AlexTheGrape

A quick post for yesterday: Post-Detox Day 217 Today has been a day choca-filled with studying! I went to school to study and got some help with a few questions I was unsure about. I got about 9 x 50 minutes of studying done (maybe 20min less) but was a great success overall. Thankfully by planning the exercise I wanted to do the night before, I had very little hesitation to get on with my run. I didn’t make the 10 minute goal (it took longer), but I got a great run done and that’s what matters. Post-Detox Day 217 Today has been the day of my physics exam, and I feel I’ve prepared well for it. Literally the only question I wasn’t able to answer was the very last one because I ran out of time! I’m very proud of the work I’ve done, and I think I’ll get the top grade for two of my three papers I did (mechanics and electricity). The first half of the day I was doing practice questions, and going over past practice papers I’ve done, the second half of the day was filled with doing the exam and driving (lots of traffic!). I got a bit of exercise done in the morning, but not much as I needed to keep on time. Gratitude journal I am grateful for having some questions that I knew how to answer well. I am grateful for being able to drive myself and my brother now. I am grateful for having free time. One amazing thing that happened/I did today During my revision this morning I came across a hard question on determining the energy needed to get through a loop-the-loop in a previous topic test I did, so I researched it and asked a few people how they approach it. Nobody told me properly how to do it so I figured it out myself eventually… And there was a question almost exactly like it in my mechanics paper! I knew exactly what to do and felt ecstatic on my luck/work that I had gone over my previous errors. Workout/run Very briefly, done. Meditation Done. That was actually whilst waiting for my exam to start haha. It really helped. Visualisation No. Daily affirmation No. Cold shower Yes. NoFap Yes. It has come to my attention that my online profile isn’t private anymore, so I will no longer be posting things like this. Reading + taking notes Yup. Getting to bed before 9pm Nope. I haven’t been doing well at this one at all! I need to turn my alarms on again. Weekly Goal(s) I want to make sure to do 9 x 50 minute study sessions daily, with exceptions for days in which I don’t have the full amount of time free for studying (i.e. working or other necessary activities). Monthly Goal This month I want to have exercised for at least 20 minutes every day, and I’ll leave an error margin of 3 days in which I won’t fail this goal by not exercising (1 error day left). 3 Month Goal (2 months left!) My three month goal is to develop my leadership skills enough to confidently coach a sports team or lead another form of community group. What went well today: Studying lots. What didn’t go well today: I didn’t go to bed at the right time (I’m also up past 9pm writing this, so yeah…) What I could have done to make my day better: I could have went to sleep on time. What I will do differently tomorrow: I’m going to put my set of alarms back on again. Photo Stream This one was of an amazing sunset when I was running yesterday morning!

Hey Phoenix, welcome back! I'm surprised but stoked, it's awesome to see you back with the desire to change for the better. Also that's a cool journal layout you've chosen, I find it pretty useful too Best of luck for getting through the detox!

Wow, you've come a long way! Keep it up man, you're a great role model for this community.

Welcome! What a great start to a journal! Awesome to see you're planning to do a variety of activities instead of slugging out only one like me (studying). All the best for making the most of life.

It was "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". Oh you might like them if you gave them a go! They are very popular for good reason

