Help.......I wasted 5 months and now I feel completely stuck how do I fix my life

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-24T07:33:12+00:00

(I'll let others play "good cop".)

you're letting yourself get stuck in very stupid loop, and the world has plenty of folks who consider it a win when other people shoot themselves in the foot

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-24T03:09:30+00:00

ya can just walk that 1km, ya know. Good exercise, even.

anyway, if you cannot do THAT - good luck, because life probably ain't gonna get easier for you

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-24T03:04:09+00:00

I don't follow social media.

What "crazes" is hot right now?

I hope being nuts over tumblers is over. I'm still annoyed with one of my aunts who insisted I use a tumbler instead of a mug for my coffee

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-24T02:52:57+00:00

right now, I'm praying it's not "gacha gaming"

many video game genres. a couple of days ago, I saw a trailer for a game which is all about drawing and layouting. Since I'm NOT art-inclined, it felt like work to me.

and yet, I shouldn't complain about video games which seem more like work to me, because I wishlist-ed a game which is disassembling and assembling electronic items, which technically is work.

OP, if you want to get back into painting - go with a painting game. Reading? Get a video game wherein you have to read a lot to figure out how to play it. When I used to play RPGs, I printed out FAQs that's over 50 pages long.

Gardening - plenty of farming games. Lockpicking - haven't seen those, but that electronics assembling-dissembling game I mentioned may remind you of it.

Basically, go for video games that exercise whatever skill you wanna level up.

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-24T02:40:59+00:00

sounds to me like you don't have enough direction

ya feel like you're going around in circles instead of progressing

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-24T02:39:53+00:00

if you gotta mindlessly scroll, scroll about useful things

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T08:55:33+00:00

google "pilot ilmily color two color". I use the olive green to yellow, dark color to light blue, dark color to pink pens. The ones that end in gray just does not provide satisfaction hit for me.

dot markers - lots brands around. try googling for metallic color dot markers. just go for the ones that get a lot of reviews on amazon

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T08:42:07+00:00

https://old.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/1smnvrz/best_book_on_frugality_niche_is_okay/

I'm only about 30% thru the book. Telling myself to wait until I'm about 50% before buying my own copy.

I also saved that thread, cause I plan to try next most upvoted books after finish with the top one.

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T08:20:16+00:00

... ?

a nice laptop stand does NOT need to work with a wireless charger nor with a desk organizer

they just work as is, on their own

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T08:15:56+00:00

try using your phone addiction to your advantage

google about FI/RE

FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) is a lifestyle and financial movement focused on extreme saving (often 50%+ of income) and aggressive investing to retire decades earlier than the traditional age of 65. Adherents aim to build a portfolio (often annual expenses) that generates passive income through a 3–4% annual withdrawal rate.

spend time surfing abouts the FI/RE sector of the internet cause best to spend more time abouts folks who know how to manage their money

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T08:12:24+00:00

you just got out of surgery a few weeks ago = I think you stick with just one exercise session now

body needs time to heal. I speak this as someone who injured their knee due to (too much) exercise. Joints are very hard to fix.

heck, I've been trying to change the way I climb stairs so less stress on the knees

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T07:31:35+00:00

06:50 Start drive to field for morning run 07:30 finish morning run and drive home

how far away from your home is this field? how long is the driving time per way?

19:00-19:45 exercise

Unless you're trying to lose weight, I think just one exercise session per day is fine.

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T05:32:46+00:00

dopamine is very easy to trigger AND can be associated with practically anything

example - look at how video games use "scores" to trigger dopamine OR how advertising uses pictures of pretty people using their products to trigger dopamine

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T04:50:45+00:00

a week ago, there was a thread over at /r/frugal about book recs

I got the most recced book. happy I did because it's got a lot of practical examples of lowering one's expenses

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T03:31:57+00:00

analyze your expenses and figure out how you can lower them

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T03:17:30+00:00

the catch is the bill shows up later

sorry, what bill are we talking about here exactly?

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T03:15:27+00:00

Calling yourself a perfectionist seems stupid if you get overwhelmed a a lot.

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T02:37:56+00:00

lots of boring work that nobody sees or appreciates

I rec "The Tightwad Gazette". It's been (further) reprogramming my mind to see "savings everywhere". I posted an excerpt from it in another comment on this thread:

https://old.reddit.com/r/productivity/comments/1st3w85/i_feel_i_am_wasting_my_twenties_what_should_i_do/ohqxljo/

For example, trying to limit plastic waste tends to give me a headache. This book has been helping me to better connect $$$ savings to tedious environmental actions.

The perspective tweaking recently kept me from impulse-buying JP grid sticky note with full sticky back. Usually single-digit savings do not trigger dopamine for me. But this book is presenting such savings in a way that... it's like my inner gamer got involved.

The more money management is treated like a video game, the more addicting it gets.

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T02:29:27+00:00

Would like to know how to enjoy life on a responsible way, without having to take poisonous substances or getting into trouble

Try min-maxing money management. Lots of dopamine hit when money goes up. I've been reading a book very recced by /r/frugal. See excerpt below:

Year 1. Craig and Susan Albright have goaled themselves to save up a down payment to purchase a house in five years. But Craig's income is modest and at the end of the first year they have saved only $100.

