Post: #76

^Great post!

Quote:I'm preaching to the choir here, but the difference between having a high cost of living and a low cost of living boils down to having a DIY mentality. My dad always tried to teach me this and I didn't understand why it was important until I started paying my own bills.

Generally speaking, the conventional method of doing things (paying a mechanic, going out to eat at a restaurant) is the price people are willing to pay so they don't have to learn anything. If a mechanic makes $20 an hour and it takes him three hours to fix your car and you do it in six hours over a couple beers and a youtube video, you just paid yourself $60 to learn how to not need a mechanic.

One habit I've had consistently for the past couple years is that, about once every couple weeks I'll look at an item I use consistently and see if I can somehow make it cheaper in the easiest way possible, or make it more durable in such a way that I'll never have to replace it.

Adopt these habits, fellas, and you'll be your own man at 30/35/40 . . .

Not to derail this thread, but I'm not as optimistic about investing as Mr. MM is, though. I lost 1/2 of my college account money in 2008, my senior year of high school. I think if you're gonna go w/ Vanguard/Index funds, you've gotta be in it for the long haul and not touch the money for several decades, no matter what. Part of me, perhaps irrationally, thinks that investing is just gambling for the upper class. Maybe I just don't know enough about it yet, I dunno . . .

Also, skeptics of the Mustachian route believe that the market won't yield dividends that will allow for a 4% withdrawal rate in the coming years & decades. My favorite opinion on this matter is from Jacob at Early Retirement Extreme who wrote that the best plan for early retirement is just a big pile of cash in your bank account.

In any event, if you can accumulate enough funds to decide to invest or not (or where to invest), you've already won the game.

Post: #77

Habits I've implemented just since starting this thread:

Wake up by 8am without an alarm (Generally about 7:20 now. This is huge. My schedule was so out of whack I was up until daylight most nights trying to sleep. I'm not afraid of 5a.m., by the way, but I've tried it in the past and didn't like going to be so early. Makes me feel old. haha Still thinking about which route I want to go).

Basic morning ritual (includes some meditation and affirmations along with other simple stuff).

Listen to audio of self-talk 3 times a day (From "What to Say When You Talk to Yourself." I believe this has had the biggest impact and seems to be holding the rest of this stuff together).

Finish 4 hours of work by 1 p.m. every day (limiting my entire freelance biz to this time).

Intermittent Fasting with an 8-hour eating window.

Tracking calories in MyFitnessPal (this is temporary for me just to get a better idea of what I eat. I'm also not purposely trying to hit a specific calorie parameter - it's still having benefits of making me more mindful of what I take in. Better choices, smaller portions, less snacking).

Write out to-do list before bed every night (thanks wi30).

Make it a point to go to bed by 11:30pm every night.

By the way, some of these habits were things I did in the past, so it's not all completely new. I got caught up in the party for a while and let all my routines fall apart for a while, so I've been putting it all back together. In any way, this is a solid base to work with.

Every Sunday I think about what I can add for better results, even if it means just tweaking an existing habit a bit more. I'll be adding in some more habits but slowing the pace down down so as not to overdo it.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #78

(02-09-2016 01:33 AM)lukewarmchillin Wrote:  Adopt these habits, fellas, and you'll be your own man at 30/35/40 . . .
. . .
In any event, if you can accumulate enough funds to decide to invest or not (or where to invest), you've already won the game.

I have no idea what Jacob uses, but he says that index funds are the easiest way to go. I know he started by sitting on his bank account, but he did invest after four years of stacking paper. He's had a lot of time to figure out what's best for him, so I'm sure it's probably not exactly what he writes on his blog or in his book.

Older books on financial independence (I can't remember what it was) suggested buying up government bonds and selling them to live off of. The game always changes, I'm sure, but if you have money and a low cost of living, you have many options.

I've adopted the StayFocusd app since reading this thread. Only have 1 hour per day of facebook, youtube, and the RVF. I seem to be getting more done.

Post: #79

(02-09-2016 01:49 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  [snip]
Listen to audio of self-talk 3 times a day (From "What to Say When You Talk to Yourself." I believe this has had the biggest impact and seems to be holding the rest of this stuff together).
[snip]

This is great, and I need to start doing it consistently. I've had either mantras that I say to myself in private areas (like the shower) or written on a piece of paper I put up somewhere. The most difficult thing is having a consistent attitude, and I found no other way to do it.

