this post was submitted on 19 Apr 2026

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103

What is a small thing you did that changed your life in a big way? (piefed.social)

submitted 10 hours ago by Swaus01@piefed.social to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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[–] NostraDavid@programming.dev 1 points 17 minutes ago

I've blocked any YouTube video recommendations (after a video is done, the sidebar, etc), and switched to RSS (RSS Guard is my go-to, after testing about 6 RSS readers). I used Enhancer for YouTube™ to block the bullshit.

Now, I only have 319 videos left to view, in order, from all the channels that I follow. It is now me that has a tight grip on what I watch, and not YT. No more doomscrolling on YT Shorts! No more watching the newest thing (old videos are still solid, but won't be likely recommended)! Use Youtube-shorts block to turn any short into a normal video, in case someone sends you a shorts link.

I can now have a sense of being done watching videos, instead of YT feeding me unending garbage.

RSS feed locations for YT are hidden:

https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id

The channel id you can find on a channel, under ...more near the top, then Share Channel -> Get Channel ID.

[–] mech@feddit.org 12 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (2 children)

I made the conscious decision to mask my autism less in private and stand up for my needs more openly.
6 months later my wife left me, telling me she can't take it anymore.

After she had moved out and I realized this was final, a great wave of relief washed over me.
Now I have to pay the rent alone, pay her $1k/month in alimony on top, and somehow still have more money left over than during the marriage, lol.
And I got to keep the cats!

[–] BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz 2 points 58 minutes ago (1 children)

Why do you have to pay her?

[–] mech@feddit.org 3 points 44 minutes ago* (last edited 34 minutes ago) (1 children)

She called in sick for weeks at her new job after the separation, got fired, and now has no income.
The state doesn't pay her any unemployment support because we're still married.
(Divorce is only possible after 1 year of separation.)
As her husband, I'm legally forced to give her 3/7 of the difference between our net incomes.
And since she doesn't have any income, that's 3/7 of my total net income.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 2 points 25 minutes ago

Just wait until the divorce finally finalizes. New wave of relief and freedom incoming. Been there. Good luck, hang in there, and congrats!

[–] Vinylraupe@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 hour ago

You did the right thing.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 10 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Posted a personal ad on Cragslist; ended up married.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Seriously? What year!?

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Literally like 3 months or so before Craigslist removed the personal ads section entirely.

[–] jellyfishhunter@lemmy.world 7 points 2 hours ago

I started some kind of anime themed browser game one day with the intent of wanting to see what kind of people would play such weeb trash.

Turns out the kind of people to play that were loyal friends to stay in touch with for over a decade and my future wife, too!

[–] ClassifiedPancake@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 hour ago

After unsuccessfully trying different budget managers over the years, I payed a considerable (at the time) amount for one that uses the envelope system (YNAB) and that is exactly the kind that works for me. Before that I always lived paycheck to paycheck, never had any money left and constantly ran into trouble. Now I have peace of mind with everything planned out and thinking a year or more ahead instead of in the moment.

[–] ArmoredThirteen@lemmy.zip 12 points 4 hours ago

I joined a random Deep Rock Galactic lobby once. Usually I host them so it was odd for me join one idk why I even did that. Ended up becoming friends with one of the people in there and they're one of the best most caring people I know. We talk almost every day now

[–] Nomad 12 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Slept with a drinking Buddy from university. We have three adorable kids now.

[–] usualsuspect191@lemmy.ca 20 points 4 hours ago

Triplets from a one-night stand is crazy unlucky

[–] hperrin@lemmy.ca 36 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Oh, I got a good one. I started leaving earlier and driving slower. It’s way safer and I get great mileage. It’s also more relaxing to not be so worried about making good time.

[–] Swaus01@piefed.social 6 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

I don't drive yet so I don't really get why mileage is important. Is it because you're getting money back for fuel or is it just so you feel justified in paying to keep a car? Or is it more healthy for a car to get more driving in?

[–] llama@lemmy.zip 14 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

You've already paid for the gas that's in your tank, best you can do is get the most miles out of it. Long term habits that increase overall average MPG also reduce wear and make parts last longer. Biggest thing is not speeding up when you see a red light ahead.

[–] atx_aquarian@lemmy.world 6 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Ever since I started thinking this way, I started finally seeing all the other cars scurrying past me to get to the same red light that we all stopped at. It compounds the calming effect to see validation through others demonstrating the futility of what I no longer choose to do.

edit: To be clear, I'm not saying I totally drag ass and block traffic. I'm just talking about smoothing out my acceleration curves a bit and the occasional person who zips around everyone else, only to hit a stoplight with the rest of us. I'm not that old yet.

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 5 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

If you accelate hard, drive fast, etc, you get lower gas mileage.

So if you drive 1000 miles per month, and you're getting 25 miles per gallon, then at $4/gallon you're paying $160 for gas a month. If you ease up and can average like 32mpg, you'll only spend $125. Better results may be possible.

[–] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 hours ago

Ahhhh I accelerate very quickly because it’s fun, and I brake very slowly because I like not wearing my brake pads down. So I really only accelerate hard if there’s a ton of space in front of me and good side-visibility so I don’t have to risk sudden breaking (obv not only for my brakes, but so I don’t hurt anything!)

But I am soooo accelerating fast at every safe opportunity because it just feels awesome lawl. Then again, in a good month, I’m going 100-200 miles or less (partner and I both gremlins) so the fuel expenditure is maybe 10 bucks a month. Not even that high.

[–] vantablack@lemmy.blahaj.zone 23 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

joined mastodon back in 2017

it made me the person i am today, in every way

it was a critical moment in my gender identity journey and finding the place definitely steered me in the right direction

over the years i've escaped my abusive family and came to seattle thanks to fedi, met my best friend and joyfriend both through fedi, and formed a strong sense of community on the servers i host there

i was even in a book about fedi thanks to the work i've done!!!

i owe everything good in my life presently to the fediverse 🥹

[–] antlion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 37 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

About 15 years ago I decided not to be in a hurry when I’m driving, and also to not get frustrated with any other drivers. I just figured I’m gonna be spending too much time of my life in a car I might as well not be getting upset about it. For aggressive drivers I make up a story about how they have explosive diarrhea or something else urgent to attend to. It has made a profound and permanent improvement to my life. Would recommend to a friend.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

I'm an Uber driver currently and this approach is vital for sanity/happiness/tips. I drive borderline grandma-style now and have gotten more than one compliment for the smooth trip, etc.

[–] i_stole_ur_taco@lemmy.ca 14 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I did this too. Amazing how you still end up arriving at almost the same time as when you drove like a maniac hey?

[–] antlion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 5 hours ago

I think it’s made me more flexible with time in general. But yeah stoplights and traffic matter more than how you drive. It’s futile to think you can go any faster, just enjoy the ride.

[–] pfjarschel@lemmy.world 58 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

My cat decided to live at a neighbor's 3 doors down. One day I thought "I'll invite her to the barbecue party". Six years later, we're married and have a 2 year old boy (and five more cats).

[–] pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 15 points 6 hours ago

That is delightful. I hope you occassionally call that cat, "wingman",

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[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 19 points 7 hours ago

Left school in Boston. Got a job in Rhode Island. Nine months in and I got bored. Started looking at jobs on Craigslist. Didn't find anything local. Started scrolling down the cities in the right column. Made it alphabetically down to Seattle. Never been.

Got the job, moved.

Lived here for 15 years. Bought a house, met my wife. Found a place where I feel like I always belonged.

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