Post-Detox Day 216 Today I’ve attempted to study, but it didn’t turn out that well when my schedule got really disrupted. I had a really long call with my accountability partner though, and I’m sure it’ll be really worth it for my buddy. I didn’t get all that much exercise done, but it was still some 15 minutes or so, so it doesn’t count as a failed exercise day. Something that I have wanted to do for a few days but hadn’t remembered to add to my journal was to add “Exercise planning”, as it has become very common for me to do a poor job of exercising if I don’t plan what I want to do in advance. Gratitude journal I am grateful for having a game-free lifestyle. I am grateful for having an inspiring accountability partner. I am grateful to be part of a great family. One amazing thing that happened/I did today Having a call with my accountability partner was a very grounding experience! I was able to provide heaps of practical advice and help set up plans for him and he did the same for me. It’ll be really great to see how far this takes us. Workout/run Yup (barely) Exercise planning Tomorrow I’m going to run 2.4km in under 10 minutes! (It’s been a while since I did that!). Meditation Nope. Visualisation Nope. Daily affirmation Nope. Cold shower Yup. NoFap Yup. Reading + taking notes Yup. Getting to bed before 9pm Nope. Weekly Goal(s) I want to make sure to do 9 x 50 minute study sessions daily, with exceptions for days in which I don’t have the full amount of time free for studying (i.e. working or other necessary activities). I’ve done plenty of studying this week, but I’m not sure if I was even able to reach the 9 x 50 minute mark this week. It could be because of the house I was living at, but it’s of course just me that’s accountable for my results as I’m the one who spends the 24 hours in my day. Monthly Goal This month I want to have exercised for at least 20 minutes every day, and I’ll leave an error margin of 3 days in which I won’t fail this goal by not exercising (2 error days left). 3 Month Goal (2 months left!) My three month goal is to develop my leadership skills enough to confidently coach a sports team or lead another form of community group. What went well today: Having an exercise break. What didn’t go well today: A lot of things: Not doing my morning routine and slacking off with studying are the main ones. What I could have done to make my day better: I could have gotten to bed quicker, gotten out of bed quicker, and minimised procrastination (I’ve now ‘hidden’ my distracting apps away in a folder in my phone). What I will do differently tomorrow: I’m going to start planning the exercise I want to do the night before (here in my journal). I’ll be back to studying at school for best productivity. Photo Stream I took this one a while ago when out for a run.

My posts for the past couple of days: Post-Detox Day 215 Today has been a generally good day of revision at school. I was begged by my peers to stay with them in the common room and I eventually obliged, but this distracted me from my studying. In the afternoon I spent two hours simply reading articles and watching videos, and then had to work up until the latest I’ve ever done! Overall it’s been a good day. I don’t think I got many of my habits done, but there was definitely exercise. Post-Detox Day 216 Today I was quite tired to start off with, and ended up doing some 2 hours of driving. I test drove a car that I’m quite happy with, and I think I’m getting close to finally having a car of my own. I did some shopping for the family, and was able to spend some good time with my little brother doing so. I also was lucky enough to watch a movie with my family (Harry Potter!). I didn’t exercise today, and didn’t get any of my daily habits done (except for cold shower and reading). That means I only have one day left that I can’t exercise this month. I took this photo ten minutes ago, cos y'know, I don't want any riots against me for not posting photos...

My posts for the past couple of days: Post-Detox Day 213 Today has been a difficult day of studying, largely because my biology exam is tomorrow, and so it became very tiresome to be consistently studying the same topics. I spent some great time with a teacher learning about gardens, how to start one, and how to maintain one. Starting a vegetable garden would be a great project for the summer holidays. I was quite upset at the US election result, but perhaps it’ll be for the better. I managed to get all my habits done, however my run was short and I don’t think I visualised. I’ve kept up the cold showering, I really don’t know if it has been helping me though. Post-Detox Day 212 The first half of today was spent on revision, and then I had my biology exam. I think I did OK, as I know I could have done better if I had started with a paper I was confident with so that I don’t run out of time on those papers. Not much else happened today. I got most of my daily habits done, the ones I didn’t do were visualisation and meditation. These pictures I took on Wednesday. It's a reflection of my watch-face from a beam of light coming into my room.

Hi Chris, welcome to the community! There's so many more friends to be made outside of gaming, and it looks like your evening out has given you a great taste of it. Best of luck with improving your social skills and getting on with life

Hi Tatu, great to hear you're doing well without games! It's ok to feel antisocial from time to time, but if it persists it might be worth making an effort to connect with people. Your perceived awkwardness reminded me of an article I read recently, and it might do you good. I think you'll mostly stop worrying about these things as soon as you "don't give a fuck" about what others might think, and about the potential 'what ifs' that could go wrong. Because worries like that just don't persist into the future even if something doesn't go right, as not many people care about your mess-ups. I hope this helps, and here's the article (please excuse my profanity and on behalf of the article): https://markmanson.net/not-giving-a-fuck I'm not sure if doing drugs is the best option for you, as the idea with doing all this self-improvement is so that you can enjoy life without any 'escapes' such as gaming, but it also applies to drugs too. In any case, best of luck with how you approach these issues!