But, it absolutely changed my life for the better when I was actively doing it.

Post: #80

^ Yeah, this is an over 3-4 minute recording about becoming more organized (but it comes across more as productivity to me). It's in my own voice, and I think that makes it a lot more powerful (as well as the fact that it's outloud). I can send you the script if you want to record it for yourself. I just did it in my phone's little recording app, and I turn it on first thing when I get up in the morning.

I'm currently writing some more on other topics and am going to see how that goes. So far, the organization one has had some mind-blowing results. Way more value than I've ever gotten out of simple affirmations.

It's actually reprogramming my mind to defeat a problem that has at times been debilititating for nearly a decade (if not at least an issue my whole life on some level), and I plan to do it about three weeks to a month and then pull it out for brush ups from time to time. I plan to write a lot more about the experience after I've seen more long-term results.

I do use more simple affirmations with success for focus during workouts and have been doing that a long time. Before my sets, particularly challenging ones, I take some centering breaths and I say in my head, "I'm self-disciplined, focused, and passionate. I'm an elite physical athlete."

During my reps I often say to myself, especially as I near the last few, "Every rep creates me." That means a lot of things to me on different levels. I made a youtube video about this.

I'm also expirementing with financial affirmations in my morning ritual (a la Scott Adams).

One more thing I've expiremented with is what the guy in the "What to Say When You Talk to Yourself" book calls "situational self-talk." I actually started on this after listening to Psycho-cybernetics, but it's essentially the same technique described in both books and will also sound familiar to anyone following the Albert Ellis stuff too.

One example is that in Pyscho-Cybernetics, they talk about when you have a thought that is unproductive, you instantly say "delete" or "cancel" in your head. It's a way to keep guiding your mind back on track the way you want it to go. You don't have to elaborate on the command to yourself because you've already decided what it means.

The delete command really works for me, but I've also put my own spin on the technique (as they urge you to). This is one I use every time I catch myself beating up on myself up about things or when I fall short of my own standards or fail myself at something. Or when I think of something I did or said in the past (or present) that I regret.

It's very simple. Every time I do something I take a quick moment to allow for that imperfection by simply saying in my head, "That's okay." Shitty workout at the gym - that's okay. Memory of some fucked up thing I did that really hurt someone in the past. That's okay. Suddenly dwelling on all things I could have done and never did. That's okay.

It's not excusing me to repeat these things but it's a refusal to get hung up on them. With two quick words I remind myself I'm imperfect just like anyone and reframe my thinking, diverting my attention towards becoming the man I want to be instead of dwelling on the man that I wasn't.

However, this particular "brain command," if you will, seems to have even more power in another type of scenario. Namely, when something outside of my control happens that would normally upset me or test my patience. Someone being late. Wifi blackout. Some asshole making a shitty remark in passing. I drop something and break it. Some dude is laying on his horn while I'm walking down the street. I'm sure you could imagine a hundred more daily irritants.

Normally situations I might let add up and stress me out over a day's time or get me on the wrong track.

But I find that if something is bugging me, I stop myself from letting angry thoughts run off track, say "that's okay," in my head, and move on. Obviously I've done nothing to measure the effect, but so far it seems to have had a huge effect on improving my moods throughout the day.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #81

(01-23-2016 10:31 AM)Phoenix Wrote:  Habit: Clocking my own time. Any productive activity I do for myself, such as language learning or long-term business related work, I clock with an app on my phone. Check in when I start, check out when I stop. It makes the work -- which has no immediate pay off -- more tangible. I didn't "do some work today", I "invested 4 hours 23 minutes in building X". I feel good when I see that tally at the end of a day, and bad if it's just a measly hour. I can see and feel the achievement or laziness respectively.
Result: must be working. A year or so ago, I struggled to scrape together an hour of anything productive -- per week. Now I get a chunk of stuff done almost every day. Other things are contributing to that too though.

I like this a lot. What app are you using to record your time?

Post: #82

^ I used to do this a lot years ago when I was playing online Poker.

