Day 261:

I read, cleaned the rest of my room, did the groceries, took the exam, worked out and then wrote.

No Ejaculation: 0 days (anywhere between 9-12 days sounds probable, but I didn't write it down anywhere since the last time)

Day 260:

I studied, read, worked out and cleaned my room and I'll finish the rest of it tomorrow. I have an exam tomorrow afternoon and I'm gonna talk to the girl in the evening. I felt more at ease, especially the second part of the day. I feel my ability to create/think of things and ideas is bouncing back.

Day 259:

I tried meditating today, because I still feel somewhat restless. I also feel like my creativity took a hit, but at least I get less distracted while doing some more of the "boring" tasks. I visited my parents, cooked, worked out and studied.

Day 258:

I feel like today's been a bit slower and off focus. I have exams coming up on uni and I have to clear up a situation with one girl (I think that's a good issue to have though), so at least I know the causes of being somewhat nervous.

I did Russian, worked through mail, read a lot of GA, worked out, worked on my monthly report, went to the shop, to uni and also went for a lunch with my brother.

I recently found out I have so many outlets I do irregularly I am genuinely excited to do. My plan now is to do them in a more disciplined matter and oust more of the not-as-productive ones.

I am also still struggling with making university a part of my identity, but I am to realizing it's not only about passing exams. If it was, then analogically gaming would be about literally clicking and using the keyboard in given sequences. It wouldn't be very fun. Remember the things/people you admire or are grateful for on the university and let that motivate you!

6 hours ago, ElectroNugget said:

Duuude it's so awesome to see people with these huge numbers on their diaries, really inspiring. ? Keep it up! Know you're inspiring people.

Cheers! Welcome back to the forum ?

Day 257:

I read, did some paperwork, borrowed new books, wrote emails, studied a bit for the upcoming exam, worked on my monthly report and worked out in the gym. I also posted an article on my blog a couple of days ago and worked on another post today already.

Day 255:

Good day. I got most of my assignments done in the morning, even though it was a bit of a struggle. I visited my parents and afterwards went to the New Year's Eve party.

Day 256:

I took today off, because the party dragged on till morning, so I just read a little, did my languages and slept. Getting back after it tomorrow.

@Amphibian220 Musk's work hours are his personal life. He's all out on that and that's why we know him - he's the extreme, not the norm. As for a good job, Manson put it here nicely.

Day 254:

I spent today in solitude and it hit the spot.

I planned my next week, wrote a real ton (here and blog), did Duolingo, read Solzhenitsyn and went for a jog. I really feel I can rest my head satisfied today with all the work I put in.

Tomorrow I am visiting my parents in the afternoon and heading back to the dorms in the evening for a bit of a party.

Resolutions!

 

I was never big on them and this is the first time I mean them seriously, to the extent I am even writing them down. They are not completely arbitrary, as I already am involved in most of them, but I think the organization and planning can be improved. Currently, I am using my schedule just to make sure I am not supposed to be in two places at once. 

 

Daily habits:

read (currently: daily with ~ 80% reliability)

journal (daily with 95% reliability)

brush teeth twice (daily with 95% reliability, BUT just once a day)

Duolingo - Russian (daily with 90% reliability)

record data into excel (more diligently)

schoolwork/studying at home (this will get pushed down to weekly after the exam term)

equalize waking up and going to bed (I generally fluctuate between 22-00 and 6-8, so I sleep around 7 fixed hours a night)

 

Semi-daily habits:

work out 4 times a week - 2 times legs and 2 times arms/upper torso (this one is a bit trickier, but I think if I compound all the hikes, jogs and cycling since I got home from Iceland, I think I am there with my legs workout two times a week already)

meditate 2 times a week (I'll rather start slowly on this one)

hot meal prepping (I do this already, but I think I have to do it more and more efficiently; shopping is exactly where I want it)

 

Weekly habits:

write a blog article (I am almost finished with my first one)

plan the week (duh!)

visit either grandma/brother/family (95% reliability)

go out socially/see a friend IRL - other than my job and uni at least once a week (I currently exceed this)

clean my room (sounds sound - perhaps I could organize the room more?)

 

Semi-weekly habits:

masturbate (I got to 11 days yesterday, double digits for the fourth time, so I think I can get to 14 and having the certainty set up will help me - in the future, I want to carry this certainty over into a sexual relationship with a woman)

 

Monthly habits:

monthly reports (to appreciate the progress, I did those more regularly before Iceland and I want to do one for the past month soon)

 

I might come up with more, but I think this is good for the general outline.

