slacking at home

since i am not working,
i decided to try and achieve my goals

upskill. be able to produce code and projects that look passable - first javascript/web dev, then python/data analysis
be healthier - exercise, diet
achieve workplace-like pace even at home - would have achieved intrinsic motivation

personal habits

wake on time 7am.
cook and eat what i cook - and failing a lot - its just unpleasant
journaling with journey app - report on progress on your current project, personal emotions, log what makes you distracted, makes you unhappy. helps you plan, vent gain more clarity, unconsciously.
keep my room and house clean

keystone habit (or action creates inspiration and motivation)

housework: laundry and plants daily, floor and toilets weekly. housework is my keystone habit instead of exercise hahaha
always do a small chore in the morning. water the plants, hang the laundry. anything that makes you move
worktools and digital workspace.

aside on diet

i find it is very hard to keep to my existing home food diet because it is so bland. the only motivation is my sore mouth and tongue, trying to replace it with coffee and tea. (black) get my urge for flavors coming from beverage.
also have to be aware of the amount of MSG. was consuming too much it gave me insomnia, and possibly high blood induced also. i put into my lunch time soup.
i added airfried vegetarian meat to lunch as a side dish so the veggie soup is not impossibly boring. also added that to breakfast because i cant keep having sausage and eggs with breakfast. sausages have nitric? oxide? which is cancerous. and hotdogs give me constipation anyway so i suspect they mess with gut flora
my mum has been buying cut papaya for me all these while. because i have constipation. the papaya and coffee are pretty good bowel movers. coffee is heaty. been thinking of buying my own and cutting it but not sure about the storage. constipation and sleep/stress is tied together for me. so i am quite dependent on regular intake of papaya several times a week for my energy and mental wellness. LOL.
i have not yet settled on a routine for dinner. quite often i break the chain end up ordering fast food.
have to google some recipes for lunch boxes so i might wanna do that next time i go and work. in case office food sucks.

small rewards are allowed to replenish your personal joy level

youtube - dangerous - can fall into the mindless trap of watching endless music and lyric videos - music and dopamine
pet videos - for the oxytocin to fake social interaction - mejoo and cats - lack of social interaction turn one into an asshole
motivational videos - feel kiasu when you watch other people killing it - extrinsic motivation - 1
morning routine videos - sometimes i do learn from them. watching the mundane is soothing - 1 2 3 4
netflix - netflix is actually less addicting than youtube or facebook - witcher, altered carbon (blade runner!), holo love
facebook - not advised
coffee (caffeine)
whatsapp - throw your phone in the living room

what i dont get around to doing

exercising. i wake up in the morning and brush it off, just that thought makes me stay in bed so i dont do it. i think about it in the evening and i think i want to code somemore instead. just dont have the trigger.
sleep on time. always allow myself to end up staying late because i get motivated later in the day, easier to focus when it is cooler. plus i have enough accumulated regret on wasting hours in the daytime so i get motivated to do more coding. doing things the night before. it does have the spillover effect in helping me continue what i have been doing the next day.
cooking healthy varied meals that i dont mind eating long term.my commitment to my own cooking is tedious. i break it a few times a week. see the aside on diet above.

not important at all

book summaries - because i read and forget = time wasted. did i get anything out of the book at all?

main goal - my personal project

this keeps my unconscious anxiety away. if not, i suffer from guilt, worry about the future, and get insomnia. i am just worried i will slip into my old ways and be stuck in the unemployment track.
by the way, my current project is learning MERN stack course on udemy.

aside on content

youtube - mejoo and cats - pet channel
books - power of habits, kaizen - important takeaways are: keystone habits, start small and increment (reduce inertia)
app - journey - log your feelings, distractions, achievements
app - keep by google

workstation (digital workspace)

software aka worktools. pin them to the taskbar. very very important.
order your browser tabs by importance and use a resume session.
i also have bookmarks for important reference sites. and google keep for stuff i want to look through later.

keeping track of progress

use a journal app to log. my style is in the morning(log in whether i woke on time), late afternoon (break) and occasionally at night (for unresolved questions and recall the day's work)
i like udemy courses because you can see your progress
using incremental, once you find the pace, then start aiming to finish a planned amount of work everyday

aside on try to learn online via watching videos

variety is key
master keyboard shortcuts - spacebar is play, arrow keys are fast forward and backward
use different speeds, 1.25x, 1.5x, 2x
pause, then use the arrow keys to jump. only works if the fast forward increments are very small
turn on captions
do not use earphones. use the computer's speaker, or buy a set of usb speakers
turn off the volume and read the captions
use dark mode. you can do the google flag dark mode
use full width screen
go back and forth. you wont absorb uniformly, sometimes you just have to skip and go back. but do go back and learn thoroughly
take notes in a physical notebook. need the hand-in-the-pen way to force very dry information into your head
keep your phone and tablet in another room
use a desk
avoid strong sunlight, work when the sun is not shining on your back. take advantage of cooler times of the day. you dont need aircon unless your environment is really hot. having the computer on already increases the electrical bills.
choose videos with walk through, practice along.
in case you need to search for stuff and end up in the rabbit hole. all the shiny new stuff to learn, articles to read. all these goes into google keep
keep a piece of natural oil peppermint soap near your laptop for the minty scent. i like viva la soap. mint is supposed to keep you awake.
dont force yourself to absorb if you feel the material or the content is not good enough.
if you dont mind caffeine, coffee is good for the kick and the dopamine boost, as well as the aroma

distractions and priorities

minimise the distractions. distractions are not only distractions like your phone, minor goals that dont contribute to your main goal are also distractions
prioritise. it is very hard for me to practice this, because i really really hate choosing. commiting. giving up alternative

pacing yourself

its all about being painless and introducing things in slowly
i am not satisfied with my current rate of progress so i think its time to be faster
ideal is to reach productivity levels when at an actual workplace
days when your motivation is low. i am quite ok with fail days, i just let it be and do what i want. then i go examine why my mood was so sucky.

emotions

external motivation

you have gotta care a little about how others view you and be a little vain in wanting to achieve more. taylor swift is an extreme example in Miss Americana.

Pensieve