I have also realized that in order to solve my problems, I needed to stop and think about them before acting:

• Usually the first solution that comes to mind will only work short term; in this case, the short term solution was to force myself to use a task system.

I used:

• tasks.org,
• taskwarrior
• Emac’s Orgmode
• at least 10 productivity Obsidian plugins

Many hours were spent, many lapses were had, and nothing was solved. I recently had some quiet time in which I had the following realization: instead of trying to solve the problems directly, I should instead focus on cultivating habits that let me achieve what I want to achieve. Now, you might have noticed, there is an immense weight on the word “cultivating” in the previous sentence. It seems like I might just be doing the same mistakes I made 6 months ago, right? But what I realize now is that in order for a habit to be properly “cultivated” a couple things have to happen:

• the “bad” version of the habit has to become “less enjoyable” than the good version

  • at least for me, simply thinking “no, drinking water would be healthier than drinking soda” is not enough, I need a Ulysses pact: no soda in the house

• appreciate “boredom”

  • This avoids neuroticism, burnout’s best friend, and I could go on and on about how this is beneficial for many things. But that would be like describing an oil painting in words, you shouldn’t. So, all I can say is: try being bored a lil’ bit.

The 3 Doohickey System

This year I will retake control of my life, in a way that avoids burnout (my worst enemy) of course. The 3 doohickeys:

1. Order: I need a safe, calm space for myself.
2. Containment: Work is for working and home is for being.
3. Rhythm: Let the energy out: move around, have fun, sit. (this avoids burnout)

P. S. I am calling them doohickeys because I don’t know what else to call them and “thingamabob” is too overused.

Order

A mountain without a stable foundation will have many landslides, as a building with an improper structure will crumble under the slightest wind and being without order for so long has left me in a state that deeply concerns me. This all seems very obvious, but as they say:

The most important truths often are.

As I said previously “I need a safe, calm space for myself”. I am making that space, my own room. The minimum requirement for myself is:

• clean desk
• clean floor

Hopefully, over time, I’ll start to treat my room as a place that brings me happiness and peace, instead of a place to do “everything”: work, planning, sleep, art, projects. Getting rid of things visually conveys to me “there is less neuroticism here, you are safe”.

Containment

It can’t all be fun times and relaxation though. Not doing any projects last year is part of what made me feel so jaded. So, I need time to focus on these things. I am setting windows of time in which I have to study and after which I cannot study. Any time outside of that is not for studying. These hard boundaries let me be chill on my free time and not have to worry about things constantly. Also, now that I have set time for studying more frequently, it feels like I am going to be able to achieve more, without the constant headache.

I now have a cute D&D themed traveler’s notebook with the following inserts:

• insert A (lined): inbox
• insert B (lined): projects
• insert C (weekly planner): scheduled stuff

• batch processing: I put a 20 minute timer and go through my inbox (top-to-bottom)

  • For each task I decide whether I want to schedule, migrate, or send it to some project.

• weekly review: I make sure this week’s tasks are done and prepare next week’s tasks.

• study time: this is a big chunk of time for doing my academic stuff, stuff from projects and other tasks.

Rhythm

I have had exercise goals for a really long time. Recently, I’ve also had meditation goals. And my family has recently picked up hiking. I would like to participate in those things with them more often. The added benefit of all this, is that physical exercise is good for your health (both mental and physical). In this case, I will dedicate some time for both. I alternate every day between meditating, at least for 5 minutes, and exercising, at least for 30.

You may be asking yourself:

Wait a second, didn’t you say that you weren’t going to tackle goals head-on and instead build a foundation first? It seems like you just want better health and want to do some exercise.

This is partially true. The reason why there is an entire section for this is because my arch nemesis is burnout. And I am using meditation and exercise as ways to release the pressure that builds up from requiring myself to adhere to these rules. I don’t want this to be just “doing fun things that improve my health” I want it to also be “things that ease my mind off the pressure”.

Check-Ins

Every month, hopefully, I’ll log my progress using the following metrics:

• containment: did I respect the boundaries that I set myself?
• order: how many times a week did I complete my minimum requirements, on average?
• rhythm: how is my emotional battery?

- Did I regularly stop working when my work window ended?
    - Mostly yes / mixed / mostly no
- How many days per week, on average, did my room return to calm at night?
    - 0–2 / 3–4 / 5–7
- Compared to last month, does my energy feel:
    - higher / stable / lower

Some other qualitative things for me to think about:

• where did I feel most calm?
  • relates to: order
• what felt particularly heavy?
  • relates to rhythm
• did I appreciate “boredom”? If so, when and why?
  • relates to: my original goal
• did I feel tempted to add or remove rules this month?
  • relates to rhythm

January

• Did I regularly stop working when my work window ended?
  • Mostly yes / mixed / mostly no
• How many days per week, on average, did my room return to calm at night?
  • 0–2 / 3–4 / 5–7
• Compared to last month, does my energy feel:
  • higher / stable / lower