Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

I hiked across the Alps, alone, on foot and camping in the wild for 3 months. I had no phone with me (no GPS) and just paper maps, and a pen to keep notes on paper. It was the best time I ever had my whole life. I thought I might get lonely but being in the flow of walking every day actually created some kind of an internal dialogue in my head which never made me feel lonely. I met others who were on a similar trail but they all looked and talked like they needed to achieve some kind of a "goal" by posting shit on Insta and none of them would do it without GPS. Since I didn't grow up with all that nonsense and have been using Tech since I turned 20 - I really appreciated being "bored" again after so many years of being distracted. Paper and pen (and your ability to walk) are all you really need. Tech is what makes things complex and as soon as you remove all of it is an empowering experience unlike nothing else.

Low-tech wellness.

Apple Cider Vinegar instead of acid reducers (Tums, Zantac, Prilosec) for heartburn, acid reflux, and indigestion.

Water Fasting instead of caloric restriction, weight loss pills, and diet fads for curing metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance, mid-section fat buildup, inflammation, diabetes).

Kettlebell, mace, stretching, and sprinting instead of a gym membership with classes and steady state cardio (or a Peloton).

Barefoot foot strength and 0-drop shoes instead of surgery and lift-pads for fasciitis and tendonitis.

A whole food, conservative, omnivorous diet of your ancestors instead of becoming vegan or carnivore.

Journaling (#bujo), practicing meditation, and studying stoicism instead of counseling and medicating.

Reading books and leaving your devices “default off” instead of aimlessly scrolling all day.

Cast iron and glass for cooking/storing instead of Teflon and plastic.

I'd say reading books and spending time with friends and family are the main low tech that shouldn't be replaced by the digital version.

The other big thing is taking time off from smartphones.

I haven't written more than maybe a page a month on paper in years, I never buy incandescent bulbs, I don't want a film camera or a record player. There's very few appliances I wouldn't chose the smart version of.

But nothing is going to replace planting things in the garden, lighting a campfire, or reading a book(Although e readers are just fine now).

In general, I'm not a fan of low tech. Man-made items done without silicon tend to be heavy, delicate, and hard to use compared to the digital ones, and things made of modern materials.

Things that actively involve living beings very closely, like clothes and food, are sometimes but not always better off low tech.

Things that are, or should be be, mostly hands off, like the insulation material in a house, the network stack in a computer, or a power plant, should usually be as high tech as possible.

I recently got my first multitool and it has sort of changed something fundamental about how I view the world to have a small, basic toolkit in the bottom of my bag at all times.

I live a life where cycling everywhere is very feasible. My bike is cheap, I get exercise.

I made a sunscreen for my laptop out of illustration board, drafting tape, and some magnets. When the weather's nice (and I live somewhere where it's nice a lot) I can go out to a park and work in the middle of trees while debating if I should share my snacks with the raccoons and squirrels and birds.

I meditate. There is not much lower tech than "sitting quietly in one place for a while". It has done some very interesting things to my brain.

A lot of my reading has been physical books again after most of a decade of e-books. I'm supporting my local economy when I buy some from actual stores instead of Amazon, and being able to pick up a pen and take notes in the margin is really really pleasant.

I don't know if this counts as low enough tech, but I disabled the equivalent of "auto advance to next episode" on my Netflix and Prime Video subscriptions.

This means that watching the next episode of a show has to be a conscious choice on my part as opposed to the inertia of just letting it happen. Just the small added friction of having to hunt down the remote control and hit "Play" gives me a few seconds to (albeit involuntarily) reflect on whether I really need to watch the next episode, or if I could really be doing other hobbies / chores around the flat.

The result has been a notable decrease in binge-watching, a cleaner and more organised home, more/better sleep, and the subsequent improved health that follows the aforesaid.

Stretch ~15 minutes a day. You don't need a special routine or a bunch of research. Stretch whatever is sore/stiff. If you can't think of anything start by touching your toes. Think of it as general maintenance on your joints. The effort compounds and starts to feel really good after a few months.

At night, I plug my phone in across the room from my bed, turn it on airplane mode, then power it down.

It's a wonderful moment that marks a healthy "disconnection" from the outside world, allowing me to have some quiet time with myself (or my partner).

