Modern WisdomLife Hacks 110 | Modern Wisdom Podcast 115
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
150 min read · 30,006 words- 0:00 – 1:27
Cold open banter: life hacks count, coffee “stealing,” and weird physiology questions
- CWChris Williamson
It's life hacks 110?
- JOJonny
All those hacks.
- YUYusef
How many life hacks?
- CWChris Williamson
I've got shit loads, mate. I've got a big, big pot of life hacks. He hasn't even got any life hacks. Mate, you're, you don't even have any. What are you doing? Definitely one of the, the things that makes people weak is a over reliance on any one thing.
- YUYusef
Every time I've got a taxi that isn't Uber, they've been racist and, uh-
- CWChris Williamson
To who? You? If you use one of the self-serve Costa coffee machines you can fit a large coffee into a medium cup then you only get charged for a medium.
- YUYusef
That is stealing.
- CWChris Williamson
It's also shit coffee.
- YUYusef
Can you ejaculate without an erection?
- CWChris Williamson
Anyone who's listening, can you tell us if you've ejaculated without an erection?
- YUYusef
I know someone that, uh, had a poo and came. (laughs)
- CWChris Williamson
(laughs)
- YUYusef
At code on top, top code.
- CWChris Williamson
Thousands of people watching you and you've just m- you've pulled it out the bag. Ladies and gentlemen welcome back. I'm joined by Johnny and Yusuf from propanefitness.com. It's life hacks 110?
- JOJonny
All those hacks.
- YUYusef
How many life hacks?
- CWChris Williamson
I think it's probably about 250.
- YUYusef
50?
- CWChris Williamson
250.
- YUYusef
Yeah.
- CWChris Williamson
25 per episode.
- JOJonny
This is why I don't have any.
- CWChris Williamson
You've run out. Johnny's run out of life hacks to say, but it's okay, it's all right. Me and Yusuf have got loads and you can just-
- JOJonny
I'll just talk about them.
- CWChris Williamson
You're here for the, here for the ride.
- YUYusef
I think we will grease the groove and then Johnny will be like, "Ah, you did 10."
- JOJonny
I'll under pop in the most.
- CWChris Williamson
Uh, so if you're new-
- YUYusef
Let's just hot potato Johnny.
- JOJonny
No.
- 1:27 – 2:16
Show format + sponsor: Total Performance training program
- CWChris Williamson
Not yet. Uh, if you're new to life hacks it is our most popular series on modern wisdom, tools, principles, products for a productive and efficient life. And this episode is brought to you by Total Performance. It is an online course which delivers daily workouts and training, functional movements but they're physique focused. I actually filmed the mobility, uh, course for them which was loads of fun. Uh, so you'll be doing functional style movements but with a broey twist which is really what everyone wants to do. So head to totalperformance.co.uk and follow the link, uh, to sign up or you can go to the show notes below and you'll get seven days of programming for free. So you can just go try it out and rinse them for seven days of, of training, get swollen that. On to-
- YUYusef
So Johnny, why don't you start us off? (laughs)
- 2:16 – 4:28
Listener-submitted hack: gaming Costa self-serve machines (and the ethics debate)
- CWChris Williamson
Johnny, why don't you start us off? I will do one. This is actually the first life hack that I've featured which has been officially submitted by a listener and it's mint.
- JOJonny
Okay.
- CWChris Williamson
You ready for this?
- JOJonny
I'm ready for this.
- CWChris Williamson
Okay so back to the screen.
- YUYusef
(laughs)
- CWChris Williamson
Will Robertson if you use one of the self-serve Costa coffee machines you can fit a large coffee into a medium cup then you only get charged for a medium.
- YUYusef
That is stealing Will Robertson.
- CWChris Williamson
It's also shit coffee Will Robertson.
- YUYusef
But it's good for the environment because you're using less wasted cup space.
- CWChris Williamson
Hang on don't you go to Costa?
- JOJonny
Yeah but not... What he's talking about is the machines that like you get in petrol stations.
- CWChris Williamson
Okay. Well I mean-
- JOJonny
I think so anyway.
- YUYusef
That's like saying hey look I can get away with stealing a marginal amount of extra fluid in my coffee therefore it's a life hack.
- JOJonny
I can't believe that either is stealing.
- YUYusef
So it you think it's not stealing because you've already paid for-
- CWChris Williamson
Well the charge is for the size of the cup.
- JOJonny
He's using his own cup. He's getting, he's paying for the amount of coffee that there is in the mug.
- YUYusef
The charge is for the size of the cup or for the amount of liquid that you've dispensed?
- JOJonny
Well he's pay-
- YUYusef
It's cheaper if you have your own isn't it?
- JOJonny
But it's a fixed amount of liquid.
- CWChris Williamson
That's not, that's not what he's doing.
- JOJonny
He's not making more liquid come out. Like he is pressing a button and amount of liquids coming out.
- YUYusef
He's pressed the wrong button for the price that he's being...
- JOJonny
Well no he's not.
- YUYusef
That's the same as what you're saying when you're in a Tesco checkout, um, just buy loads of steak but say that it's onions.
- JOJonny
I know someone who used to do that but it's not the same because what he's doing is he's going up to the machine puts his cup under presses medium and then pays. Presses large... Is that right?
- CWChris Williamson
Yeah.
