Using Siri’s announce notifications is super helpful to me. Discuss :)
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redditLemmy until I hate myselfworkout at the gym until I’m satisfied/exhausted
maintain no schedule whatsoever
eat whenever I want but only healthy things because I’m nutritionally intelligent
keep no schedule whatsoever
sleep whenever I want, for as long as I want
repeat. As long as there’s no schedule involved.
Finally a sane person I can relate to!
All of the mechanisms others are describing I totally get, but I can never maintain a routine/habit like that after it stops being new - I use various things others mentioned but then after a while & very abruptly/instantly I completely erase most associations with that not-yet-habit.
Eg I have some medicine I have to take daily and in order to take it most days I must keep changing the not-really-habit to keep it fresh - in this case I keep moving where (in the open) I keep the pills every few weeks (or when I casually notice I forgot to take them for like 5 days).
I do indulge myself with variable sleep schedule a lot, trying to manage that (for decades) was not worth the stress (and even much less the benefits of trying to fit in with neurotypical folk). Same with food - if I don’t feel like eating for a day I just don’t, and when I’m hungry I absolutely try to eat whatever I want bcs that’s usually actually very healthy/nutritious food I want. But for both these things I’m lucky my situation allows me to do so.
That thing about eating 3 (or even 5) meals a day is just corporate (industrial) propaganda to maintain fixed schedules in the factories, it’s less than 200 years old. In some medical cases (eg type 1 diabetes, liver issues, etc) sure, but Im also sure that, like with exercise, you get some endorphins when your liver goes to work into the opposite direction bcs you depleted short-term energy reserves (various carbohydrates in blood and liver?).
- anytime I sign up for a subscription thing, I cancel instantly (if the service allows you to use it until the end of the time you paid for) That way I get the thing for the month I am most likely to use it and then my interest and subscription run out within weeks from each other.
- I found a friend with ADHD and when I get overwhelmed filling out documents, they are there to help me through. I try and do the same. I can deal better with forms other people have to fill out - maybe because my own stakes are lower, so it’s not so stressful.
- when I’m good, I try to make todo lists. The granularity of items is roughly proportional to emotional investment, i.e. how stressful starting it will be. They look vastly different in size (e.g. open the email, find the information, … vs. clean the entire apartment — maybe not the best example, but I hope it gets the idea across)
- I currently use an app called Finch for things I want to do regularly. I get points for doing them. I also have a task for the end of the day to write down what I didn’t do and why without judgement… just to see if there are patterns.
- I “listen” to podcasts to calm down my own thoughts. It helps me concentrate on tasks. I don’t normally end up paying any attention to the podcast.
How is Finch going as far as longevity? I feel like I’ve used about a million different types of habit trackers or whatever and I use them for about a week and then get annoyed at having to do it every day. I always want so badly to keep up with them because data and trends/patterns over time is just super interesting to me, but they just never work out 😞
Replace mindless entertainment with enriching entertainment. E.g. YouTube video essays, lectures, history podcasts, DuoLingo, Anki, Brilliant, artsy/niche movies/games, etc. Always be learning something, even if you’ll never need it. Try to limit yourself to memorable, unique, or mind-opening content.
It’s no fix, but it trains your brain to be able to wait just a little longer for its dopamine. Also you get to feel like you’re sort-of achieving something, not just losing time every time your impulsive brain takes over.
I’m intermediate level in 3 languages, know a shit ton of science, and have played thousands of unique indie games. Is any of this useful? lol no. But do I feel accomplished and in control of some big parts of my life? Hell yes.
On a similar note, I find NewPipe and Lemmy help a lot because they let you “bottom out”.
Like, once you watch the recent videos from your subscribed channels on NewPipe… that’s it. The feed just yells “hey, yeah, there’s nothing interesting left in the feed cause you watched it all! Go do something!” Compared to the twitter/youtube/tiktok being like “yeah here’s your timer/sleep-reminder or whatever… BTW 😏, did you see the title of this crazy irrelevant interesting event that everyone is talking about”
Lemmy has been kinda the same way as NewPipe. I can sort by recent on my subscribed communities and actually go through ALL the new posts.
I never expected it, but theres also a kind of satisfaction in knowing I’ve seen all of it; similar to clearing out an email inbox. I think really helps for getting my brain to not doomscroll. Still happens but feels managable instead of depressing.
Alexa for short term reminders and a calendar for long term reminders. I will forget my own funeral if I don’t have it written down somewhere.
