Hi comrades and welcome to the third improvement megathread of March!

We are in the middle of March and there are exactly 2 more full weeks until the end of the month. This is a good time to review your progress so far and set goals or priorities for the rest of the month.

As usual, some discussion ideas:

• Do you want to share something you've done in the previous week? Everything counts, nothing is too small.
• What would you like to do next week?
• Which aspect are you currently focused on improving?
• Do you have any streaks? For example, "sober for one day." Feel free to post your streak every day in this thread.
• If you don't have a continuous streak, did you manage to abstain from something for a day or more?
• Did you come across some useful information or resource that might help others?

Good luck with your goals!

Relapsed when I had ear problems because I was so upset I caved and bought packs. At least I have the gum left over from when I tried to quit before. This time the personal best to beat is a month.

Hi comrades and welcome to the second improvement megathread of March!

As usual, some discussion ideas:

• Do you want to share something you've done in the previous week? Everything counts, nothing is too small.
• What would you like to do next week?
• Which aspect are you currently focused on improving?
• Do you have any streaks? For example, "sober for one day." Feel free to post your streak every day in this thread.
• If you don't have a continuous streak, did you manage to abstain from something for a day or more?
• Did you come across some useful information or resource that might help others?

Good luck with your goals!

And that's not a joke. I actually can't think of any single assignment I've had in college that I haven't submitted the day it was due because I was procrastinating (I probably have ADHD but diagnosis is expensive).

But I started my research for this three days ago, wrote up half of the essay yesterday, and finished it today. I sat down and read 25 pages of an academic text in one sitting, which was honestly a big achievement for me - it only took half an hour, but I really struggle to stay focused on that kind of thing. It's due tomorrow at 10pm, and I submitted it at like 8pm today. That's one thing I don't have to worry about now.

I've submitted assignments literal seconds before the they were due in the past, so this feels like progress to me.

Hello comrades and welcome to the first improvement megathread of March!

As usual, some discussion ideas:

• It's the first Sunday of the month. Is there something that you wish to accomplish or improve in March?
• Do you want to share something you've done in the previous week or month? Everything counts, nothing is too small.
• Do you have any streaks? For example, "sober for one day." Feel free to post your streak every day in this thread.
• If you don't have a continuous streak, did you manage to abstain from something for a day or more?
• Did you come across some useful information or resource that might help others?

I'm wishing everybody a great March!

It’s kinda hard for me to go without it 🥴 I can’t help but think it’s a product of the times tbh. I get extremely anxious when I send texts out to multiple people and get no replies, especially when I see some of my friends with hundreds of unread texts (is it something I said?) It would kinda make sense too, considering how algorithms are designed to give you what you want. Idk is that a stretch?

But yeah I’m interested in the science behind why my happy brain chemicals go off the rails when I get the slightest bit of validation, this also makes me even more skeptical about the idea of SSRIs

Is it terminal? /joke

Ok, but real talk, having gym buddies and a gym where people talk to each other, a sex life with fwbs that are actually friendly, and getting exercise has all added up to making me not?!? Depressed?!?! For the first time in at least a decade. I'm tapering my anti depressants, and it's still okay so far (I might stick with my current lower dose for a while).

I feel unleashed. I feel type-A. I feel like I can actually achieve something if I put in daily effort. I have a fucking to-do list and I'm checking shit off DAILY.

ADHD meds are helping more in combination with having a workout routine. I'm noticeably less effective without it, but I'm being prescribed so I have plenty.

But also, like... I'm shooting the shit with people better than I ever have, getting peoples numbers and making plans to hang out (might fuck around and go for a hike with a new gym buddy this weekend).

I feel good randomly right now (hard conditioning workout and a big meal in the last 4 hours). That never fucking happened last year.

Exercise and community, folks, can't recommend it enough.

Hi comrades and welcome to the fourth improvement megathread of February!

This is the last Sunday of the month so we can do a monthly review in addition to the weekly review.

Here are some ideas for discussion but feel free to talk about other stuff as well:

• How was your February so far? Feel free to post your Ws or Ls.
• Do you want to share something that you've done this week or month?
• What would you like to accomplish or improve next week or month?

Wishing everybody a great week!

* I’m considering parceling out what’s left into small little doses that I’ll use to help me taper, or, better idea, keep a little emergency dose for when I CAN’T FUCKING TAKE IT ANYMORE MAN so I can have a tiny little managed relapse instead of like, telling my dealer about how I’m doing a couple days off, a couple days on, and then asking if I can get an 🎱.

So it’s Wednesday, and you know what that means, right? No? Get fucked. Who the Hell are you anyways? Get out of my—

*blip*

So it’s Wednesday, and we all know what that means, right? Time for @[email protected] to make another half-assed effort to quit doing meth.