- 4:28 – 6:13
Meal prep hack: “scalable salad” tabbouleh + push-chopper shortcut
- YUYusef
So today's life hack was something I made today and it is a scalable salad.
- CWChris Williamson
Oh my God. (laughs)
- YUYusef
Absolutely beautiful. This is so-
- CWChris Williamson
Can you explain what you mean by that?
- YUYusef
Oh man so, so I am totally inept at anything culinary and my beautiful flatmate Mike Randall showed me the way the other day with a, um, he's got a special knife and he just said I was chopping wrong. What this is is tabbouleh which is-
- CWChris Williamson
Bless you.
- YUYusef
... bulgur wheat, cu- cucumber, pomegranate if you want, um, peppers, parsley, mi- fresh mint, uh, beans, and olives. Chop them all up so just thinly dice them or if you just can't use a knife you can get a push chopper which is like a zigzag blade in a circular thing where you put the vege- vegetables in, you do that a few times the blade comes down and rotates-
- CWChris Williamson
Yep.
- YUYusef
... and just dices everything for you. Chuck it all in with the bulgur wheat and then you can add some shredded chicken on top, you can put some balsamic dressing. That will create about a kilo of salad for about four or five pounds compared to if you were to buy a salad of that level of quality it would cost you thousands-
- CWChris Williamson
What's it called? Tabbouleh?
- JOJonny
(laughs)
- YUYusef
Tabbouleh. It's a-
- CWChris Williamson
How do you spell that?
- YUYusef
... Middle Eastern T-A-B-B-E-L-
- JOJonny
Is that a salad or is that the device?
- YUYusef
Oh t- no tabbouleh. Uh-
- JOJonny
Ooh lah.
- YUYusef
Tabbouleh. Um, it's the salad.
- CWChris Williamson
Okay.
- YUYusef
Yeah.
- CWChris Williamson
Okay.
- JOJonny
The... When we were speaking to, um, great-
- YUYusef
From meal prep.
- JOJonny
... a man today Yusuf said in a normal sentence Baghdad.
- GUGuest
... but couldn't say Baghdad. He had to say Baktun.
- CWChris Williamson
(laughs)
- GUGuest
(laughs)
- 6:13 – 9:26
Durable phone gear: Mous case, magnetic add-ons, and car mounts
- JOJonny
I do have one.
- CWChris Williamson
Ah.
- JOJonny
I have one.
- GUGuest
Yes.
- CWChris Williamson
Knew it.
- JOJonny
Come on then, Johnny. Hit us.
- GUGuest
Oil the pipes. Grease the groove. Pump the-
- JOJonny
Butter the bread.
- GUGuest
Batten the hatches.
- JOJonny
Mous.
- GUGuest
Oh.
- CWChris Williamson
What's that?
- JOJonny
Or mouse.
- CWChris Williamson
How do you spell that?
- JOJonny
It's this phone case. M-O-U-S.
- CWChris Williamson
Okay, yep.
- GUGuest
Do you know what? I was gonna ask you about this earlier today, 'cause it looks hardy. Is it made of fibreglass?
- JOJonny
So if you Google them, they started on a Kickstarter campaign.
- GUGuest
Mm-hmm.
- JOJonny
And they have tested these phone cases, dropping them. They send a drone up, and they release the phone.
- CWChris Williamson
Oh, right. Yeah.
- JOJonny
They hit it with hammers. So it was the second time, dropped my phone, picked it up, fucking hell, 150 quid.
- GUGuest
(gasps)
- JOJonny
So instead of that, bought a new phone. I was like, "I am not cracking..." I mean, famous last words.
- GUGuest
(gasps)
- JOJonny
I've actually had two dreams where I've cracked the screen of this. Um, but yeah, they, it's really nice. Service is really good, and I think everyone'll like them.
- CWChris Williamson
Looks pretty cool, man. The one thing that I am gonna criticise it about-
- JOJonny
It's a bit clunky.
- CWChris Williamson
... is how in love with the fact that it had a magnetic wallet that could go on the back of it you were.
- GUGuest
(laughs)
- 9:26 – 14:11
Email productivity: Gmail schedule send, undo send, and batching inbox time
- GUGuest
This is a recent, relatively recent one, which is schedule send on Gmail. I don't know if you've seen this. I don't know whether you use web-based Gmail. Anyone who does-
- CWChris Williamson
Don't.
- GUGuest
Um, you'll see now at the bottom, if you go on to, you've written your email out, you go to send, and just next to send there's a little drop down arrow that allows you to schedule it. So you can be working away on a nighttime or in the morning, have emails that you require to arrive with someone, and just schedule them for- Mailbutler slowly getting chipped away by Gmail.
- CWChris Williamson
Yeah.
- GUGuest
I'm noticing a lot of the functions that we were espousing with Mailbutler a few episodes ago are now like just getting integrated by Gmail.
- CWChris Williamson
Eaten up.
- GUGuest
Separate. I also am being... Do you pay for Mailbutler? No. So they're, they are basically pushing me out the app and making me pay.
- CWChris Williamson
Are they?
- GUGuest
Wow. Yeah.
- CWChris Williamson
Have you rang them and said, "Excuse me."
- GUGuest
I'm not, I'm just annoyed about it. It's, it feels very beany to me. There's bean sauce all over it.
- CWChris Williamson
(laughs)
- GUGuest
Do you get what I mean?
- CWChris Williamson
Yeah.
