, before buying anything sizeable.
  • Refund items early if unhappy with purchase and return policy allows.
  • Setup systems to alert on products I want to get when they're on sale.
  • Don't support practices I don't agree with.
  • When paying online, check that payments go through.
  • Include personal or company VAT in all business expenses (tech, bigger purchases) to get tax write offs on quarterly tax payments.
  • Don't rush on decisions that require payment until you're sure of it. Like buying flight tickets if there's a chance flight might not happen.

Solve problems ​

  • Aggressively research everything I don't understand. In solving problems, think about it in terms of models I can validate.
  • For programming, think about the data model and operations. Always keep in mind the problem being solved.
  • Don't panic. Stay calm & reasonable.
  • Approach every problem with ‘do you need this dependency’.

Code ​

OSS ​

  • Give friendly explanation of why the change was rejected.

Design ​

  • Design for both light & dark interfaces with accessibility & UX in mind above all else.
  • Use platform primitives (web, iOS, macOS, ..) for greater speed & accessibility.
  • Guide user actions with good design. Remove unnecessary decision making.
  • Design great landing pages.

Photos ​

  • Take many photos. Keep good & memorable photos. Clean up the rest. Sort into albums.
  • Don't over edit 'day in life' photos & share freely.
  • Be confident in how I look. Experiment with photos/videos. Not all photos/videos need to be shared. It's the memories that count.

Email ​

  • Keep email inbox (non newsletter / news) close to 0. Pin emails that need attention.
  • Tag & archive emails that I may need reference of. Delete the rest.
  • Unsubscribe or mark as spam bad email senders. Keep inbox (newsletters, news including) high signal.

Git ​

  • Version control all projects. Commit often. Squash branches into one good commit.
  • Respect existing git workflow of projects.
  • Prefix branch names with fix/ or feat/ appropriately.

GitHub ​

  • Add appropriate topics to each repo (languages used, problem space, ..)
  • Use relative links instead of hard wired links (i.e. ../issues/ refers to issues of repo).
  • Have same README & CONTRIBUTING content structure across all my repos.
  • Generate contents table if readme is too long.

README ​

  • Use HTML for rendering images if control of size or position is needed.
  • Add appropriate quote to briefly describe the repo (often is the same as description but with links).
  • Add a way to visually show the project if possible.
  • Add Related section linking to similar projects if possible.

Wiki ​

  • Treat wiki as my digital brain. Share everything I know or need to reference. Reflect on life.
  • Have unified structure for all pages.
  • Only keep links that are private in bookmarks. Everything else is shared either in wiki or curated lists.

Share files ​

  • Temporary shares with Transfer. Permanent with Dropbox. Can use jsDelivr to link to GitHub raw files.

Social ​

  • Respect my time. If going on dates or meeting people, make it worthwhile or not go at all. Never fear approaching / talking with someone I am interested in. Within respectful bounds (good timing / place).
  • Use same profile photo & cover photo (if it looks better with) across all profiles. Don't change it often.
  • Add appropriate short description with link to personal site.
  • Use same username on all services. Preferred (nikiv). If service requires full name, use it (nikitavoloboev). If nikiv is taken, use nikivi or nikivii.
  • Interact with content/discussions freely. Upvote/Like things appropriately. Can later index & search this data.
  • Quality of followers > Quantity. Try cultivate positive online experiences. Filter out negativity.
  • Don't be afraid to express myself (without hurting someone deliberately) out of fear I will get unfollowed/blocked/mocked. It's just their opinion/tastes, I have mine. Feel free.
  • Be open to change. But never ignore my principles/rules (respect my boundaries). My personal happiness and mental well being always comes first.
  • Share things of what I love more than what I dislike/hate.
  • Engage in conversations that are beneficial or at least entertaining to me. Mute or simply ignore annoying/hurtful speech. Time is valuable!
  • Just share. Don't care about metrics or who thinks what. If they don't like, it's all good. World is big. Don't cage myself!
  • Best way to learn something is to post the 'wrong thing' on the internet. Don't be afraid to ask questions and be wrong.
  • During meetings, always take notes. And action points. Make meetings as short as possible and have an agenda in mind!

Animals ​

  • Never hit your pets or any other animal. Teach good behaviors through appreciation of good actions instead.
  • Don't expose your pets to danger like walking in unsafe areas as they can get hurt.
  • Give your pets space to explore, good healthy food and comfy beds. Show lots of love.

Web ​

  • Prefer Apple login if available. Use Google/GitHub/FB otherwise.