Congratulations on getting to 50 days! It's great to have some self-assertions to remind yourself of your capabilities, so good on you for believing in yourself.

Hi there, just thought I'd pop in and check out your journal. Nice job on getting through the 90 day detox! I also had a similar relapse type of thing after my successful detox, but from those few hours I could confirm that I didn't need gaming anymore. It seems to be the case for you too, so congratulations on getting through your detox again and continuing to work on your life. It sounds like you did a wonderful job of your presentation! Best of luck with whatever you decide to do now man.

Post-Detox Day 212 Today has been an interesting day of studying at school, and a successful day in general. I managed to get up at 6am to do a workout, had a 100% cold shower (normally I’d alternate between hot and cold), and almost met my study goal (I did about 8 x 50 mins study sessions). Gratitude journal I am grateful for living in a first-world country. I am grateful for having some loyal friends. I am grateful for being an introvert. One amazing thing that happened/I did today Getting biology tutorials during the day was very engaging and an interesting way to learn in comparison to all the revision I’ve been doing recently. Workout/run Yup! Meditation Yup! Visualisation Yup! Daily affirmation Yup! Cold shower Yup! NoFap Yup! Reading + taking notes Yup! Getting to bed before 9pm 9:10, not bad. Weekly Goal(s) I want to make sure to do 9 x 50 minute study sessions daily, with exceptions for days in which I don’t have the full amount of time free for studying (i.e. working or other necessary activities). Monthly Goal This month I want to have exercised for at least 20 minutes every day, and I’ll leave an error margin of 3 days in which I won’t fail this goal by not exercising (2 error days left). 3 Month Goal (2 months left!) My three month goal is to develop my leadership skills enough to confidently coach a sports team or lead another form of community group. What went well today: Getting up early paid off, I didn’t have to compromise anything as a result. What didn’t go well today: I’ve been a little slow with getting to the next exercise whilst doing workouts, and I ate lots of biscuits when I got home, not healthy. What I could have done to make my day better: I could have gotten a little more sleep, but I did pretty well with getting to bed on time last night. What I will do differently tomorrow: I’m going to try another workout, but with timing myself for each set. If I don’t manage to do it within the same time, I’ll make sure to have an extra cold shower! Photo Stream "I'm blue, (Da Ba Dee)..." I took this picture in an aquarium, but I've now run out of 'fresh' photos so I will need to put in the time to take some more photos!

Haha yes! My last name is 'Monk' so it was cool to see a 'Monkland' (no need to hide the fact, I've been publicized already).

Thank you! It's what works best for me, but feel free to copy it if it works well for you.

Hi Robert, I read your introduction a week ago but I never got around to writing here! It seems you're doing yourself a great service to move forward with your life, especially since it'd be so easy to continue how you've previously done for so many years - it's a comfortable (but unhelpful) way about approaching life and so is very difficult to leave. I'm glad you've taken something away from that concert, and has reminded me that showing appreciation to people who believe in you is important. It's amazing how much effort you're putting into journaling, you're setting a great example and sorting your life out by putting it to paper. Props to you man and keep it up!

Procrastination is a killer. I've found recently that using visualisation of your goals (in particular the ones relating to the task you want to do). I often used it for motivation to exercise, but my recent finding is that it works well for me with academic work. Perhaps it might work for you too? Cravings come and go, just keep in mind that the feelings are temporary and you'll soon be reassured that you're doing the right thing to stay dedicated to a better life. If they were brought about by a particular stimulus (e.g. a particular item you keep around that you used for gaming) then it might be a good idea to keep it out of sight. Otherwise you're doing fine man, keep it up!