- GUGuest
It doesn't, it keeps fucking crashing. It keep, like when I start an app- You know what I'm really worried about is, 'cause it, I've got a big backlog of... 'Cause it puts them in a separate folder when you've scheduled messages. I'm worried that if one day Mailbutler doesn't launch properly and then it just fires out all of my like scheduled messages.
- CWChris Williamson
(laughs) Oh, you lose them.
- GUGuest
All at once. How many messages have you scheduled? Oh, like loads of snoozed and scheduled and follow-up ones, and, but it's a really intricate, like a house of cards system that I've built.
- CWChris Williamson
(laughs)
- GUGuest
So if one day... This is why you keep needing new devices.
- CWChris Williamson
'Cause I have like-
- GUGuest
You just, it's just clogged. (laughs)
- CWChris Williamson
That's the same reason. That's the exact same reason as to why I'm terrified of moving my reminders from future reminders on Apple over to Things, and fully migrating.
- GUGuest
Ugh.
- CWChris Williamson
Because if Things breaks, I know that Apple Reminders doesn't, and if Things breaks at some point, the entire structure upon which my life is predicated-
- GUGuest
It's horrible, isn't it?
- CWChris Williamson
... will fall to the ground around me.
- GUGuest
Suddenly you, you send out an email that was scheduled for July that says, "Hey, Kevin, how's the twins? Like, hope you're..." And you're like, "Oh, no, he doesn't have the twins yet." Sickening, like.
- CWChris Williamson
Oh, oh, also I'm gonna put on the end of that as well, schedule send on Gmail is in there, but undo on Gmail is also there.
- GUGuest
Undo send.
- JOJonny
That's another, that's another Mailbutler thing.
- 14:11 – 16:57
Household micro-hacks: back-door sliders, “thong anxiety,” and Iceland cold stories
- YUYusef
This is a triple life hack that all... We found out just before recording that all three of us do.
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- YUYusef
That is, keeping flip-flops next to the back door of the house. So if you need to take the bins out, to pop out, water the plants, whatever it is. We're so, we're so grownup. Um, then, uh, put the-
- JOJonny
Quick release footwear, isn't it?
- YUYusef
Quick release, yeah.
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- YUYusef
I've, I've just... I, I picked the most ridiculous pair of, um, Primark flip-flops that I could find.
- CWChris Williamson
And they're pink.
- YUYusef
They're bright orange. Orangey-pink, and they say, "Why not?" on them.
- CWChris Williamson
(taps flip-flop) Oh.
- YUYusef
And they're just like, you know the, there's no toe hole, it's just like a...
- CWChris Williamson
They're sliders, not flip-flops.
- YUYusef
Sliders.
- JOJonny
Oh, okay.
- CWChris Williamson
Yeah.
- JOJonny
There's no, there's no thong?
- YUYusef
American... Yeah. Australians call them thongs, don't they?
- CWChris Williamson
Yeah.
- JOJonny
With, well, that's the technical terms for those.
- CWChris Williamson
What it, what it is. Yeah, it's that little bit of meat.
- JOJonny
I have thong anxiety. Does anyone else get that?
- CWChris Williamson
I love-
- YUYusef
It's horrible.
- CWChris Williamson
Havana's flip-flops are by far the most comfortable flip-flops on the planet.
- JOJonny
They're the premier league.
- CWChris Williamson
Yeah.
- JOJonny
But I get thong anxiety.
- YUYusef
What is thong anxiety?
- JOJonny
When you are... It only really happens in foreign countries. You're wearing flip-flops 'cause you wear them constantly when it's hot, and you're going down a slight decline. Maybe your feet are a bit wet.
- YUYusef
Oh.
- 16:57 – 24:47
Resilience principle: diversify your personality across domains (don’t build identity on one thing)
- JOJonny
Diversify your personality.
- CWChris Williamson
Well, I mean, uh, uh, you can either elaborate this to be better or worse.
- JOJonny
If you say that like that, it's not awful. Isn't that shit?
- YUYusef
(laughs)
- JOJonny
No, I'll explain what I mean. Have I done this one before? Don't think so. Ringing a bell?
- YUYusef
No.
- JOJonny
You know when you have a bad day?
- CWChris Williamson
Happens all the time, yeah.
- JOJonny
Yeah. Normally it's a bad day in a domain. Right?
- YUYusef
Mm-hmm.
- CWChris Williamson
A bad day at work, a bad day at the gym.
- JOJonny
So, like, people who have... Exactly. So like-
- YUYusef
It's only a really, really bad day if it's, like, pan-domain. (laughs)
- JOJonny
Like, or five.
- CWChris Williamson
Yeah.
- JOJonny
But how, how often... And that has actually happened.
- YUYusef
Oh, God. (laughs)
- JOJonny
The worst things, you have a shit day at work, you go and you can't even, like, you can't even unrack 100 kilos without being, feeling too heavy.
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- JOJonny
You go home, you have an argument with your girlfriend, Netflix won't work, you can't get to sleep.
- YUYusef
You feel so tired you just can't sleep.
- CWChris Williamson
No.
- YUYusef
Um, you... Well, I can't even remember the rest of the words.
- JOJonny
Put... (laughs)
- YUYusef
(laughs)
- JOJonny
But yeah, ha- So it's... I suppose it's an argument to have.
- YUYusef
You love so much but it goes to waste.
- JOJonny
Mo- s- stop, stop.
