FDRx7

Day 40 - Sunday (yesterday) Summary: Had a great day out with my wife yesterday. We did quite a few things for Fall: going to a pumpkin farm; grabbing some pumpkins, gourds, and hay for the house; and picking up a few more decorations. I was really in the spirit of the season after all that. I came home and made an apple-based mocktail and had some cider while we read by the fire. Don't have too much else to update. I started my day frustrated because I checked to see if any meetings had been put on the calendar by the client who is ahead of my time zone. I discovered that within my own company, there are discussions I am not a part of to entirely change something I've been working on with a manager for a long time. This company is not run well and each of these types of incidents reinforces why I want to leave. I'm not sure if we'll be able to resolve this or if the decision has been made. Though, I'm not going to allow myself to be that invested. I've already given a lot of myself to this company and I'm doing that. I can't care that much because they really don't care that much about me. I do hope I am able to get this other job and get out... Gratitude: For the nice day I spent with my wife yesterday doing all kinds of things for Fall and Halloween For the warm fire while reading For a cozy bed when I was ready to turn in PROGRESS UPDATES: Note: Bold purple text indicates a new change to a plan. Habits to Kick: YouTube (Day 54) : Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: No changes needed but continue to fill the void, and with activities from hobbies list. Excessive Streaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: Continue current behavior. Find new ways to spend time when you need passive entertainment. Add a tag to your task list to filter for those. No Podcast Listening (Day 5) : Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not listen. Plan: For the rest of the 90 days, I will not listen to any podcasts. I may even try to make this its own one-off 90-day journey, even after the main one is complete. If I need background, I can put on light jazz or Brain.FM while working. Be aware of the physical and emotional sensation and name it when you feel stressed. Excessive Gaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not game. Plan: Continue current behavior. Set a time limit if you do play by yourself (1-2 hours). If with friends, keep it only to a Friday or Saturday and do your best to log off at a reasonable hour. Excessive Drinking (Day 63) : Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not drink alcohol. Had alternative drinks at the wedding (apple cider, sparkling grape juice, etc.). Plan: Continue current behavior. Habits to Start: I will add to this as I determine new habits and their action plans. Journal (physical journal): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Completed! Plan: I will continue to journal before getting ready for bed. Game Quitters Journal: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Filling it out now. Plan: Continue filling out journal each day. Doesn't seem to matter if it's the same day or the next, as long as each day is entered. Healthy Ways to Fill the Void: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Relationships: Spent the day out with my wife. Mocktails: Tried a new recipe and really liked it! Reading: Read a few different books on the couch in the evening. Read my novel in bed. Plan: Continue routine and choose activities. Reading is good, but also being comfortable doing nothing while listening to music (or just sitting) is fine too. Plan activities for when you have low energy. Next Actions List: Adherence: No data Description: Spending most of the day out with my wife, this wasn't really something to track. Plan: Focus on staying close to your next actions list. Consistently working from this is going to help you stay on track. Consistent Bedtime: Adherence: ★★★★☆ Description: Got ready for bed starting around 10:30. Completed my nighttime routine. Plan: Continue to start getting ready for bed at 10pm (or 9:45). This should include your time for journaling. Read your novel in bed. Push back the time as needed. Can always do an internet block on your phone around 10pm with Freedom to keep from browsing. Weekends can have a bit more leeway. Cleaning Up: Adherence: ★★★★☆ Description: Tidied up (ex. putting things away in a location I was headed to) and cleaned another part of the cooktop that needed a bit more detailed TLC. Plan: 0 stars is nothing was done; 1-3 stars is I cleaned one thing OR tidied up, depending on effort. 4 stars is I cleaned one thing AND tidied up. 5 stars is I cleaned two things AND tidied up. The "thing" cleaned can be big or small, doesn't matter. Eating Schedule: Adherence: Scoring soon. Description: Ate very light today aside from a nice brunch. Plan: Will begin scoring in a couple days once I establish an adequate scale for assessment. Adjust meals as necessary (type, amount, timing, etc.). If you know you'll be out a while, prepare some things to take with you. List of Hobbies I can choose from: Listening to and/or caring for records Reading Writing (notes from reading, etc.) Working on my cars Socializing Foreign language study Cooking Walking the dog Mocktails Writing on my blog (need to restart) Investing in relationships Exercise

Day 39 - Saturday (yesterday) Summary: Went to my friend's wedding yesterday. It was a beautiful Autumn wedding held in an old church, with the reception in a barn. It was such a pleasant experience. Since I only have 28 days left of no alcohol, I continued to abstain. I had a deeper conversation with a close friend about my 90-day journey. He emphatically agreed about the way we are distracted in society and agreed that people underestimate the fatigue caused by listening to too many podcasts (he's experienced the feeling himself). He was very supportive of the journey and is interested to hear how it goes. I'm proud of myself for what I did when I returned home. Though it was very late, I was intent on leaving the kitchen the way I'd like to find it in the morning. I also wanted to continue my habit of cleaning two things a day, big or small. So, I put as many dishes as I could in the dishwasher (we had to leave quickly for the wedding earlier); cleaned the cooktop, drying rack, and sink; and washed any remaining dishes by hand. I even took time to complete my journal and do my nighttime routine before heading to bed. I know it made my wife very happy to wake up to a clean kitchen - and me too. Gratitude: My friend's wedding, grateful that we were invited to celebrate The nice conversations I had at the wedding with my friends Waking up to a nice clean kitchen The small joy of a warm cup of coffee The beauty of Autumn and all that it brings with harvest fests, pumpkins, and apple cider PROGRESS UPDATES: Note: Bold purple text indicates a new change to a plan. Habits to Kick: YouTube (Day 53) : Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: No changes needed but continue to fill the void, and with activities from hobbies list. Excessive Streaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: Continue current behavior. Find new ways to spend time when you need passive entertainment. Add a tag to your task list to filter for those. No Podcast Listening (Day 4) : Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not listen. Plan: For the rest of the 90 days, I will not listen to any podcasts. I may even try to make this its own one-off 90-day journey, even after the main one is complete. If I need background, I can put on light jazz or Brain.FM while working. Be aware of the physical and emotional sensation and name it when you feel stressed. Excessive Gaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not game. Plan: Continue current behavior. Set a time limit if you do play by yourself (1-2 hours). If with friends, keep it only to a Friday or Saturday and do your best to log off at a reasonable hour. Excessive Drinking (Day 62) : Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not drink alcohol. Had alternative drinks at the wedding (apple cider, sparkling grape juice, etc.). Plan: Continue current behavior. Habits to Start: I will add to this as I determine new habits and their action plans. Journal (physical journal): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Completed! Plan: I will continue to journal before getting ready for bed. Game Quitters Journal: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Filling it out now. Plan: Continue filling out journal each day. Doesn't seem to matter if it's the same day or the next, as long as each day is entered. Healthy Ways to Fill the Void: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Relationships: Attended my friend's wedding. Plan: Continue routine and choose activities. Reading is good, but also being comfortable doing nothing while listening to music (or just sitting) is fine too. Plan activities for when you have low energy. Next Actions List: Adherence: No data Description: Spent all day at the wedding so this didn't really apply. Plan: Focus on staying close to your next actions list. Consistently working from this is going to help you stay on track. Consistent Bedtime: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Got home late from the wedding but completed my nighttime routine and read in bed before falling asleep quite quickly. Plan: Continue to start getting ready for bed at 10pm (or 9:45). This should include your time for journaling. Read your novel in bed. Push back the time as needed. Can always do an internet block on your phone around 10pm with Freedom to keep from browsing. Weekends can have a bit more leeway. Cleaning Up: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Even though it was late after the wedding, I still cleaned the cooktop, the kitchen sink, the dish drying rack, and put all the dishes in the dishwasher. Plan: 0 stars is nothing was done; 1-3 stars is I cleaned one thing OR tidied up, depending on effort. 4 stars is I cleaned one thing AND tidied up. 5 stars is I cleaned two things AND tidied up. The "thing" cleaned can be big or small, doesn't matter. Eating Schedule: Adherence: Scoring soon. Description: A bit of a different day with the wedding, so not much to report here. Plan: Will begin scoring in a couple days once I establish an adequate scale for assessment. Adjust meals as necessary (type, amount, timing, etc.). If you know you'll be out a while, prepare some things to take with you. List of Hobbies I can choose from: Listening to and/or caring for records Reading Writing (notes from reading, etc.) Working on my cars Socializing Foreign language study Cooking Walking the dog Mocktails Writing on my blog (need to restart) Investing in relationships Exercise

