I spent a lot of time in 2009 thinking about factors that affect my daily sense of wellbeing.  During the year I have met a number of very interesting people who have been doing the same kind of thing.  Here are the most significant personal realizations of last year that have led to me feeling better everyday:

1. Reading fiction in bed has more effect on my ability to sleep through the night than either exercise, or eating my last meal before 8pm.

2. Spending time regularly reading news websites - whether tech news or world news, significantly reduces my ability to concentrate, and makes me feel less good about the world.

3. I am gluten intolerant.  Now that I don’t eat it, I have much less aversion to eating, and no longer suffer from a ‘blocked up head’, and a ‘cold to my bones’ feeling that would sometimes be enough to force me to lie down.

4. Meditating every day makes me feel much better inside, but I still find it hard to maintain the practice.

5. Quitting coffee was hard to do but has improved my overall sense of wellbeing without destroying my concentration.

I haven’t listed these in order of importance and I think they tend to be multiplicative.