- YUYusef
Could it be worse?
- JOJonny
(laughs) No... Stop.
- 24:47 – 27:48
Content creation shortcuts: Canva + Unfold (and a brief iPhone upgrade rabbit hole)
- CWChris Williamson
Uh, next up, two apps that will make creating content for social media infinitely easier, Canva and Unfold. So Unfold, I may have mentioned in passing before, uh, but Canva is a, a new one that I've been, uh, sent by Cam, uh, who is the person behind Sonny's website, good, uh, knowledge base for all things to do with online, uh, online content. And he uses Canva, and it is just this huge premade library of templates made by other people, like real bits of content, and they just look like professional flyers-
- JOJonny
Mm-hmm.
- CWChris Williamson
... uh, or Instagram stories, and you can create whatever s- r- setting you want, so a Facebook cover photo or a Facebook event photo or Instagram 916 or a square or a whatever, like all different... Twitter photos, everything, every different permutation you can think of. And the pro version has some extra features, but you don't need it, so you can get the free version and you can just customize everything. They have all of these really great looking flyers. You see one, you're like, "Fucking hell, that's mint." Then you go onto it and you can edit it, and you can just take someone else's design, rejig it a bit, and then that's your stuff. It's amazing.
- JOJonny
We estimate that we probably saved... It'll be, way into the thousands-
- YUYusef
Oh, easily.
- JOJonny
... on, like, designers from using Canva.
- YUYusef
If we were to go back and... 'Cause we, we, we get a bit trigger happy with Canva even, but-
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- YUYusef
... if we were to go back and say, like, price up all of the things we've made with Canva as if it were to be made by a designer.
- JOJonny
Even if it's, like, not quite as good but it, it took you, like, a minute and a half to make.
- CWChris Williamson
Do you do it on mobile or is there a desktop version?
- JOJonny
There's a web app, yeah.
- CWChris Williamson
Is there?
- JOJonny
Web version. Really good.
- YUYusef
Oh, I'd feel sick doing it on mobile.
- JOJonny
(laughs)
- YUYusef
I, I just can't do anything on a mobile. Like, I, I think-
- CWChris Williamson
You do have the smallest iPhone.
- JOJonny
You know who's getting the 11? Do you know about this?
- CWChris Williamson
Me?
- YUYusef
Next week, yeah.
- CWChris Williamson
Amazing.
- JOJonny
Doesn't that... Isn't that... I, like, I'm still, I, I've been thinking about that probably every 30 minutes.
- YUYusef
It'll be a full, full device upgrade, won't it? 'Cause-
- JOJonny
But I, I'm, I'm just amazed that you're not going for, like, the 7D4 or something.
- YUYusef
(laughs)
- JOJonny
You know what I mean? Like, you're going for the-
- YUYusef
I just think it's... I'm due for an upgrade. It's, it's time to-
- JOJonny
You're going for the mainstream, the one that's just been launched.
- YUYusef
It's quite cheap. It's cheaper than the XR.
- 27:48 – 31:24
Browser privacy & Big Tech: Brave vs Chrome, the “creepy line,” and cross-platform trade-offs
- YUYusef
(laughs) Brave browser. Did we discuss this last time?
- CWChris Williamson
No.
- YUYusef
No.
- JOJonny
Bean pie.
- YUYusef
So this is in... I mean it's-
- JOJonny
Bean casserole.
- YUYusef
Bean casserole. This is a, basically Chrome. Now, it's, it's a different browser. I resist the idea of using a new browser because you think like, "Oh, I've got all the favorites and bookmarks set up and, and all the extensions. It's going to be a ball ache to switch over." But Brave is essentially Chrome, plus privacy improvements and speed improvements. So it was seamless. Like, you open it up and it just, it ports everything over from Chrome, but it's just faster, stops all kinds of pop-ups and ads and all that kind of stuff. And it's just quicker. And it looks nicer. It has a really cool logo.
- CWChris Williamson
(laughs)
- YUYusef
So, um, I made the switch. Much more, um, amenable to that than something like Firefox or Opera or-
- CWChris Williamson
Fucking hell. Have you ever gone back and used Firefox or Opera now?
- YUYusef
Ugh.
- CWChris Williamson
Or Windows, uh, Internet Explorer?
- YUYusef
I have to use Windows Explorer in hospital and it is infuriating.
- JOJonny
Fuck me. I just think there's a...
- YUYusef
(laughs)
- JOJonny
What's... So what's the problem with Chrome?
- YUYusef
Chrome... So the interview that Chris did recently with the Facebook mentor, what was his name?
- CWChris Williamson
Roger McNamee.
- YUYusef
Roger McNamee was just saying if you have an Android device or anything Google... He thinks Google is the most insidious company because he says, like, an Android device is effectively a scout data vacuum for just-
- JOJonny
(laughs)
- YUYusef
... any... And, and it's just totally shameless. It will just take-
- CWChris Williamson
Mm.
- YUYusef
... anything that you... that is within reach. Even if you're, like, relatives and people who don't even have, like...
- CWChris Williamson
Yeah, he was... He ga- he gave some pretty scary stats about the fact that Google's able... Google and Facebook are able to make profiles about people who don't have accounts. So if multiple people are referencing the same person or trying to tag them or do whatever-
- JOJonny
They cross-reference it.
- CWChris Williamson
... it will create a profile of this person pending their, like, appearance within the sphere.