This is a great habit. I've been doing this as well and you feel so much better in the morning when the only thing you have to do is put them away.

I think it's great you are looking for ways to help other people avoid the same challenges! That's what this community is all about in the end.

@Ikar Yeah, your response makes sense and I’m glad you’re able to focus on one thing at a time. I’m actively moving away from this multi-tasking and trying to so the same as you. I guess everyone has different stimuli that can become problematic. For some it’s video games. For me, it was a lot of distraction and passive entertainment. Interesting to see the differences across people, especially here on Game Quitters where people are looking to be more mindful about these things.

Day 38 - Friday (yesterday) Summary: Nice day yesterday. Glad that my wife is home now. We were able to spend some time together, though it was late in the evening when her plane landed. I did a good job of filling the void, engaging in quite a few activities. I encountered a specific void yesterday that hasn't been filled yet: eating pizza and watching a TV show/movie/YouTube. Since I am not streaming anything right now, I wanted to enjoy something while eating my pizza. I decided to throw on an audio reading of Robert Bloch's "The Creeper in the Crypt". I haven't read any of his stories, so this was my first introduction. It was a really pleasant experience! The story was great for this spooky season, and it felt like an excellent way to enjoy what I was eating while also replacing a former behavior with something that uses my imagination. I'm not walking around the house listening to audiobooks, either. This was a dedicated listening session in my living room through the speakers connected to my record player. I think it's something I'll do more often when I have that itch to just watch TV. Gratitude: For the audio reading of "Creeper in the Crypt" Why: I was able to discover a new author and felt good about how I spent my time. I was able to use my imagination, enjoy my food, and scratch the entertainment itch. I really enjoyed it! For my wife's safe arrival Why: I was very glad to see my wife arrive safely, especially after the long delays she experienced. It brought warmth to my heart to see her again and spend time together in the living room, chatting about her time away. PROGRESS UPDATES: Note: Bold purple text indicates a new change to a plan. Habits to Kick: YouTube (Day 52) : Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: No changes needed but continue to fill the void, and with activities from hobbies list. Excessive Streaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: Continue current behavior. Find new ways to spend time when you need passive entertainment. Add a tag to your task list to filter for those. No Podcast Listening (Day 3) : Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not listen. Plan: For the rest of the 90 days, I will not listen to any podcasts. I may even try to make this its own one-off 90-day journey, even after the main one is complete. If I need background, I can put on light jazz or Brain.FM while working. Be aware of the physical and emotional sensation and name it when you feel stressed. Excessive Gaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not game. Plan: Continue current behavior. Set a time limit if you do play by yourself (1-2 hours). If with friends, keep it only to a Friday or Saturday and do your best to log off at a reasonable hour. Excessive Drinking (Day 61) : Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not drink alcohol. Made a few mocktails with new ingredients. Plan: Continue current behavior. Habits to Start: I will add to this as I determine new habits and their action plans. Journal (physical journal): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Completed! Plan: I will continue to journal before getting ready for bed. Game Quitters Journal: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Filling it out now. Plan: Continue filling out journal each day. Doesn't seem to matter if it's the same day or the next, as long as each day is entered. Healthy Ways to Fill the Void: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Relationships: Spent time with my wife upon returning home. Reading: Read on the couch and in bed. Listened to reading of "The Creeper in the Crypt". Mocktails: Made a new mocktail with new verjus that I ordered. The drink was good but still a bit sweet for my taste. I'll have to play with them until I find the right balance for my palate. Walked the dog Exercise: Lower Body B Plan: Continue routine and choose activities. Reading is good, but also being comfortable doing nothing while listening to music (or just sitting) is fine too. Plan activities for when you have low energy. Next Actions List: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Worked on important tasks and was able to clean up the list a bit. I'll need to do my weekly review, probably tomorrow. Plan: Focus on staying close to your next actions list. Consistently working from this is going to help you stay on track. Consistent Bedtime: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Giving myself leeway here because it's the weekend but also because my wife's flight was greatly delayed. I wasn't able to pick her up until 11pm. I still did my nighttime routine (except stretching), journaled, and read in bed. Plan: Continue to start getting ready for bed at 10pm (or 9:45). This should include your time for journaling. Read your novel in bed. Push back the time as needed. Can always do an internet block on your phone around 10pm with Freedom to keep from browsing. Weekends can have a bit more leeway. Cleaning Up: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Cleaned the bathroom sinks, swept the foyer, tidied up as I went around the house. Plan: 0 stars is nothing was done; 1-3 stars is I cleaned one thing OR tidied up, depending on effort. 4 stars is I cleaned one thing AND tidied up. 5 stars is I cleaned two things AND tidied up. The "thing" cleaned can be big or small, doesn't matter. Eating Schedule: Adherence: Scoring soon. Description: Again, had trouble eating. Probably out of my routine from being at my parents' all week. I think I'm going to start scoring this somehow starting tomorrow or Monday. I don't think I'm making as much progress because I'm not scoring it like the other habits, so the accountability isn't there. Plan: Will begin scoring in a couple days once I establish an adequate scale for assessment. Adjust meals as necessary (type, amount, timing, etc.). If you know you'll be out a while, prepare some things to take with you. List of Hobbies I can choose from: Listening to and/or caring for records Reading Writing (notes from reading, etc.) Working on my cars Socializing Foreign language study Cooking Walking the dog Mocktails Writing on my blog (need to restart) Investing in relationships Exercise