Seriously though it’s getting to the point where if I don’t quit or at least be a functioning addict I am probably going to kill myself.

And this time I’m motivating myself with…

*spins wheel*

*it stops on “The adorable 5’1” crust punk I’m sad about might talk to me again”*

*there isn’t any other thing on the wheel except for that*

But seriously though I feel disgusting and I hate myself and I want to die. So here’s hoping it works out.

Hello comrades and welcome to the third improvement megathread of February!

I hope everybody is ready to charge forward next week.

As usual, some discussion ideas:

• Do you want to share something you've done in the previous week? Everything counts, nothing is too small.
• What would you like to do next week?
• Which aspect are you currently focused on improving?
• Do you have any streaks? For example, "sober for one day." Feel free to post your streak every day in this thread.
• If you don't have a continuous streak, did you manage to abstain from something for a day or more?
• Did you come across some useful information or resource that might help others?

Good luck with your goals! :unity:

Hello comrades and welcome to the second improvement megathread of February!

I hope everybody's month is going great so far.

As usual, some discussion ideas:

• Do you want to share something you've done in the previous week? Everything counts, nothing is too small.
• What would you like to do next week?
• Which aspect are you currently focused on improving?
• Do you have any streaks? For example, "sober for one day." Feel free to post your streak every day in this thread.
• If you don't have a continuous streak, did you manage to abstain from something for a day or more?
• Did you come across some useful information or resource that might help others?

Good luck with your goals!

Hi comrades and welcome to the first improvement megathread of February!

I hope everybody had a great January and is ready to continue making progress and kicking ass this month.

As usual, some discussion ideas:

• Do you want to share something you've done in the previous week? Everything counts, nothing is too small.
• What would you like to do next week?
• What aspect of life would you like to improve?
• Do you have any streaks? For example, "sober for one day." Feel free to post your streak every day in this thread.
• If you don't have a continuous streak, did you manage to abstain from something for a day or more?
• Did you come across some useful information or resource that might help others?

:unity:

Slightly oily skin, some PIE + PIH from acne when I was younger. Some tiny bumps on forehead, probably because I haven't exfoliated in a long time. My face skin tolerates actives super well and I don't get dried out/breakout by them. Even accutane barely made my skin dry (rest of body and lips got destroyed though)

Daily routine I'm planning on starting on (I've used + liked all of these in the past before after a ton of experimentation, though never all at once):

AM (no waiting between any layers)

Garnier micellar pink cap (for cleansing)

Thayers toner (to wipe off cleanser + reset pH levels)

AESTURA Atobarrier 365 Cream

TO Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% (for PIE + PIH + exfoliating (but does it even exfoliate if I put this over my moisturizer?))

PM

Garnier micellar pink cap

Thayers toner

TO Niacinamide 10% (for skin texture)

Adapalene 0.3% (retinoid for anti-aging)

Wait 10 minutes for this to sink in

AESTURA Atobarrier 365 Cream

And then once a week I'll microneedle my face with TO 2% hyaluronic acid + b5 before + after

And rarely if I give a shit I'll put on some Biore UV or waterproof Skin Aqua sunscreens. Can't find the links though

Are there any better products I can swap my current ones with?

Any products I should introduce? (I feel like I could add one more active in AM after toner and before moisturizer, maybe a gentle AHA/BHA for more exfoliation?)

Should I change the order of anything around?

Hi comrades and welcome to the fourth weekly improvement megathread!

This is the last Sunday of the month so we can do a monthly review in addition to the weekly review.

Here are some ideas for discussion but feel free to talk about other stuff as well:

• How was your January?
• Do you want to share something that you've done this week or month?
• Do you have some plans or goals for February?
• What would you like to accomplish or improve next week or month?

I'm wishing everybody good luck in February!

out this is not necessarily true which is fair but if you find a number that's reasonable based off the avg. level of reading you approach then you can find a bulk annual page number, which lets you say "ok imma read these books per year" this will immediately catapult you into the category which my fellow amerikkkans think makes you unfit to stand trial (just kidding they love trying and executing p

Idk why lol. I’m having a good day I guess?

Wins

Hi gang and welcome to the third weekly improvement megathread!

I'm gonna copy the ideas for discussion from the previous threads but these are just my suggestions, feel free to discuss whatever you wish.

• Do you want to share something you've done in the previous week? Everything counts, nothing is too small.
• What would you like to do next week?
• What aspect of life would you like to improve?
• Do you have any streaks? For example, "sober for one day." Feel free to post your streak every day in this thread.
• If you don't have a continuous streak, did you manage to abstain from something for a day or more?
• Did you come across some useful information or resource that might help others?

I'm wishing everybody a great week!

They don’t take my insurance, but the person on the phone gave me three other places I can call, that all do inpatient. One of them has a fucking 90 day treatment program. Wew.

Gonna do a bit of research, then call at least one of them.