Using Excel was the easiest for me. You can make it detailed if you want to track relationships to other things, or just keep it really simple with a date and the amount of time you did on that day. Excel makes it simple to see how much work you're putting in each week or each month.

When I was doing this, smart phones weren't common, so you might want to use Google Spreadsheets now since they easy to share or access from different devices.

Post: #83

(02-10-2016 04:09 AM)Gas Wrote:  

(01-23-2016 10:31 AM)Phoenix Wrote:  Habit: Clocking my own time. Any productive activity I do for myself, such as language learning or long-term business related work, I clock with an app on my phone. Check in when I start, check out when I stop. It makes the work -- which has no immediate pay off -- more tangible. I didn't "do some work today", I "invested 4 hours 23 minutes in building X". I feel good when I see that tally at the end of a day, and bad if it's just a measly hour. I can see and feel the achievement or laziness respectively.
Result: must be working. A year or so ago, I struggled to scrape together an hour of anything productive -- per week. Now I get a chunk of stuff done almost every day. Other things are contributing to that too though.

I like this a lot. What app are you using to record your time?

I track mine in a spreadsheet.

An app could be cool, though. I just did a quick search to see what's available and there are quite a few out there.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #84

Some solid stuff here guys. My habits that I use almost daily:

- Get my ass to the gym 5 times per week even when I dont feel like going
- Combat anxiety and nervousness with deep breathing. I feel much calmer after breathing with my stomach for a few minutes.
- I have never been a fan of cold showers but here in Thailand I dont have a water heater in my apartment so when the weather is a bit cold, the shower gets cold. Was hard in the beginning but I decided to man up it feels like I get really energized from it.
- Cook larger batches of food that lasts several days. Great if you want to eat healthy and not snack junk during the day.
- Read every day. Even if I only have time for 5 minutes I will pick up my book.
- Spontaneously talk with people when out and about.

Post: #85

(01-24-2016 01:25 PM)scorpion Wrote:  In my experience one of the best habits to cultivate is actively maintaining a grateful perspective on life. Literally, count your blessings. Write them down on a list. For maximum benefit, start with the most basic and go from there.

I'm not sure where I bookmarked it, but there was a video talking about studies done related to happiness. This was one of the key things mentioned. Specifically, he recommended adding 3 new things to the list every day.

For me, I keep a separate list of the things I saw as blessings during the months after I lost everything, and nearly died, in a natural disaster. You can get a lot of perspective on the things dragging you down internally when you remember that a couple years earlier, you were grateful to have more than one pair of pants, enough underwear to last a week, and some food and water.

Prior to that, the thing that had the most profound effect wasn't a habit as much as eliminating a useless habit: I got rid of my cable tv. There is very little of value on there, and what is valuable can be found on the internet in less time than it would take to watch it.

Post: #86

For me the single most important habit I have adopted in the past few months is Bright Light Therapy based solely on the advice The Lizard of Oz and the thread he started. Every morning for around 30-45 minutes when I first wake up I sit in front of a special light to help regulate my circadian rhythm. Because of the BLT and several other tips I've incorporated from the forum I now am enjoying a quality of sleep I never dreamed possible. I'm waking up earlier and spending the BLT time planning my day.

Another habit I've added is because I have this new found time to plan my day is that I have a 30-45 minute morning meeting with my employees when I first arrive. I really look forward to my morning meeting so I can catch up with my people and assign them tasks that I expect them to complete. It saves me tremendous time in trying to micro manage and gives them a greater sense of autonomy.

I've been a long time lurker (about 2 years) to this forum and only recently started to post. This forum is great because it's given me a place to learn from other like minded guys who not only want to improve themselves but are actively engaged in doing so. Honestly speaking as a former lurker all you fellas who post are helping others improve their lives. For that I will forever for grateful. Keep the knowledge flowing Brothers.

Post: #87

First, some of the early posts here have brought up habits that have done me a world of good. The pomodorro technique, a set gym schedule, sleeping in a cold room, etc...all good stuff! There's one I haven't seen yet that I'll describe below, to give credit where its due I got the tip from Scott Adam's How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, and implementing it made a clear difference in my productivity as well as enjoyment of work days.