Thanks for the article! I started it, it seems interesting. I think what you've said here goes back to something @Cam Adair said in a video about turning from Consumer to Creator. There is so much information that can be obtained and stored, but what are we doing with that from day to day? Or how are you taking that information and creating something new with it, even if that is just a new analysis through synthetization? Again, I don't think podcasts as a medium are bad but just like anything else (videos, articles online, etc.) we should be discerning about how much we listen, what we listen to, and what we do with it. Entertainment is also fine, but you make a good point about the line blurring between information and entertainment. Podcasts seem like an especially ripe medium for deceiving you into believing you are learning when in reality you retain very little because it is so passive. I listened to this podcast on Lyme disease once and the only things I remember are that it can lay dormant in the body (already knew that) and that the organism is called a spyrochaete (and I only remember that because it sounds like parakeet). What was I doing during that time? Driving, a 5-hour trip. You'd think I would remember more when only driving but when listening to hours of content, the brain just checks out in terms of retention. So, after this long car ride, if I've listened to 5 hours of podcasts, I might think I have 5 hours of information, but I might only remember 2%. It was really just a distraction of noise, like a passenger talking to you for the whole ride. But the brain does not distinguish, and the attention reserve is drained. Day to day when I would walk around with podcasts in my ear only half paying attention, I wasn't learning. I was entertained and distracted yet fatigued because my brain was constantly switching where my attention was going (see multi-tasking, where you aren't multitasking, just rapidly switching focus between stimuli). I was inspired to drive in silence because my therapist said something that resonated with me. She said, "I love driving in silence because it is the only thing I'm doing and no one else is telling me what to think or how to feel. It's my time to be in control of my own mind." We agreed that music is fine too, as that is a different experience for me. But listening to someone speak at me every waking moment of my day was affecting me, whether I realized it or not. Now, I'm endeavoring to make this protected time for music or silence. Haha maybe! I don't want people to be afraid of podcasts as I know there are good ones out there that truly help people, and in moderation can be a great source of entertainment and learning (I enjoyed the Game Quitters podcasts, for example). What I'm finding as I read articles about them is that people who listen to podcasts for hours on end are treating them like something to be binged. You hear this term especially in true crime podcasts. There seems to be a feeling of self-aware indifference towards constantly listening. It's a habit that we would now consider unhealthy when placed in the context of gaming or Netflix, but somehow is allowed to go free when it comes to podcasts. In my case, it was about distracting me from my inner thoughts and self-reflection, or simply because I had this feeling I needed to be entertained every second of the day. I read a few articles by folks who listen to a lot of true crime, and they joked about how it makes you paranoid to be home alone or that you have to be vigilant everywhere you go so you don't get kidnapped. While being vigilant is always important, what was life like for them before these podcasts? Was the world nearly as dangerous and frightening? It truly does affect your worldview over time which is why I think we should be discerning about what and how much of our attention we give to things.

Day 37 - Thursday (yesterday) Summary: I think this no-podcast thing is really good for me. Last night on my way home, I drove the entire hour in silence. I think the only times I've done that recently are when my wife is with me and she's asleep, but there remains something different about that. Being alone with just my dog, the silence was almost painful at first. I began to realize why I distract myself with so much noise - my mind naturally wanders towards negative thoughts and feelings of poignant nostalgia. Mono no aware, as the Japanese say, or a "sensitivity to the passage of time". I often dwell there too much, missing the good times of the past. There is a difference though between being thankful for the good times and thinking that those were your only good times. I needed that moment in the car because facing it head on, I was able to tell myself that while it is important to remember the past and to be aware of time's passage, I have dwelt therein my mind long enough over the years. I thanked myself for the concern with those things but gave myself permission to refocus. All the changes I am making are manifesting into one of the best versions of myself yet. I am creating the good times now. I pushed to focus there and on the wonderful things ahead. It will not be my last time struggling with this, but it was a pivotal moment in addressing the fear and sadness that I let hide behind my auditory distractions. When I arrived home, I put on some evening jazz (which made me miss my wife a little as we listen to that together, but she comes home today yay!) and started putting everything away that I brought with me. Frankly, this was unusual as I used to just leave things and put them away bit by bit over the course of a week. This time, I wanted to maintain my clean home. I did that, organized my nightstand drawer (long overdue), moved things around in the kitchen to make room for the bread box... I even had time and energy to make two syrups for my mocktails! It could have been the motivation to keep the house clean, but I found some inherent satisfaction in the task itself. Normally I do these things while listening to a podcast but now suddenly there was nothing to distract me, to make the task feel second-rate to what I was listening to. I had motivation to clean because I wanted to see a clean home, not because I wanted an excuse to listen to a podcast. And I'm enjoying the silence. I would like to say I'm not against podcasts entirely. They can be informative and provide a source of entertainment. Like anything else though, I think they require moderation and because the medium is relatively new, we haven't really discovered yet the potential downsides of listening too much. I'm finding my mind is growing calmer, less anxious, and my focus is slowly returning. When I stand back, it's difficult to fathom just how much distraction I had fallen into before - and for how long. Years of diverting my attention with YouTube and podcasts. Not that I didn't do any hobbies, but the joy in the hobbies diminished over time and so did their frequency. I feel it returning like a wave gently building. The elimination of these distractions from my life has brought me much good. I'm unsure how, if I ever, I will return to YouTube and podcasts after the 90-day detox. YouTube is necessary for some things, but the freedom I feel away from it has started to become empowering - so much so that I want almost nothing to do with it now. I'm unwilling to let it take from me what I've been building. Gratitude: For no podcasts and silence Why: Once again grateful for this because my mind feels much clearer. I am finding joy in other things and my anxiety about the world and myself is decreasing. For the beautiful sunset Why: The sky faded upwards from a goldenrod yellow to a navy blue, blending against silhouetted trees like a Thomas Kinkaid painting. It made my drive home so pleasant. PROGRESS UPDATES: Note: Bold purple text indicates a new change to a plan. Habits to Kick: YouTube (Day 51) : Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: No changes needed but continue to fill the void, and with activities from hobbies list. Excessive Streaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: Continue current behavior. Find new ways to spend time when you need passive entertainment. Add a tag to your task list to filter for those. No Podcast Listening (Day 2) : Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not listen. Plan: For the rest of the 90 days, I will not listen to any podcasts. I may even try to make this its own one-off 90-day journey, even after the main one is complete. If I need background, I can put on light jazz or Brain.FM while working. Be aware of the physical and emotional sensation and name it when you feel stressed. Excessive Gaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not game. Plan: Continue current behavior. Set a time limit if you do play by yourself (1-2 hours). If with friends, keep it only to a Friday or Saturday and do your best to log off at a reasonable hour. Excessive Drinking (Day 60) : Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not drink alcohol. Plan: Continue current behavior. Habits to Start: I will add to this as I determine new habits and their action plans. Journal (physical journal): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Completed! Plan: I will continue to journal before getting ready for bed. Game Quitters Journal: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Filling it out now. Plan: Continue filling out journal each day. Doesn't seem to matter if it's the same day or the next, as long as each day is entered. Healthy Ways to Fill the Void: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Relationships: Ate dinner with my parents before returning home. Reading: Read on the couch and in bed. Mocktails: Made orange oleo saccharum and lemon syrup when I arrived home. Plan: Continue routine and choose activities. Reading is good, but also being comfortable doing nothing while listening to music (or just sitting) is fine too. Plan activities for when you have low energy. Next Actions List: Adherence: ★★★★☆ Description: Worked on what was important but feel like I am not maintaining the system as well as I used to, so going to try and clean that up today. Plan: Focus on staying close to your next actions list. Consistently working from this is going to help you stay on track. Consistent Bedtime: Adherence: ★★★★☆ Description: In bed before midnight, finished part of my nighttime routine, and read in bed. Plan: Continue to start getting ready for bed at 10pm (or 9:45). This should include your time for journaling. Read your novel in bed. Push back the time as needed. Can always do an internet block on your phone around 10pm with Freedom to keep from browsing. Weekends can have a bit more leeway. Cleaning Up: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Giving myself 5 stars because I did not expect to do anything when I came home, but I unpacked everything I brought with me (I often used to leave stuff sitting for a couple days before finally putting everything away), cleaned and reorganized my nightstand drawer, and rearranged things in the kitchen to make room for the new bread box. I even still had time to make my syrups and read! So, while I didn't "clean" something per say, I would count everything I did as over and above what I normally would and needed to do. Plan: 0 stars is nothing was done; 1-3 stars is I cleaned one thing OR tidied up, depending on effort. 4 stars is I cleaned one thing AND tidied up. 5 stars is I cleaned two things AND tidied up. The "thing" cleaned can be big or small, doesn't matter. Eating Schedule: Adherence: Not scoring Description: Didn't eat much. When I weighed myself this morning, I had lost some weight as I expected. Might be partially water weight, but I definitely didn't eat enough while at my parents'. Wasn't for lack of food, but I guess being out of my routine at home. Plan: Continue current behavior. Adjust meals as necessary (type, amount, timing, etc.). If you know you'll be out a while, prepare some things to take with you. List of Hobbies I can choose from: Listening to and/or caring for records Reading Writing (notes from reading, etc.) Working on my cars Socializing Foreign language study Cooking Walking the dog Mocktails Writing on my blog (need to restart) Investing in relationships Exercise

