Deleted Facebook, instagram, 14 years ago, twitter in 2019, reddit during the api bs, stopped being the only one maintaining relationships, and finally, stopped caring about most things and people/dram I have no power to fix or change.

I have declared war on notifications. My immediate family, two closest friends, and my boss can call me. In no other circumstances will my phone make a noise or vibrate. I will check my texts when I feel like it.

Other than a few exceptions, no apps may show the notification badge either. Discord will show DMs and mentions from one or two servers. Everything else is blocked. My work email may show unread email. I’ve even turned off banners on my work chat app. I don’t think I’ve checked my personal email in months.

All my recurring charges are paperless + autopay. That’s another notification badge I forgot about - I have a budgeting app that can show transactions. I categorize them, make sure their categories are covered, and I’m done.

On the first of the month, I pay rent and set the budgeting app categories. Then I have nothing to worry about, and near-zero distractions. My biggest pain point in life is deciding what to eat for dinner.

I wanted to quit nagging my kids to close the pantry door. It conflicts with the fridge door and they’re both getting banged up pretty bad. I replaced one of the pantry door hinges with a spring hinge (and removed the latch mechanism from the handle) and now the pantry door closes on its own. Sometimes, I hear them fling the door open and hit the fridge anyways, but I giggle just a little when it bonks them on the head.

Take my surgical scalpel and remove portions that do nothing but bring me grief. The best part about being an adult is being able to choose my friends and acquaintances. If someone I love is going through a rough time I’ll help them, but if it drags on for years or if I never get any joy from the relationship I don’t need to keep it in my life.

A long time ago I would try and keep track of things with notes. It didn’t work.

I set up my personal email calendar as my schedule and put everything into it. I even linked it to my work account, my phone, tablet, etc. I’ve made it very easy to create appts in it.

It’s made my life significantly easier.

I used to live in a big city and was bicycling or bussing a lot. When my apartment lease ran out, I was able to find a place where I could walk most of the time. That was great for several years. Of course it depended on the specific location.

Another thing is owning less. If you own things that you don’t use at least once a year, maybe get rid of them. It’s easier to clean, to move, to organize, to find things. Of course this also depends on preference. Regardless, owning things has its own mental and financial costs, so find an amount that is good for you.

Getting rid of a TV made my life better. Similarly, getting rid of a microwave. But the latter depends on your cooking habits. For example, my work has a microwave, so I heat food up there regularly, and at home I cook things.

Switched from being a software developer to being an uber driver

Recognizing the difference between complicated and complex. Complexity comes from multiple layers or interconnections. It can be elegant, efficient, sophisticated. Complicated is needlessly confusing. A tangled web. Unfathomable. My relationships are often complicated, but they are seldom complex.

I mention this not to be (very) pedantic or to take shots at the op. Rather, to the question, appropriate specificity, simplifies and improves your life. Remember those complicated relationships? More than half of my arguments started with disagreeing on what ‘it’ is. How many of yours?

Build up concepts. Learn things. Enjoy life, especially when it makes you laugh.

Read Walden by Thoreau

You’re looking at it right now.