One Month Without an Smartphone

This month was sometimes weird, sometimes it just sucked and sometimes I did not miss a thing.

The Good

• Its easier to focus on conversations with the other person when you're not constantly distracted by some notifications and habit-shaping glances on your phone.
• It's easier to realize what's happening around you

The Bad

• I did miss an appointment because I did not take a look at my calendar that day. So I disappointed one person, who did need my help.
• My online communication via WhatsApp was nonexistent this month. So I might miss something urgent. But I think, if it might be something important (not to be confused with urgent), The people had plenty of other ways to contact me.
• I forgot my phone way more often at home than before. One time it resulted in a awful misunderstanding between me and my wife. This sucked so much.

The Ugly

• My wife uses Pintrest since yesterday. It did suck up about one hour on my life to stare on her screen.
• Writing text messages with T9 sucks so much, I will never miss it any more. I have to admit, I really hated it.
• I still wasted some time with playing a silly game (coded in Java for Embedded Systems, good old times).
• I tend to adopt an "better-than-thou"-attitude. "Hey, you still use a smartphone? You social outcast instant-gratification monkey!". That is a attitude I really had to watch out for and capture it, not letting any room to breathe.

Today, I learned to live without Internet

Waking up this morning was weird. I grabbed my phone, wanted to check for some news on Twitter, WhatsApp, you name it. Full Wi-Fi. No internet connection.

Several retries later, still same result. After I went downstairs to check the Internet router. No Internet. Checking the splitter resulted in: No Internet.

Do I called my provider. Deutsche Telekom actually has a good reputation in customer service. At least they 're not as bad as the other internet providers. After spending some minutes in the waiting line and some more minutes, the first free available slot for a technician to come by is: next Friday. One week without internet. Hooray.

Okay, not really. It sucks. But on the other hand: I am kinda happy about the possibility to explore life without internet. I am forced to do so, yes. I did not choose it, yes. But I'm still a little bit thrilled about this possibility.

Instead of mindless surfing shopping websites, you would to do something else. Instead of watching YouTube, you would have to do something else. Instead of being absent minded with fluff, you would have to find a way to be absent minded with fluff you can touch, like books.

Frankly, this is just a mere fantasy. Instead of lonely surfing the Internet, I fantasize about being Super Dad, having the deepest relationship with my wife ever possible, my understanding of my career material exploding, learning to play the guitar and become fluent in Russian and Japanese within this week, just because of the lack of the internet. Reality will be different. But reality will be great, nevertheless. I just have to take it as it is.

So, now, after having spent my first internet-free afternoon for weeks, I'll create myself an awesome, super delicious Cappuccino and will continue reading a book of my choice.

You need less than you think to be happy. And you need less than you think to be thankful.

Today I learned: My kids want to spend time with me.

I feel sick today. Not that much sick, that I would stay at home all day, but although I've got plenty of time today, I did not accomplish much.

But, given that hint by a good old friend, I asked my 5yo son, whether he thinks that I worked too much. He replied: "Yes, you work much. But there is something I considered: I want to help you with your work." I asked, how he thinks he could help me, he answered: "I would help you. I would help you changing the tires on our car."

Yesterday, I changed the tires on my car. The younger one helped me, tightening the screws. It was great.

Today, after that short conversation with my oldest son, he said to me, knowing that I feel sick, that I should lay down a little bit and that he will lay next to me an cuddle a little bit.

Right now, after about one hour of lying next to me, listening to some book I read to him, he stood up and went away to playing with some toys.

Kids, the older the less, do not need your attention full 24/7. They want to spend time with you. They want to feel loved, to be taken serious, to connect with the most important people up to now. And this is great. This means, that I can, even if I work much, even if I do not spend as much time with my kids as I liked to, I kinda can make up for this by having time dedicated only to them.

I did not accomplish much. But today, I accomplished some important things. And this is great.