Airplane mode ensures sure I'm not flooded with notifications first thing upon turning on my phone in the morning. Even if I need to use an app in the morning, I can take 15 minutes to an hour before I switch off airplane mode, which makes for calmer and more centered mornings.

The only thing you'll need if you want to adopt this change is an old school cheap alarm clock. I've been doing this for probably five years, and haven't looked back.

If you're anxious about missing emergency calls, you can optionally get a landline phone whose number only close friends & family have, and know only to use in case of emergency -- this step is optional, but can be achieved with Google Voice & some hardware for under $100.

It's not as low-tech as some of the examples here, but I'll say that an e-reader with Pocket sync functionality has dramatically improved my life.

Reading long form articles on an offline device with no incoming notifications, no games, no podcasts etc has been a great boon to my ability to focus and really dig into what I'm reading. Plus these days, getting any kind of screen-off time is valuable.

1. A powered height-adjustable table. Now when I work I stand more often, and sit less. It has a 4 position memory, which makes changing the height as simple as a button push, so I switch between standing and sitting as frequently as I wish.

2. An oven with electric grill and a timer. It makes cooking healthy whole food so easy. Just throw it in, set the timer, pull it out, and eat. I use the oven to cook chicken, fish, beets, carrots, potatoes, sweet pepper, zucchinis, and eggplants. It's low-effort, requires little time, and tastes great. The timer is important for someone whose work requires a lot of focus concentration. The louder, the better :)

Casio F-91W watch, as "low-tech" of a digital watch as you can get.

- They cost about $15 USD, so I can travel with a spare, and have lost at least one.

- Feature wise, it's a watch with a timer, a dead simple interface I am very familiar with, and perfect for taking to the gym to time myself between sets without getting distracted by my phone.

More like less-tech but my phone is on permanent-silent mode. I miss calls, but see exactly who called and can return the call or text as needed.

I got back into working out about a year ago. The amount of workout apps and online resources was SO overwhelming, I didn't know where to start. I decided to just ask my brother (who is big into working out) to show me a few basic exercises with dumbbells and body weight that I could do at home. Then I just used a notebook and pen to keep track of my progress. I love not having the phone around while working out. I feel like it can be such a distraction. And there's something about writing out a log with pen and paper that is just really satisfying. I love looking back and seeing pages and pages of workouts that I wrote out. It really helped me to get back into working out on a regular basis and make it a habit.

Sewing machine.

It turns out that making basic garments for oneself is really relaxing, and, if you have a hard time finding things that fit well in stores, practical.

It felt like a clear upgrade from DIY wearable electronics and suchlike as a hobby. It's not as bloggable, but the price- and effort- to payoff ratios are immeasurably better. It's nice to be rediscovering some leisure activities that don't involve screens, too.

For most of my very high tech life, I ignored gardens.

Now in my later years, my garden is one of my most treasured pursuits.

It is pretty low-tech, although you'd be surprised at how valuable debugging skills can be when it comes to the seed-box and sprouts and things.

Mostly, you just do a couple basic things - care for the plants, encourage a system, use your resources - and things will grow.

A garden will always heal you.

Going back from ToDo-Lists in Apps to simple paper and tick mark them.

I guess a French Press would be an example of "low tech" I've embraced to make an awesome cup of coffee every morning.

But being a perfectionist tech geek, I had to ruin it by investing in an expensive Barzata conical burr grinder, so I guess it's not low tech anymore.

Does it still count if I switch to a manual burr hand-grinder? :P

Exercise. Standing desk. Focusing on productivity. Dieting (not that goal-oriented, just trying different diets (keto, vegan, carnivore, paleo, IF) and seeing the effect they have on my body). Meditation (not as much as I'd want though). Talking to people (come in positive, usually making a funny comment on something or just introducing myself). Buying stuff (carefully chosen... like new socks, new gym shorts, kitchen aid like a stick blender... with high total lifetime expected value).

I got a mechanical automatic watch with a day and date window (Seiko 5, affordable and well featured). It was a direct result of a few days with a soft bricked phone due to Lineage OS issues, I realized the thing I missed the most was knowing the time and everything else was replaceable (texting too due to Google voice).

Also I've found a wall mounted white board with colored markers to be quite helpful for personal organization and brainstorming. It's also great for leaving messages and pictionary.

