Insightful comment, thank you.
> or merely drain them slower
Can you elaborate? What does this mean?
> (see also: me and video games or TV)
Are you saying video games or TV: (1) recharge you, (2) fill time, or (3) drain energies slower?
> or merely drain them slower
Can you elaborate? What does this mean?
> (see also: me and video games or TV)
Are you saying video games or TV: (1) recharge you, (2) fill time, or (3) drain energies slower?
In the case of games or a show they can stop being fun and be more like work pretty easily. They're like junk food. They fill you up for a little while but they're not fulfilling.
How did you realize you actually enjoyed listening to music uninterrupted rather than driving?
What I think I know is that the answer changes over time, so you should get comfortable with the idea of always asking yourself the question anyway.
If I have a system that only works because of my tendency to problem solve. Imagine that a friend confided in you that they're having trouble and asked for help figuring it out. What would you ask them? What are your answers to those questions? How would you respond if your friend gave your answers? It's not a panacea, but if you avoid doing this experiment with subjects like employment and romance (we think everyone else should break up and quit their jobs immediately) it kind of works.
Leisure time like listening to music or playing a video game can make you happier. Such happy events can re-energize not on that specific day necessarily, but e.g. the workweek (or beginning of workweek) afterwards. Neutral and unpleasant activity will not have such effect.
Anecdotal: overcoming a great challenge in gaming in a team had made me euphoric for a few days. I woke up and was literally right away excited. Gaming doesn't always have such effect though. One problem games (and TV etc) have is that it can feel like a choir. A mandatory riedel you gotta sing every X time together with person Y on time Z. Even when at times you really don't wanna. Then you can end up in a negative spiral, especially if the other factors are being difficult as well (e.g. your kid, work, etc). Because it isn't always static. Sometimes you want to skip. If you game in a team, play a team sport, or are a high performing athlete you might be hard on yourself. If you got on-demand TV, you can skip easier, but I suppose the monthly pay makes you wanna eat your cake as part of the all you can eat sub.
Sports can affect your brain by increasing your cognitive performance.
I suppose it can be proven with EEG/MRI scans. Probably rather costly, but if its done for academic purposes and reproduced by a TV show you got two birds (tho not with one stone): the scientific part background, and that being applied for the general population explained with simplicity.
> How did you realize you actually enjoyed listening to music uninterrupted rather than driving?
By testing the effect of driving without music, or listening to music without driving.
If I couldn't play Chess online I don't know what else I'd do to relax that wasn't vegging in front of the TV.
This year I'm going to my local club as well and play OTB for the social aspects.
I know, the website looks a little cheesy but everything they talk about in the videos is legit. Meditate. Eat food that is actually nutritious, exercise, learn to be grateful and resilient. If you don't find Rick Hanson's way of talking about those topics to be helpful, just google the overall ideas of self-care and well being. Pretty much everyone says the same sort of things Rick Hanson says, but different people put slightly different spins on particular parts of the message. Find the message that speaks to you about this: how to take care of yourself.
Not just "how to happy" or "how to be productive".
Alternating 3 months on and 3 months off of jogging in the summer an elliptical in the winter, 4 days a week, with a steady program that took 45-55 minutes tops including changing clothes and a shower. My records do not support exercising for productivity gain; they support the opposite.
It was clear that exercising simply depleted my energy. It doesn’t take very long to do and it feels good, but it sucked my energy and my productive hours (mostly coding) were shortened by an average of 3-4 hours per day. Although I felt energetic, I didn’t “have more energy” as they say.
I will continue exercising when I can afford that, because keeping my body healthy is important long-term.
I am now curious about the wider justification of this common advice. I doubt it’s just a virtue signal. It’s hard to beat catching a morning run that moment before the sun comes over the horizon. Great way to start the day. But, my goal here was to be honest with myself. It does not make me feel better throughout the day. I wish it did, because I love feeling better, but it doesn’t do that. Not for me.
Best of luck to you!!
However, I switched to a 10 minute cycling workout with high intensity intervals (4-5 intervals 30 seconds in length). I have only done this for a few weeks, but I find that it boosts daily energy rather than depleting it.
I.e. working out at 7am with workhours from 9-5 are suboptimal but workhours from 4am to 8am with an hour of workout between 8 and 9 gives you a boost for the rest of the day
Not getting immediately sucked into moralizing your attempts at self-care is almost alien to the American ethos. John Calvin, haunting America for 450 years...