If you haven’t done so, I recommend you go read my Year29 post. I go over in detail this experiment that I am doing for my 29th year on this earth. I would say that so far things are going well, and I have a few observations.
- I no longer have the urge to open up Facebook and Instagram every time I see my phone. I have been off of both of these for a little over two months now, but I don’t find myself reaching for the spot where both of these apps were installed on my phone. I have less of a desire to get updated on what is going on in people’s lives, and I have been aware of how much time I am not wasting mindlessly scrolling.
- I am more present. Without having the constant draw to time-wasting social media and apps or games, I find myself more engaged with my wife and kids. In the past, I would find myself re-scrolling through the same updates to pass the time until bedtime, and now I find it easier to leave the phone on the counter.
- I sit and think about the most random things. Today I found myself sitting on the kitchen floor trying to deduce which part of a wall was load bearing and if I could move our island out two feet further to open the space up more. Then I noticed the pin nails in our island and the fill that was used to cover them up and I started thinking about if someone built this piece by piece or if it was a kit and if I were to build it where would I start and what would my order of operations be. Random for sure.
- I am better at verbalizing and understanding my needs. I go to bed early. I drink more water. I eat enough and avoid snacking. This is because I can’t fill these voids with mindless inputs. Without having all of these distractions, I can actually focus on what I need and what is best for me.
- I am dreaming a lot more. I mean literally. I dream way more at night now. Maybe I never noticed it in the past, but I have multiple dreams every single night. Perhaps this is my creative subconscious starting to wake up now?
- I feel bored and stir crazy a lot. I feel like I don’t know what to do with myself. I made this public declaration on my birthday so officially for ten days I have not:
- Watched a tv show. The two-hour season finale of The Blacklist, you have been missed…
Played a game. Strategy games and Bloons Tower Defense 6 used to be my jam. - Been on Facebook or Instagram. I found out today that two of my friends had their wedding and I totally forgot one of my good friends birthdays. Sorry, Jared, Megan and I will visit you and the girls one of these days!
- Read a news article. Was there collusion? Is winter ever ending? Did Elon tweet something stupid? I guess I’ll have to ask someone in real life if I want the answers to life’s mysteries.
- Listened to a podcast or audiobook. Talk about silent car rides. This is the one thing I have to come to terms with. Hours in the car with no inputs. I’ve allowed myself some Spotify in the car, and I have been on a fairly significant Elton John and Billy Joel kick lately.
- No “interest” research. What is the best way to build a home golf net? What is the difference between the Bushnell series of binoculars and what do the reviews say? With random thoughts comes rabbit-hole internet searching. Lately, I’ve just let these thoughts come and go until I decide to figure something out in person myself. I have cut out the “Just in case” information.
- Watched a Youtube video. I had a fair amount of people that I subscribed to. Woodworkers, Daily vloggers, Magicians (Chris Ramsay is amazing), golfers, cooking channels and other interests of mine. What I like about this is that Youtube used to be a natural draw for me, let’s go see what other people are doing. It was a place where I could see other people trying new things and taking risks. This was a significant place where I took in all of the other things that other people were doing and one of my primary motivators for Year29.
- Watched a tv show. The two-hour season finale of The Blacklist, you have been missed…