I want to teach between 10-20 hours a week, but I have to set that up from scratch for the next year first.

 

I can do this.

On 12/27/2019 at 11:58 PM, DaBest said:

I have many thoughts on the book. Would I live a life like Tim Ferriss? Probably not. Would I change my life to free up more of my time and start living more now? Hell yes. My main priority right now is to use the advise to help me navigate my corporate job better and increase my performance, which some of the book talks about. The book focuses more on escaping the grind so to speak in order to devote more time to growing as a person. I'm not fully onboard with ditching corporate life just yet since I'm still gaining lots of valuable skills, but in particular, it's given me thoughts of how I can supplement my income while I work, God forbid should something happen. I think a decent portion of my work stress would be mitigated if I had separate income streams besides my job and investments. My biggest unanswered question with the book (so far, almost done) is what about responsibility and duty? I think these tools can help one devote more time to more meaningful causes if one chooses, but one could easily use these tools for increasing hedonism. Maybe that question isn't intended to be answered by this book though, which means I'm probably expecting too much.

I read Ferriss doesn't live that lifestyle of a digital nomad anymore and that he's more settled now. I think there is a minority of people who could live like he did permanently though. After all, it's not about what is in the book, it is about what thoughts the book gave you in your unique circumstances.

As for responsibility, duty and hedonism, this is my take on it; unless someone has money saved up to quit their "corporate job" outright, they have to, at least initially, put in MORE hours of work, be it on setting up a side business or planning on how to navigate their life overall. There has to be a plan in place and following it and sticking to it when going gets tough requires more discipline and willpower than sitting in the "corporate job" that they supposedly hate.

I think it's a good idea to take the book as a cook book. There's a few things to taste and try to make, but most of it gets likely ditched. So even if we all got to have 4-hour workweeks in which we could make all the money we need, as the sensational title of the book suggests, there would still be 164 hours a week to do something with, in a way that doesn't make you a drug addict or soulless, but that would be a topic for a completely different book! ?

1 hour ago, Phoenixking said:

This reminds me of another story I heard about Ghandi. True or not, I find it to be inspiring. He'd told his son that the car needed to be taken care of. He asked him to drive along with him to his job and then take the car to the repair shop to have it serviced. Afterwards his kid would pick him up from work. Instead, the kid slacked off and went to the movies. He never has any shot to see any movies and needed the car to get to the theater. So he went to see a movie, lost track of time and didn't get the car serviced. When he picked his dad up, he had to admit what he'd done and was anxious to receive his punishment for slacking off. Instead of anger, Gandhi chose reflection. He said the kid could go on with the car and drive home and that he'd walk himself. He'd use the walk home to ask himself and seriously contemplate what he'd done to make his son the type of person who'd chose movies over duty. Had he been too strict with him? Should he take him to see movies more often? Did he give him too much responsibility too soon? Etc... I like how he took responsibility for his son's actions and didn't point the finger at his own kid, instead choosing to point the finger at himself and asking himself what he did wrong exactly and how to prevent stuff like that from happening in the future.

The great thing about this is that if both parties are humble, then they are both oriented towards solving the problem, rather than playing some blame game. In a strange way, we are not only responsible for our own behavior, but also for everyone else's. We influence the people we are in contact with as well who in turn influence other people... and the whole world. The trick is figuring out how much responsibility we are able to handle.

50 minutes ago, BooksandTrees said:

I agree and think I've been sincere to multiple people who have come and gone during the past 18 months. I also believe you can be too sincere and burn the candle on both ends. Where I've helped others exceedingly more than myself at times and don't hear anything back until I post something like this where I'm debating leaving the community altogether. I get stressed out here unfortunately. 

If you feel like you should cut your contribution here partially or completely, then do it. I won't hold a grudge against you.

2 hours ago, BooksandTrees said:

Those are the kinds of events that lead to finding friends and community. I've met a lot of people through meetups and stuff like that. Happy new year in advance. 

I agree. It's a bummer that the event was a bit remote, so I don't think I'll be able to see these people for a while, but it was still good networking on my part. Happy 2020!

As our lives get better (in our case primarily initiated by quitting games), we also gradually seek out better people to bond with. I ramped up the time reading, working out, talking to people and naturally I want a girl with similar attitude (so she treats herself and her body well) and preferably with a couple of similar interests. I'd also want to be able to see her at about once a week on a regular basis. As for contribution to others, you always contribute as much as you contribute to yourself. There was not much I could contribute to the world when I was an addict, other than resentment and disdain. It's fine to build up romance, but only on the solid foundations of practicality.

