Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Sorry to hear about the financial problems. Stay positive!

@ertuy @Gilberto de Piento, thank you for the encouragement!

In the past months, I have been toying/experimenting with several aspects relevant to ERE/SemiERE. After spending a few months with very light workloads, which allowed me to focus on other pursuits, take a wider perspective, reflect on mistakes and get a foretaste of what the next phase and its challenges could look like, since September, I have brought back my attention to the accumulation phase.

Starting from where I am, I have been looking for ways to maximize income generation in my current occupation and to sustainably further lower life expenses to secure a sufficiently high savings rate towards FI while only working for a limited amount of hours per week. This additional requirement is essential for me.

I am all for rendering unto Caesar… but only if can still enjoy a balanced life in the now (not in an after FI life) with enough time/life-energy to allow for building skills, furthering self-growth and thriving.

In my mind, there shouldn't be a big difference between my life before FI and after FI.

Chop wood, carry water.

That said, I can put water in my wine, as we say in Greek/French. I'm no purist.

So here it goes:

Since 2016, I've been working as a freelance translator. The professional conversion took more time and effort than expected, but I have been doing this for some time now. I am by no means a beginner.

Last year, my best so far, net income was around EUR 30,000, which gives a ballpark figure to work with. There are colleagues who earn quite a bit more, but for various reasons (I can expand if need be), I don't count on this number growing significantly for me in the near term. This is nothing to write home about, and a far cry from many salaries I am seeing in this forum, but unless I switch to something different (also a possibility), it will have to do.

The income potential is a limiting factor, but this professional activity has a lot going for it (like location independence).

After almost three months at it, here are the realistic goals I have come up with:

• Yearly net Income (2023): EUR/USD 30,000 (28,000 to 32,000)
• Living expenses: around 1 jacob or less (no more than 7,500)
• Effective savings rate: 75% (or more, if possible)
• Work hours: 20 to 22.5 productive hours per week, plus 2h30 of work-related breaks and 2h30 of admin (emails, project management, invoicing) = 25 to 27.5 hours total
• Work for 46 weeks (= 6 unpaid weeks off)
• Average income around EUR 30/hour (income/logged hours+5h of breaks/admin per week)

Since I am generally paid by output, not by time spent, productivity directly impacts income.

In the same vein, since this is an intellectual activity/knowledge work, efficiency is directly affected by the ability to focus and work creatively undistracted.

After addressing some pain points and tweaking a few things, this boils down to:

• Good sleep. Without it, I have less focus and need more breaks. Everything starts with this.
• Start working first thing in the morning. I've tested beginning the day with running, meditation and studying before diving into work assignments, but found that I needed more breaks and was tired from exercise. By starting at 6 or 6:30, I am done by 11:30 or noon (on a typical day).
• Good hydration and nutrition.
• No snacking or food consumed during work (16:8 IF or OMAD) as this impacts my focus and energy levels and often requires me to rest before I can continue
• No distractions (no phone or non-work related websites). I often wear noise cancelling earplugs for added concentration or earphones with music like Keith Jarrett's piano concerts. Being in SEA, it is a good thing that I am 5-6 hours ahead of my European clients too, as I have all the morning email-free (and can take on some assignments from a client platform when most everyone is still sleeping)
• Maintain stable emotional and low stress levels. Meditation helps here (and a supportive relationship)
• Work in a standing position. While I can't clock 8 hours like this, because I can move while standing, I find that I can work longer without needing a break just to get the body moving.
• Minimize the need for breaks. That was a big one. Before, I could schedule up to 50 min sessions, with breaks in between, leading to more time spent overall. With improved focus, I now work in 90 min uninterrupted sessions with a 30 min break (or less) between sessions. And when I start working first thing in the morning after a good night's sleep, I've noticed that I can usually skip the first break and only keep one half hour break on a typical day (3x90min+30min break+30min admin per day).
• Minimize break duration by prioritizing focus restoring activities (mindful offline chores, mobility work, walking outside, resting, meditation, yoga nidra) and avoiding further energy depletion. I've seen time and again that consuming content through screens lengthens the recovery time or even actively works against it.

