My Journal - Django

[Django]

Dear reader,

I'm excited to write my first journal entry. It has been a week since I decided to quit games for good, and what better day to start this journal. I just sold my PS4! A day to remember

Indeed, 7 days that I took that one big step.

It's still a transition though. I have to find new activities. Self development and a bit of entertainment that isn't linked to materialism. Right now my brain still craves for that dopamine, and I was already thinking to replace gaming with trading cards, collecting some action figures or whatever. But I came back to earth and just thought : To spend a lot on money to buy something, unbox it and then just store it somewhere, isn't worth it!

I don't know yet if I'm going to post every single day on my journal. I'll post when I like, when I have something to talk about. I don't want to have restrictions again like gaming where I had to be present at certain hours or do something on the game to be succesful (browser games).

Again, thanks to everyone to share!

[Cam Adair]

Woohoo! Always makes my day to see another journal up here.

[Django]

Today has been a good day. I'm still in transition mode searching for myself but each day without gaming is a win!

I've set up my exercise bike again. It was in the attic taking dust but now it's back in the room and a session awaits tomorrow. I'll be able to work on personal development (fitness) and entertainment (series / movie) at the same time. I already have a goal, to lose some weight and get healthier! I've gained some weight this year and feel really tired. This was already my objective but I never started seriously. Soda's and processed foods are too present in the house!

Another item that has been taking dust is my e-reader. The last time I read was in August. I started a Star Wars novel (Darth Plaguesis) and this was right after my first gaming break. Well I don't consider it a break right now since I'm stopping for good! I'll finish the novel before next year and will try to read some personal development books too. But still need that entertainment from novels

I watched some Star Wars Rebels and started a new series : The Leftovers! I don't want to put too much of my time into series/movies though. Even if I enjoy this kind of entertainment, I often think it's time wasted. Sometimes it can even lead to going to bed too late. I'd like to work on a new habit, going to bed earlier (and reading in bed!), which is going to lead to better sleep and being able to wake up earlier! I week up at 5:30 each working day, but I guess I could also wake up that early on week-ends and day off's to make most of the time. Maybe I won't regard the series/movies as time wasted then?

Oh and btw, sorry for my english. I feel like it's one dimensional. ^^ But my mother tongue is french. I'm from Belgium btw! Hi!

 

 

[Cam Adair]

One of my favorite things to do during my workouts is to listen to podcasts/audio books as well. Try that out sometime. I find the combination of doing good things for my body (working out) + doing good things for my mind (reading) to be a match made in heaven! Sometimes I'm too busy to sit down and read, so listening to books while I workout ensures I still get all of that in.

I'm hoping to visit Beligum next year again so hope to meet up! Also Tom and others are nearby in The Netherlands.

 

[Django]

I'll give this a try too. Still have to choose the podcasts/audio books though. I found a few topics with some examples. They are mostly all personal development. I'd throw in some fiction in it too for that entertainment bit. Well, seems it's the dopamine talking, trying to find a replacement substance to gaming

Since I'm also going to review my diet and fitness, I'd like to read/listen about it to train my brain and make a new habit out of it.

 

 

[Django]

Another good day, nothing too fancy. Day off, drove for my mother (good deed of the day!) and spent the rest of time home relaxing. Still too much gaps of wasting time though.

I just finished my 2nd fitness session. The first was yesterday evening. Biking for about 20 km's (12.5 miles) each session on the exercise bike.

Yesterday evening I also started to listen to the slight edge while in bed. Felt asleep but that also happens when I read a while.

Tomorrow is a new day at work so I will be quite busy, will get another present for my son for christmas before driving home and preparing for that 3rd fitness session   I love the feeling when that session is over and I'm exhausted.

I'm exploring the paleo diet and maybe thinking of following it. I remember I did the keto diet 2 years ago and it worked quite well though very limited and socially difficult to follow.

I'd like to stop drinking coffee everyday, maybe just on week-ends at home. But the last time I tried, I had a severe headache. Maybe I should to replace coffee with tea. It also has caffeine, so it shouldn't be as hard?

 

[Cam Adair]

For coffee, reduce slowly over a few days. Cut back by 25% or so each day and make sure you're hydrating with water. Replacing with tea can be a good step as well.

[Django]

For coffee, reduce slowly over a few days. Cut back by 25% or so each day and make sure you're hydrating with water. Replacing with tea can be a good step as well.

I'm actually only having maximum 2 cups a day, and it's more 1 cup a day most of the time. I like my coffee with 2 sugars and milk. Caffeine doesn't seem to be the real problem in my case, the sugar is! I'll try to have a coffee with only 1 or 1,5 sugar and see how it tase, it's maybe a matter of habit.

