giblets

It's all about Intent bro! What is your intent for drinking the sparkling water? Is it to remind yourself of what soda was like or to hydrate yourself with something more interesting that water? The reason I ask is I have used sparkling water myself to great advantage in giving up soda. I was never really a big soda drinker as I can't handle the amount of sugar in them, but I found that the reason I would think about them every now and again is because I wanted something more interesting than water to drink when I was either at a drive through or a restaurant or even just lounging around at home and it wasn't beer o'clock yet. So I tried sparkling water instead when I had those urges, the fizziness of it made it feel like you were rewarding yourself (or cheating) but the intent was still the same - to drink water and avoid soda. I found I increased my daily water intake by about double with this method. As for food, I remember reading/hearing somewhere that it is always a good idea to eat before you go to the supermarket so you don't buy everything, so before you go out anywhere try that concept. Eat a snack or something light that will tie you over until you get home. Not only will it mean that you will eat healthier as a result, but you will save some money too.

24 July 17 Days to go: 266 I haven't gone through the notes I sent myself yet @Mettermrck, but it looks like it tried to translate my sound clips with hilarious results. I need to work out how to fix that, to either just send the clip or revert to just typing it out. While it is hilarious to get those, it's not constructive at all. Still didn't really achieve anything on the weekend, and again feel like it was wasted, which frustrates me. I went for my long run on Saturday, but Sunday I achieved very little. I was still very tired from my run on Saturday so I didn't go again so definitely need to look into how to overcome that, which I think is going to be supplements. I tried setting up my own Nextcloud instance, which worked thanks to berryboot, but I don't think it is what I am after. It's more of a Dropbox-style clone that you have full control over, where I would like access to all of my files, which there are terabytes of. I think I am going to have to go back to Resilio and try to work out why it was freezing all the time. Did not get around to soldering either - which probably means I wont be soldering again for months, unless I need it as a break from studying, because hey hey, today is the first day back of the semester. So much to do for it, paperwork to fill out, textbooks to buy and readings to read. I am looking forward to this semester, it's going to be the first one without the cloud of gaming distracting me so will let me work really hard on my grades, and its going to give me something to work towards on weekends instead of feeling like they are a waste of time. But, as they say, today is a new day. I have so much I want to achieve today that I am for the first time in a long time not dreading a Monday. I am quite nervous about talking to Jaydub at lunch time, but I have a feeling it is going to be a blast. First things first, lets map a network drive so I can access all my documents again.

I'm glad even jus taking the selling your games step has had such a positive impact on you! I wouldn't worry too much about money and girls, if there is enough chemistry between you then there is no need to go somewhere flashy to impress her. When I was at uni all I had was austudy to survive, but most of the other students did too, so our "dates" were cooking for each other then spending time on the beach or at parks etc. Limitations encourage creativity!

I know that feeling, one minute you are researching how to change a broken screen on your phone, three hours later you are watching a giraffe chase a monkey through a forest.... You don't need luck for this! Just a pinch of determination, you already have the desire.

23 July 17 Days to go: 267 Still felt like I haven't achieved anything so far this weekend, with the exception of my long run. I do one long run each week and shorter runs during the week over lunchtime to maintain my flow. This weekend I was aiming to do 20km (12.5 miles) but I fell short by 1km as I found the wall... hard. I now need to research into either supplements or things I should be taking on the longer runs, my first thoughts go to gels or bananas. I have a week to sort it out before I try again next weekend and now I am more determined as ever to break the 20km mark. Beyond that, yesterday was a bit of a nothing day. More endless hours sitting around waiting for people, my run, and spending several hours trying to get my headphones back that I left in an Uber on Friday. I have started experimenting with an app called Braintoss, where you make short notes and it emails them to you so you don't have to keep thinking about them or trying to remember, aka the "mindsweep" theory. I actually used it a lot while running, I get into the flow when I run so I started having lots of ideas, and it was super easy to get the app to send them to myself for later. Today I am aiming to attack that list or bunch of ideas and clear as many as I can. Or at least make a notebook page for today, which would be the first one for a weekend. Tomorrow, the study semester starts again so will be time to hit the books in my spare time! I am a bit nervous about this subject as I think it is going to make me paranoid and start wearing a tinfoil hat.