The problem I had was that my work day was stretched as I needed breaks. There was a mental, almost physical barrier to returning to work and focusing. This lead to dissatisfaction. I was not enjoying it. Internet addiction played a big role. You mindlessly check your phone or laptop during breaks as a reward, and it just doesn't help to come back with a fresh mind. This impacted real income, quality of life and time/energy left for other pursuits, as these breaks were time-sinks.

The above results in a self-contained workday that leaves a big stretch of personal time (from 11h30 or noon until bed time).

Resolving the "work for a limited amount of hours per week while earning a decent income" puzzle was a breakthrough, but there are other areas to address as well.

1. For one, this is a profession with "feast and famine" cycles. There can be stretches with only few or no projects coming my way. While one of my main clients generally offers a steady stream of work, my client-base has thinned out over time and I haven't done much active marketing since COVID-19 hit (figured it wasn't the best time).

Solution:

• Widen client-base for more resiliency, possibly with a rate bump
• Embrace downtime, by having a plan for what to do when it occurs: marketing, relevant skill acquisition, book translation, etc.
• If needed, ride the "feast" phases by taking in more workload to compensate for and offset the lost revenue. This is realistic because I've kept my normal work hours and income objectives low, so I can afford to work more for some time.

2. From the ERE book: In fact, if you have a job, keep it. This has been on my mind lately. Should I? At some point, I want to assess whether I would be better off switching gears and work in another field.

• I still got several years of work ahead, maybe a switch would be beneficial income-wise, although I know from experience it doesn't represent a trivial effort
• The long-term outlook for the translation profession is not great. There is price pressure, partly due to advances in machine translation/AI and the switch to postediting for a sizeable portion of the translated content (while, on the upside, more and more content is getting localized).
• I guess I am used to not having a boss and being location independent to have any interest in a salary man position (unless it is fully remote)
• What would I do? Freelance web or software development, probably.

Solution:

• I won't address this now. This will depend on next year's results. If I can't meet my 2023 goals (yearly and hourly income, less than 28-30 work hours, 75% saving rate or above), I will definitely look into switching or diversifying.
• During 2023, I plan to work on some dev skills that will also be beneficial for my translation activity and in general. This will also allow me to get a feel for whether I enjoy taking such a path. Homeotelicity ftw!

3. Finally, there is a good chance I will shoot for SemiERE in a phased approach with a slower (but still) accumulation past 15x or so.

In such a case, translation could remain one of my income streams past the initial accumulation phase, and help cover annual costs (and then some) as needed.

What I would like to see however, is if I can further align this activity with my values and translate mostly content that resonates with me. With lower income expectations, I could go down that path.

Solution:

• This is definitely something I want to explore. To test this, I could commit to translating a book on my own and then seek publication. Plotkin comes to mind… I need to fix some other things first as this is a big project/commitment. I could decide to make use of work downtime, and add some time during the day and/or the weekend. Will see.

That about sums up the work/income-related aspects.

Next, I will talk about setting up a better financial tracking system, working towards an investment education, and living at or under 1 jacob, before resuming to more regular updates.

Thanks for reading!

Hi! Newcomer here. Thanks for sharing your strategies for being creative and productive! This is something I'm thinking about for myself, so very interesting to learn your tricks.

antable wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 26, 2022 5:01 pm

Thank you, antable, and welcome! Glad the above was helpful.

I like the way your are analyzing your situation in your journal and your motivation (both your enthusiasm and the combination of personal and eco-awareness reasons).

Don't know if you've read the ERE book yet or (the revised edition of) Your Money or Your Life. Both could be a great read at this point.

Will be happy to follow along!

Yes, I've read them, thanks!

OutOfTheBlue wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 23, 2022 12:20 pm

In the same vein, since this is an intellectual activity/knowledge work, efficiency is directly affected by the ability to focus and work creatively undistracted.
...
The problem I had was that my work day was stretched as I needed breaks. There was a mental, almost physical barrier to returning to work and focusing. This lead to dissatisfaction. I was not enjoying it. Internet addiction played a big role. You mindlessly check your phone or laptop during breaks as a reward, and it just doesn't help to come back with a fresh mind. This impacted real income, quality of life and time/energy left for other pursuits, as these breaks were time-sinks.