- JOJonny
Oh, God.
- CWChris Williamson
Yeah.
- JOJonny
You know they have something... I think it's Google has something called the creepy line. Have you heard about this?
- YUYusef
The creepy line?
- 31:24 – 34:40
Mobility & recovery: The Ready State app, ROMWOD debates, and upcoming guest teases
- GUGuest
I've got one that's, uh, that's really new and I probably don't... This is the same, I feel like I always recommend stuff like this.
- CWChris Williamson
Untested. Um, throw us out, throw us out a 0.5 version. Come on.
- GUGuest
The Ready State.
- CWChris Williamson
Peak state.
- GUGuest
Peak state. So Chris went to America. Chris came back from America and told me to stop doing ROM WOD. Which was a very sad day, but it was Steve McGill, right, saying, "Bendy bendy combined with fatigued-based heavy lifting, bad idea."
- CWChris Williamson
Heavy lifting. I think that-
- GUGuest
But I do it.
- CWChris Williamson
I think that for some types of, uh, physiologies, ROM WOD can create a environment which predisposes you to injury in CrossFit.
- GUGuest
Mm-hmm.
- CWChris Williamson
And I think that myself and you have that particular type of body.
- GUGuest
Yeah.
- CWChris Williamson
So I advised Johnny for a l- for a period to stick to doing some more stiffening of the spine rather than, uh, increasing flexibility in the spine.
- GUGuest
Mm-hmm.
- CWChris Williamson
Um, which you did, but mornings without stretch... Even I now, as someone who is fully dedicated to back rehab and like (sighs) I'd just love to just lie and-
- GUGuest
Just do some ROM WOD.
- CWChris Williamson
... get that stretch response on the morning, yeah. I miss ROM WOD a lot.
- GUGuest
I think part of what we got from it is the, is the relaxation, the mental benefit, rather than the...
- CWChris Williamson
Focus on the breath.
- GUGuest
You don't, you don't really change anything.
- CWChris Williamson
Yeah.
- GUGuest
Or well, you don't like stand up and think, "Man, I've got so much more range of motion in this joint."
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- GUGuest
You just feel a bit better. Um, Kelly Starrett had the Mobility WOD, launched it like 10 years ago.
- CWChris Williamson
M WOD, yeah.
- GUGuest
M WOD. Been around a long time. It's kind of morphed over the years from being very scatter gun YouTube videos that were all over the place to apps that were trying to program things, but there wasn't really any logic to the programming. I've tried his app several times and left it 'cause it just isn't what you want.
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- GUGuest
He's completely rebranded, I think-
- CWChris Williamson
The Ready State.
- GUGuest
The Ready State. I think his wife is now the CEO and he's basically the talent.
- CWChris Williamson
Got it.
- 34:40 – 36:35
Networking shortcut: introduce people via group chat then exit
- CWChris Williamson
I have got an absolute fucking belter next. Is everyone ready?
- GUGuest
Let's do this.
- CWChris Williamson
Right, so um, this is a tactic which you will both have been subject to. Uh, and it is create group chats for people that you're introducing. So let's say that I need to introduce Youssef to a masseuse. He wants to get a massage from someone that I use. I then, rather than being like, "Here's the thing," or send him an email and then copy them both in, I'll just create a group chat. "Hi, people. Hi, two people. This is this. This is why he's here. Um, I'll leave you two to crack on." Then just immediately exit the group. And it's a really nice way of, within a minute, just condensing down the entire task of whatever it is that you need to do and then you leave those two people to crack on. You've given both of them each other's phone number, so it's not like, "Hang on. Who's this person that's texting me? Oh, it must have been this, this, this." And you... It's j- it's easy. It's seamless.
- GUGuest
For, for extra amusement as well, you can just do it between two random people and just watch them watch the groups.
- CWChris Williamson
And claim that they both have skills that neither of them have.
- GUGuest
(laughs)
- CWChris Williamson
There was something I saw that I think I sent you, a guy that... on Facebook, where he added everybody on Facebook with the same name as him.
- GUGuest
It was all the Addys in this, wasn't it?
- CWChris Williamson
I've been added too. I've been added to-
- GUGuest
Yeah, Chris Williamson group.
- CWChris Williamson
... a group of Christopher Williamsons, yeah.
- GUGuest
And then like, some... The guy's written like, "Well, well, well. How's everybody doing?" (laughs) And then someone's written like, "Fuck off, you prick," or something like that. (laughs)
- CWChris Williamson
(laughs)
- GUGuest
The first, the first response was just that.
- CWChris Williamson
Brilliant. Wow.
- GUGuest
Um, yeah. It... 'Cause well, I did it recently, I, I tried to include an Alex Williams in a, in a thread-
- CWChris Williamson
(gasps) That's brilliant.
- GUGuest
... and it was just someone else called Alex Williams. And I, I thought like, "Oh, this is fine." And then Johnny sent me a text later that day-
- YUYusef
... of just this guy on a beach. Like, "Do you know this man?" I'm like, "No." He was like, "That's who you've added to the, the thread on (laughs)
- CWChris Williamson
It wasn't the person.
- JOJonny
Big, muscular man.
- CWChris Williamson
Was there anything, uh-
- YUYusef
Sen-
- CWChris Williamson
Confidential? Yeah.
- JOJonny
No.
- CWChris Williamson
Oh, okay.