Do you think it's hanging out with people in general? Or perhaps not hanging out with the right people? I have some friends who really energize me when I see them, but there are some others in the past who I would feel drained after seeing them. The right people can make a difference. Still, even after seeing energizing friends, I have a point where I'm tired and done. We all have our limit before we need to recharge individually.

Day 36 - Wednesday (yesterday) Summary: I have started something new for those who like to follow my entries. I know they look long but that's because there is a lot of copy-paste of the template and existing plans. So, to make things easier to parse, I've made a change to the Plan section of each habit. If I add purple text in bold it means that I have made a change/addition to the plan (you can see an example of this in the No Podcasts habit). Otherwise, it's exactly the same and you can ignore it (unless you want to read it again). The things that change on a daily basis are summary, gratitude, the charts, habit rating, and habit description. Habit description might be the same as the day before but that's because I did exactly as I had done the day before. Hopefully this makes for a faster read for folks who are interested. Started to recover some of my habits even while being out of my element. I pushed myself over the hurdle of getting started journaling last night and was able to complete an entry. I was going to go home on Wednesday but there was no rush to return home as my wife doesn't come back until tomorrow. So, I chose to stay one more night with my parents. I think if I look back on life, I'd be happier choosing to have stayed the extra day with them than to go home and be alone. I read a little bit online looking for people who have completely quit podcasts, but they seem to be few and far between. Podcasts appear to be like YouTube: many people consume it without a second thought as to how it might be affecting them or how much time they are spending with them. Afterall, it's educational. How could it be bad? There was only one that I found who quit for good. Everyone else said, "I tried quitting and here's what I found out." What they found out is that they experienced positive changes but could go no more than usually 30 days and jumped right back in saying things like, "This time I'll be more mindful," but I have no evidence that they did that. Not exactly inspirational. I intend to see this through and record how I feel after removing most of this from my life. I may return to one or two podcasts, but I think I want the majority to be out. We live in a constant state of noise and stimulation, and I don't think having podcasts on all the time is helping. What are we even doing with all that information anyways? I'm still waiting to hear back about second-round interviews for the job, but I'm currently trying to do my best here at this job for two reasons: one, if I don't get the other job, I'm only making it harder for myself later; and two, if I do get the job, I'm going to make it harder on others who need to take up the mantle after me. It's in everyone's interest if I just keep doing my best. Gratitude: For no podcasts and silence Why: I am feeling less overloaded by noise already. My mind feels a bit clearer; I am more at ease because I am not so highly tuned into certain topics, and I am returning to more music when I need to listen to something. For extra time spent with my family Why: One day I will not be able to spend time with them, so I'm glad I chose to be here for an extra day. I love them and am grateful for the love they provide me in return. PROGRESS UPDATES: Habits to Kick: YouTube (Day 50): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: No changes needed but continue to fill the void, and with activities from hobbies list. Excessive Streaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch independently. Watched something socially with my parents but that was it. Plan: Continue current behavior. Find new ways to spend time when you need passive entertainment. Add a tag to your task list to filter for those. No Podcast Listening (Day 1): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not listen. Plan: New rule/experiment based on yesterday's entry: for the rest of the 90 days I will not listen to any podcasts. I may even try to make this its own one-off 90-day journey, even after the main one is complete. If I need background, I can put on light jazz or Brain.FM while working. Be aware of the physical and emotional sensation and name it when you feel stressed. Excessive Gaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not game. Plan: Continue current behavior. Set a time limit if you do play by yourself (1-2 hours). If with friends, keep it only to a Friday or Saturday and do your best to log off at a reasonable hour. Excessive Drinking (Day 59): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not drink alcohol. Plan: Continue current behavior. Habits to Start: I will add to this as I determine new habits and their action plans. Journal (physical journal): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Completed! Plan: I will continue to journal before getting ready for bed. Game Quitters Journal: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Filling it out now. Plan: Continue filling out journal each day. Doesn't seem to matter if it's the same day or the next, as long as each day is entered. Healthy Ways to Fill the Void: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Relationships: Spent time with my parents and brother again in the evening. Reading: Tried to read my novel in bed but fell asleep very quickly (which is fine). Mocktails: Made a mocktail of my own design for my family. Exercise: Did a modified version of Upper A on my parents' workout equipment. Plan: Continue routine and choose activities. Reading is good, but also being comfortable doing nothing while listening to music (or just sitting) is fine too. Plan activities for when you have low energy. Next Actions List: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Stayed close to the system but knew what was important to work on today and did it. Plan: Focus on staying close to your next actions list. Consistently working from this is going to help you stay on track. Consistent Bedtime: Adherence: ★★★☆☆ Description: Better. Was in bed before midnight and read my novel but didn't finish my full nighttime routine. Plan: Continue to start getting ready for bed at 10pm (or 9:45). This should include your time for journaling. Read your novel in bed. Push back the time as needed. Can always do an internet block on your phone around 10pm with Freedom to keep from browsing. Weekends can have a bit more leeway. Cleaning Up: Adherence: No data Description: Not home, so currently does not apply. Plan: 0 stars is nothing was done; 1-3 stars is I cleaned one thing OR tidied up, depending on effort. 4 stars is I cleaned one thing AND tidied up. 5 stars is I cleaned two things AND tidied up. The "thing" cleaned can be big or small, doesn't matter. Eating Schedule: Adherence: Not scoring Description: Once again didn't eat as much until dinnertime. It's hard being away from home and being consistent. The rigidity of my planning at home makes it easier. Plan: Continue current behavior. Adjust meals as necessary (type, amount, timing, etc.). If you know you'll be out a while, prepare some things to take with you. List of Hobbies I can choose from: Listening to and/or caring for records Reading Writing (notes from reading, etc.) Working on my cars Socializing Foreign language study Cooking Walking the dog Mocktails Writing on my blog (need to restart) Investing in relationships Exercise