I started journaling daily back in 2016. No apps, no computer. just paper and pen. Some days pages pour forth of writing. Other days I simply set a task of finding and writing down a good quote to save for later. This investment of time for me has yielded better discernment as I can look back at interactions I've documented and how I felt when events unfolded. Bonus, there are no notifications to interrupt you and in a world full of interruptions, the pen and paper have none.

I recently started using scissors more in the kitchen. It made my life easier. / I hope it's what you mean by low tech.

I use candles in the evening to get more pleasant, soothing light in my apartment. Much better for the mood than LEDs.

Does Aeropress still count?

The referenced Bogleheads thread: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=302399...

Not sure it qualifies as low enough tech but: a power socket with a timer. I would put my laundry in the washing machine and set the socket to turn on at 7:30. It would finish at about 9:00, I'd hang the laundry to dry then leave for work.

Using a bidet instead of toilet paper. I live in Canada, and this is an uncommon practice.

Switching back to dumbphone. It turns out whole economy didn't crash when I read and replied to emails next day and I didn't die of boredom during 30 min commute.

I hired a housekeeper that comes every other week. This raised the base line of how tidy my home is that I can focus household chore time on organizing and refining my living space. This has created a virtuous cycle of constant improvement and much more enjoyment at home.

I bought a 2 stroke gasoline engine kit for a bicycle last year for about $80 and it was the best money I spent in a long time. The thing is a POS, it hurts to ride long distances, it drops parts all over the road, breaks down all the time, and the original engine wore out after 2,500 miles or so. I have a larger motorcycle but still, for $80, three moving parts, and a couple hours work there is nothing more fun than this thing. I've got some motor parts coming in the mail to get it ready for spring.

I love lawn tractors too. Done up right they can be just as much fun as a typical 4 wheeler but for a fraction of the price. There's just something about detonating dollar bills that put a smile on my face.

I have a bicycle I built myself from components and frame.

the only electronic thing on it is the dynamo hub, which frees me from recharging headlight batteries.

it is made of leather and steel and aluminum and rubber, and it’s freedom on two wheels.

When my Apple Watch battery broke I bought, with the little money I received from selling it for spare parts, a cheap CASIO G-Shock.

This low-tech CASIO does all I needed from my smart watch: shows time and date and gives me a timer for cooking.

I never have to charge it or take it off and I can even shower with it.

Added advantage is that it doesn't constantly radiate on the WiFi / Bluetooth spectrum.

I have a few, which have happened one at a time over the years. Mostly between tired of cheap junk breaking, tired of plastic, or tired of staring into a screen, so I'll share a few.

I wear a watch. Sometimes solar, but usually automatic. It looks nice, and lets me avoid getting trapped into staring at my phone in public.

When I want to send a long communication, I use a fountain pen and write it on paper and mail it. Not for everything of course, but it elicits a different reaction from folks vs an email or text.

I shave with a Feather ASD2. I never liked shaving before, so I turned it from a chore to a pleasure, with the soaps, brushes, hot towels, smells, etc. Now I genuinely look forward to it! I also appreciate the lack of plastic waste vs disposables.

If my wife or I make coffee, we use an old school Elma coffee grinder, a kettle, and a metal aeropress. It's so much nicer than drip.

Solar cooking, most people don't believe how easy and effective it can be until they try it.

Just one example of many - https://solarcooking.fandom.com/wiki/Windshield_Shade_Solar_...

I got one of those old-school double edge razors. Blades are essentially free (bought a 100 pack 5 years ago for 15$, and half of them are still there), and it doesn't terribly clog like a cartridge would even if you have a longer beard.

I use a typewriter and write letters. It's distraction free and produces a hard copy. I use a cast iron pan daily and use a French Press/Aeropress to make my coffee. I use candles for soothing light.

Might not be super low-tech, but I just got a bunch of Schiit Audio gear for my desk. I wanted analog controls for things like volume, EQ, input / output selection, etc. In an era where everything has a remote and tactility is an afterthought, I still enjoy a good analog potentiometer / switch.

I detailed the setup on my blog if you're curious: https://ethanaa.com/blog/thats-a-lot-of-schiit/

French press coffee maker, silicone dish sponge, manual food processor machine, sliding glass shower doors, and an old radio/tape player.

