octatrack

I often leave the house without my iPhone. Here is my full stack:

- Ask wife to set up screen time passcode and not tell me

- Block social media and other distracting websites in Screen Time

- Set a 1 minute time limit on distracting apps

- Keep the phone in the garage as much as possible

- Get an Apple Watch cellular so that I can still communicate with people, make payments, get directions etc when I am out and about

Not a perfect dumb phone but this has helped me reduce usage tremendously.

Love it. MIDI sync and start/stop functionality would be great to connect it to other gear/software!

Apple Watch with Authy is a great solution for this. I don’t need to have my phone in the same room to use 2FA.

Better yet, don’t answer unknown phone calls.

There are health risks associated with vaping though, so the risk is not minimal. But yes, you need to _want to_ quit in order to be able to.

I am committed to not smoking or vaping, no matter what.

So far, I haven’t experienced any strong cravings for the gum when not taking it for a day or two. When I decide to stop in about a couple months, I will power through with discipline.

I used to be a smoker, for a good decade. Then, switched to vaping for 3-4 years, which allowed me to taper down my nicotine use and quit completely.

This was about 5 years ago.

Recently, I’ve started using nicotine gum to increase focus while working. I usually use 1 mg, maximum 4 times a day. I typically begin taking it in the afternoon, my morning work sessions are usually nicotine-free. I have been using it on most days for about 3 months.

I have zero desire to smoke or vape. On days when I am not taking it, I don’t have a strong craving for the gum.

I’ve also quit caffeine a few days ago, with the intention to not use it for at least 3 months. I find that even low amounts of tea increases my anxiety to the point that it becomes difficult to focus. I’ve been very productive since I stopped caffeine. Mild withdrawal effects in the form of physical tiredness, but I am fine with the tradeoff for less anxiety.

I might have developed some level of physical dependency to nicotine, I’ll see it once I’ll do an extended break. For now, it’s the only dopamine-increasing substance I consume, and I’m fine with it.

Doesn't seem to be available in the EU.

I mostly use my large iPad Pro as a secondary screen with Sidecar when traveling. For this, it's excellent.

I've used it for some minimal coding via Codespaces or SSH, which was fine, but as a development machine, the 13" MacBook Air is a way superior choice.

> To me, this sounds like a nightmare. The idea that something artificial could change me in any way. And the idea that people desire this is scary.

For many, this is the whole point of taking psychedelics - to find self-improvement through these altered states. Science seem to confirm this works. [0] Why does it feel scary to you?

[0] Psychedelics and Neuroplasticity: A Systematic Review Unraveling the Biological Underpinnings of Psychedelics - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34566723/

> or some other psychedelic

MDMA, sure, would have severe consequences if consumed so much.

Psychedelics, such as mushrooms or LSD, would cause hardly any harm and simply would stop working due to tolerance build up, unless the user keeps doubling the dose every time.

> There must be some deeper biological reason for it to be favored so heavily.

Or perhaps the fact that it's legal and readily available in every grocery store, restaurant and entertainment venue? Unlike any other mind altering substance we use.

The early decade or so of electronic music parties were truly magical. People were mostly on MDMA and/or LSD and did not consume much alcohol. Sadly, these days alcohol culture has taken over, and people often use cocaine or speed to remain energetic while drunk. It’s a different kind of vibe - more about escaping versus opening the mind as it is with MDMA or psychedelics.

There are still places where more conscious partying happens. These are typically psychedelic trance or deep techno festivals.

Alcohol truly is one of the worst drug we use - just look at Dr. David Nutt’s research [0]. I really wish young people clubbing these days gravitated towards less harmful drugs.

[0] https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/uk-11660210.am...

I recently discovered IVPN and really like it. It's my preferred VPN. Previously, I've used NordVPN and ProtonVPN.

I also vouch for Chromatic, it has been extremely valuable for us. It is only working with Storybook, though, as it's made by the same company.

I was an alcoholic and have completely quit drinking around 7 years ago. I’m in my mid 30’s now.

Changing my peer group was the most important thing. Hanging out with people who drink at places where drinking is the main activity is not a good way to stop drinking.

Travelling was a great way for me to find other likeminded people. I moved to SEA where I found lots of people who weren’t drinking.

Once you have friends who aren’t alcoholics, you can start doing non-drinking things for fun. Hiking, riding motorcycles, jamming on instruments, talking about philosophy, fishing, writing code… Anything that you would consider fun.

Partying is also possible without booze, but the event has to be one that’s less drinking oriented. Typically, venues are making most of their revenue from alcohol sales, so it’s not easy to find the right one. But there are still some underground electronic music events, raves or even Sunday morning ecstatic dances, etc.

If you want to use substances, I found that mushrooms at the dose of around 0.5-1g are a safe option for some social fun time. But be sure to do your research and experiment in a safe setting first.

I challenge any non-ADHD person to do the following for a week:

* Sleep only 5 hours a day

* Spend 5 hours on TikTok every day

* Eat a diet of mostly processed carbohydrates

* Stay sedentary all day

Let’s see if this person starts showing ADHD symptoms after a week. Should we start medicating them?

I am not saying that there are no _legit_ cases of ADHD when it is indeed genetic or trauma based that cannot be easily fixed by lifestyle changes. There are people who really need the meds. But I am betting that that these people are only a very low percentage of the currently medicated ones.

I think a large amount of the ADHD symptoms can be mitigated with lifestyle habits. Proper sleep, moving the body, getting sun, meditating, proper nutrition, managing dopamine disrupting activities (e.g. mindlessly scrolling TikTok or watching porn), etc. all improve ADHD symptoms.

Medication should be the last resort, only for severe cases, or perhaps not used every day so that the brain can recover. 4 day on and 3 days off seem to be a popular dosing schedule by some mindful advocates.

Of course, it’s incredibly difficult to do all the things mentioned above to aid optimal dopamine levels.

The way our society operates, it’s much easier to take the shortcut and pop some amphetamine after you wake up to get your day going.

Exceptions apply to legit, severe cases.

Andrew Huberman has a good podcast about the topic. [0]

[0] https://podcastnotes.org/huberman-lab/episode-37-adhd-how-an...

Is there something that we can use on iOS to hide recommendations?

I reach for lo-fi when I'd like to set the mood chill and relax. Typically, for evening spent with my girlfriend or for a bunch on a weekday.

For work, I prefer more dynamic instrumental music. Specifically, hypnotic, minimalistic, psychedelic techno. An artist I really like these days is Luigi Tozzi[0] and the label Hypnus Record.

[0] https://soundcloud.com/hypnus-memoirs/1-luigi-tozzi

I switched to using StartPage after DDG failed me. I ended up adding !g to almost all of the searches.

StartPage shows Google results through a proxy for improved privacy. I am quite happy with it.

I am trying to manage my ADHD sympthoms naturally. I don't believe that I should take stimulants until I have my lifestyle habits in order.

I found that sleep quality is the number one metric that determines the level of ADHD sympthoms I experience. I do yin yoga before sleep every day, and have fully quit caffeine. I also make sure to not eat at least 4 hours before bed and to not look at any screens 1 hour before my bedtime. Sleep is absolutely my number 1 priority in life.

Starting my day with some heart-rate elevating exercise is the second most helpful habit. I really got into power yoga during lockdown, I highly recommend it.

Having elevated blood ketones, either through fasting or eating low carb, are the third most helpful tool. My level of focus is just incredible when my body has switched to fats as the main fuel source.

My ADHD is quite manageable this way. I feel like having to work for mental clarity is better for me than relying on amphetamines.