Day 35 - Tuesday (yesterday) Summary: Today (yesterday, I never know which perspective to write from) was pretty great. I was able to get one of my cars transferred to my name, registered, and over to my favorite shop to be inspected. My mother was a great help to me in getting this done. It was a huge stress relief to get this completed because every time I visited my parents, I would feel stress looking at my cars that I couldn't move due to registration and inspection since I needed them in my name. I consider myself to be someone who cares for his things and looking at them stuck in the driveway created this great conflict within me about myself. Only one more to go, but I feel so much lighter now. I still didn't do a great job with my nighttime routine or journaling. I might be being a bit rigid for myself, especially being out of the house, but I still feel I should be striving to keep some semblance of normalcy. So, I'm a little disappointed at seeing my average score flattening a bit over the last couple of days, but I'm confident I can get it back up. Additionally, I was inspired to try something new based on a conversation in @Ace92's journal. I am going to eliminate podcasts for the remainder of my 90 days. While I have somewhat reduced my consumption, I still feel maybe it's creating too much noise in my head. So, I'll stop listening to them entirely from Wednesday onward until the end of my 90 days. Once there, I'll reevaluate how I feel about them. It's possible I'll stop caring about them at all. We'll see! Gratitude: For getting my car registered and over to be inspected Why: I'm finally able to take care of my cars again and drive them. It will give me another hobby back in my hands and something else to continue replacing YouTube. For my mother and brother Why: I'm so thankful my mother helped get the car into my name, registered, and on the road. My brother was very gracious to drive with me to the shop to drop it off. Additionally, my mother bought us dinner and we all enjoyed some quality time together. PROGRESS UPDATES: Habits to Kick: YouTube (Day 49): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: No changes needed but continue to fill the void, and with activities from hobbies list. Excessive Streaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch independently. Watched an episode of something with my parents but that was it. Plan: Continue current behavior. Find new ways to spend time when you need passive entertainment. Add a tag to your task list to filter for those. Excessive Podcast Listening: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Only listened while driving and doing some misc. tasks. Plan: Set strict rule of no listening to podcasts in bed. Continue to listen only to podcasts I am truly interested in. I will try to keep from listening to podcasts I've used just for background. If I need background, I can put on light jazz or Brain.FM while working. Be aware of the physical and emotional sensation and name it when you feel stressed. Excessive Gaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not game. Plan: Continue current behavior. Set a time limit if you do play by yourself (1-2 hours). If with friends, keep it only to a Friday or Saturday and do your best to log off at a reasonable hour. Excessive Drinking (Day 58): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not drink alcohol. Plan: Continue current behavior. Habits to Start: I will add to this as I determine new habits and their action plans. Journal (physical journal): Adherence: ☆☆☆☆☆ Description: Did not journal again... Plan: I will continue to journal before getting ready for bed. Game Quitters Journal: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Filling it out now. Plan: Continue filling out journal each day. Doesn't seem to matter if it's the same day or the next, as long as each day is entered. Healthy Ways to Fill the Void: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Relationships: Spent time with my parents and brother again in the evening. Working on my cars: Got one of my cars up, out of the driveway, and off for an inspection. Big stress lifted. Plan: Continue routine and choose activities. Reading is good, but also being comfortable doing nothing while listening to music (or just sitting) is fine too. Plan activities for when you have low energy. Next Actions List: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Spent the day working on things that mattered. Made pretty good use of time. Plan: Focus on staying close to your next actions list. Consistently working from this is going to help you stay on track. Consistent Bedtime: Adherence: ★★☆☆☆ Description: Again, I went to bed before midnight but didn't complete my nighttime routine. Read on my phone a little bit once again and fell asleep instead of reading my novel. Plan: Continue to start getting ready for bed at 10pm (or 9:45). This should include your time for journaling. Read your novel in bed. Push back the time as needed. Can always do an internet block on your phone around 10pm with Freedom to keep from browsing. Weekends can have a bit more leeway. Cleaning Up: Adherence: No data Description: Not home, so currently does not apply. Plan: 0 stars is nothing was done; 1-3 stars is I cleaned one thing OR tidied up, depending on effort. 4 stars is I cleaned one thing AND tidied up. 5 stars is I cleaned two things AND tidied up. The "thing" cleaned can be big or small, doesn't matter. Eating Schedule: Adherence: No scoring yet Description: Didn't eat as much as I should have yesterday... not on schedule. Plan: Continue current behavior. Adjust meals as necessary (type, amount, timing, etc.). If you know you'll be out a while, prepare some things to take with you. List of Hobbies I can choose from: Listening to and/or caring for records Reading Writing (notes from reading, etc.) Working on my cars Socializing Foreign language study Cooking Walking the dog Mocktails Writing on my blog (need to restart) Investing in relationships

I think you're right. I also work from home and have discovered my ability to have in-person conversations have suffered a bit. They are getting better, but I have to be more intentional about seeing people to address this. Afterall, practice makes perfect - and I think I've been out of practice. I feel you on this one!

I know, it's terrible... HR figuratively has the power of life and death in its hands. When it is done well, it makes a company very strong and people want to stay. When it is done poorly, employee motivation decreases and overall output becomes worse. I think that's where I'm at now... demotivated by how work is assigned, what work you are required to do... the company does a poor job of rewarding so it doesn't make me motivated to work harder. Only to do my best in order to keep the job.

Thanks! I would be doing something very different from what I do now, but the subject and the type of work are more in line with what I actually like. In fact, I had an internship with the company before and they wanted to hire me but couldn't because of COVID hiring freezes. Now, almost 3 years later, my old manager reached out to me about this position. He tried to get me in once or twice before but faced similar HR issues because of COVID and the economic environment it had created. I think he wants me on his team, but the hiring process still makes me somewhat nervous because I don't know who actually makes the decisions. What I do now is something I took because I needed work and at the time also fit what I needed from a job. It still does, but I feel neutral about the work itself. I have grown to somewhat like it since I have become better at it, but it's still not my favorite thing in the world. This new opportunity more closely aligns with things that interest me, practicing skills I wish to develop further. And I know no job is perfect, but I believe it's time for a change. Also, my current company is not run very well and it's my first job in corporate. I tell my other friends things that happen here and they say, "Yeah, that's not normal man." So, I'm hoping a new environment at a place I liked working at will be a good change for me and keep me from pigeonholing myself in this current position.

Apologies if someone has asked this already, but I recently posted an observation in my journal about how some of my good habits disappear when out of my element. When I travel to a friend's house or my parents' place and stay overnight, it's easier for good habits to fall off, even if I can do those things (some are not possible away from home, but many are). It's not that I descend completely into bad habits, just that the good ones don't always stay with regularity while away from home. Anyone have any tips for being consistent while away, out of your typical environment, or traveling?

Agree wholeheartedly with @wheatbiscuit. The machismo of suppressing emotions is outmoded. I'm also glad you came here to write these feelings down. You are still at the beginning of your journey but keep pushing. Every day is a new day. Some days don't go as well and that's okay. It seems you knew how to process it, which is good. As a side note regarding the bottom of your journal, know there are people here who care about you, who want to see you get better. While I am on my own path of recovery, it brings me joy to see others here who are making steps everyday - both big and little - to a better life and a better future. I want to see you pass your other board, to be able to work, to repair you marriage - all the things you are shooting for, and I believe you can do it. And, as you can probably see from reactions, there are people here following your journal who are invested in your journey and care about you. Hope you are feeling better today!