A few months ago I took 3 sugars. But that's a bit too extreme and not healthy at all! ^^

[Laney]

You could try getting into black coffee, I'm a super coffee snob and make amazing black coffee that doesn't need sugar anymore. I like the fruity african beans iced  It's funny, they actually are so sweet on their own that adding sugar makes it taste bad (conflicting sweet notes). If you want any tips on yummy coffee I can help you out! Cold brew is super easy and cheap, and if you have more time or money I've used the aeropress and pourover methods quite a bit and can suggest some things. First step would be to pack up your coffee making machine though ;D

Also you are so awesome! You've been doing great on those workouts, you've definitely inspired me.

[Cam Adair]

Also a fellow coffee snob here. When I started drinking black coffee I put a little bit of cinnamon in it to cut down the bitterness. That helped until I acquired the taste of black coffee. Now I love it on its own, no sugar required. :)

[Django]

You could try getting into black coffee, I'm a super coffee snob and make amazing black coffee that doesn't need sugar anymore. I like the fruity african beans iced  It's funny, they actually are so sweet on their own that adding sugar makes it taste bad (conflicting sweet notes). If you want any tips on yummy coffee I can help you out! Cold brew is super easy and cheap, and if you have more time or money I've used the aeropress and pourover methods quite a bit and can suggest some things. First step would be to pack up your coffee making machine though ;D

Also a fellow coffee snob here. When I started drinking black coffee I put a little bit of cinnamon in it to cut down the bitterness. That helped until I acquired the taste of black coffee. Now I love it on its own, no sugar required.

What I'm actually drinking is, what you coffee snobs would call, not coffee!

Nescafé classic (2 tbsp) + powdered milk (3 tbsp) and 2 sugars.

So I don't even have a coffee machine. I was thinking about buying a french press to make some bulletproof coffee at home. I like to have a cup of coffee at work at my desk. Nescafé is easy to make. Don't know how easy it would be to make bulletproof coffee at work without investing in a press, mixer, etc ... and looking awkward in the process, lol.

Or maybe I should continue drinking the coffee the way I like it and build my diet around it, taking into account this sugar intake. But all suggestions are welcome .

 

Also you are so awesome! You've been doing great on those workouts, you've definitely inspired me.

I just read on your journal that you are planning to exercise too, that's great! Today I did my third session and went a bit faster than usual. Great feeling afterwards!

I'm still looking into preparing a diet. The thing I'm not proud of is that right after my session I prepared dinner, spaghetti and shrimps, but also had a dessert. I finished the bag of palmito cookies. So not great at all. I'm already cutting down on soda but those desserts aren't helping. It's actually very rare I eat them. I'll have to prepare myself the next time and eat something healthier or just drink water and get through it!

I continued listening to the slight edge, have some difficulties to concentrate at night in bed, just fall asleep. Of course that's because I'm lying in bed with the lights off. Today instead of listening to the radio in the car on the way to work and home, I continued the slight edge. Isn't that easy to be 100% focused on the slight edge when I have to drive. I guess I will build that concentration with time.

 

 

[Laney]

Cold brew might be an option you'd like. It's concentrated coffee, after brewing you keep it in your fridge forever and mix it with water. You can mix it with hot or cold water depending on what you want to drink that day  Sounds similar to what you do already, warming up water and adding the mats. Only difference is you'd have to make the cold brew every so often, or buy it.

Honestly, the sugar in your coffee is a good goal, but quite small compared to soda's and juices. I think it would be easier to quit sugared coffee once you quit overly sugared drinks. (coke and sprite have 9.75 sugar packets each in a can) When I quit I forced myself to take a sip of water every time I had a craving, and now? Water tastes better than actual soda's, and many drinks are too sweet for me at coffee shops and boba places. EXCEPT REALLY HOT DAYS FOR SOME REASON. There's something about a cold soda on a hot day, haha. I just try to drink diet when I do.

And thanks! Going home right now to get my workout outfit on. Let you know how it goes

Edited December 23, 2015 by Laney

[Cam Adair]

<----- official recruiter of the minimal-sugar diet. All are welcome.

Edited December 24, 2015 by Cam Adair

[Django]

I hope you all have a happy christmas!

 

I might try those cold brews. I know my wife has a bottle of coffee in the fridge, she drinks it iced. I'm not a big fan. Yesterday & today I went from 2 to 1.5 sugars. A small step, but a big impact on the calories long term. Stopping soda's isn't difficult for me, I already stopped, only had a sip yesterday, and it didn't taste as good as before.

Talking about a low carb diet, I'm looking into the paleo diet. I had a great weight loss when I was on a keto diet for about a month (had some cravings from my wife's cooking and stopped). Not sure I want to be back on keto though. So Paleo could be a good choice. I don't want to limit myself too much at the same time.

Still exercise each day and the average speed is higher. Feeling it in my legs.

 

I have some free time. Will spend it enjoying time with my son but also continue the journey on personal development. The slight edge is a great (audio) book! I can already pratice with the diet (sugar in the coffee, soda's), fitness, diet in general, and the 10 pages a day.