- JOJonny
No data. No personal data.
- CWChris Williamson
Okay, right, Yusuf.
- 36:35 – 40:13
Health & hygiene hacks: water flossers, CRP/inflammation, and PFAS concerns
- YUYusef
I recently bought a water flosser.
- CWChris Williamson
Oh, wow. Okay, so-
- YUYusef
So, so-
- CWChris Williamson
... this is, we've gone from flossing in the shower-
- YUYusef
Yeah. I've, I've s- I've doubled down on flossing recently.
- CWChris Williamson
Wow, okay.
- YUYusef
I think-
- JOJonny
'Cause of the deflation.
- YUYusef
'Cause of the deflation. It, this was after having a chat with Dean St Maud, who is a man, he's a pharmacolog- pharmacologist?
- JOJonny
He's Irish, muscular-
- YUYusef
Chem-
- JOJonny
... lean.
- YUYusef
... chemical-
- JOJonny
Clubber.
- YUYusef
... pharmacologist man with a PhD. Knows a lot about supplements, drugs, bodybuilding.
- CWChris Williamson
Okay.
- YUYusef
That kind of thing. And he said the highest yield thing you can do to reduce your CRP, which is an indicat- uh, uh, indicator of inflammation, is flossing.
- CWChris Williamson
C-reactive protein.
- YUYusef
Protein, yeah. So I thought-
- CWChris Williamson
That's deflation.
- YUYusef
... floss, but then you run into the problem of PFAS, P-F-A-S, which is a, some kind of polyfluoro whatever in floss that leaks into your bloodstream. Estrogenic.
- CWChris Williamson
F- fucking hell.
- YUYusef
So-
- CWChris Williamson
You, you and estrogen are just at a, a war.
- YUYusef
(laughs)
- CWChris Williamson
A constant war at the moment.
- YUYusef
I'm running away from estrogen. I'm like the snake eating my tail. So, um, I thought, right, water doesn't have eis- well, it does have estrogen in actually.
- CWChris Williamson
(laughs) Filtered water.
- YUYusef
Filter- yeah. But, um-
- JOJonny
Even that-
- 40:13 – 43:38
Happiness systems: ‘happiness buffet,’ morning comedy instead of news, and getting a dog
- JOJonny
Just goes for ages. Um, so this is from, via Paul Mort, via a book that he read, which I'm not sure what the book is called. (laughs) Um, I think it's called like The Happiness Experiment or something. But it's to create a happiness buffet.
- YUYusef
Equation. Happiness equation.
- JOJonny
May- yeah.
- YUYusef
Yeah.
- JOJonny
Yeah, okay. Um, so, um, basically ...
- YUYusef
My brother's listening to that at the moment.
- JOJonny
Is he really?
- YUYusef
I, I listened to a bit of it in the car. He's on Audible. I was so proud of him.
- CWChris Williamson
That's cool.
- JOJonny
That is cool.
- CWChris Williamson
Okay.
- JOJonny
Um, bas- it's really simple. Basically just make a list of things that make you happy. Sit and consider that. Like, "I am happiness. I am happiness."
- YUYusef
I heard that bit of the book.
- JOJonny
"I am happiest when," and then list those things.
- YUYusef
Mm-hmm.
- JOJonny
And then prioritize them in your schedule. Super fucking simple.
- CWChris Williamson
What would s- what would your things be? What would some things that would appear in your top ten?
- JOJonny
So spending ... it, for me, it's normally spending time with people.
- CWChris Williamson
Okay.
- JOJonny
Almost always. "And funnily enough, even creating the list of things that make you happy-"
- YUYusef
(laughs)
- JOJonny
"... is a happiness inducing task."
- CWChris Williamson
(laughs)
- JOJonny
(laughs)
- CWChris Williamson
Is that the guy?
- YUYusef
Yeah. He's Egyptian.
- JOJonny
Oh, nice. Is he?
- CWChris Williamson
Oh, is he really?
- YUYusef
Yeah.
- CWChris Williamson
Bless you.
- 43:38 – 47:46
Grooming & skincare: moisturizers, skin types, and starting early
- CWChris Williamson
Okay. So, um, I've had this question asked a couple of times, so I'm going to give it out. Uh, the favorite moisturizer that I use is Clarins For Men Super Moisture Gel.
- YUYusef
Ooh.
- CWChris Williamson
So I've used this... It was, like, a housemate that I lived with 10 years ago, Adam, uh, who used it and introduced me to it. And I was like, "Seems to be okay, doesn't make me too greasy. Doesn't do anything else." And I've now used it pretty much non-stop for 10 years. Um...
- YUYusef
What's a bit of your body that you've moisturized in the last 24 hours?
- CWChris Williamson
Face.
- YUYusef
Soft.
- CWChris Williamson
Soft face.
- JOJonny
Thank you.
- CWChris Williamson
What if I said scrotum?
- JOJonny
Do you moisturize any, do you moisturize anywhere else?
- CWChris Williamson
No.
- JOJonny
For the same thing?
- CWChris Williamson
No. So, I don't... I'm not bothered with that. However-
- YUYusef
Don't moisturize your scrotum though. It's rude.
- CWChris Williamson
I remember you need it to be smooth, isn't it?
- JOJonny
Moisten up, yeah.
- CWChris Williamson
Very moist. Uh, one thing I-
- JOJonny
Vinegary.
