# Some Constants

By Randall Degges · October 14, 2012 · https://rdegges.com/2012/some-constants/

> The daily constants that keep me sane no matter how crazy things get: lifting weights, reading books, eating meat, and writing a little every day.

![Tree Sketch][]


Everyone has their constants--a spouse, a ritual, parents, friends, whatever.
Even with shit gets crazy in your life and you've got a million things going
on, your constants are the things you can always count on.

Having things you can rely on day after day makes you feel comfortable.  No
matter how tough things get, no matter what craziness is currently going on,
you can always count on your constants.

A few months ago I really changed my daily schedule around.  I started making
some habit changes that I've really enjoyed.  What follows are my constants.
These are the things that make me feel awesome every day, regardless of whether
or not I'm feeling my best.


## Lifting Weights

*PICK STUFF UP, AND PUT IT DOWN AGAIN.*  I know that everyone has their
preferred form of exercise, but for me, it is lifting weights.  The first thing
I do when I wake up (6 days a week) is head over to my local gym and do the
day's workout.

It feels nice knowing that even if the rest of my day sucks--even if I break
production, write crappy code, get overwhelmed with the TODO list--at least I
got a good workout in.

Getting a win early in the day feels good, keeps me motivated, and generally
makes me feel more awesome.


## Reading

I read a lot of books.  I'm really into software best practices, programming,
and theory books.  (*As a sidenote, basically every book
[The Pragmatic Bookshelf][] publishes is fucking amazing.*)

I don't really understand how other people can go several days (or more!)
without sitting down, and reading some sort of book.  Out of all the things
I've done in my life, reading has probably been the most important.

If you aren't reading books, learning new things, and pushing yourself out of
your comfort zone (knowledge wise)--you're going to stagnate.  In my opinion,
reading books is the single greatest way to always be expanding your knowledge
base.

Get a [Kindle][], download some ebooks, visit your library--whatever.  Just
read stuff.  More.


## Eating Meat

*MEEEAAAATTTT!*  Meat tastes good, it's filled with protein, makes you feel
full, and is low on calories.  What could be better?

I don't really have much to elaborate on for this one.  Eating meat makes me
feel awesome, helps repair muscle tissue, and tastes amazing.  Some of my
favorite dishes at the moment are almond chicken, meatballs with sauteed
onions, and everyone's favorite: bacon.


## Writing

Writing is very therapeutic.  The act of analyzing your thoughts, figuring out
what they mean, and then translating that meaning into groupings of words that
other people can understand is a great way to improve your:

-   Thinking skills.
-   Thoughtfulness.
-   Knowledge of whatever subject you're writing about.

In addition to the obvious benefits, I find that writing every day helps me
relax.  It feels good to pick a topic, think about it, and spend some time
writing about it.  It's a soothing process.

Writing is also a pretty good way to get to know other people.  I've made tons
of really awesome friends through my blog that I never would have met
otherwise.  There are so many interesting people out there, and what better way
to meet them than through writing about topics they care about?

If you end up writing about a lot of technical stuff, you'll probably meet some
really awesome technical people.  If you write a lot about business stuff, I'm
sure you'll meet awesome business people.

Writing a little bit every day keeps me sane, helps me relax, and generally
makes me feel awesome.

These are the my constants.  They change from time to time, but are always
there for me to fall back on. What are yours?


[Tree Sketch]: tree-sketch.png "Tree Sketch"
  [The Pragmatic Bookshelf]: https://pragprog.com/ "The Pragmatic Bookshelf"
  [Kindle]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008UB7DU6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B008UB7DU6&linkCode=as2&tag=rdegges-20 "Kindle"