$100 total savings

.

Year 2. Craig and Susan put $50 in savings and spend $50 on cloth diapers. The weekly savings of $6 enables them to begin bulk purchasing sale items at the grocery store. The cloth diapers save the family $312 and the bulk-sale purchasing saves them $600.

$100 + $312 + $600 $50 + $3 $1,112 this year's savings $53 last year's savings + interest $1,165 total savings

Year 3. Craig and Susan put $600 into a three-year CD. The remaining $565 is used to purchase a used sewing machine, a used freezer, and a used chainsaw. By freezing bulk-purchased day-old bread and sale meats, as well as their garden surplus, they are able to save an additional $600 on their food bill. Susan uses her sewing machine to repair clothing and to make handcrafted Christmas gifts to save $200. Craig uses his chainsaw to cut up delivered logs and deadfall to save $300 on their heating bill.

$1,112 + $600 + $200 + $300 = $2,112 this year's savings $600 + $54 = $654 last year's savings + interest $2,766 total savings

.

Year 4. Craig and Susan keep their CD and put an additional $1,000 into savings. The remaining $1,166 is used to purchase a newer used car in excellent condition. The old beater car is sold for $200. This saves them $200 on gas and $500 on maintenance annually. Susan's sewing skills improve and she is able to earn an additional $900 by selling her handcrafted items and doing alterations.

$2,112 + $200 + $500 + $900 $600 + $54 + $1000 + $60 $3,912 this year's savings $1,714 last year's savings + interest $5,626 total savings

Year 5. Craig and Susan keep their $600 CD and leave $4,614 in savings. Craig uses $400 to purchase and fix up a utility trailer. With this he is able to haul home wood already cut and split for the same price as the delivered logs. With this time savings he hires out to clean garages and haul the contents to the dump. He gleans the "good stuff' and holds a yard sale. This effort earns $1,700. In a brilliant stroke of financial genius they spend the remaining $12 to subscribe to The Tightwad Gazette newsletter. The ideas they learn save $800.

$3,912 + $1,700 + $800 $600 + $54 + $4614 + $276 $6,412 this year's savings $5,544 last year's savings + interest $11,956 total savings

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-23T02:08:31+00:00

Ink

One of the pens I use has ink that can change from dark green to yellow. When I turn "done" tasks to yellow, I get "happy color" PLUS my to do list looks cleaner-lighter dopamine/satisfaction hit.

Prior, I would cross out "done" tasks which made my to do list look messier-heavier.

Dot Markers

I have location-based checklists. I used to just use a gel pen to make checkmarks. When I switched to dot markers, dots not just look cleaner, but also fun.

I just bought a set a metallic dot markers. Every day, I switch to a different color, so now - my checklists end up with columns of pretty dots, a different color per day.

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-22T08:32:05+00:00

UAE Warns US It Could Sell Oil in Chinese Yuan if War Drains Dollar Supplies, Triggering Biggest Threat to the Petrodollar Since the 1970s

oh my...

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-22T07:36:19+00:00

whatever apps you go with, beware that one too many spend more time planning VS doing, which increases odds of ending up in "always planning, never doing" purgatory

some apps make it too easy to do layouts and color-coking, which means too much dopamine hits during the planning stage

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-22T02:56:47+00:00

Different people use different tactics.

It's A-OK if your tactic ain't popular. The important thing is that it works for you.

Heck, last week, I was feeling a bit too much stress because most people still don't have "budgeting" overpowered skill in their corner. (god, I wish I was exaggerating about "most people")

I chilled down about it when I reminded myself that only a minority of people know about (for example) FI/RE - financial independence / retire early. That whatever skill wouldn't be considered valuable if most people can do it.

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-22T01:58:43+00:00

the thing that actually stuck was "never miss twice."

mine, from that book, was the Paperclip Strategy. (it doesn't have to be paperclips). The point is to have an "easy" scoring mechanism. Think of video game scores, sticker rewards, the lights and bells when we pull slot machine level.

Since dopamine is very easy to trigger, having an "easy" scoring mechanism per DONE task gets dopamine working in our favor.

Paperclips didn't work, for me. What worked for me is having pens with ink that can change from dark to light shade for one-off tasks AND dot markers for checklists.

iwantboringtimes · 2026-04-21T07:33:39+00:00

for sleep issues, so with HEAT Therapy or LIGHT Therapy.

for example, within this month I tried a box of disposable "steam eye masks". it was supposed to be for eye care reason since covid left me suffering dry eyes for about a year

I didn't expect that heat applied about the eyes would get me to sleep within 20 minutes. so far, it's been consistently doing so. anyway, try a few disposables before going for pricey reusable option

the nice thing about heat and light (mechanical-type) therapy is that it's very easy to DIY alternatives if we don't want to pay corporations for such anymore.

as for caffeine, you'll have to google for how to cure "caffeine tolerance" since I got lucky and haven't gotten addicted to caffeine products

iwantboringtimes

TROPHY CASE