I wrote the text below a couple of days ago and put it in here, as I think it connects to love/relationships as well.

On 12/24/2019 at 11:45 AM, Ikar said:

I got a cool idea recently regarding sex. I just imagine having sex means having children 100% nine months after it. Surely, a few hundred years ago, even without pills or condoms, the likelihood of that wasn't 100%, but today we're at a point where having sex and having children are almost two separate things.

I don't think our brains are emotionally able to grasp that. I think they equate the two things above. It would explain why sex is addictive. It's difficult to walk away from a (once) functional sexual relationship. I believe sex can create a long-term relationship, but whether that relationship will be truly functional or not is decided before sex happens. Functionality is decided on compatibility (common interests, shared values etc.) and after that on putting in the effort from both sides constantly. Sex is a good glue, but the pieces should fit properly before it's used.

Day 253:

I spent about two hours writing emails today. I visited my friend afterwards; he was sorting out his books and materials he needed to get rid of and I got to check out and take some of his older materials he used for English.

 

2 hours ago, Phoenixking said:

You were in the army?

I was, for two years.

Day 252:

I went to a hiking event today, organized by a friend from the army I did not see for over a year. There were about 20 people. I did not know anyone there from before, but I still had fun and got to know a couple of people, either during the hike itself or the drinks afterwards. It was a good event and I enjoyed it.

I am planning to start planning for the new week/year tomorrow. I have a couple of ideas and even resolutions I'd like to get after.

Day 251:

I got up quite late again. I read and then attended an exhibition of nativity scenes with my parents and another couple of their friends. I returned to my place and I had lunch afterwards. I watched a fair bit of Peep Show, starring Mitchell and Webb. It's about two incompatible guys living together and their woes, especially with women, so it cracks me up quite a bit. I searched for job openings for a few hours and I cleaned my room a bit.

13 hours ago, DaBest said:

The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

I remember I picked this book up on Christmas 2017 after I had finished Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins, which was the first book I read after leaving high school. I never finished 4HW though. What are your thoughts on it?

11 hours ago, Amphibian220 said:

The feelings lag behind your actual state a lot. I can prove it easily: Did you understand things were getting bad during gaming ? No, maybe when it was glaringly obvious now.

I like that idea. Thanks for sharing it, I had to remind myself of that as well.

I feel you on "outgrowing" this forum. I'm 35 weeks into quitting games myself. I also commented a lot early on. I actually don't recall giving tips on quitting gaming specifically, but I always liked to discuss philosophy, psychology, relationships, sex etc. I have to admit there are likely better forums for that or, even better, just talk about these things with people IRL on various events, seminars or just by chance. The amount of information conveyed/received per unit of time is much higher.

It's rough to build a good social circle. I think I am fairly lucky this overall. I have a job that is my hobby, nobody interferes me during it and I have a great mentor as well. I even found out I am not 100% introverted, asocial and whatever other traits most people would assign to a gaming addict. I agree that using this forum as a hobby (and try to find friends this way) would be strange. I am currently working on my first blog post, because I feel my thoughts are so various and many that giving them "just" a paragraph in my daily reports feels insufficient.

Good luck!

@Amphibian220 Interesting take on the matter. I wouldn't write "human beings are lonely by design", but I think that if you have a couple of good friends outside of work, you are probably going to see them perhaps once a week, so that way you can keep up with what's going on in your lives well.

Day 250:

Yesterday turned out fine and I had an interesting conversation where I put my listening skills to use. It gave me something to think about and write into my blog post I am preparing.

I ran/walked outside, did Duolingo and wrote and read for hours today. I do want to do more "practical" things tomorrow though, like cleaning my room, searching for job adverts or setting up my website.

Day 249:

I got up super late. We visited grandma for lunch today and I played Scrabble with mom. I read some articles on the internet regarding the psychology of human sex. Other than that, I feel like I did not do anything and I actually got a slight headache. Could it be because of my lack of routines I normally have when I am alone? I am back on the dorms and there's a party going on with the Erasmus students, so I am going to join the fray. I don't plan to get wasted, but one never knows...

21 hours ago, BooksandTrees said:

Merry Christmas! Thanks for the help this year.

All I do is trying to share my perspective on things, sometimes people agree, sometimes people disagree. I'm glad you found my input meaningful ?

Day 248:

I read and did some minor stuff during the morning. I'm sleeping over at my parents' tonight, because it's the Christmas Eve. Peaceful holidays everyone ?