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When i have no plan for the day i will often remain in my room and become itchy and depressed. today i relearned that no plan is necessary to just force an exit first, get a coffee etc., and that then by way of the indoor=>outdoor state change plans or loose intentions can solidify. just one initial action can be parlayed into a series of other meaningful actions
Related Recs
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figuring out the small things i can do that i know will make me feel at least 5% better has been so helpful to build momentum throughout my day.
some of mine:
groggy -> coffee, go outside and walk around, or a mini nap
lethargic/irritable -> taking a shower and deep breaths, opening a window
sad -> get sunlight, stand outside for ten minutes, hug my cat
anxious/unable to focus -> writing a brain dump of everything that’s on mind or cbt journaling
unable to sleep -> reading a book
bored -> create/output something (input(watching/listening to/reading something, scrolling on my phone) vs output(making something, writing my thoughts on something i watched, trying something new))
bloated -> ginger tea, activating pressure points, yoga
uninspired -> revisiting something formative, figuring out the unexplored territories in my taste and going into them, looking through my collection of art books
Oct 19, 2024
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once I realized that most days I spent entirely at home made me feel awful when they should make me feel rested, I started making a point of getting out of the house on days where I have nothing planned. you can really go anywhere as long as it's a place that you're comfortable and can waste some time in. I would usually go to a coffee shop and do homework/browse the web on my laptop, which I could just as easily do at home but it felt better than doing it there because I actually had to get up, get ready, get outside, and interact with people even if minimally. it just helped me stay grounded.
nowadays if i have to stay home I make a point to force myself to get up at a normal time (sleeping until past noon will make you feel like you can't do anything because it's already so late you migh as well just stay in) and do something creative, usually that helps the time fly if you get engrossed in it for a while. having a hobby is a great timesink that actually feels productive.
if the weather is nice, just go outside and take it in. if you can walk around your part of town, just putting on music an meandering can be a good way to get familiar with your area or find something new to try. I'm a fan of biking so if there's a pedestrian trail in your city just get on and ride. I've found that putting on music and going at a chill pace I can end up wasting hours taking in the sights and vibing and actually get some excercise too.
in general, moving around and getting out are huge. you don't even need to be doing anything ""productive"". but if you must stay inside, get out of the bedroom and find an activity you can get lost in for a while, stimulate your mind a bit.
May 6, 2024
đź—“
the work-eat-scroll-sleep-repeat pattern had me in a chokehold for ~3 years after I graduated from college, realized that a large part of the reason I struggled to break the cycle was because I’d want to “rest” after work but eventually do something enriching in the evenings, but didn’t actually have an idea of what I wanted to do so the lift to get off [app] was less willpower and more decision paralysis; the friction of figuring out what to do was what was keeping me in the cycle ~90% of the time.
what has worked for me:
1. going outside immediately after work (especially if working from home) to run an errand or go to a book or record or coffee shop
2. keeping a list of projects i want to / am currently working on or skills i want to develop and making progress on those
3. reading a book
4. (most effective) taking a class (writing, pottery, filmmaking for me) and either going to the sessions or doing the assignments
but also sometimes you literally just wanna rot and that’s cool too!
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i tried a couple different ways to structure my time:
1. daily timeblocking (3*/10): setting 5-6 to wind down; 6-7 for dinner; 7-9 for enrichment; etc… didn’t work at all for me. too structured.
2. theming days: (5*/10): mondays are for reading; tuesdays writing; etc… worked slightly better but sometimes you wanna do a different thing than the theme, introduces decision paralysis of whether to power through to build routine or to follow your instincts and have max fun
3. big list: (7*/10): here are all my projects (and subtasks) or hobbies or chores or errands i want to do; i give them a number score of how urgently i want to do them, then do the one i want to do most thats higher priority. bonus points if at the start of the week or month, you put some activities on a calendar for specific days even randomly to just have a schedule when you don’t have something you’re particularly called to do so that’s your default activity and not scrolling. works the best*!
(*for me)
Jan 16, 2025
Top Recs from @vivian
Delicious burritos and tortas, also there are juices
I recommend the brisket burrito
It is very beautiful inside, no 2d image can capture the optical lushness and scale of the real environment but here is a photograph that conveys at least partial representation of the colors and menu density (the entire restaurant looks like this)
Jan 12, 2024
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you can see on one side the sunset in one large beautiful glow backing the city image , and on the other side you can also see the apposite roseate light in lozenges against the beams of the bridge. looking back and forth is pleasant, and easy if seated perpendicular to the walls of the train. and soon after getting off the train to meet adrian in chinatown you will no longer remember seeing this and being happy until the next morning when on the N train slightly post-sunrise reforming the association from a similar experience on the same bridge
Dec 22, 2023
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this is a totally inward and wordless thing i find myself doing on transit (in periods when i am confused about myself). An anticipatory heterosexual practice and preparatory exercise in terms of returning to new york. where there is daily opportunity for this. I am recommending this while in the bus bathroom which is a mobile and speckled portapotty essentially. This “passes the time”
Dec 29, 2023