Do something!

    Replacing bad with good habits

    Use this list as inspiration. 

    A collection of entrypoints.
    If something sparks your interest, follow the rabbit hole, search machines will be your friend. 😉

    Social Media

    Limit your usage of social media

    • Social media feeds you a constant stream of the “best of” your friends, the world.. but life is not a best of. If you compare every day reality life to a constant “best of”, reality will look disappointing. Understand this fact! 
    • It is ok to use social media, it’s part of modern life. But stop mindless scrolling!
      Assign a fixed timeframe like 30 minutes.
      Use that time to actively, happily check your stuff and browse.
      And when the timer rings, you’re done. Move on with your day!
      Worldwide average of time spent daily on social media: 2hours 27 minutes.
      Can you really honestly say “I have no time!” 
    • No “impulse” checking throughout the day! Simply move the social media icons on your smartphones away from their usual place. To a less used sidescreen. It stops your autopilot and makes it into a decision.
    • disable nofications. They kill your focus every single time. Check for news on YOUR terms.
    • Consume less news. The brain is not meant to be bombarded with the “best of bad things worldwide” constantly. So much of it is irrelevant in your daily life, it has no direct influence or you can’t change anything about it. Stop burdening your mind with bad things that are out of your control.
      The small act of kindness, the love of a mother, smiling with someone, a belly laugh – that’s not newsworthy – but it’s what makes life beautiful. Sometimes happiness is easier to find in the small details of life, even when the big picture is clouded.

    Productivity

    Want to get shit done? Make it easier!

    • 3-2-1-go! t’s as simple as that. Thinking about a task you should be doing?
      Loudly count 3-2-1 and GO get up, doing it.
      It’s a simple but effective method to quickly gain momentum.  Give it a try!
      3,2,1 Go!
    • Just start – forget finishing. “I’ll just do this for 1 minute, with the option to stop anytime.” 
      Starting is the hardest part. By knowing that you can quit in a minute, it becomes a lot easier. 
      And once you started, it’ll be easier to continue than to stop.
    • Make use of a timer, if you are easily distracted or loose track. Make it easy! 
    • Having the cheapest google assistant/alexa is great for that. You just say “set 30 minute timer”, done. Thinking of something? “Remind me to call mom and say I love her tonight at 8.” “add milt to my shopping list”.. 

    Clean space

    The cleaner your surroundings are, the easier it is to focus and to start on the things that matter. But doing chores is hard. Or is it?

    • Do tasks when waiting, make them into mini-games. Cooking tea/coffee? Let’s see if you can empty the dishwasher before the water boils. Waiting for the bus? Do a few flexes. Microwaving? You got 2:30 minutes to vacuum the living room. (or to prepare the living room for vacuuming in the next mini-waiting-game.
    • Never leave a room emtpy handed. There’s always a small thing that’s not where it’s supposed to be. Look around before leaving a room. Use post-it reminders at each door, until the habit is formed.
    • 30 minutes of daily cleaning during waiting times can do a lot!
    • Everything you have needs its own default place. If the same stuff keeps accumulating un-ordered, that stuff needs a default place. Get more drawers, racks – it’s incredible how much stuff can fit orderly into a small cupboard with lots of drawers.
    • Create open ends to pick up. Make it easy to get started. You like painting? Have a space where everything is set. If motivation strikes, having to prepare to get going keeps you from just diving into it!
      Think of future you, being thankful to past you for making it nice to start. Do a favour to future you and set the stage early. You guys should be best friends!

    Health

    • So many people are constantly dehydrated, causing them to feel tired and exhausted. If that sounds familiar, commit to drinking 0.5 gallon of water per day. Get a large bottle and set alarms. Try for one week and observe the changes.
    • Our bodies are not meant to always be sitting, glued to screens. Move regularly! Set a little timer for every hour, get up, stretch. Open the window, take a few deep breaths. Drink water. Return refreshed.
    • Go out into nature! Take a walk every day. A walk through the forest keeps your brain happy, it provides dopamine through novelty input from the contrantly changing flora.
      You’ll be in the now. Or think through your unresolved thoughts until you arrive in the now.
      You get fresh oxygen. And movement. It’s a win win. Also, coming home feels good!
    • Air out your room several times per day. Replace all air by opening windows wide to create a draft if possible. 5-10 minutes bursts are better than constant small opening.
    • Eat good stuff! Start cooking simple meals yourself. Cut down on processed food. Cooking is easy to learn, it’s fun and tasty, and it’s healthier on top. Start with one new simple self cooked dish per week, build your own database of tasty stuff (aka recipe book)

    Fitness

    Less masturbation and more Mindgasm buildup will make you more energetic. 
    If you don’t make use of this energy, you’re likely to fall back into old masturbation habits. Here’s how to take care of the energy surplus in the best way:

    • whenever the urge to masturbate hits, get up, do as many pushups as you can. (even if it’s just 1. Or sit-ups if push-ups are too much.
    • Want to do sports at home, but not waste money on equipment? Check youtube calisthenics or jogging. Or cycling.
    • Try going to the gym for one month. (get a single month first, no long contract, make the best of the month and decide to commit at the end. 
      Alternatives: Go swimming, learn boulder, what local sports organizations are there? Volleyball, soccer.. find something you like, meet new people!
    • Daily, short showers – to stay clean obviously. The cold as you can take it. You’ll feel warm afterwards, promised, it sets your into active mode. Easy mode: You can start with a warm shower for cleaning and just turn it down quickly for the last 5 seconds, same effect.
    • if you keep gaining weight (or if underweight, struggle to gain) start counting calories. Find out the calories to keep your body alive when doing nothing. It’s called your basal metabolic rate.