Keystone Habit: Time Daily Tasks to Productive Cycles
The quality of my work depends heavily on daily cycles. I'm at my most creative in the morning and night with a noticeable dip in quality by 1 PM, and if I start the day grinding through repetitive and dull work it'll kill my creativity during that optimum time. To make the most of it, I do the more challenging work (both creative and technical) when I'm mentally at my best and save the grind for when I know I'll be under performing.

Before implementing this habit I spent a while going through my routine and just recording when I was effective and when I wasn't. I quickly saw that if I started on a difficult problem first thing in the morning (say, a bug on some code I was stuck on) I'd often figure it out quickly, while if I tried to start it at 2 PM I was much more likely to spin my wheels the rest of the day...and then end up not solving it until I got up the next morning and tried it during the peak time.

I also noticed that I'd randomly get inspiration hit me at 8 or 9 PM, and if I sat down for just 30 to 60 minutes of work I could blow through a barrier that I might otherwise spend several hours on during the day.

The other pattern is that if I do tedious bookkeeping work, order supplies online, help someone with a problem I don't care about (ie a colleague stuck on an IT issue) etc during my peek creative time, it drains my energy and enthusiasm for doing what I care about and I end up getting far less done throughout the day.

Lastly, I saw that even when I was mentally slowing down by 3 PM, I was more than ready physically to knock back a whey shake and hit the gym. Making myself grind through the work day to an arbitrary 5 PM was a less efficient use of my time than doing a workout in the same period.

Example: My Cycle
Breaking this down, I setup my work days like so:
8 to 11am: Peak creative time. I do the most challenging mental work of the day, and I defer everything else. Minimal email, no wasting time on grunt work, try not to lurk RVF, etc

11am to 1pm: Slowing down. This is a good time for work that takes some focus but not a lot of challenge. This is when I'll catch up on annoying work for other people. When I'm actively doing work for clients and myself at the same time, I'll use this time to work on client projects after using my peak cycle for myself.

1pm to 3pm: Entering the dead period. As long as I'm still getting things done I'll work, yet I focus more on doing grunt work and mindless tasks that don't need concentration and that I can get off my to-do list for when I'm sharp

3pm to 8pm: my time. I hit the gym, get dinner, take downtime, etc. I don't care if it flies in the face of 9-to-5 colleagues, as I know from long experience my productivity is below par and I'm working for the sake of work if I try to force it in.

8pm to 10pm: if an idea hits me I act on it. When I'm writing something I'll sit down to get some paragraphs out, and if it's a coding task I'll work on it until I hit a barrier. I don't force it to the point of stress or frustration, this is bonus time. Even so, just a few sets of it throughout a week adds up fast.

Results
I can never do a traditional job again. Seriously, after getting used to working this way the thought of sitting in an office and pretending to work during business hours sounds like torture. More importantly, I get more work done in less time and am much more relaxed than when I thought I had to work an arbitrary block of time.

By timing the work to my mood and energy levels, I get more challenging and creative tasks out of the way with fewer of those painful times where I banged my head against a wall trying to solve a problem. I also drink less coffee, working with my body's natural energy makes caffeine into more of a treat than a requirement.

One unexpected change is that working weekends started feeling natural instead of something I had to force. I've come to like getting up Sat and Sun., working during my peak time (on my projects, of course), then stopping once I enter the slowing down cycle. It doesn't feel like a burden because I'm only working while it feels natural and comfortable.

I also bet if I worked just that 3 hour peak period 7 days a week, the productivity of those 21 hours would beat most 9-to-5er's "40".

Before adapting this habit I struggled to both do client work and keep momentum on my own projects. Getting this habit down lets me pace what my clients expect while still making significant progress on my goals.

Post: #88

Recently. Don't work for the sole point of working.

I find I get more done when I try to accomplish a task. Rather than spend X hours doing X.

Brought down stress levels too.

Post: #89

My most powerful recent habit: Simplification of daily expenditures.

The Problem

I am someone who has aspirations of keeping my finances in check and building up a significant savings cushion. However, actually achieving this goal is another matter. I previously tried some of the online expenditure apps and made excel spreadsheets to track spending but could never stick with the habit.