Good stuff, thanks for sharing. This is all pretty relatable as I've been trying to figure out how to do some similar stuff to restore my attention for fiction writing. I'm going to run a similar experiment myself/copy some of your habits here as this looks like it was very useful.

While I don't have much to add, I really enjoyed reading about your process. Thank you for sharing!

Quick update, my laptop broke down (black display) after 5.5 years of loyal service. While a bit untimely, it was within the timeframe of 5-6 years that I had expected, so no hard feelings there.

After checking available options, including repair, I ordered a refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad T480 (a solid business laptop introduced in 2018) from an online reseller with 99% positive reviews for around USD 300. If it lasts 1.5 years, it will meet my USD 200 yearly budget. Chances are it will last longer (quality build and upgradability).

Translators needs are generally reasonable (although many go for high end machines as this is their work tool after all and performance counts), with the notable exception of RAM as we typically use several programs/tabs, and CAT (computer-assisted translation) tools can be resource-hungry. In the age of soldered/on board RAM, that limits the options somewhat. Many also use dual screen setups. For a location independent profession, its practitioners are often surprisingly sedentary.

On the OS side, I use Regolith Linux, which relies on the i3 tiling window manager. I can't recommend it enough. Very lightweight, functional and keyboard friendly, it is a joy to use. Thanks to it, I hardly miss my older dual screen setup and can have an edge without being at the bleeding edge.

Had the same issue recently. Discovered that it's the backlight and the repair required would involve replacing the logic board (most youtube videos of the same repair show that there is a chip that tends to corrode. They remove the chip, clean the pins under it from the corrosion, and replace the chip. This is beyond my skill level but replacing the whole logic board is not.

In the meantime, I found that while the screen itself may be black, there's display when the laptop is hooked to an external monitor. You might try that.

Fingers crossed your new laptop lasts you a long time.

candide wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 08, 2023 10:41 am

Too many people on the wider forum are stuck with finding what they want to flex rather than address what they need to work on. And, I mean, I get it, and have been guilty of it myself; it is more fun to show off what you are doing well or what you know, but honesty is what we need to gain by admitting we are not yet WL 6 and that it something we at least aspire to.

That hit home. Thanks! In this post, I will be focusing on the things I want to address to up my game.

While I have not yet shared reverse fishbones or web of goals diagrams (will get to it soon), the 5>6 MMG has prompted a lot of reading and thinking, and others’ posts have brought clarity and inspiration.

Back to the basics

In the last few weeks, I’ve been giving myself some time to get back to the basics in order to better prepare for a “year” of mindful execution.

There’s a lot I’d like to read, learn, explore, implement and work on, but if I don’t take a step back and build a good/better base now, I am likely to be less effective, quickly overwhelmed by the added complexity and struggling with the same obstacles and stuff that have hindered my development so far.

This phase includes:
1. Assimilating and implementing old and new stuff about mindfulness, reading and note taking, building a better personal productivity system (based on GTD and others), learning, practicing and skill acquisition, making life changes, building/breaking habits.
2. Reviewing the current setup and situation, identifying areas to improve, reflecting on past stuff and planning for the future (this is where the 5>6 MMG, SemiERE and ERE stuff comes in).

Here goes:

WoG terrain survey

From the perspective of pruning heterotelic modules/behaviors that have no place in my WoG and life, this involves overcoming two internet-related addictions that have long kept me back. This is a prerequisite to everything else, so it is happening now, rather than later. [More about addictions in a later post]

From the perspective of mastering my own stuff, given there isn’t much to oversee in the first place, mending emerges as a life skill to bring to a level where I can confidently and functionally maintain (and maybe adjust, at a later stage) my clothes and bags to extend their useful lifetime.

From the perspective of income streams, given money is derived almost exclusively from one source, which can “easily” bring 2–3 years of CoL (50–66% SR), but has a lower ceiling than desired, for added resilience and income potential, I want to start diversifying and acquiring a (web) developer skill set on top of my translator one this year rather than the next (as I had decided initially). I intend to pursue this predominantly during slow work, so either I’m generating income or acquiring realistically remunerative skills in the time I would have dedicated anyway. Plus, both activities can extend to SemiERE.