Spending More Time With Kids Yesterday and Spending Less Time On the Internet Today

So... Septermber, I planned to spend at least one hour a day with my kids.
That didn't work as expected: I did not spend that much time. I did not expect this to be a challenge. But it was.
But at least I tried to be more aware of the time I do spend time with them. And that was great.

It was great to get to know them a little more, like experience their thoughts. A great example of that:

My wife pointed my kids to see the full moon. And then my second son said, that he wants to touch the moon. And thus, he will use a very very very very ... ...very long ladder to achieve that goal. My oldest son said, that he will use a big rocket to get to the moon. And that he will put the moon into the trunk of that rocket. After that, both were debating, whether this rocket with the trunk has be bigger that our car or not.

Wonderful.

Spending time with kids is great. Even if it's short.
This month I will spend less than half an hour each day on the internet for private use.
But there are some problems, I already encountered:

It's not 1999 anymore, where you could clearly distinguish between being online or not: For being online, your computer had to be turned on and you had to dial the internet connection with the modem. If that successed, you were online (and you better use the connection, because you pay per minute). If not, or you closed the connection, you weren't.

Today, I even don't know whether I'm online: If my notebook has an active wi-fi connection, I'm technically online. Do I use it? I don't know. I don't know, whether my browser is upgrading in background, whether windows tries to download some updates, whether my smartphone (which is currently in my bedroom upstairs) is receiving some WhatsApp messages. Hard to decide.

I also struggle with the definition: private use. Is searching something for my friends private? Reading stuff online for educational purposes, which will affect my work quality at my job?

All I can say now, after four days of internet diet: I'm so much more aware how much my life relies upon the internet today. It's almost frightening.

A month with (almost) no video

So, I did not watch video and did not play games on the computer all of August. Almost.
I did watch four movies (I allowed myself two cheat days that month), several tutorials, clips of my children, maybe two or three less-than-interesting clips on YouTube, and countless animated GIFs.
I also played about 10 Minutes of 2048, before realizing, that I must not play computer games that month.

All in all, i was pretty relaxed about that challenge this month. But nonetheless, it was a challenge to force myself not to play boring and silly game on my smartphone while sitting bored in the train.

I realized, how much time I do spend with video entertainment every day. I realized how ubiquitous video has become in my life. I realized how silly it sounds to others confessing, that you are avoiding video this month. I realized, that I did not read more books than other months. It watch a lot more images and read more articles in various blogs.

It was a challenge not to just dive into watching some videos all by myself, but to waiting for something meaningful. And by meaningful, I mean making it either educational or making it an experience shared with others.

And so I removed games from my smartphone. And so I do not really have the desire to watch movies (although I would like to watch some episodes of Stargate, fully intentional, just enjoying it with my wife or some friends). I have the desire to spend my day in a more meaningful way.

And hey, isn't that, what life is about? Making it meaningful?

And thus, I am thrilled about this month's challenge: To spend at least one hour of quality time with at least one of my kids.
Yeah, I know, originally, it was scheduled for October, but I know, I won't be able to do it in October, so I'll do it now.

Things will be great.

A Month With Sleep Deprivation

So, last month I tried to wake up before 5:00 am. Oh how I underestimated the effects of sleep deprivation.

It did not work well for long: The first week was great. I achieved my goals and felt great working on stuff I loved early in the morning. It was truly awesome.
But there were many downsides to it, or at least one downside, which sabotaged it all: It does not really fit my lifestyle.

My wife and I use to stay up pretty late, working on some mandatory stuff when the children are asleep. This is also the most valuable time for two of us. We normally stay up to 11 pm. And go to bed pretty tired. During this time, we watch some movie, or talk to each other or do the stuff we could not do during daytime.

All that was missing. Reduced communication to your spouse? You don't want to do that for a long time. So I did not do that and stayed up late, too. But that made it almost impossible to rise early.

Another problem was the reduced performance when fighting sleep deprivation. A few times I plainly decided to sleep long, because I knew that I would have to rise at 7 am anyway and I had to steer the car. I did not want to risk my life just because of a challenge.