Post-Detox Day 211 Today has been an average day of revision: I saw a couple of teachers for help (which is really good) but I slacked off in the evening and hence didn’t get much done. However I was out running for 30 minutes which was a plus, and got in the time to buy and give a teacher a gift for teaching me this year. Gratitude journal I am grateful for teachers that are dedicated to their craft. I am grateful for having a twin. I am grateful for people generous enough with their time to post in my journal (and read this). One amazing thing that happened/I did today Going for a run with Rubi the dog this afternoon was great, she really liked it. Also I got some wonderful advice and knowledge about start-up businesses from my computer science teacher, which I think could really help me in future. Workout/run Yup! Meditation Yup! Visualisation Nope. Daily affirmation Nope. Cold shower Yup! NoFap Yup! Reading + taking notes Nope, I got home really late. Getting to bed before 9pm Nope. Weekly Goal(s) I want to make sure to do 9 x 50 minute study sessions daily, with exceptions for days in which I don’t have the full amount of time free for studying (i.e. working or other necessary activities). Monthly Goal This month I want to have exercised for at least 20 minutes every day, and I’ll leave an error margin of 3 days in which I won’t fail this goal by not exercising (2 error days left). 3 Month Goal (2 months left!) My three month goal is to develop my leadership skills enough to confidently coach a sports team or lead another form of community group. What went well today: I made sure to have a cold shower to help wake me up, despite not having my exercise in the morning (I exercised in the afternoon) What didn’t go well today: I didn’t keep my effort up in the evening, and as a result didn’t meet my goal of 9 x 50 minutes of studying. What I could have done to make my day better: I could have done better with improvising a plan without my diary (I left it at home). What I will do differently tomorrow: I’m going to get up earlier, do my whole morning schedule in the morning. I’ve just taken 5 minutes to create a plan for this. Photo Stream This is one of my favourite photos I took whilst in Australia earlier this year. Can you guess why?

My post for yesterday: Post-Detox Day 210 Today has been better than yesterday in terms of getting studying done, but it wasn’t that much better. I managed to do a full 30 minute run + workout, which was a great way to get my day started. I kept up with my morning routine, however I’m not sure if it actually helped. I had to work quite late (until 10pm!) so I didn’t get time to post. Gratitude journal I am grateful for having a great workplace. I am grateful for not living in poverty. I am grateful for self-development articles. One amazing thing that happened/I did today A couple of my friends I work with took the time to wait until I had finished my shift so that we could walk home together, which was really nice of them. It helped strengthen our friendship and we had some time to talk about many things. Workout/run Yup! Meditation Yup! Visualisation Yup! Daily affirmation Yup! Reading + taking notes Yup! @Reno F it turns out I was only a few pages away from reading "Manage with the left, lead with the right"! (I've started reading habit 3 now). Getting to bed before 9pm Nope. Weekly Goal(s) I’m having the same goal again, as it has been working really well for studying. I want to make sure to do 9 x 50 minute study sessions daily, with exceptions for days in which I don’t have the full amount of time free for studying (i.e. working or other necessary activities). Monthly Goal This month I want to have exercised for at least 20 minutes every day, and I’ll leave an error margin of 3 days in which I won’t fail this goal by not exercising (2 error days left). 3 Month Goal (2 months left!) My three month goal is to develop my leadership skills enough to confidently coach a sports team or lead another form of community group. What went well today: I was organised in how I managed my time, and I had a cold shower which really helped wake me up. What didn’t go well today: I wasn’t proactive enough to get my morning schedule done on time without encroaching on my studying time. What I could have done to make my day better: I could have been much faster to get on with exercising by not procrastinating. What I will do differently tomorrow: I’m going to make sure to not procrastinate whenever I can. Photo Stream I didn't take a photo whilst out on a run or anything, so here's some more sky.