[Cam Adair]

Glad you're enjoying The Slight Edge.

[Django]

The Slight Edge is helping me gather that motivation burried deep inside at times. It is here, but it needs a trigger to ignite itself sometimes!

I saw a beautiful Marvel calendar. I'm thinking of buying the calendar to use it and cross dates when I did my fitness, and not when I didn't, obviously. And those days where I didn't (not a day yet!) should be exceptions only when ill or really really tired. Riding the exercise bike is not only great for the heart and weight loss, it's also fun. I combine the fitness and watching an episode of a series but it also feels great. It feels great during and after the exercise! Today I did a bit more than 16 miles. The speed has increased, so I had the choice to stop and watch the last minutes of the show on the couch or to continue ... Here again, I applied the slight edge. It was easy to stop, objective was done. But it was also very easy to continue since I was already pedaling and not exhausted (but sweating a lot )

I'm also trying to review my sleeping habits. I'm not a night owl, but since I have a week off, I don't force myself to go to bed early. Well, that has to change. Going to bed earlier instead of mindlessly surfing the internet is my objective. In bed, before sleeping, I can read or listen to an audiobook. Maybe I can also watch interesting videos on youtube (TedX talks for example), but that's a bit more dangerous. The objective here is to wake up early, same hour as if I have to go to work, instead of waking up later. I could use these hours of alone time to do what I really want, and then a let's say 08:00, do the chores, etc ...

Talking about mindlessly surfing : I have installed leechblock. I used this before to block porn from the computer. The problem is that while it is possible to lock the addon completely, it is sometimes useful to add some websites to it. Not always possible to do when lokcing out 24/7 ... right now I didn't set a password. What I did was I set the emergency panic button of nofap as the link to redirect to if I'm trying to go on a forbidden website. http://emergency.nofap.com/

Btw, my forbidden websites aren't restricted to porn. I have put those online web games I was playing in it, and the list will continue to grow in the next days. I'm also trying to limit my time on this forum and others. Right now, I come often to read if there's something new. I could limit my passages here and be more productive.

Sometimes I'm just sitting in the couch and refreshing all the sites/forums where I read content, then doing something else (not important), and then refreshing again. Isn't productive at all. I guess that's called procrastination?

A few wins today:

- I finally went to the car wash! Bought a car in August, didn't clean it until now! The car is white now

- My son (4.5 yrs old) didn't play on his tablet! I hid it, he asked 2 or 3 times but didn't insist.

 

 

[Cam Adair]

Awesome to hear you're enjoying The Slight Edge. One of the reasons why I love it so much is because it helps you understand the framework of how to actually accomplish the things you want to accomplish.

[Django]

I might not post long posts with much content of my days. Like I said, I'm strill in transition, I don't want to rush. I have to prepare myself for the better things to come. Gaming addiction was only the wrong cure to other problems that I can't pinpoint, though one of them is slacking, being lazy, procastrinate, ... call it how you want.

I'm proud I'm still doing my daily hour (average 50 mins) of fitness / cardio.

And, I did it! I woke up at 5.30 am today. It wasn't easy, I put the alarm on snooze, but that inner voice told me, you can do it, don't get back to sleep, wake up now, it will only help.

So I have been drinking my coffee and surfing the forum. On a working day, I would have arrived at work at this time and probably drink my coffee there!

Yesterday, I surfed a bit and looked at a few properties on sale. It's one of my goals. I'm 30 and my wife and I would like to buy a house/appartment in the near future. While we don't have any savings, it's either the time to start now, or to find a bank that is willing to give us a loan for the complete amount, if not more (count +15% of total costs, this includes notary costs, registration costs, etc ...). But here also, I will take the time to inform myself, learn about all the costs, and see what we can do.

It would be a major change, one that I welcome a lot. I'm sure it could free myself as a person to own a house.

[Laney]

Leechblock looks interesting. Honestly I'd block Reddit...it's what I spend most of my time on. Can you set certain times when it's allowed and when it's not?

 

Also coool!! House planning time! If you have a down payment ready for the house, it will make it MUCH cheaper in the long term. So something to think about.

[Ed]

Leechblock looks interesting. Honestly I'd block Reddit...it's what I spend most of my time on. Can you set certain times when it's allowed and when it's not?

Leechblock is great.  You can set specific times when it will block websites. You can set amounts of time for each day. You can even set a combination of specific times and quantity of time.

[Django]

Yes, Leechblock is great at what it proclaims to do : LeechBlock is a simple productivity tool designed to block those time-wasting sites that can suck the life out of your working day. All you need to do is specify which sites to block and when to block them.

Even if I go a lot further and block sites 24/7. There are a few tabs to customize so you can also block some websites only for certain hours etc ...