Why is this? For me at least, consciously thinking about every little purchase or expenditure is too unpleasant. It makes me stressed. It makes me beat myself up about buying things. It also takes away precious time and energy from more productive endeavours.

Let's always remember a central concept:

Time = Money

Tracking each pack of gum or bus ticket purchased is NOT a productive use of time. With respect to a previous poster, neither is turning to DIY (unless you actually enjoy it which is different).

This is time that you could be using to make more money or self-improve. It's an unnecessary mental drain. OK then, but to maximize savings you still have to limit spending somehow right? So what is my approach?

My daily habit explained

I casually mentioned doing this to BB offline and perhaps didn't fully flesh out the habit. It's so simple as to appear foolish - but there is solid logic behind it.

SPEND ONLY THE CASH IN YOUR WALLET

- Each day, place a fixed amount of cash into your wallet. That is your budget for the day.

- As an example, I currently live in Bangkok. In my experience, around $20 in my wallet easily covers all daily expenses and then some. This includes food, groceries, cafes (I work online) and transport. $20 x 31 = $620 monthly. That's a nice low average spend per month. You will obviously want to adjust this amount as per your location.

- Stick to a realistic daily amount. Not so little that you will be miserable, but not so high that you are wasting money. If in doubt, start out slightly higher to ingrain the habit. You can always bring the amount down slightly at a later point.

As an example of this last point, I could probably lower my daily spend to $10 in Thailand and get away with it. Why set it at $20? Don't I want to save more money? From personal experience, I have found that going too low starts to make me think too much about money again. It makes me feel guilty about "unnecessary spending" such as taking a taxi when I'm tired. The simplified "CASH IN WALLET" approach gives me some breathing space. The only relevant question is "Do I have enough money on me?" If so, I can do whatever I feel like without any guilt or negative repercussions.

- If, at the end of the day, you have some money left over then keep it in your wallet for the next day. The money placed in your wallet is for spending and nothing else.

- Conversely, it's 7pm and there's no food at home but you already spent all your cash? Tough luck. Go to bed on an empty stomach tonight. Trust me, it won't kill you.

- Leave your credit card at home. It makes overspending too easy.

- Note that this habit does not include paying for bills or other unavoidable expenditures. It's just for putting daily spending on autopilot.

The benefits

I have applied this approach for a couple of months now and it is already boosting my bank balance. The technique also saves on both time and energy as well as lowering my stress levels. The concept is similar to that of wearing the same clothes everyday (ala Steve Jobs). It preserves your limited attention for the things that matter.

You can still spend more sometimes - for example, I take out a bit more money before a date and make a note of it somewhere. If I tried to strictly adhere to daily limits without exception then I'd be dating a lot less women. The idea is to limit spending for a normal day, not to become obsessed with money.

The same concept goes for planned purchases. As men, if we are buying some new clothes or a phone then it's not usually on impulse (a critical difference between the sexes, I think). This comes separately from your daily spend. Simply make a note of this purchase for your records.

So, if you want to go to Vegas for a friend's stag weekend then go ahead. All you need to do is simply note this extra item down for your records. Don't sweat the small stuff, but put a cap on your daily spending.

Let me know if there are any questions!

Post: #90

Thanks for the posts guys! I got some excellent ideas from this thread.

For me, doing meditation regularly.

I went on a 7 day silent retreat, and actually had a bad experience with it a few years ago. I had never tried it before the retreat. Then, about a year later, I started to do it in my day to day life, and it was life changing.

It really helped me to get perspective and establish priorities, to be more relaxed, and to do better with work, because of an improvement of patience, focus, and self awareness, I think.

I'm wondering, have any members actually tried meditation for a period of 60 days or more, 20 minutes per day or more, and had negative results with it? I'm very interested in hearing about anyone who has done this and if they have a negative or positive experience with it.

Post: #91

(02-23-2016 05:22 PM)esalen1 Wrote:  Thanks for the posts guys! I got some excellent ideas from this thread.

For me, doing meditation regularly.

I went on a 7 day silent retreat, and actually had a bad experience with it a few years ago. I had never tried it before the retreat. Then, about a year later, I started to do it in my day to day life, and it was life changing.