Alfred ​

  • Use descriptives lowercased names for external triggers.

2Do ​

  • Only have tasks I need to get done Today in Today. Important tasks are stored in Starred sorted by priority. Keep Today list manageable (< 15 tasks).
  • All tasks need to be actionable.
  • Work on tasks based on priority. Strive to keep Starred list close to 0.
  • Add context of task as tags.

Ask questions ​

Feedback ​

  • When asking for feedback, never ask people if they like the product I built. Ask them whether they don't like anything instead.
  • Welcome any feedback. The more critical feedback, the better. Internalize all useful feedback, make it actionable.

Read ​

  • Make notes of everything I find useful. Reading books & papers. Meetings, talks.
  • Review read books on Goodreads & add it to wiki.

Licensing ​

  • License everything on GitHub under 0BSD.
  • Use CC0 license for my other works, images/video/.. Everything in public domain. No legal need for attribution.

macOS/iOS ​

  • Only run software I need. Quit everything else or delete entirely.
  • Have full control over what is going on my OS to reasonable degree.
  • Yellow arrows & text is nicer to read when annotating images.
  • Don't play games on mac/iOS.
  • Automate backups.
  • Archive useful content no longer actively used. ~/archive. Preserve useful chat histories & other data.
  • Share images freely with Imgur (not tied to account) where direct linking doesn't work.
  • Copy screenshots to clipboard & paste for quick sharing.
  • Use package manager to install things. Keep packages updated.
  • Change OS appearance where appropriate (light interface in sunny areas, dark otherwise). Light is preferred as it's easier to keep focus with lighter backgrounds (more stimulating).

Video ​

  • Add time stamps to videos released on YouTube.

Hiring ​

  • Hire best people and give them freedom to create. Within bounds of the general company vision.

Trello ​

  • Order of importance for cards: Watching -> Next -> No label.

Contacts ​

  • Tags # for metadata: i.e. # rust. () for nickname (nikivi). [ for favorites.

Track ​

  • Track everything worth tracking (lists of movies seen, books read, series watched..).

Travel ​

  • Mark places I've liked in Google Maps with optional notes about them.
  • Buy transport (plane/train) & accommodation for future events/conferences/travels as soon as possible (when I am sure I am attending event/place).
  • Proof check dates before buying tickets. Don't prepare large liquids (> 100ml) in planes.
  • Check in online as early as possible.
  • Move and live in countries with upwards momentum. Don't be a slave to old legacy brands/countries.
  • Make VAT invoices on the company for all business related travels when buying flight/travel tickets.

Giving talks ​

  • Link to a page where people can get the slide deck + recording of talk given after giving any talk/presentation as a final slide. Can reuse the final slide for all talks.

Shell ​

  • Name aliases/functions optimizing for balance of character positioning and mnemonics (i.e. r -> rg).

Karabiner ​

  • Sort bindings in the order of keyboard (Q -> W -> E ..). Spacebar is always last key.

Naming ​

  • Twitter/Reddit/Instagram/GitHub, get literal name if available. On Twitter, lowercasing the name looks good (Twitter will show your custom real name in searches already). Can capitalize username if its multiple words (can rename username if needed). Capitalize Reddit subreddit name as it stands out better in searches & its more recognizable (the name can't be changed later so capitalize even if one word). GitHub is good lowercased, literal name or with dashes. If name is taken, can add _ or HQ/App/Inc in the end or prefix with get or use. For Instagram, if literal name is taken, it's possible to get domain name literal like narative.co. Can use namecheckr to check for available names.
  • For domains, get literal name, avoid dashes. Keep it to one registrar (Google Domains preferred). Prefer .com, (vercel.com), .co (vsco.co) or .io (codesandbox.io) for generic sites. If it's an app, can use .app (linear.app), can also have app in name like feyapp.com if .app is taken. Developer related, .dev (web.dev) is good. Organization, then .org. (telegram.org). ML related, .ai (deepcode.ai) can be good. Design related, .design is good (baseweb.design). Video related, .tv is good (rewatch.tv). Otherwise, .so, (notion.so), .xyz (learn-anything.xyz), .sh (apex.sh) are good. Can also play on domain name like lobste.rs if possible. Make domain name memorable.

JS/TS ​

React ​

NextJS ​

  • Lowercase files for pages. CamelCase components & files.

Other ​

  • Keep water/beverages that can possibly be spilled away from mac. Once had my dog trip a charging wire that then spilled tea kettle on my mac and broke keyboard.