- CWChris Williamson
One thing that I remember being told-
- JOJonny
Vinegary. (laughs)
- CWChris Williamson
One thing that I remember being told by, uh, a friend who was, uh, studying dermatology at uni, and their argument was the earlier that you start moisturizing, the better.
- JOJonny
Oh.
- YUYusef
Putting money in your pension, isn't it?
- CWChris Williamson
Reversing-
- YUYusef
Compounds.
- CWChris Williamson
Reversing wrinkles is quite difficult, but slowing the onset apparently is quite easy. Any dermatologists or anyone who knows what the fuck they're talking about, please correct me in the comments below. But, um, yeah, I've moisturized for the last 10 years with this same product essentially, uh, and it's all right.
- YUYusef
That's good.
- CWChris Williamson
Managed to shave a couple of months off how old I look.
- YUYusef
The common doctor's recommendation is DIPRA-Base.
- CWChris Williamson
Okay.
- 47:46 – 53:05
Quantified self & physiology: Apple Health dashboards, Whoop data, HRV-breathing link (plus NSFW detour)
- YUYusef
Yeah, it is... It's digital, but I feel very late to this party because I've only really played around properly with Apple Health.
- CWChris Williamson
Okay.
- YUYusef
As of two days ago. Because-
- CWChris Williamson
I've barely used it.
- YUYusef
That's it. I was aware that it, like, it tracks you, your steps and it has all these features, and I was like, "Oh, I don't have any devices that really do that."
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- YUYusef
Then I was like, actually... Chris gave me a Withings watch-
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- YUYusef
... that syncs with your scales. Or Nokia now, isn't it?
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- YUYusef
Um, so it gives you... You have your daily weight, you have your heart rate from the watch, and you have a step count either from the watch or from your phone.... plus, if you track your meditation, and if you're an avid Lifehack listener, and you've been using Insight Timer to track your total meditation volume, it pulls the data from that as well.
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- YUYusef
So actually now, I've got, on Apple Health, steps, heart rate, m- total meditation time-
- CWChris Williamson
Using sleep cycle?
- YUYusef
Uh, no, but I should do, 'cause I think it-
- CWChris Williamson
So you don't have your, don't have your phone in your room. It's not an, it's not a sacrifice that you want to make.
- YUYusef
Uh, yeah. That's, it's a trade-off, isn't it? I still have my phone in my room just 'cause I, I don't have anywhere else to, to put it. But yeah, that's, that's where-
- JOJonny
That's not true.
- YUYusef
... Li- Lifehacks.
- CWChris Williamson
You have an entire house, mate.
- YUYusef
Yeah, I need to get-
- CWChris Williamson
I've been there.
- YUYusef
... an alarm clock. Um-
- JOJonny
Oh, I see.
- YUYusef
But, but yeah. That's-
- JOJonny
So-
- YUYusef
... that's why.
- JOJonny
... mindful minutes.
- YUYusef
Mindful minutes. And then if, obviously if you've got, like, a, a Whoop band or a Fitbit
- JOJonny
It, uh, Whoop doesn't time, does it?
- 53:05 – 57:25
Wearables in practice: Whoop 3.0 usefulness, recovery signals, and training constraints
- CWChris Williamson
Right. Jonathan.
- JOJonny
Oh, I'll just say-
- YUYusef
Biting your tongue.
- JOJonny
... Whoop, then.
- CWChris Williamson
Whoop. Okay.
- JOJonny
Mm-hmm.
- CWChris Williamson
The new Whoop band.
- JOJonny
So this is the Whoop 3.0.
- CWChris Williamson
Okay.
- JOJonny
Um, so I had the 2.0.
- CWChris Williamson
Hated it.
- JOJonny
So my two recommendations for someone thinking about Whoop or ...
- CWChris Williamson
Withings.
- YUYusef
Withing. Fitbit.
- JOJonny
Oura.
- CWChris Williamson
Yeah, Oura.
- JOJonny
The Oura Ring. Now, I don't know that much about the Oura Ring. I think they're pretty similar. I would say it's probably not worth it unless you're doing some kind of cardiovascular output based exercise. So, like, it told me very little on the P- on power, for power lifting. Every session, it considered to be low strain. Because strain, in Whoop terms, is the, the time you spend in different, um, heart rate bands. So, it would only really say something about my HRV. So, like, all these things that are heart rate based I think are good for, if you're a runner, triathlete, if you're doing an Ironman, if you're doing anything endurance based. Obviously CrossFit. Anything where there's a lot of heart rate output. Probably for the other stuff, it's not really that important.
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- JOJonny
Just stick with a Fitbit. But, the 3.0 is better. The strap's better. Um, there's a bit more data on the app. I, I've, I've got over 30 days of data now, so I'm starting to pay more attention to the green and amber readings in the morning.
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- JOJonny
Um, and they're starting to t- they're starting to tie up a lot more with how my session ends up going. Which is really cool.
- CWChris Williamson
So my, my issue, my issue with the WHOOP has always been that whether or not you find out about ... y- you wake up one morning and you're in the red, do you change anything?
- JOJonny
So, I would ... so, uh, twice in the past 10 days, based on my recovery, I've not trained that day.
- CWChris Williamson
Really?
- JOJonny
And then my recovery was up massively the next day.
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- JOJonny
Um-
- CWChris Williamson
See, I, I don't heed the advice of the app-
- JOJonny
You would just train regardless.