It really helped me to get perspective and establish priorities, to be more relaxed, and to do better with work, because of an improvement of patience, focus, and self awareness, I think.

I'm wondering, have any members actually tried meditation for a period of 60 days or more, 20 minutes per day or more, and had negative results with it? I'm very interested in hearing about anyone who has done this and if they have a negative or positive experience with it.

For me meditation is praying the Rosary daily (Catholic). I have been doing this for 5 and a half years and it has had a positive effect on my life.

Post: #92

(02-23-2016 05:22 PM)esalen1 Wrote:  Thanks for the posts guys! I got some excellent ideas from this thread.

For me, doing meditation regularly.

I went on a 7 day silent retreat, and actually had a bad experience with it a few years ago. I had never tried it before the retreat. Then, about a year later, I started to do it in my day to day life, and it was life changing.

Bad how? Could you share a bit more? I have previously considered doing a retreat.

Post: #93

(02-24-2016 04:26 AM)dreambig Wrote:  

(02-23-2016 05:22 PM)esalen1 Wrote:  Thanks for the posts guys! I got some excellent ideas from this thread.

For me, doing meditation regularly.

I went on a 7 day silent retreat, and actually had a bad experience with it a few years ago. I had never tried it before the retreat. Then, about a year later, I started to do it in my day to day life, and it was life changing.

Bad how? Could you share a bit more? I have previously considered doing a retreat.

Not being able to talk, read, and write for 7 days can be pretty intense, emotionally and mentally. And when you have never done meditation, to do it in 45 minute sessions on and off all day is very difficult for 7 days. For most people, just doing one 45 minute sit is very difficult if they are not experienced.

It was pretty crazy the first time, but very rewarding, so all in all, I'm glad I did it.

PM me if you want to know more details than that

Post: #94

The habits,
1) Intense and sustained physical activity.
2) Use travel time between activities for multiple purposes.
3) Mental preparation before activities.
4) Spend 5 minutes per day outside, consciously breathing the fresh air.
5) Spend 5 minutes per day feeling the sun on my face.
6) Spend 5 minutes per day floating in the water.
7) Using sleep as something other than 4-8 hours of unconsciousness.

Daily - When I am on land

Up at 4 AM
-Triple S (shit, shave, shower (brief rinse)).
-Eat something light, drink 100% natural orange juice.
-2-3 minutes mental preparation for the day as a whole and for the morning specifically.
-Drive to the pool. Use this time to mentally rehearse (in detail) the up -coming training session.
-Chat with the swimmers and coaches for 10-20 minutes as we stretch.
-On the blocks and in the water at 4:59 as morning practice begins at 5:00 on days with weights, in the gym with the team at 5:00 and then in the water at 5:45 or 6:00.
-Hammer in the pool with the team from 5:00 - 7:00 (7:30) or 8:00 (8:30); depending on weights and the intensity of practice.
-Drive back to the house. Use this time to organize and prepare for morning errands and projects.
-Eat something light (especially fruit) and rehydrate. Do odds and ins around the house for 30-45 minutes and eat a hardy breakfast.
-Rest, do errands, work on a project. This is a very productive time of day for me.
-Eat a moderate lunch.
-Rest or continue with project (s).
-2-3 minutes mental preparation for the afternoon
-Drive to the pool. My focus is general stronger now and I can split time between mental rehearsal for practice and gaming the female swimmers.
-Chat with the swimmers and coaches for 10-20 minutes as we stretch, practice some game.
-On the blocks and in the water at 2:59 as afternoon practice begins at 3:00 on days with dry-land and training, start the circuit with my group at 2:15-2:30 and then in the water 3:00. I practice gaming during dry-land training.
-Get hammered in the pool by the team from 3:00 to 5:00 or 5:30. Practice game with the hotties after practice. I am exhausted, but euphoric and in a great mindset to gorilla.
-Drive home – Mental preparation for evening activities and logistics.
-Eat something light and rehydrate, contact friends and family, e-mail, phone, etc. Eat first dinner (moderate with lots of vegetables and high protein).
-Begin evening activities with social contact (physical), reading, writing, sometimes more electronic activity after which I eat my second dinner. This is followed by more social contact, reading, meditation, martial arts or an occasional movie. After this, there is often a third (light) dinner. Logistically prepare for the next day followed by meditation and mental programming to use my sleep as something other than unconscious activity.