Regarding a down payment for the house, right now there is none. And if we have to save, we will have to save for a long time to have a significant down payment ready.

I already see one positive and one negarive point regarding finances. When I was playing MMO's, I'd only spend the monthly fee, the expansions, and that's all. I wouldn't invest in other stuff to keep me busy. So it could have been the moment to save. But here comes the negative point : I just didn't think about anything at all but gaming. Do I regret all of that? Honestly, I don't even think about it. I'm just glad it's over and I'm positive for the future, knowing nothing is impossible.

But regardless of all that, saving is still important. If only for the furniture, etc ... We already have loans for both our cars. We aren't struggling, but expense are there for sure. Would have to make a budget and see what is possible, because buying a house / appartment is a big project!

Today I managed to wake up a 05:30. Slight difference with yesterday is that I went from the bed to the couch and slept 2 hours more, haha! Surely, I went to sleep way too late, that's the problem. Will have to work on my sleep pattern and avoid youtube on my smartphone in bed in the evening and just read or listen to an audiobook / podcast.

 

 

 

[Django]

Today has been a weird day. Weird on the positive side. I didn't succeed to wake up at 5:30 although I had already slept for more than 7 hours when the alarm rang. I even had to go to pie at 04:30, which never happens! I usually never pie at night. But for a reason, I stayed in bed, with a positive attitude. I knew for sure that I wouldn't have done something useful in these early hours and I guess my body needed that extra rest.

This doesn't mean I'm not going to wake up at 05:30 tomorrow. I will not try, I'll just do it.

 

For the rest of the day, I have been mostly active, applying the slight edge. I went to the grocery stores with my son, we picked up healthy food but also a few treats for him. We were decided to go to the park afterwards but the dark clouds made us think otherwise. Well, in any case, I was prepared to spend some quality time with my son there and also let him play alone or with other kids. I was prepared, I had my earphones to listen to the audio book.

Well, I listened it at home and wrote down my dreams in detail. Something I'll have to print and read every day and work on those dreams. Well, I prefer to call them objectives actually. Because they aren't big enough to be dreams.

Did my daily fitness session while watching Homeland. Finished season 2 of The Leftovers yesterday, so I'm finishing season 5 of Homeland now.

 

 

Edited January 2, 2016 by Django

[Cam Adair]

Good job with The Slight Edge. Bringing your headphones in case is exactly what you want to do. I always have my headphones on me in case I can sneak in a few minutes of a good audiobook. Helps keep me focused on being my best throughout the day.

[Django]

Back at work since today. A few new challenges on the profesional side of life. That's all good though, because one of my objectives/goals/dreams there is : Being a successful professional at work. This means positive thinking all the time! It's an even bigger chalenge when my direct colleague is a pessimist and wants to leave the job every day (but doesn't do it )

I finished The Slight Edge saturday evening and started the Power of Habits. I read about 10 pages saturday and 90 on sunday. Like it a lot!

My habit of waking up at 5:30 kicked in again. I guess the cue here is a working day, the routine is to wake up at 5:30 and the reward ... happy, not stuck in traffic, being able to leave work at 3:00? I guess that would be it ^^

I'm still doing my fitness sessions each day, but will have to do a medical just to be sure I'm on the safe side. I do my fitness sessions one hour earlier now, this gives me time to breath in the evening. First I thought this would give me time to watch a movie, but I don't want to. One episode of a good show is enough while being on the bike. I enjoy reading the Power of Habits and it's not fiction! I really hope I'll enjoy a lot of more self help or self develoment books.

What is entertainment then, if we enjoy things that aren't classified as entertainment? It's sujective, right?

[Django]

Today I came back from home later than usual. Because of my hard day at work the first thing I did coming home was eating, I was so hungry. This meant I wasn't able to do my fitness session asap, and had to wait. But because I'm so tired, I just decided to take a break. I'm a bit depressed, I guess it's fine since it's been more than 15 days that I do it each day. I guess my body deserves a break. But I enjoy it and I guess it became a habit, so I'm a bit dissapointed.

I'm also feeling a lot tighter in my shirts and pants, and while I know I still have to start reviewing my diet, I just feel like I'm gaining fat instead of losing. I know that I can lose fat easily, I have the willpower. Just don't know where to start. Keto again, or the paleo road, low carb and eating healthy.

I also feel stressed about my new schedule. A day like today, I'm home at 05:30. If I plan to put my son in bed at 08:00, this leaves me only 02:30 time of doing something. And today I just did nothing special. Normally I'm home at 04:00. That 01:30 extra is just HUGE!

Well, I guess I'll feel better tomorrow!

Oh and BTW, not wanting to game at all since I quit. Today I had a talk with a colleague about how stupid it is to buy virtual items in games. It's good I also have non gaming colleagues, without them knowing anything about it, they are helping me ^^

Edited January 6, 2016 by Django