- CWChris Williamson
But if it's a training day, my-
- 57:25 – 1:06:29
Reducing phone/social media use: stand to scroll, separate devices, and the Light Phone idea
- CWChris Williamson
... um, set it away and it'll track the route as well, yeah, and tie that in with the heart rate, and, and stuff like that. Uh, so my next one is a strategy for reducing social media or phone use. And it's, you know, I, I need an entire armory filled with these tactics based on, like, my requirement for work. Um, and my most favorite recent hack is standing when I use my phone.
- YUYusef
Mm-hmm.
- JOJonny
Not allowing myself to use my phone when sitting or lying down. And it's that aid o- age-old adage, a body at rest stays at rest, a body in motion stays in motion.
- YUYusef
That is a great tip.
- CWChris Williamson
Good one.
- YUYusef
'Cause then it, it makes you conscious. It stops you just becoming a slug of just, like, bleh.
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
- YUYusef
And-
- CWChris Williamson
'Cause you don't want stand up. You don't want to stand up for any longer than you have to stand up, and if you're like ... It's the same reason as to why I don't allow my phone to go from my kitchen into my bedroom. So if I want to use my phone, I have to go out of the ...
- YUYusef
So, what's the effect that both of those things ha- has on you? Is, is it that it stops you ... like, is it that you think, like, "Oh, I can't be arsed to stand up so I'm not gonna use my phone?" Or do you stand up and use your phone, but the, the effect is that you just stand up more?
- CWChris Williamson
Uh, so the effect is probably both. I mean, I have to stand up if I want to use my phone, so I am standing up more. But the main thing is it's just increasing friction. It stops mindless, mindless opening of the phone.
- YUYusef
So t- so it does do both, then.
- CWChris Williamson
Yeah.
- YUYusef
You end up standing more and not using your phone more.
- CWChris Williamson
Well, on a, on a standing desk as well. I'm standing a lot more.
- JOJonny
How, how do you, how do you police that, though?
- CWChris Williamson
What do you mean?
- JOJonny
So, like, you're sat down now.
- CWChris Williamson
Yep.
- JOJonny
Or, like-
- CWChris Williamson
Stand-
- JOJonny
... standard example, you're sat here watching TV.
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- JOJonny
And you, you go to look at your phone.
- CWChris Williamson
Just, uh, put it back down, if I can't be arsed. It's like, am I bothered enough to look at my phone for me stand up?
- JOJonny
So my ... the thing-
- CWChris Williamson
No, I'm not.
- JOJonny
... the thing for me with my phone-
- CWChris Williamson
Therefore I won't look at it.
- JOJonny
... when I probably spend time on it, it's when I have time, periods of low willpower. So, like, I'll wake up in the morning. It's 6:30, go downstairs, like, get a drink, about to sit and meditate, go to open InsightTimer, I'm a bit tired, and I find, just find myself on Instagram.
- 1:06:29 – 1:09:12
Quick-fire life admin: flight delay compensation, Canada visa gotchas, toilet descaling, cleaners, and wrap-up
- GUGuest
So I had a long, long delay on a flight the other day. It was a 40-hour delay, and-
- CWChris Williamson
A what?
- GUGuest
So the first one-
- CWChris Williamson
When was this?
- GUGuest
Uh, coming back from Croatia.
- CWChris Williamson
From Klema.
- GUGuest
Klema.
- CWChris Williamson
Klema.
- GUGuest
From Klema. And, uh, so it ended up as a huge ball ache, £1,000 out of pocket, and-
- CWChris Williamson
Fuck me.
- GUGuest
... just generally, like, four-
- CWChris Williamson
1000 pounds?
- GUGuest
1000 out of pocket.
- CWChris Williamson
40 hours?
- GUGuest
And, and, f- yeah, 48 hours total.
- YUYusef
... total time out of my life, but 40 hours of the- the delay.
- GUGuest
Fuck.
- YUYusef
So I was just, like, very annoyed.
- GUGuest
So the challenge here, Chris, is to spot the-
- YUYusef
The scurvy problem.
- GUGuest
... the scurvy problem epicenter of this?
- YUYusef
Okay. (laughs)
- CWChris Williamson
Right. I mean, the problem first will have been that he decided to use skyscanner dot, like dot -
- YUYusef
Biz. (laughs)
- CWChris Williamson
... or something.
- YUYusef
.biz. The, uh, th- I think the, the mistake was using a budget airline. The, just ... it... uh, I think just using easyJet in general was a mistake, 'cause it's alwa- every time I've been on them ... again, maybe I've been unlucky, but they've always just-
- CWChris Williamson
Okay.
- YUYusef
... been delayed or canceled. But, um, you can go to the airline direct now. The regulations have changed so you ... if you have a delay or a cancellation, you can reclaim expenses as long as they are within reasonable limits and things.
- CWChris Williamson
Mm-hmm.
- YUYusef
Um, the, the online form is annoying, but anyway, you can do that. You can then also try and claim for, um, delay. If they accept responsibility, they will give you €640 per person that was delayed. But it ... although it's scaled down depending on the mileage. If it's rejected but you still feel like you have a case, you can just go to one of these, like ... I think I used, like, myflightdelayed.com or something. They take a 20-30% fee, but it's well worth it, because they just ... they're just solicitors that have got economies of scale. They will just handle all of that stuff and just send you the-
Episode duration: 1:22:29
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