Day 34 - Monday (yesterday) Summary: I'm at my parents' place again because I need to get some things done at their house while my wife is away. We had a nice time eating dinner yesterday and watching a short show. I'll be with them until Wednesday afternoon. I brought my dog, of course, who made herself right at home again. She is currently snoring away on the couch nearby. I had the phone screening today and it went well. I felt I fumbled at times, but I think at the end of the day it was less about what I said and more about how I said it. Now I wait for a bit (1-2 weeks) to hear back if I am invited for a second round of interviews. I'm hoping to hear soon as 2 weeks will be torturous... but it will pass no matter what. A quick aside, it's amazing how our environment affects our habits. I am staying in my old room at my parents' place and my instinct when going to bed was to go on my phone. Granted, I am out of my routine as well because I am not home with all my secure structures in place. Still, I should have tried to read but instead went back to an old habit of internet browsing. I don't even remember what I looked at because I fell asleep quickly. Of course, I didn't watch YouTube as there is no way for me to do that, but phone browsing before bed isn't great either. I'll be more conscious of this; being out of my routine and in an old environment is definitely something to watch out for. I may need some additional strategies to help me maintain the good habits. Gratitude: For the phone screening I had today. Why: I'm glad to have had the opportunity and I feel it went quite well, in spite of my nerves. For time spent with my parents. Why: Now that I have moved, I don't see them as often or talk to them as much as I used to, so it is pleasant to visit with them and enjoy their company. PROGRESS UPDATES: Habits to Kick: YouTube (Day 48): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: No changes needed but continue to fill the void, and with activities from hobbies list. Excessive Streaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch independently. Watched an episode of something with my parents but that was it. Plan: Continue current behavior. Find new ways to spend time when you need passive entertainment. Add a tag to your task list to filter for those. Excessive Podcast Listening: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Only listened while packing and driving. Plan: Set strict rule of no listening to podcasts in bed. Continue to listen only to podcasts I am truly interested in. I will try to keep from listening to podcasts I've used just for background. If I need background, I can put on light jazz or Brain.FM while working. Be aware of the physical and emotional sensation and name it when you feel stressed. Excessive Gaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not game. Plan: Continue current behavior. Set a time limit if you do play by yourself (1-2 hours). If with friends, keep it only to a Friday or Saturday and do your best to log off at a reasonable hour. Excessive Drinking (Day 57): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not drink alcohol. Plan: Continue current behavior. Habits to Start: I will add to this as I determine new habits and their action plans. Journal (physical journal): Adherence: ☆☆☆☆☆ Description: Did not journal. If I manage to complete one this morning to make up for it, I'll come back and put a partial score. Plan: I will continue to journal before getting ready for bed. Game Quitters Journal: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Filling it out now. Plan: Continue filling out journal each day. Doesn't seem to matter if it's the same day or the next, as long as each day is entered. Healthy Ways to Fill the Void: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Relationships: Spent time with my parents in the evening. Made a mocktail with my mother. Plan: Continue routine and choose activities. Reading is good, but also being comfortable doing nothing while listening to music (or just sitting) is fine too. Plan activities for when you have low energy. Next Actions List: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Spent the day working on things that mattered. Made fairly good use of time. Plan: Focus on staying close to your next actions list. Consistently working from this is going to help you stay on track. Consistent Bedtime: Adherence: ★★☆☆☆ Description: I went to bed before midnight but didn't complete my nighttime routine. Read on my phone a little bit and fell asleep instead of reading my novel. Plan: Continue to start getting ready for bed at 10pm (or 9:45). This should include your time for journaling. Read your novel in bed. Push back the time as needed. Can always do an internet block on your phone around 10pm with Freedom to keep from browsing. Weekends can have a bit more leeway. Cleaning Up: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did great before leaving the house. Tidied up, cleaned downstairs toilet, cleaned bathroom sink, partially cleaned the upstairs toilet, and washed some of the dog's blankets. Plan: 0 stars is nothing was done; 1-3 stars is I cleaned one thing OR tidied up, depending on effort. 4 stars is I cleaned one thing AND tidied up. 5 stars is I cleaned two things AND tidied up. The "thing" cleaned can be big or small, doesn't matter. Eating Schedule: Adherence: No scoring yet Description: Eating schedule was again off. I'm debating whether I really want to push eating more though or if I'm happy to go much slower. One of the biggest things is to make sure I get enough protein. But after that, I don't know how much more I want to bulk up. I can certainly take it slow. I just don't want to burn out on eating too much. Plan: Continue current behavior. Adjust meals as necessary (type, amount, timing, etc.). If you know you'll be out a while, prepare some things to take with you. List of Hobbies I can choose from: Listening to and/or caring for records Reading Writing (notes from reading, etc.) Working on my cars Socializing Foreign language study Cooking Walking the dog Mocktails Writing on my blog (need to restart) Investing in relationships

Day 33 - Sunday (yesterday) Summary: We spent the morning with my parents and then went back home. The day went by quickly. We did some shopping, grabbed some food, and then relaxed for the rest of the evening. I built a fire and we sat and read. We have candles in various places so with the fire, it creates a very relaxing atmosphere. Today (Monday) is my phone screening for the job opportunity. I'm a little bit nervous because I don't know who I'll be speaking with and if our personalities will mesh. However, I'm optimistic that I will be friendly and put my best self forward. I am trying to be realistic about the opportunity to guard myself against disappointment. It is inevitable that if I do not get the position, I will be disappointed. I'm instead hoping to mitigate how much disappointment I experience. I'm doing my best to keep from thinking about leaving my current job for this one, but it is very hard to do with the prospect set before me. All I can do is continue as though I don't have the job until I do while thinking optimistically about myself as a candidate. I didn't listen to podcasts the last two days and it was kind of nice. I'm thinking about the ones I listen to regularly and, right now at least, I don't feel like consuming... we'll see if that changes throughout the day, but I think my mind is asking me for a break even though I've been cutting back. I'll see how today goes. Gratitude: For the phone screening I will have today Why: I have waited a long time to be able to interview for a position like this. I'm grateful to have the opportunity and put my best self forward. For the fire I built Why: It cheers me to see something I created bring warmth and happiness to my home. The fire created a wonderful atmosphere to be cozy and read with hot cider. For the way I spent my evening Why: I'm glad I spent the remainder of my evening reading. It was a good use of my time and I enjoyed the stories I read. I closed the book at the end of the night remarking that I was pleased with the way I spent my time. PROGRESS UPDATES: Habits to Kick: YouTube (Day 47): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: No changes needed but continue to fill the void, and with activities from hobbies list. Excessive Streaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: Continue current behavior. Find new ways to spend time when you need passive entertainment. Add a tag to your task list to filter for those. Excessive Podcast Listening: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Didn't listen to any podcasts at all. Plan: Set strict rule of no listening to podcasts in bed. Continue to listen only to podcasts I am truly interested in. I will try to keep from listening to podcasts I've used just for background. If I need background, I can put on light jazz or Brain.FM while working. Be aware of the physical and emotional sensation and name it when you feel stressed. Excessive Gaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not game. Plan: Continue current behavior. Set a time limit if you do play by yourself (1-2 hours). If with friends, keep it only to a Friday or Saturday and do your best to log off at a reasonable hour. Excessive Drinking (Day 56): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not drink alcohol. Plan: Continue current behavior. Habits to Start: I will add to this as I determine new habits and their action plans. Journal (physical journal): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Completed! Plan: I will continue to journal before getting ready for bed. Game Quitters Journal: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Filling it out now. Plan: Continue filling out journal each day. Doesn't seem to matter if it's the same day or the next, as long as each day is entered. Healthy Ways to Fill the Void: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Relationships: Spent the morning with my parents, then time shopping with my wife. Picked up a few things for the house. In the evening, read together on the couch. Reading: Read two more stories by Algernon Blackwood. Plan: Continue routine and choose activities. Reading is good, but also being comfortable doing nothing while listening to music (or just sitting) is fine too. Plan activities for when you have low energy. Next Actions List: Adherence: No data Description: Again, another unusual day... not much to track here. Plan: Focus on staying close to your next actions list. Consistently working from this is going to help you stay on track. Consistent Bedtime: Adherence: ★★★★☆ Description: I did go to bed later than I wanted to but I was in bed, completed my nighttime routine (except stretching again), and read my novel until I fell asleep. Plan: Continue to start getting ready for bed at 10pm (or 9:45). This should include your time for journaling. Read your novel in bed. Push back the time as needed. Can always do an internet block on your phone around 10pm with Freedom to keep from browsing. Weekends can have a bit more leeway. Cleaning Up: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did quite a bit of cleaning. Tidied up, cleaned the stairs, swept the bedroom and hallways, swept under the bed (badly needed) and bedroom furniture, cleaned the sink, and washed some of the dog's bedding. Plan: 0 stars is nothing was done; 1-3 stars is I cleaned one thing OR tidied up, depending on effort. 4 stars is I cleaned one thing AND tidied up. 5 stars is I cleaned two things AND tidied up. The "thing" cleaned can be big or small, doesn't matter. Eating Schedule: Adherence: No scoring yet Description: Eating schedule was once again off but my weight is starting to increase a bit, so I'm thinking my body might be starting to adjust. Plan: Continue current behavior. Adjust meals as necessary (type, amount, timing, etc.). If you know you'll be out a while, prepare some things to take with you. List of Hobbies I can choose from: Listening to and/or caring for records Reading Writing (notes from reading, etc.) Working on my cars Socializing Foreign language study Cooking Walking the dog Mocktails Writing on my blog (need to restart) Investing in relationships