Rinse and repeat with Saturday PM being open as well as all day Sunday.

I have another routine (and its associated habits) for Surfing and another for Sailing.

Post: #95

(02-24-2016 04:26 AM)dreambig Wrote:  

(02-23-2016 05:22 PM)esalen1 Wrote:  Thanks for the posts guys! I got some excellent ideas from this thread.

For me, doing meditation regularly.

I went on a 7 day silent retreat, and actually had a bad experience with it a few years ago. I had never tried it before the retreat. Then, about a year later, I started to do it in my day to day life, and it was life changing.

Bad how? Could you share a bit more? I have previously considered doing a retreat.

Hey dreambig and esalen1.

This is about a guy who did a retreat to the wilderness for six months.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/norw...-1.3365743

Post: #96

This week I've started to implement new habits that will hopefully make me into the disciplined and confident man that I know I can be. Cold showers in the morning and 5-10 mins of meditations before bed and when I wake up. I've started with these few simple changes because in the past I've tried to change many things at once and I ended up relapsing. Also, I have started to do positive self-talk first thing when I walk into the bathroom. I say things like "I'm the shit. The GOAT. I'm a great and confident man who can accomplish any and everything I set my mind to". I've only been at it for a few days, and admittedly I felt stupid for doing. But my mind and it's thoughts have always been my worse enemy. It is the sole reason why I don't have the life that I want right now. If I can conquer and control it I know everything will work out just fine.

Post: #97

(02-23-2016 05:22 PM)esalen1 Wrote:  Thanks for the posts guys! I got some excellent ideas from this thread.

For me, doing meditation regularly.

I went on a 7 day silent retreat, and actually had a bad experience with it a few years ago. I had never tried it before the retreat. Then, about a year later, I started to do it in my day to day life, and it was life changing.

It really helped me to get perspective and establish priorities, to be more relaxed, and to do better with work, because of an improvement of patience, focus, and self awareness, I think.

I'm wondering, have any members actually tried meditation for a period of 60 days or more, 20 minutes per day or more, and had negative results with it? I'm very interested in hearing about anyone who has done this and if they have a negative or positive experience with it.

5 years, missed under 10 sessions. The benefits are more noticable when you're not doing meditation then when you are.

Post: #98

1. Bright Light Therapy.
2. African Black Soap + Shea Butter for skin health.
3. Deleting facebook app from phone. I've basically weened myself off facebook using this method.
4. Keeping my phone on mute (completely silent, no vibration). Keeps me from getting distracted.
5. Lifting heavy with compound lifts often.

Post: #99

- Read one book per week (non-fiction)
- Workout five-days per week
- Eat healthy
- Limit phone use; one hour before bed, I shut off phone + computer and TV to read
- Facebook + Social media reduction; social media does more harm than good, and I've seen massive benefits even reducing my time spent on social media by a couple hours
- I've been trying to meditate twice daily, but it's been once daily for a couple of months. Ideally, I'd like to get back to doing it one in the morning, and once at night.

Post: #100

(02-07-2016 01:19 PM)Hannibal Wrote:  This month I'm switching my plan to Ting. I could go with VoIP, but I don't want the last thing I see after flipping my car into a ravine to be "Network Unavailable". So I'm going with the phone plan.

I don't own a smart phone, so my phone bill should go from $31.56 (thanks Obama) to $15 a month or less. Ting only charges you based on what you use, instead of charging a flat rate to subsidize the smartphone addiction of everyone else. So that right there is $180-$220 a year I didn't spend.

An update on the Ting plan. I might be phone illiterate, but I could not get the SIM card to work with my current brick phone, so I ended up buying a smart phone.

Coverage is comparable to Verizon.

As far as "cost savings", I went from a $30 dumb phone plan to a variable rate smartphone plan that I could whittle down to $12 a month easily. My bill was $21 this month because I'm phone illiterate and used up a lot of data when I could have been using Wifi.

Compared to what I was paying, the current plan will pay for the phone in about six months. Win-win-win.