From the perspective of CoL, the challenge this year is to reach/hover at 1 Jacob, so no category is spared and expense tracking is on, but the big three are the main focus. I’m adjusting to being more on the road vs at home base, so these can be tricky, and there is experimentation going on. No category has low-hanging fruits, it’s all about further internalizing and integrating the lifestyle and being able to apply it successfully and sustainably in a wide range of situations. [More about CoL, including the No buy year, in a later post]

From the perspective of skillz, given my mobility, no practical skill comes up as a particularly good fit, although taking a hands on/DIY approach is being ingrained as a first response, and if the occasion arises, I will take it. What I can do instead is work with myself (inner work, personal development, body, health) as well as with knowledge/skills accessible through a computer and the Web. This includes Economical skills (improving math foundations, proficiency with spreadsheets, some work towards financial/investment literacy [books, but also the Financial Markets Yale course on Coursera]) and Intellectual (Systems thinking/Mental models/ERE curriculum stuff). Inner work is based on Bill Plotkin’s frameworks, so it touches on the Psychological, Emotional, Ecological and Spiritual.

On this subject, from my readings, I have come to realize that practice trumps theoretical study (aka reading) on many occasions, so I will prioritize skill acquisition through practice in my learning workflows. To be sure, a combination of both is needed, but I will deliberately reverse the ratio as this has been a blind spot for me and tended to create an illusion of learning. Another realization is the need for breaking down skills/learning projects into smaller parts and focusing on a single (or a very limited set of) subject(s) each time, so as to work with the required intensity and consistency to achieve critical mass.

Skill-wise, because it has been tentatively suggested as a module to hone, I deem my cooking game to be at a sufficient level, although there is always room for development and experimentation (cooking on the move, Asian cuisine, wider plant-based repertoire, some work on food conservation or cooking techniques). This will just be allowed to grow organically, no much focus there.

What remains is further developing my current set of homeotelic habits/practices to form a dynamic life structure which can help me thrive from anywhere.
One of the main goals/desired effects of my lifestyle design (WoG) is Growth. See how all of these (and the other mentioned) activities that constitute the bulk of my days tend towards it: meditation, inner work, running/moving, reading, learning, travel/exploration, journaling, writing.

Writing is particularly important, hence my decision to participate in the Fiction MMG. For me, this is not just about writing fiction, but about reconnecting with creativity, and cultivating one of its finest expressions. Creative expression in its many forms is also a big part of the WoG I want to develop, and exemplifies the shift to a producer mindset. I haven’t been able to do much writing so far, but feel confident this will change as I overcome addictions, further develop the resources of the fourfold self (Plotkin) to tackle inner resistance and escapism, and commit to a consistent writing and journaling practice (habit).

Thanks for reading!



Morning mist at Nong Khiaw, Laos

Sounds awesome and I'm looking forward to following how you're going to put it in place in the course of 2023.

Why web development as opposed to any other branch of cs/IT?

ertyu wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 16, 2023 10:39 pm

Sounds awesome and I'm looking forward to following how you're going to put it in place in the course of 2023.

Why web development as opposed to any other branch of cs/IT?

Thank you!

This was a summary post of sorts, some ideas have not been developed much.

In my understanding, web development nowadays is a subset of software development, and you can still branch out/progress to other areas if you have a solid foundation (problem solving skills, programming principles, etc.).

I have the notion that web dev is a good starting point (as in easier/quicker) for someone transitioning and new to coding in general.

Also, there is some fear that because my math skills are lacking (stopped doing math after 10th grade as I followed a humanities path in Greece), I may have some foundational catching up to do before I dig deeper into the field.

Another reason is that I have some concrete projects (websites) of my own that I'd like include as part of my learning process.

I have had and curated some websites over the years, and I definitely want to improve my skills in this domain even if I don't end up pursuing this professionally.

This will not be a bootcamp speedrun to get up and running asap at this stage.

I'm taking my time and will start with smaller scale/progressive projects.

For instance, I've determined I'll first use the Foundations course from The Odin Project (HTML, CSS, Git and basic JS), before deciding if I want to progress to a Full-Stack JavaScript from that project or from TheTreeHouse, Zero to Mastery, etc.