Hi Raelana! What an inspiring story of yours. Going through tough times and going through a phase where you've gamed can teach you a lot about yourself and what types of things make you work hard (i.e. what parts of the game kept you up at night, can be applied in real life), so there is some positives to get out of it too. All the best for your guitar lessons, spending time wisely and moving your life forward!

Hi Richard, welcome to the community! Addiction or not, getting gaming out of your life can be a great way to start pursuing the things that are really important to you, so good on you for making that choice

Go Catan! Whoop whoop! It's been a great board game to play with my family. A sauna can be very relaxing, I haven't been in one for years though Great to see you're doing well

Thank you very much Piotr! I'm running out of new photos, so it'll also be a great incentive to keep up my photography to keep you guys from rioting That's wonderful you see me as a very successful person, thank you! Yes you're right, the growth mindset is important for further improvement - I've been lacking a challenge or incentive recently so starting these challenges really help with that. Thank you for checking out my journal! I'll make sure to check out yours, but right now trying to study at 110% effort for exams so I don't give myself much time for other people's journals.

Post-Detox Day 209 Today has been a generally sloppy day in terms of effort and accomplishments. I went car shopping with my dad in the morning which went fine, but I let a little sickness and tiredness become an excuse to hardly do any work in the afternoon which wasn’t good at all. I got on with replying to a penpal I left hanging for a long while though, so that’s a plus. I’m going to make myself accountable for doing a whole lot of things now, as my current methods haven’t been working well without a distinct challenge. I’m in the process of setting myself up with a fitness challenge, and I’m starting the following challenges so I can get back in ‘the zone’, in which I am focused on self development: NoFap detox (90 days) (I don’t have any addictions or anything here, but it’ll help with resisting any sort of impulses in future). Cold shower challenge (30 days) ForceFit challenge (weeks 5 - finish) 10 Pages of reading with taking notes every day Gratitude journal I am grateful for a great place to work. I am grateful for light bulbs and electricity. I am grateful for the wonderful dinner I’ve had tonight One amazing thing that happened/I did today Taking the time to write a letter felt really great, and I can predict how great the recipient will feel to receive the letter. Workout/run Yup, but a very short one. Meditation Not properly done. Visualisation Nope. Daily affirmation Nope. Reading + taking notes Nope. Getting to bed before 9pm Nope. Weekly Goal(s) I want to make sure to do 9 x 50 minute study sessions daily, with exceptions for days in which I don’t have the full amount of time free for studying (i.e. working or other necessary activities). Monthly Goal This month I want to have exercised for at least 20 minutes every day, and I’ll leave an error margin of 3 days in which I won’t fail this goal by not exercising. 3 Month Goal (2 months left!) My three month goal is to develop my leadership skills enough to confidently coach a sports team or lead another form of community group. What went well today: I had a short exercise break whilst trying to study. This went well, and I need to do it more often. What didn’t go well today: I didn’t get enough sleep, which threw off my whole day schedule. What I could have done to make my day better: I could have exercised in the morning and gotten to sleep as soon as possible. What I will do differently tomorrow: I’m going to get up early and do my entire morning schedule, have a cold shower etc. Photo Stream I didn't take a photo whilst out on a run or anything, so here's Rangitoto Island!

My post for yesterday: Post-Detox Day 209 Today has been another good day of working at school; I got 7 x 50 minutes of studying done and would have done more had I not needed to work for four hours in the evening. I managed to do a quick workout in the morning, however I need to get back into my daily habits fully as I’ve been slacking with those. Workout/run Yup. Meditation Yup. Visualisation Nope. Daily affirmation Nope. Reading + taking notes Yup. Getting to bed before 9pm Nope. Weekly Goal(s) I want to make sure to do 9 x 50 minute study sessions daily, with exceptions for days in which I don’t have the full amount of time free for studying (i.e. working or other necessary activities). Monthly Goal This month I want to have exercised for at least 20 minutes every day, and I’ll leave an error margin of 3 days in which I won’t fail this goal by not exercising. 3 Month Goal (2 months left!) My three month goal is to develop my leadership skills enough to confidently coach a sports team or lead another form of community group.