Day 32 - Saturday (yesterday) Summary: Most of Saturday was spent getting ready for and being at my cousin's wedding. I'm glad I was able to go. I don't have a ton to update on this but I will say that I am seeing the value in trying to tidy up more. I had misplaced some things and got very flustered trying to get to the wedding. Some things were in their homes, but I looked right past them. When I get stressed for time, I often overlook things that are right in front of me. I also spent 15 minutes looking for my phone, which I had mindlessly set down in a very unobvious place. So, I think mindfulness is something for me to work on. It seems like I don't allow certain things to make it past the encoding stage of memory. I've got to be paying enough attention to let my actions register. Nice day though and had fun with my parents. Gratitude: For being able to attend my cousin's wedding Why: While we don't always get to see each other, he is an important person in my life. It made me very happy to see him and his new wife so happy together. I was glad to be there for such a pivotal moment in his life. For my parents Why: They always manage to make me laugh, and whenever I return to their house, I am flooded with the memories of the pleasant, happy childhood they gave me. I'm grateful for how they have opened their arms to my wife and treat her as their own daughter. For my cozy home and the Halloween decor Why: Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. The season surrounding it is such a pleasure, and I am so pleased with the way my wife and I have decorated the house. I can feel cozy Autumn with a touch of spooky vibes, and it makes me feel at ease while indulging in great memories. PROGRESS UPDATES: Habits to Kick: YouTube (Day 46): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: No changes needed but continue to fill the void, and with activities from hobbies list. Excessive Streaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: Continue current behavior. Find new ways to spend time when you need passive entertainment. Add a tag to your task list to filter for those. Excessive Podcast Listening: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Didn't listen to any podcasts at all. Plan: Set strict rule of no listening to podcasts in bed. Continue to listen only to podcasts I am truly interested in. I will try to keep from listening to podcasts I've used just for background. If I need background, I can put on light jazz or Brain.FM while working. Be aware of the physical and emotional sensation and name it when you feel stressed. Excessive Gaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not game. Plan: Continue current behavior. Set a time limit if you do play by yourself (1-2 hours). If with friends, keep it only to a Friday or Saturday and do your best to log off at a reasonable hour. Excessive Drinking (Day 55): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not drink alcohol. Had tonic water and a soda at the wedding. Had a nice mocktail my mother made me after the wedding. Plan: Continue current behavior. Habits to Start: I will add to this as I determine new habits and their action plans. Journal (physical journal): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Giving myself leeway here because it was an unusual night. However, I still wrote an entry in the morning to make up for the night before which worked out fine. Plan: I will continue to journal before getting ready for bed. Game Quitters Journal: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Filling it out now. Plan: Continue filling out journal each day. Doesn't seem to matter if it's the same day or the next, as long as each day is entered. Healthy Ways to Fill the Void: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Relationships: Went to my cousin's wedding and afterwards spent time with my wife and parents (watched a movie together). Plan: Continue routine and choose activities. Reading is good, but also being comfortable doing nothing while listening to music (or just sitting) is fine too. Plan activities for when you have low energy. Next Actions List: Adherence: No data Description: Being another unusual day, there wasn't much to track here. Plan: Focus on staying close to your next actions list. Consistently working from this is going to help you stay on track. Consistent Bedtime: Adherence: ★★★★☆ Description: Spent the evening with my wife and parents, so I stayed up a little later but was still in bed before or by midnight. Also did some of my nighttime routine (did not stretch). Plan: Continue to start getting ready for bed at 10pm (or 9:45). This should include your time for journaling. Read your novel in bed. Push back the time as needed. Can always do an internet block on your phone around 10pm with Freedom to keep from browsing. Weekends can have a bit more leeway. Cleaning Up: Adherence: ★★☆☆☆ Description: Only did a little cleaning this day before going to the wedding. Just various tidying as I used stuff but nothing crazy. Plan: 0 stars is nothing was done; 1-3 stars is I cleaned one thing OR tidied up, depending on effort. 4 stars is I cleaned one thing AND tidied up. 5 stars is I cleaned two things AND tidied up. The "thing" cleaned can be big or small, doesn't matter. Eating Schedule: Adherence: No scoring yet Description: Eating schedule was off due to the wedding. Definitely didn't eat as much as I normally have been. Plan: Continue current behavior. Adjust meals as necessary (type, amount, timing, etc.). If you know you'll be out a while, prepare some things to take with you. List of Hobbies I can choose from: Listening to and/or caring for records Reading Writing (notes from reading, etc.) Working on my cars Socializing Foreign language study Cooking Walking the dog Mocktails Writing on my blog (need to restart) Investing in relationships

Thanks! I think I like the “gamification” aspect of the measurements. It keeps me motivated to improve the scores, whether that is through doing better in general or redefining what success means (ex. Next Actions has changed a lot because it is a bit difficult to define what constitutes success there, and that’s okay; I’ll continue refining it until I understand what I need). Yeah, I wanted to redefine my relationship with alcohol. I wasn’t dependent on it, but also felt I drank well above what is the recommended limit. I do feel much better, and I wake up with much less anxiety; my mood has significantly improved upon rising. Whenever I gathered with friends, I would drink the whole night (and they sorta did too) because I believed that I would no longer have fun if I stopped drinking. I think this was a subconscious thought that, after digging, I was able to bring to the surface. Twice now on this journey, I have proven to myself that I can have a great time and consume no alcohol. This allows me to redefine my limits. Moving forward, I know I can have one or two at a gathering, then stop, and still have an amazing time. I think this was a subtle but powerful experience for me. I am nervous though about how it will affect me after this long of a break. I will ease back into it with one drink at home with my wife once the 90 days are up and see what happens. I do like the non-alcoholic beers, actually! But you are right, they are somewhat expensive…. I tried some non-alcoholic wine but it misses the depth of regular wine. The mocktails are quite good, though they require more effort (but that’s also part of the fun). I think it’s less about the tea and more the caffeine. Tea is quite healthy, so I imagine the limit would surround how much caffeinated tea you can tolerate. I used to drink a ton of tea when I was younger. In school, I would bring a liter of tea in one of those pop-top thermoses. My teacher asked once if anyone smelled a campfire when I brought in some Lapsang Suchong 😂. I want to get back into it. I would like to try Gong Fu style, where you steep the tea briefly but as many as nine times, trying each cup. It’s supposedly a great way to taste how the flavor develops over time while also being a fun social activity. Some of my most recent favorites I’ve tried are Hojicha (green) and Quangzhou Milk (oolong). The latter truly does have a naturally milky smell, flavor, and texture! Absolutely wild how it’s just a byproduct of the processing.