Then, I want to learn how to build more complex sites in Github/Gitlab Pages, etc. for my own use.

At some point, I may include an intro course in Python as well, to see if I can gain knowledge I can use in Autokey (Linux), etc. I'm trying to link knowledge-building to real-life applications and see if things click. The more I learn, the more I expect to have a clearer picture for deciding what to pursue next.

How does that sound?

What other branch of CS/IT would you recommend looking into?

Webdev has by far the lowest barier of entry (since there's so much demand, companies can't be too picky) and, at the same time, it does not really require solid understanding of fundamentals (something you can't escape even when developing mobile apps) - so it's a very good starting choice IMO.

@OOtB, I don't have other areas to recommend, I know even less than you do . I was interested in your thinking. It seems like you have a solid plan about how to acquire the skills you need and a solid motivation for why you want those skills. Listen to zbigi

I second the web development. Doing some work on that now, quite easy to grasp compared to full stack coding.

How’s Laos? I only passed the capital there and found it quiet compared to other cities. Seems very calming in that picture, reminds me of camping in the countryside in the other country you were in.

@Zbigi and @Humanofearth, thanks for the confirmation regarding web dev.

I stayed in Laos for three weeks and a half. This was my first visit, but definitely not the last. I liked it quite a lot. Stayed in Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang and Nong Khiaw (north circuit).

Found many similarities with countryside Thailand, especially with its Northeastern region (Issaan), where they basically speak the same language and have a similar cooking style (like laarb, sticky rice and som tam papaya salad).

It felt quite familiar, with some amusing differences (like the integration of French baguettes to the local cuisine, with baguette or sandwich stands found by the roadside, or the frequent presence of kids riding low seat/fat tire electric mopped -from the neighboring China?- and bicycles to school or around).

Internet connection was better than expected, and there is a high-speed train going from Vientiane all the way to China, but generally, there is a more rough feel, imported goods are more expensive, life is simpler/cheaper, like a few years behind the curve, and economic conditions lower.

Yes, Vientiane, the capital, has only few high rise buildings and it has a provincial feel to it, although it can still be a bit hectic when compared to the rest of the country. With a population of 1 million, it is still a big enough city. No much point in staying too long there.

Luang Prabang, the old capital, now that's a place I could see myself staying for longer. With a registered population of 60,0000, it is a human-sized. walkable city, with easily accessible nature around it. Life is good. The presence of water is always a big plus (here, the Mekong), and the old city is charming (UNESCO World Heritage site), A bit touristy though, as was Vang Vieng.

Overall, beautiful landscapes, with caves, waterfalls, and nice hiking paths to viewpoints (although I lament the lack of a developed hiking paths network like in Europe. This may be due in part to the lush vegetation and rainy season, but also the presence of landmines and bombs dating back to the Vietnam war). On another occasion, I will try to do a road trip more off the beaten path.

A few days ago, I've finished "Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (ZAMM) by Robert M. Pirsig, spurred by Candide's several mentions of the book.

What a journey! At first, I thought it was a road trip book, and it's that too, but it's so much more, with all the strands artfully woven together to form a masterpiece. Least I can say is that this book has Quality. (Fictionalized) autobiography and travelogue, philosophical exploration and critique, a tale of two minds, a descent into madness… It has also a thing or two to say about zen and motorcycle maintenance.

It works really well in the audiobook format. I loved his "chautauquas" and the way he approaches the relationship with technology and the limits of a certain rational approach (church or Reason) to the world and transcends it with his notion of quality and engagement. It felt like finding a long lost missing piece.

I've got to read on (will check the Guidebook to that book, and Lila, the follow-up story which expands on Pirsig's Metaphysics of Quality (MoQ), but for now, let me share a quote (which itself includes a quote), as it might speak to the ERE/renaissance man crowd.

ZAMM wrote wrote:Kitto had more to say about this aretê of the ancient Greeks. ‘When we meet aretê in Plato,’ he said, ‘we translate it “virtue” and consequently miss all the flavor of it. “Virtue,” at least in modern English, is almost entirely a moral word; aretê, on the other hand, is used indifferently in all the categories, and simply means excellence.’