These are all things I've purchased recently to replace the standard way of doing things that are outperforming the alternatives.

For example, I wanted some coffee one day. I had coffee and a coffee machine (a kcup machine) but no pods. I couldn't make coffee. I realized that while the kcup machine has it's use cases, as a home coffee machine it was way over engineered for the problem.

Ever since graduating and getting my own place, I love my dishwasher and laundry machine. I love setting the delay for the dishes to wash at night, and I wake up to clean dishes! It really is robots doing something useful for us

There’s some story where they ask 2 very old ladies (100+) what there favorite inventions were of their lifetime, and they both answer laundry and dishwasher, because it saves them so much time!

Blankets within reach of anywhere we sit at home. Our new house has a programmable (i.e. difficult and sometimes disobedient) thermostat, so this was our lazy solution. Turns out, it's a much better solution.

Writing "to do" lists on notecards and sticking them in my keyboard when I leave work or go to lunch. Also lets other people know I'll be away from my desk for a while.

Knife sharpening course. I do a lot of cooking at home and it's definitely sped things up

Cast iron pans and dutch ovens -- cook big dishes low and slow, store for the week

Walking a lot -- health benefits plus getting out of my head

Getting a lot of jeans / pants / clothes (but mostly the 2 former) tailored or patched. Ditto for some good glue, a bandsaw, and resole-ing my boots.

Whiteboards and simple paper calendars

A good, reasonably large, covered in laundry basket.

When things have a place it's easier to automate the process of cleaning.

Packing cells for travel.

Maybe cheating for low tech but throwing out dishes that are not dishwasher safe (Or just dishwash them until they maybe break) Similar for undergarments and dryers.

Coffee grinder to make great coffee for cheap. Saves ton of time than going out to buy. Unless you walk which then you’d lose exercise.

Pepper grinder, tastes way better.

Get lots of extra Dish washable utensils so you don’t run out and need to wash until end of each day. Dishwasher Required.

Going for a hike in nature. Both the exercise and the nature are great for your health.

I keep most of my notes of things I need to do in a given day on paper. Also, if I'm walking around for meetings I often draw a paper map rather than relying on my phone. Easier to mentally visualize.

An hot-glue gun. Glue is very cheap, non stain, serves in many situations.

A Danish dough whisk for mixing bread dough. It might not be an actual improvement but at least I feel better, baking bread every week, not having to rely on an electrical mixer.

box cutter. I get so many boxes and having a tool actually designed for this is just so awesome. It's cheap, the blades are cheap, and it just does the job.

Manual kitchen tools - fork instead of mixer, string pull food processor instead of electric.

Less washing, space, cost, and I can take them camping.

The cognitive dissonance with describing hiking in Pategonia as low tech is amazing. How exactly did you get there? Probably in a jet powered aircraft. What were you wearing? I’m guessing it wasn’t wool and cotton but some of the most sophisticated synthetic materials produced.

I’m sure it was a great time and it sounds like loads of fun but let’s not pretend that tech wasn’t involved because you didn’t have your phone with you.

Tubeless bike tires. Lower tire pressures improve comfort, reliability, and traction even on the roads.

I use the "screen time" feature on my iphone, and aim to have <1h average for the week.

I ditched webpack for a day and built a site using JS in script tags.

How low is low? Wheel good, fire good. Knife, mixed results.

buy albums on cd/lp/cassette/mp3.

I use a pencil to type on the keyboard.

Dead tree books.

I enjoy carrying a paper diary and using it along with a fountain pen to take notes and remembrances. Looking back through them is much more valuable than looking back through any sort of digital calendar or journal, while being much less expensive and prone to disintegration.

Gardening and the simple joy of starting seedlings and watching them grow into fruitful plants is another life-improver enhanced by the most minimal of tech (although choosing seeds online and their low cost delivery to my home is probably mediated by some considerable tech nowadays).

A 17th century farm with all that comes with such: cooking on a wood-burning stove, heating the house with wood, building out the place with wood taken from the forest (I have a log saw for this purpose, driven by a 5KW electric motor but still fairly low-tech). Farm life combined with more intellectual pursuits make for a good mixture of the manual, the menial and the more mentally challenging activities.