I am struggling with my weekend routines as well, to the point where I don't enjoy my weekends as much as I do the weekday. I have tried this weekend to bring my notebook home to set out what I want to do each day for the sense of accomplishment and structure, but it hasn't caught on yet really. I'll keep trying. I avoid Google Calendar as well., though most of my efforts have been to change the back end rather than the client so far. I jumped from Google to a different provider (Mailfence) until I can get a Nextcloud install sorted at home. If you have the capacity to have your own computer running with it all the time that might be the solution for you, it is open source and you control your own data as it is your own install. I haven't tried Etar yet, but hey it's on F-Droid so it must be worth a try! I'll install it today.

No matter how affluent you get everyone still worries about money, and rightly so. If you worry about something it means you care about something, and we should care about what we are doing with our time! We exchange our time for money, so you don't want to waste that time on excess things or things that don't matter to you. I now ask myself when I buy things - "Is this worth me working an hour for?"

22 July 17 Days to go: 268 Starting to get a bit down with how little I am achieving in my personal life at the moment while I have family staying with me. I love them to bits and I really enjoy having them around but when I wander around the house or sit down and reflect for the day I realise my personal jobs/targets/chores have stagnated a lot lately. I start study again on Monday as well so the window to do a lot of this stuff has closed. I will do my best to try and get some things done today and maybe some soldering done as well to cheer me up. I will attempt to use my notebook for the first time on the weekend to help set some goals and track how much I achieve during the weekend which I haven't done before. Filled with regret again for how much time I have wasted yesterday from end of the week drinks with colleagues. I don't regret drinking itself or anything I have said or done as I stay in control, but I regret the loss of time itself. I guess thats the same reason I am a bit down with my personal goals, while I enjoy spending times with friends and family I don't see it as progressing towards anything - maybe thats the answer. I need to work out the intent for the time with them, and identify what it is working towards, that will get me back on track. Yes that's it. Now to work out what the end state is. Hopefully I will have a more upbeat post tomorrow!

I was also devastated when I heard the news. Their music was huge in a lot of people's lives and watching their live performance was an amazing experience. Hopefully something good will come from it.

GTD did a great podcast a while ago that talked about the first thing you do when you get up sets the 'tone' for the day. From memory they said to wake up, drink a glass of water, and get moving before even looking at your phone and consuming content. If you do that then you will be proactive for the rest of the day. But if you wake up and get on your phone, you will begin consuming content and then be in that mindset all day. So on the days you really want to study, set your alarm to get up before everyone else to minimise distractions, get straight out of bed, and leave your phone in the bedroom. You will find your productivity will be increased tenfold!

That's a fantastic gym deal! I haven't heard of anything that good before.

I've heard working in a fast food restaurant is a great way to make you hate fast food! Your health is probably better off from it.

21 July 17 Days to go: 269 I missed yesterday's post because it was a very hectic day. I didn't forget about it and I didn't want to break my daily streak but I prioritised family time over sitting in front of the computer in the end, some members of my family are going through some stressful times and I am doing my best to help out, whether that be just relaxing with them or doing some chores for them. To me that had a higher value than anything else I had planned to do. @Cam I think you're right, I need to just try a period without gluten. Last year I tried "No Bread November" and I felt a lot better throughout, so maybe I need to have a go at "No Gluten August". I have already talked to my wife about it and she is willing to help with our food choices so I need to sit down and come up with a plan. I'll add it to the list to work on this weekend. @Mettermrck Not at all in the end! At the start I didn't want to bring myself to get rid of them like recommended in the Respawn program, so I just put them all in my shed. Now though I would like the money to work on other projects so I finally started organised selling them. It felt great walking away from them! That Xbox days are numbered, and I think it shivers when I walk past. So the good news for the day is I finally got my uni results back! I got a Credit, which I am over the moon about. Not only is it a step up from my usual barely-passed, but when it was on a subject I have never studied before and had never done a research essay before either, I am very proud. I am certain I would not have achieved it if I was still trying to game at the same time. You can bet the house on that. Now the next step is to try and get a Distinction next semester to really hammer it home. Hoping for a really productive day today so I can feel like I am starting to make some headway on my to do list.