H. D. F. Kitto in "The Greeks", quote from ZAMM wrote:Thus the hero of the Odyssey is a great fighter, a wily schemer, a ready speaker, a man of stout heart and broad wisdom who knows that he must endure without too much complaining what the gods send; and he can both build and sail a boat, drive a furrow as straight as anyone, beat a young braggart at throwing the discus, challenge the Pheacian youth at boxing, wrestling or running; flay, skin, cut up and cook an ox, and be moved to tears by a song. He is in fact an excellent all-rounder; he has surpassing aretê.
Aretê implies a respect for the wholeness or oneness of life, and a consequent dislike of specialization. It implies a contempt for efficiency – or rather a much higher idea of efficiency, an efficiency which exists not in one department of life but in life itself.

ZAMM wrote:Phaedrus remembered a line from Thoreau: ‘You never gain something but that you lose something.’ And now he began to see for the first time the unbelievable magnitude of what man, when he gained power to understand and rule the world in terms of dialectic truths, had lost. He had built empires of scientific capability to manipulate the phenomena of nature into enormous manifestations of his own dreams of power and wealth – but for this he had exchanged an empire of understanding of equal magnitude: an understanding of what it is to be a part of the world, and not an enemy of it.

Now in Chiang Mai until mid-March.

Although there are still a few things to figure out/implement, I've mostly completed the preparation phase and started the "year of mindful execution", including my training on programming/web dev. Pretty happy with the resources I've found so far.

Monthly expenses

January expenses, in EUR: 752

Transport 152 (Out of country round trip 102, In-country transport 50)
Shelter 184
Groceries/Eating 118
Visa 42
Travel health insurance 57
Dentist (Cleaning, checkup, two fillings, X-rays) 137
Mobile/Internet 15
Misc: 47

Comments:
-Includes a 23-day trip to Laos, which kickstarted a more nomadic period
-Good efforts/results on the Big 3 (Groceries/Eating, Shelter, In-country transport) given the traveling context. This is not just due to living in low cost countries (which is not a coincidence anyway)
-Out of country travel and visa costs higher than average
-Dentist expenses unfortunately represensative of expected monthly average this year (turns out all four crowns need replacement, etc.). Should go back to lower levels in the next years.
- 1 EUR jacob goal means 600 per month on average, so this month was 152 north of that goal. Will still be happy if I can reach it with the initial expected dental expenses of 366 EUR.

Low buy years

Recently bought a 750 ml titanium pan/plate to complete my mini kitchen kit. This was the first new item acquired since the beginning of the No buy challenge in May. I still had to replace essential items that broke down or were lost (EUR 140, plus 290 for the laptop),

With this, I am shifting from "no buy" to "low buy" as a more accurate description for a deliberate, sustainable practice.

The labeling doesn't change much. No buy is the assimilated default, with exceptions thoughtfully allowed to resolve a friction or (like with the pan/plate) add options and flexibility. I keep an accountability log/waiting list for documenting purchases/replacements and justifying decisions.

Food

Cost-wise, target is 100-130 per month (food and all groceries). By mixing a range of approaches, this is mostly the level I'm currently at, but it still requires care and monitoring. Costs can quickly go south on the road or with a partner if left unchecked (but are more easy to handle while solo traveling)
Tracking helps being mindful about it.

Shelter

Co-living costs about €70 [including electricity and water] a month, and this applies let's say six months per year.

I've set my expected monthly average higher to account for higher costs while on the road. Turns out I can keep them lower than I thought, like 160-180 low? Depends on the location and available options of course.

It helps that I'm kind of slow traveling, and that my needs are on the ascetic side.

It remains to be seen how workable that is. I've always preferred to have my private space, so I am putting myself to the test. Can I work/study consistently while say sharing a dorm in a hostel?

Transport

WFH, staying put, having no vehicle, and preferring on foot or low-cost public transport options keeps costs very low when staying in one place. Like $20-30 low at home base.

Things become interesting when you hit the road. There are costs to go from one country to another, and from one place to another.

Each time, there are a number of options to chose from, depending on the specifics.

