Theoretical: Stopped comparing myself to others. Instead, I compare the me of now to the me of yesterday.

Immediate Practical: Stopped social media

Deleted Facebook, instagram, 14 years ago, twitter in 2019, reddit during the api bs, stopped being the only one maintaining relationships, and finally, stopped caring about most things and people/dram I have no power to fix or change.

I have declared war on notifications. My immediate family, two closest friends, and my boss can call me. In no other circumstances will my phone make a noise or vibrate. I will check my texts when I feel like it.

Other than a few exceptions, no apps may show the notification badge either. Discord will show DMs and mentions from one or two servers. Everything else is blocked. My work email may show unread email. I’ve even turned off banners on my work chat app. I don’t think I’ve checked my personal email in months.

All my recurring charges are paperless + autopay. That’s another notification badge I forgot about - I have a budgeting app that can show transactions. I categorize them, make sure their categories are covered, and I’m done.

On the first of the month, I pay rent and set the budgeting app categories. Then I have nothing to worry about, and near-zero distractions. My biggest pain point in life is deciding what to eat for dinner.

I wanted to quit nagging my kids to close the pantry door. It conflicts with the fridge door and they’re both getting banged up pretty bad. I replaced one of the pantry door hinges with a spring hinge (and removed the latch mechanism from the handle) and now the pantry door closes on its own. Sometimes, I hear them fling the door open and hit the fridge anyways, but I giggle just a little when it bonks them on the head.

I grow a garden. I have an emergency fund and paid off debts. I give my cat hugs. I take walks around the block.

I have really bad anxiety issues. So, it’s not fun.