I’m gonna call the detox place in the next few hours. Why not now? Because my friend is here at this motel room with me and I have huge phone anxiety. Check out is at 11.

I might just bite it and fucking call now.

Hi comrades and welcome to the second weekly improvement megathread!

I am glad to see that there was a lot of engagement in the first megathread and that people were checking in throughout the week.

Same as the last week, here are some ideas for discussion:

• Do you want to share something you've done in the previous week? Everything counts, nothing is too small.
• What would you like to do next week?
• What aspect of life would you like to improve?
• Do you have any streaks? For example, "sober for one day." Feel free to post your streak every day in this thread.
• If you don't have a continuous streak, did you manage to abstain from something for a day or more?
• Did you come across some useful information or resource that might help others?

Good luck to everybody with your goals!

Holy shit this became a stream-of-consciousness jumbled collection of nothingness

Genuinely, the most basic shit that I never really had problems with— the slightest details regarding my responses when someone texts me, the barely noticeable aspects about myself in public, whether I’m saying too much/too little, whether I’m responding appropriately, etc. So as a result, I choose to stay within my comfort zone as much as possible because anything else is mentally destructive. But then that doesn’t work because I get my energy from talking with other people who are similar to me :/ (Shared this shit with my therapist and he asked me if I have considered autism which of course I have)

Idk I think it started to get bad when I started to go out into the world again when society at large decided there was no longer a pandemic (there is btw). I decided to go out into the world as a young adult having had very little of a social life in college and experienced rejection after rejection, be it romantic or when trying to make friends. So maybe I never really learned to process those emotions appropriately.

Maybe all of this will be solved when I can learn to stop being a pushover/people pleaser. Or maybe I just suck at communicating and/or am utter shit at kindling friendships/potential relationships who knows

One example that sticks out in my mind- I have a friend who I occasionally hang out with (not a very close one I’d say). But I will ask them if they want to grab a beer once in awhile, they’ll oblige and I’ll ask them what time works best for them. Idk if this is the middle school/teenage part of me, but I refuse to follow-up with people (double text) because I don’t want to be a burden. But then this friend will respond weeks later and profusely apologize for not responding. But like I could’ve prevented that by just following up with them, I don’t know what it is in me that refuses to do so though but I just cannot.

I've identified "do X regularly" as a useful behavior. That can get bucketed into two things.

Habits

By "habit" I mean a subconscious or automatic response to stimuli, built by just doing the thing over and over.

Every Sunday evening I take a B12 supplement. It's just something I remember to do; it may be part of my bedtime ritual that's consciously modulated depending on the day. I have the usual strong habits that I don't even think about: brush teeth before bed, look both ways before crossing the street, etc. They don't require any effort to maintain, they get done even when I'm drunk, etc.

Routines

When I used Habitica, one of my weekly and then monthly tasks was to practice the NATO alphabet. Now I have it memorized and occasional real-life use is enough to maintain it. Did the same for my old credit card number. These weren't habits; I needed the app to remind me and didn't do it on my own. But I did actually follow through enough to succeed.

I'm going to use "routine" for a conscious, regular action. My body doesn't know the 29th of the month from any other day, but that's when I'm supposed to pay rent.

Looking back at the regular actions I've tried to take, most of the failures have been routines. The "failed" habits in my list are both things I kept up for a year or so, and then quit doing because I just didn't really want to do them anymore. Furthermore, it seems like the way that habits work is pretty well understood. So to be regularly doing things, I want to turn them into habits.

I would like to follow a better schedule: eat meals at a certain time, do certain things before and after work, etc. If I can express these as stimulus-response habits I think they're doable. But some of them are abstract. There's two groups of these in my list:

• the "memorization task" type. These don't have any obvious stimulus, and they have expected end dates before habit formation will set in. I've used Mnemosyne and a reminder but kept adding too much shit to it and making practice sessions unpleasantly hard. Ex:
  • Practice the Major System weekly/monthly until memorized
  • Practice street names/address numbers weekly/monthly until memorized
  • Practice interval ear training until I get good
• the "abstract task" type. I have a biweekly to-do list (pulling from about a hundred to-dos in the backlog) and I'd like to tackle one every day. The actual tasks vary from sitting at my computer to running errands. They also don't have any obvious stimulus. In general they're more important than the memorization tasks.

I think the way to routine formation could be making them into habits by

• coming up with cues for the abstract triggers, like an alarm or smart light
• coming up with shared actions to begin the abstract tasks, like getting up to start a timer or something

I still have some learning to do, like whether positive reinforcement helps speed habit formation (can I psych myself into not hitting snooze via ice cream treat?), and then to apply this framework to a specific desired routine. I think tomorrow I'll come up with a trial candidate.

I'm interested to hear what you folks use for habit and routine formation, and any suggested readings you might have.