While solo traveling, the preferred order is on foot (running, walking), human-powered (bicyle) or motorbike rental, but there are also songtaews, buses/minivan, metro and train, taxi bikes and taxis, boats, etc.

The running practice pays out in that I feel comfortable running up to 10 miles (16 km) in one stretch (or a half-marathon with a break in between), and extend it further in combination with walking.

Case in point: I've run that distance with a 7-8 kg backpack to get to Vientiane railway station once, and again (but with a small day pack) in 1h30 from Luang Prabang to see a waterfall, plus half that on the return trip (walked for the rest). Rented a mountain bike to see another waterfall, about 60 km out and back.

Initially, I thought of renting a motorbike and doing a road trip. Got an offer for $120 + fuel costs (maybe 30 more?) for two weeks. Now, with a combination of walking/running, bicycle rental, and taking the train and minivan, that was EUR 42 for 3 weeks of in-country transport and four different destinations.

Addictions

I don't smoke, don't drink coffee or alcohol, and generally have no substance dependency (although I'm currently eschewing sugar, for the most part).

The only addictions are internet-related.

There is nothing more heterotelic in my life as they represent a huge loss of time, energy, productivity, focus, clarity, creativity, willpower, self-confidence and connectedness (to name but a few) in exchange for short-lived relief and low-grade escapism.

Implementing a new abstinence period, which introduces two new methods:
-Monetary hard commitment device (as described in "How to change" by Katy Milkman). Sounds like a cheap trick, but it is disuasive as it banks on my developed aversion towards spending money.
-Environment design (as described in Atomic Habits): choosing to stay at hostels most of the time which removes the privacy required to pursue the most harmful addiction for the crucual first weeks. And it's a win-win as I also save on shelter expenses.

However, as Bill Plotkin writes in Wild Mind: "Abstaining from the behaviors does not end or cure your addiction; it only stops the behaviors".
To go further, I am following Plotkin's blueprint for working with addictions more holistically, not just from a narrow neuroscience/behaviorist perspective. The step he outlines are as follows:

1. Recognize that you are or have been using an Addict or Escapist strategy, name it, and make amends.
2. Abstain from the behaviors involved in your addictions and escape patterns.
3. Further cultivate the resources of your fourfold Self (develop or strengthen your 3-D Ego).
4. Experience, explore, and heal the emotions, memories, and realities your Addicts and Escapists have been helping you to avoid, and learn to respond to them from the perspective of your 3-D Ego.
5. Offer your sincere and profound gratitude to your Escapists and Addicts for their services.
6. Replace your old routines with positive habits of presence, self-encounter, and mature action.
7. Uncover, reclaim, and act on the deep longings beneath your former escapes and addictions.

The order of these steps is somewhat flexible, but generally they’re best enacted as shown here.

To help with your addictions, I can recommend you the books "Your Brain on Porn" and "The Molecule of More". Both books gave me a good insight in why people get addicted, why some people are more addicted then others and general understanding of dopamine.
I was addicted to porn, I maybe still am and will never get rid of it, but now I better understand why. The understanding helps with tackling the root cause. You can download every blocker, reduce screen time or whatever method. In the end, it's a choice and you will always find a way around it.

bos wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 02, 2023 4:02 pm

@bos, thank you for the book recommendations! I've also liked your journal and will follow along.

I agree, "Your Brain on Porn" (YBOP) is a great book and website on the subject.

I think this covers the effects quite well (desentization, sentization, hypofrontality and altered stress systems, among others), but I'll also have a look at "The Molecule of More". I know one of the co-authors, Daniel Lieberman from the barefoot movement and his book The Human Body.

Exercise and meditation are two of the things that regularly come up as being helpful towards a reversal, and I'm into them already.

This time around, I'm also using The Easy Peasy method, an open source "hackbook", a rewritten version of a rewrite of Allen Carr’s EasyWay to Quit Smoking for pornography.

I think it complements YNOP well. It criticizes the willpower method, and while it also covers the "Nature" side, it focusses more on the "Brainwashing" side, which is about changing your beliefs, in a way which is akin to CBT I think. The writing is a bit all over the place, but I'd recommend it as well.

So basically, this time, it's YBOP, Easy Peasy and Bill Plotkin.