From 1bc83ec12189eb33467742d3ed99756191c1cd3b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Jim Shepich III Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2026 01:00:27 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Updated footnote syntax --- self-care-is-not-selfish.md | 8 ++++---- 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-) diff --git a/self-care-is-not-selfish.md b/self-care-is-not-selfish.md index f09ae68..274156e 100644 --- a/self-care-is-not-selfish.md +++ b/self-care-is-not-selfish.md @@ -23,15 +23,15 @@ As a husband and a father, I now have to take a much more intentional approach t - **Use do not disturb**: I currently mute all notifications except for phone calls. Having your phone pinging constantly is the best way to ensure it stays in your hand (or drives you insane from across the room). I make sure the people I regularly communicate have an understanding that if they need to reach me urgently, they have to call. - **Archive or delete social media apps**: If you need them, you can download them again. But without that barrier in place, you constantly have to resist the temptation. - **Block addictive websites**: Once you make it harder to use your apps, there's a good chance that you'll just start to use the website versions of your usual social media platforms through your browser app. I paid $100 for a lifetime subscription to the [BlockSite](https://blocksite.co/) app/browser extension to remedy this; I figured that if it saves me 4 hours of my life, it has paid for itself. And it has. Once you have BlockSite, you will be appalled to see just how often you see its "This website has been blocked" message because the habit of navigating to your usual websites is so deeply ingrained. - - **Make the UI less appealing/convenient**: when people talk about gambling addictions, they often cite how the gaudy displays, flashing lights, and exiting sounds draw gamblers in and keep them playing [1]. I paid $30 for a lifetime subscription to [minimalist phone launcher](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.qqlabs.minimalistlauncher), which replaces my home screen with a plain text. I feel like this has helped me reduce how often I, by reflex, open my phone and navigate to a scrolling app. Another intervention you can use is to set your display to be greyscale only. That *did* help me reduce my phone usage, but I had to disable it too often for it to be practical (and I once got pulled over while using Google Maps in greyscale because I couldn't distinguish the route from the rest of the roads). + - **Make the UI less appealing/convenient**: when people talk about gambling addictions, they often cite how the gaudy displays, flashing lights, and exiting sounds draw gamblers in and keep them playing [^1]. I paid $30 for a lifetime subscription to [minimalist phone launcher](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.qqlabs.minimalistlauncher), which replaces my home screen with a plain text. I feel like this has helped me reduce how often I, by reflex, open my phone and navigate to a scrolling app. Another intervention you can use is to set your display to be greyscale only. That *did* help me reduce my phone usage, but I had to disable it too often for it to be practical (and I once got pulled over while using Google Maps in greyscale because I couldn't distinguish the route from the rest of the roads). - **Learn to let go of FOMO**: there are times when I get down about not seeing my friends as much, not having time for my hobbies, having to miss out on events, or even falling behind on housework. While it's okay to feel like that, and you should absolutely make time to see your friends and do what you love, you can't let feelings of discontent be an assault on your well-being. Remember that if there are people who you love so much that you take care of them, you're not wasting your time. - **Invest in efficiency**: this is not conventional self-care, but anytime you learn how to do a chore or routine faster, better, or cheaper, that's time and/or money that you can give back to yourself. -- **Play**: if you only take one thing away from this note, let it be that it is critically important that you make time to play. If all you do is work and sleep, you will be miserable. Play rejuvenates the soul while at the same time exercising the mind and/or body. Play with your spouse, and your relationship will be stronger. Play with your children and you will watch their development progress in real time. Play with your friends and you will feel community. Play outdoors and you will feel alive. Play roleplaying games and you will have new and fantastical experiences. Play rhythm or action games and you will develop better reflexes. Play strategic games and you will develop an intuition for understanding real-world interpersonal interactions. Do not play mobile games because they are a plot by the Canadian Devil to capitalize on addiction to fund the development of Canadian infrastructure [2]. +- **Play**: if you only take one thing away from this note, let it be that it is critically important that you make time to play. If all you do is work and sleep, you will be miserable. Play rejuvenates the soul while at the same time exercising the mind and/or body. Play with your spouse, and your relationship will be stronger. Play with your children and you will watch their development progress in real time. Play with your friends and you will feel community. Play outdoors and you will feel alive. Play roleplaying games and you will have new and fantastical experiences. Play rhythm or action games and you will develop better reflexes. Play strategic games and you will develop an intuition for understanding real-world interpersonal interactions. Do not play mobile games because they are a plot by the Canadian Devil to capitalize on addiction to fund the development of Canadian infrastructure [^2]. ## Sources: -[1] https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1171-18.2018 +[^1] https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1171-18.2018 -[2] https://southpark.cc.com/video-clips/jgkzdr/south-park-beelzaboot +[^2] https://southpark.cc.com/video-clips/jgkzdr/south-park-beelzaboot (alt: *South Park* S18E06: "Freemium Isn't Free") \ No newline at end of file From 0081247b15f0640f48aa690ed8c0259c17c3c59c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Jim Shepich III Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2026 02:39:01 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Published some articles --- babies-love-trash.md | 6 +++--- superlock.md | 8 +++----- temptation.md | 26 ++++++++++++++++++++------ 3 files changed, 26 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-) diff --git a/babies-love-trash.md b/babies-love-trash.md index b94dea4..53c1242 100644 --- a/babies-love-trash.md +++ b/babies-love-trash.md @@ -1,8 +1,8 @@ --- title: Babies Love Trash date: 2025-11-20 -lastmod: -published: false +lastmod: 2026-02-09 +published: true tags: - parenting --- @@ -15,6 +15,6 @@ Whether you have a bunch of toys or not, babies and toddlers love to play with h - He loves to rip up tissues and pieces of paper. - He likes to shake bottles of pills (for safety, you can put dry beans into an empty child-locking prescription bottle). - He really likes water bottles too, both disposable and reusable. -- When he was around 6 or 7 months old, my wife smacked his hands with some coupons we got in the mail, and he laughed so hard. +- When he was around 6 or 7 months old, my wife playfully smacked his hands with some coupons we got in the mail, and he laughed so hard. If you really need to distract a baby, just give the baby some trash. My son gets upset if I pop a Werther's or a piece of gum, but he usually calms down if I give him the wrapper. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/superlock.md b/superlock.md index 1d909d5..653815f 100644 --- a/superlock.md +++ b/superlock.md @@ -1,8 +1,8 @@ --- title: Superlock date: 2025-11-26 -lastmod: -published: false +lastmod: 2026-02-09 +published: true thumbnail: assets/images/superlock.jpg tags: - martialarts @@ -12,6 +12,4 @@ The "Superlock" knot is the way I tie my obi. I prefer it because it keeps the e This video shows how to do it: - + diff --git a/temptation.md b/temptation.md index dcd32a8..4c67efb 100644 --- a/temptation.md +++ b/temptation.md @@ -1,15 +1,29 @@ --- title: Temptation date: 2025-11-20 -lastmod: -published: false -tags: [] +lastmod: 2026-02-09 +published: true +tags: + - selfmastery --- At the time of writing this, I have been dieting for over a year. When you are on a diet, you have to learn to resist the **temptation** to overeat or eat stuff that is bad for you. Same thing with being on a budget; you must not give into the **temptation** to overspend. -I have learned that the secret to resisting temptation is to implements systems to keep temptations away from you. Let me use the example of being addicted to candy. The first system I implemented is to not buy candy to keep around the house. That way, the only time I can fail is if I'm out. After Halloween, I slipped up and stocked up on candy. The next system I have is that my wife get mad at me if she sees me eating candy, and my son gets jealous and freaks out. This limits my candy eating to only when they're not around. The next system is that I brush my teeth immediately after dinner, which makes it *inconvenient* to eat candy through the night. +I have learned that the secret to resisting temptation is to implement systems that keep temptations away from you. Let me use the example of being addicted to candy. -Lord's Prayer says "lead us not into temptation...". It does not say "give us temperance against temptation"; it says to keep us away from it. While discipline and temperance are important virtues, you'll find much more success in erecting barriers between yourself and your vices. +The first system I implemented is to not buy candy to keep around the house. That way, the only time I can fail is if I'm out. After Halloween, I slipped up and stocked up on candy. My weight slowly, but steadily increased until all the candy was eaten. + +The next system I have is that my wife get mad at me if she sees me eating candy (instead of saving my carb budget for things we share), and my son gets jealous and freaks out. This limits my candy eating to only those times when they're not around (or not paying attention). + +The next system is that I brush my teeth immediately after dinner, which makes it *inconvenient* to eat candy through the night. + +Another example is doom scrolling. + +The first system I use is to always use Do Not Disturb mode (with exceptions for all phone calls), so that my phone does not summon my attention when I am content without it. + +The next system I use is app timers, Blocksite, and cosmetic uBlock Origin filters to make it inconvenient to access problematic websites. (You can find my uBlock Origin filters [here](https://git.jimlab.io/jim/ublock-origin-filters)). + +The next system I have implemented is to, as much as possible, leave my phone outside my arms' reach, so I can't just reflexively pick it up and start scrolling (though this is often thwarted by the fact that I need to use 2FA all the time). I also leave it in the living room when I go to bed, so I can't just wake up and hop on my phone. + +Lord's Prayer says "lead us not into temptation...". It does not say "give us temperance against temptation"; it says to keep us away from it. While discipline and temperance are important virtues, you'll find much more success in placing barriers between yourself and your vices. -Another example is doom scrolling. The first system I use is to always use Do Not Disturb mode (with exceptions for all phone calls), so that my phone does not summon my attention when I am content without it. The next system I use is app timers, Blocksite, and cosmetic uBlock Origin filters to make it inconvenient to access problematic websites. (You can find my uBlock Origin filters [here](https://git.jimlab.io/jim/ublock-origin-filters)). The next system I have implemented is to, as much as possible, leave my phone out-of-reach, so I can't just reflexively pick it up and start scrolling. I also leave it in the living room when I go to bed, so I can't just wake up and hop on my phone. \ No newline at end of file