This is great, thank you for sharing! I think I will start trying this. I begin planning my workday in the morning and it just seems too haphazard. I like the idea of your brain working on it overnight. I can certainly see the benefits of that. Thank you!! And nice job on all of your progress.

Wait, did I recommend a website? I don’t remember haha 😅

Day 31 - Friday (yesterday) Summary: Another big milestone today - 45 days without YouTube! Halfway through the 90 days. I honestly don't want it back anymore. I'm so much happier without it. I think the only thing is whether I should unblock it once this is over so that I can watch educational videos when I need to (i.e. fixing something on my car, how-tos, etc.). However, that doesn't happen very often, so it might be okay to just stay the course and have my wife unlock it only when necessary. I like how it's going so far. I think that's what I'll do. Had a decent day yesterday. I like the cleaning habit. I want to try and keep it up. It makes me feel better to look around and see that the house is clean. It's possible sweeping the floor, as small as that is, improved my allergies. I didn't wake up as stuffy as I usually do. I have one of those Boogie Boards from my college days. The board has a slot where you can insert any 8x11 sheet. Thus, you can make whatever you want and then write over top of it. It's an electronic whiteboard, basically. I'm planning to create a template based on my current list of items to maintain and the date it was last completed. That way I can see what tasks haven't been done in a while, especially those that are not immediately visible. I find myself falling back slightly into my old habit of listening to podcasts I don't care about just to have background noise. While I didn't do this at work, I really should try to acclimate myself to periods of silence. Part of the problem is even though I cleaned out my podcast list, Spotify still shows me the list of old shows I used to follow and when they upload new content. Kind of annoying... if I unsubscribed, then don't show them to me? It's almost like unsubscribing from YouTube channels and having them still show up in your recommended content - except you can't "reset" Spotify's algorithm like you can YouTube's. Very frustrating. I guess I'll have to just continue to ignore them until they eventually go away from not listening to them. I really should make use of Freedom too when I want to stop listening. Today I have a wedding to go to. Should be fun. Gratitude: For the nice pizza I made last night Why: It's increasing my cooking skills and making me more confident in my ability to see something and make it. It is helping me to order out less and save money. For my friends Why: While at a distance, they make me laugh and are people who I know have my best interests in mind (even if we don't always agree). Being around them challenges me and ultimately makes me a better person. For 45 days without YouTube Why: It has started to clear my mind, I have rediscovered old hobbies, and it has given me the space to improve my life. I've made great progress in just this short period, and I anticipate further growth, well-being, productivity, peace of mind, and clarity of thought. PROGRESS UPDATES: Habits to Kick: YouTube (Day 45): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: No changes needed but continue to fill the void, and with activities from hobbies list. Excessive Streaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not watch. Plan: Continue current behavior. Find new ways to spend time when you need passive entertainment. Add a tag to your task list to filter for those. Excessive Podcast Listening: Adherence: ★★★★☆ Description: Not bad but starting to fall into the trap again of listening just to have background. I'm noticing I'm listening to some podcasts that I just don't care that much about. I'm glad I am catching the behavior. Plan: Set strict rule of no listening to podcasts in bed. Continue to listen only to podcasts I am truly interested in. I will try to keep from listening to podcasts I've used just for background. If I need background, I can put on light jazz or Brain.FM while working. Be aware of the physical and emotional sensation and name it when you feel stressed. Excessive Gaming: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not game. Plan: Continue current behavior. Set a time limit if you do play by yourself (1-2 hours). If with friends, keep it only to a Friday or Saturday and do your best to log off at a reasonable hour. Excessive Drinking (Day 54): Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did not drink alcohol. Tried some non-alcoholic wine. It was... fine. I think I might prefer the mocktails, but I'll try some other brands. Plan: Continue current behavior. Habits to Start: I will add to this as I determine new habits and their action plans. Journal (physical journal): Adherence: ★★★☆☆ Description: Fell asleep again and didn't journal last night but I did do one this morning to make up for it. Decent entry, so giving 3 stars for at least trying to remain in the journal. Plan: I will continue to journal before getting ready for bed. Game Quitters Journal: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Filling it out now. Plan: Continue filling out journal each day. Doesn't seem to matter if it's the same day or the next, as long as each day is entered. Healthy Ways to Fill the Void: Adherence: ★★★★☆ Description: Exercise: Upper Body B Cooking: Made a quick pizza from scratch. Walked the dog Did end up reading a bit on my phone and nothing that interesting, so 4 stars. Plan: Continue routine and choose activities. Reading is good, but also being comfortable doing nothing while listening to music (or just sitting) is fine too. Plan activities for when you have low energy. Next Actions List: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Did well working within the task system and trying to work on what matters. Plan: Focus on staying close to your next actions list. Consistently working from this is going to help you stay on track. Consistent Bedtime: Adherence: ★★★☆☆ Description: Another partial score. I allowed myself to sleep on the couch because my wife was feeling a little ill from work. I wanted her to get an uninterrupted sleep to recover (she's feeling better today). However, I didn't do my nighttime routine, which I still could have done. Plan: Continue to start getting ready for bed at 10pm (or 9:45). This should include your time for journaling. Read your novel in bed. Push back the time as needed. Can always do an internet block on your phone around 10pm with Freedom to keep from browsing. Weekends can have a bit more leeway. Cleaning Up: Adherence: ★★★★★ Description: Swept the floor, dusted the table and piano, wiped down some of the counters, tidied up as I did things during the day. Plan: 0 stars is nothing was done; 1-3 stars is I cleaned one thing OR tidied up, depending on effort. 4 stars is I cleaned one thing AND tidied up. 5 stars is I cleaned two things AND tidied up. The "thing" cleaned can be big or small, doesn't matter. Eating Schedule: Adherence: No scoring yet Description: Ate most meals but missed breakfast. Plan: Continue current behavior. Adjust meals as necessary (type, amount, timing, etc.). If you know you'll be out a while, prepare some things to take with you. List of Hobbies I can choose from: Listening to and/or caring for records Reading Writing (notes from reading, etc.) Working on my cars Socializing Foreign language study Cooking Walking the dog Mocktails Writing on my blog (need to restart)

I wonder if it's momentum. This is usually the problem for me, especially with social engagements. My wife often tells me, "You'll enjoy yourself once you're there." And it's true, I like seeing people. It's just the prospect of getting up and getting there feels so tiring for some reason. I have not gone to see people sometimes simply because I just didn't want to do the prep to get there. Once the ball is rolling, I'm good but I really need a push to get it moving. It even happens sometimes with simple things like going to the grocery store. Fine once there, but the idea of getting up and moving to do that can be an obstacle. Based on what you describe, perhaps it is similar for you? You seemed to really enjoy your time volunteering once you were out of the house. It sounds like it was just the prospect of getting there that was initially in the way. What do you think?

I didn't watch much of him, but what I did watch was good and I heard many good things about him. I think he stopped making videos, if I recall correctly... I've always liked the folks who break it down, make it simple, and get past all the "broscience" (because there's a lot of that out there...)