I'm compiling a list of things to abstain from for at least a 2 week period. The goal is to make reading books and doing work fun and more effortless again. The more complete I get the list, the better I expect it to work. So who's got things to add? Reading comments Participating in discussions YouTube and watching any video except the ones in the course I'm doing and the videos in the exercise app I'm using Netflix (already quit) Coffee Sugar Alcohol (very occasional use) Smoking (only messed up one time this year) Texting (except maybe once every 2 days so people don't freak out. Or call a friend during a break instead of texting) Social media (never liked it) Dating apps (already quit) inspired by this guy: EDIT: added suggestions Fast to kick it off. I'll try to go 3 days because I feel like my body needs it PMO Tea (tea with caffeine) Video games (don't play them anyway) Podcasts: Love, love, love Joe Rogan Experience. Can definitely survive 2 weeks without though Audiobooks: Nothing wrong with them but I tend to use them for multitasking and that's not congruent with this goal Sex: I'm also not going to have sex. I'm not actively dating anyone atm anyway, but should the situation present itself, I'm going to abstain Processed food: I'm going to do a simple diet where I only include some basic trusted ingredients like leafy greens, eggs, fish, rice, potatoes, oil and spices, not much else. Gonna figure that one out in more detail before I start Going shopping just to look at cool things (not my thing anyway but included for thoroughness) EDIT2: added things from alex becker's video Dating! I just realised that 'no sex' is not enough, because the entire game of sending messages back and forth with a girl I just met, and wondering whether she likes me and whatnot, it occupies SO much of my brain space, that I really don't get how in the past I believed I could get things done.
I'm not really dating people anyway, but to make a conscious choice about it seems a good way to not even worry about it at all (should I be dating?) Replacement activities for me: Going for walks in nature Reading and taking notes Fiddling with guitar Calling/seeing friends Yeah I'm going to minimize the bullshit texting each other links to videos, and replace it with real human interaction. Some people like Alex becker seem to be able to live without talking to friends. I intuitively sense that I should not attempt this, talking to friends keeps me sane. Note that I am an introvert and if I talk to a friend every 2 days, that's a lot. But I'm not going to decrease that.