How duck out and buy an L and an M!

This Habitca sounds like a lot of fun, but I am a bit worried it might be a gateway drug for me!

I do recommend the video so you can see all the stats slides.

When they happen to me mate I find that I can't allow myself on a computer or I'll lose a couple of hours, then before you know it your day is wasted. I just change my environment somehow, like leaving the house or calling someone to talk about something completely random.

19 July 17 Days to go: 271 Been a very hectic day, my post is very late! Exhausted, but I have accomplished a lot today, I'd say it was between 2 and 3 stars of productivity... if I can only find where I put my notebook sheets. I'll sort them out tomorrow. The biggest achievement for me I think was getting my average time per km down to 5:23 today, which is the fastest I've run in like ever. It was the average across 6km, so the distance wasn't that great but there was so much roadworks going on all my usual paths had been closed so after a few side streets I gave up and came back. I need to try and work that out a bit better and identify a route I can do until the footpaths and steps are re-opened. Really wanted to get my blood test done today so I can find out if there is anything wrong with me that is causing me to get sick so often, but I forgot I should of been fasting, and I had already had breakfast. I need to see a new doctor about if I am gluten intolerant, because I am starting to have troubles with my stomach again. The last doctor said I wasn't gluten intolerant but I was gluten "sensitive". I stupidly not ask about it any further because I thought I could manage it without eating bread, but its back to being really bad. Sold my gaming laptop for a nice chunk of change! I feel really happy about that. I was going to use the money to buy a tiny portable linux laptop but now I am not so sure, as I don't really need it, it's more of something I want. I'll sit on it for a while and see how I feel about it after some more research. On the Minimalist podcast they talk about having a "freeze" period when you're thinking of shopping, whether that be 7-30 days, in which you wait and see if you still feel like you want the product after that period. I have been waiting 4 weeks already so another one or two won't hurt. Still need to get that Xbox up on sale!

18 July 17 Days to go: 272 Very productive day yesterday, to the point where when I go back to work tomorrow I will struggle to find something to do! I will help out on some other projects I am coordinating I think so it will be good to get back and work on material rather than just being the manager. A nice change of pace. I gave myself 3 stars for productivity, the first time I have done that, so progress! Today though I get to hang out with my son for the day, which will be a blast. No thinking or stressing about other tasks, no wanting to escape to my computer, just him and I cruising around doing whatever we feel like. Going to head to an electronics shop for some LED lights to put on his toy car - I think it will be hilarious. Started talking to an old pen pal again, having the conversations with Moe and writing this journal has made me realise how enjoyable it was to write all my thoughts down, and they seem open to writing again. See how long it will last before they give up and move on, but it's good for now. Still haven't re-established my Duolingo habit. This is annoying me at the moment, so I need to find a suitable day to do the lessons and stick to it so it becomes muscle memory just like this journal. I have tried in the morning but my brain usually isn't firing on all cylinders yet, lunch time I run, and after work I usually am either too grumpy or too tired to do it, or I am spending time with my son. A lot of excuses here. Maybe I will do some research on the best time of the day to maximise my learning potential.

Congrats mate! That's great news! A massive relief I am sure. They say a change is as good as a holiday as well! Oh and my front door is open if you want to pop around and do our dishes

FAIL = First Attempt In Learning

You're not scaring anyone mate, we have all been through this or going through this. I completely understand about the mental shift and it's great that you have got that sorted straight off the bat! It took me a little while (about 26 days to be exact) before I really embraced the idea that phase of my life was over and wasn't coming back. You'll see massive results from it.

I have never really thought about lines of credit when applying for places to rent - I didn't know they checked that! Or maybe they don't over here. Who knows. I think I don't understand our credit system as well as I should! Sparks are sparks mate, it's better than nothing at all! I generally avoid confrontation in my house because everyone gets emotional and I know you can't reason with someone who is emotional. Ultimately it doesn't achieve anything because the problems stagnate or get worse. You're crushing it!

Debian as well, or Raspbian to be precise! I have always wanted to try Arch, the idea of customising absolutely everything for your machine and compiling it yourself to make it super speedy has always interested me - especially since I generally have had bad internet connections and old hardware. Gentoo has always scared me away for the reason you mentioned!