So, the bottom line of this challenge? I really liked to rise early. When I did, I was productive, efficient, content. But it does not really fit my current lifestyle. I have to figure it out, how I could make it a better fit.

So, this month I will not watch any video or play a video game for the sake of entertainment.
I will watch educational stuff. I will watch self-development videos.
But I will refuse to play video games or watch funny videos on the internet.

I will play more board games instead. I will read more books. I will use my time productively. At least I hope I will. ;)

Drinking in February And Not Drinking in March

Last month I drank at least two liters of water each day.

As far a I remember, not a single day was really easy: There was always some pressure on me. Sometimes I felt like I procrastinated drinking water, so that I rushed drinking all that water I needed to drink for that day in one take. Certainly not the best way to handle things.

Surprisingly, I did not miss drinking juices or softdrinks. I just did not need it. That part was really easy.

Upside

A benefit is, that digestion works better when you have enough water for it.

Downside

One downside of this process, is that it sometimes felt weird. I felt weird, when I walked in into the McDonalds, ordered a menu, but instead of cola, to take water. Another downside is, that my stomach makes slightly embarrasing sounds when filled with fluids only.

Despite all the negative aspects, I will keep it up, drinking two liters of water each day. No juices, no softdrinks. But I will allow myself two cheat days every month, where I can drink as much cola as I want, and do not have to drink any water.

March: No alcohol.

I expect this to be fairly easy. Alcohol is not much of a problem for me, so that should be no really a problem.

And yeah, thank you for all the support so far! It's a great self-challenge journey so far!

Let's bring it on.

One Month Without Dinner and February's Two Liter Challenge

My new year's resolution started with skipping dinner in January. It was sometimes really easy, sometimes hard, but in general, it was not that though. Was I successful, you might ask. Yes, I was, at least in my terms of success. There was one time I took calories after 5:30 pm. But it was not intentional. There might have been an evening or two, where I did not look at the clock and hence ate calories at 5:32 pm (but I'm pretty sure that didn't happen). Here's what I have experiences and learned:

The neutral aspect:

• Coke Zero actually has calories. This was my one-time where I did eat calories after 5:30 pm. I was tired, had to drive home for a long distance, so I was glad about some caffeine, a friends offered me in the form of "Coke Zero". Believing the ads, which said, that there is no sugar in this stuff, I concluded, that it did not contain calories, as well. As I later found out, I was wrong. Coke Zero contains 0.25 kcal per 100 ml. Not that much, but it contained calories. But now I know.

The positive aspects:

• I sleep better. When eating dinner, and laying down to sleep, I get heartburn. This stopped this month.
• It's easier to wake up early. When your last meal was at 5:30 pm, or even  4:30 pm, your body will crave for food in the morning. Hence it will be easier to wake early. For me, I rarely stood up before 8:00 am. But skipping dinner makes waking up at 7:00 am fun. I get more that early.
• I've lost about 1.5 kilos of weight. It was not my intention to lose weight. But being "skinny fat", It's a quite nice side effect.
• I drank way less alcohol. My drinking time for alcohol is usually the evening: Having a beer after work, or drinking a glass of wine with my wife. This month I drank wine with friends at lunch. And one time with my wife, at lunch. And funny thing is: The wine tasted better than usually.

The negative aspects:

• Sometimes, I had a great appetite in the evening. Sometimes I wished, I wouldn't have to do this. The next morning the cravings were gone, and I just moved on with my normal life.
• The worst feeling about not being allowed to eat in the evening, was when it's socially expected of you. For me, it was when having friends visit us. It just sucks, being hungry (or having at least lot of appetite), sitting with wonderful people at the table, ... and watching them eat the tasty pizza my wife created. These were the hardest moments this month.
• Going to the cinema, and not buying tons of cola and nachos or popcorn, also felt weird. The smell of popcorn was very tempting, to give in. But on the other hand, I usually eat all nachos even before the movie starts, so I realized, I don't really need this, I'm just used to it.

