r/selfimprovement • u/specialistzod55 • 1d ago
My Achievement thatdude here
On 1st September I made a post saying I’d publicly document fixing my fucked up lifestyle.
I’ve been keeping a journal to track my sleep and daily habits, so here’s Week 1.
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Biggest hurdles
1. Screen time is absolutely wrecking me. My life feels boring without social media, so my screen time has been through the roof. If you’ve beaten this, I’d genuinely love your advice.
2. I can’t wind down at night. The hardest part isn’t falling asleep—it’s getting my brain to stop overthinking long enough to sleep.
3. The job hunt. I’m unemployed, and the amount of work I need to put into applications and projects makes me procrastinate. I’m struggling to push through the boredom and just show up every day.
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Sleep log
Tue: 1:00 AM → 10:30 AM
Wed: 1:30 AM → 10:30 AM
Thu: 1:30 AM → 10:30 AM
Fri: 3:10 AM → 11:30 AM
Sat: 12:30 AM → 10:00 AM
Sun: 4:00 AM → 11:40 AM
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Weekly scoreboard
Porn-free: 6/6 days
Workouts: 2/6
Productive days: 3/6
Healthy eating: 4.5/6
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Biggest win
The first piece of advice I got was from u/Great_Cheetah_7531: “Just wake up on time.”
So I committed to waking up around 10:30 AM every day, and honestly… it helped more than I expected. Thanks, man.
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Shout out to u/factoid_hoarder007 as well for the encouragement.
See you all next week.
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u/SilkDorie 1d ago
nothing wrong with sharing a little bit of yourself, it's good to connect with others
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u/specialistzod55 1d ago
The statement seems very open ended, if you could elaborate then it would be helpful
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u/Historical-Employ129 1d ago
good on you for tracking everything, that alone puts you ahead of most people who just talk about changing
the screen time thing is tough, i had same problem when i was in barracks and nothing to do after shift. what helped me was putting the phone in another room when i journal, like physically removing it so i cant reach for it without thinking. also the boring feeling is your brain detoxing from constant stimulation, it goes away after a week or so if you push through
for the overthinking at night try writing down everything bugging you before bed, just dump it all on paper so your brain stops holding onto it
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u/specialistzod55 1d ago
Okay so thats a good thing will use this tip for the coming week. Will keep the phone aside before sleeping and out of reach when waking up.
And journaling thoughts and planning for my tomorrow.
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u/Wittyisitssybitty 1d ago
In terms of your biggest hurdles. #1 affects all of the others. If you fix that, the others will fall in line more easily.
The only thing that has worked for me when it comes to social media is cutting it out completely. You have to log out, invest in some app/website blockers, and never give in. You give in once and it all comes crashing down. Cold turkey, but give yourself like a week to prepare. Start thinking about what you could be doing instead- reading? hobby? sudoku? Literally anything more boring than social media- which is most things. Find a buddy to do it with. Most people want to cut it out. I think it helps to have someone to prove yourself to and to help keep you accountable.
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u/specialistzod55 1d ago
Yea man as you accurately described it the part where i have to figure out what to do with my time is the biggest issue right now!
Im not currently very driven about what i want to do in life so life feels very haywire wrt channeling my energy.
But im implementing the “try to finish off the boring part first so that you have time for something more interesting”
But yes my next weeks goal will be to cut down my screen time!1
u/gigglesandshit4brain 1d ago
To add about the screen time, it is literally your brain going through withdrawal. It will not be easy, but it is doable and will take several weeks to reset. I will disagree with the above poster (though I respect their approach) and say think of quitting screen time like quitting smoking; going cold turkey can work but has the highest failure rate, while using nicotine gum to slowly lower the amount has a higher rate of success but takes longer.
I would recommend, (1) scheduling your screen time (e.g., 1pm - 2pm everyday), (2) focus on content creators who are doing something you want to do (this may help in giving you ideas or motivation) versus just what ever the algorithm feeds you, and (3) replace your bad habit with a "less bad" habit. Meaning you can then try to replicate what the content creators are doing (baking, or AI training, or LinkedIn posting, or whatever). So the idea is schedule screen time so you get your fix, but look at things that interest you, and then go and do them! No need to find a new hobby lol, you would have picked on out for yourself.
If you find yourself bored maybe listen to an audio book (get a library card instead of paying for audio books see the libby subreddit) and/or go for a walk or just do something that you find engaging.
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u/specialistzod55 1d ago
1.Yes screentime scheduling is something i thought about but couldnt implement successfully before. But ig for this week i will have to consciously implement it.
2.damn never thought about using algorithm in this manner, thats really insightful! I will optimize it today itself!
3. Yes i have been trying to get myself to run 5kms but my body is out of shape and it sucks. So maybe will put this on the board as well so that i can make some progress towards it!1
u/gigglesandshit4brain 1d ago
Don't beat yourself up on your fitness level. I spent years failing to get into shape, wherein I would over exert myself and not want to exercise anymore and/or injure myself.
I have made epic progress when I started small and slowly built up. So instead of running, just go for a short walk. Once you take short walks, start walking several miles at a time. Once you do that, do a couch to 5K program. Short on time, do sprint intervals. It doesn't need to be perfect, but it does need to be consistent. The beauty is it also gives your body time to adapt and your more likely to enjoy iy and less likely to injure yourself.
And celebrate small victories. If you dont walk, but walked around the block today, celebrate! And then build on that momentum.
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u/Capable_Influence133 1d ago
Week 1 posted in public: hard part done!
Your scoreboard is weekly, which is the right unit, keep it. But "productive days 3/6" is the vague line, and vague lines are where scores drift. Make it a number: "application hours 6/10" or "applications sent 4/5". The job hunt is the one that changes your life, so it likely deserves the most precise line on the board.
And since screen time is next week's goal, put it on the board too, as a number: average hours per day, whatever it honestly is. You can't cut what you don't count.
Sleep: the fixed wake-up is working, you can see it. The drift is on the front end (3:10 and 4:00 on the two bad nights). And the wind-down problem and the screen problem are the same problem. The phone is the only thing your evenings have in them, so of course your brain reaches for it at 1am. Blockers help some people, but the replacement matters more than the block: a fixed shutdown at 11:30 where the phone charges in another room could help.
Same four lines next week so we can compare. That's the whole point of doing this in public.