Having experienced this all, I think I will set dinner skipping as my default. The benefits outweigh the negative aspects by far. But I will allow myself to eat dinner with friends. This is what I missed most.

And one meta-thing: Thank you guys for your support! All of the people, who read this, talked to me about this: Thank you! You're awesome. It helped me a lot to talk with you about my plans.

In February

I will drink at least two liters of fresh water each day. Coffee, Tea, Juices, Cola, Whatever, does not count. And additionally, I will not drink sweet, cold stuff, like cola or fruit juices (but I will put some sugar in my coffee). I hope it will be good for my health.

Let's bring it on!

A Year with Daily Challenges

Inspired by Leo Babauta's "A Year of Living Without", I decided to create a challenge for myself.
Some of Leo's great challenges are just not really applicable for me: Not using the Internet for half a day would bring me in serious job problems. That's not what I want to happen. I want to try new things out, leave things out, get out of my comfort zone (at least a little bit). The worst thing that could happen, that I learn nothing new. The best thing that could happen, is that I change the way I live my everyday life. And I believe, it will make fun. At least in hindsight.

January

No calories after 5:30pm. And no eating after 5:30pm. I tried this from time to time, but failed regularly. This month shall be different. Instead of eating or drink sweetened stuff, I will drink water or unsweetened tea.

February

This month I will drink at least two liters of fresh water each day. This might become hard. But it could be worth it.

March

No alcolhol. I drink not that much. At least I think I don't. In a typical month perhaps six 0.5-liters of cola-beers and one bottle of wine. That month it will be zero.

April

Either working out for at least 30 minutes or being outside for one hour. I have no idea how to make it work. This is one of the most challenging items on this so far to me. The tricky part will be no to cheat on the workout, but to really work out.

May

No coffein. No coffee. No Latte. No Cappuchino. No Cola. I will replace it with apple juice, water and tea.

June

All distances less than 3 km must be done by foot or bike. This will mean to go shopping by foot or bike. Heck, almost everything I can do in my town, I have to do by foot or bike. Exceptions are allowed only if it's too heavy to transport by bike or foot.

July

No video entertainment. I will not watch any movie or play a video game. Not on my computer and not on my phone. Instead, I will read. Or talk to my wife. Or play boards games. (I have severeal board games, which are challenging playing single, in case no one has time to play with me.). July is a great month for not sitting inside and watching TV or movies.

August

Waking up before 5:00am. This one will mean, that I have to go to bed early. It will be challenging, but surely the most fun. August is the month I look forward most, because of this.

September

Maximum half hour usage of private internet a day. As a programmer, I rely on information gathered from the internet very heavily. You always run into some problems, you cannot solve by yourself. It's not about this kind of internet usage. It's about checking your private emails, it's about surfing amazon and updating your wishlist. It's about the sunken time on reddit. I will replace it with time for family and reading book. I got the feeling, I will read more book this year than in the ten years before.

October

At least one hour of quality time with my kids. And by quality time I mean playing, reading and taking a walk with my kids. In my normal life, I seldom take the time to really enjoy life with those loved ones. (That's a shame actually!). And when I take the time, I'm often distracted by other things I want to accomplish: Books and internet articles to read, phone calls to make, things to cook, stuff to clean up -- you name it. This month will be different.

November

Write a blog post something every day. I have no clue how to accomplish this without writing extremely boring stuff like "Today I ate a banana.". <irony>Photos may be helpful.</irony>

December

No Smartphone usage. I am way too fearsome to go completely mobile-less like Leo. But I will use my wife's feature phone this month. It will rely on pen and paper for notes, contact and calendar updates. Yes, most feature phones have a calendar and contacts, but I hate using them. GTD with no smartphone will also be hard. But I will figure it out. I will replace this habit with being alive and watching all the other people whose attentions are drawn to that little device.




2014? Let's bring it on!