Intentionally Saying No to Things (1 Viewer)

[mr. furley]

Reading fiction.  I have absolutely no interest.  I’m 100% non-fiction.

this is me for the last couple decades. 

 

[belljr]

i say no to almost everything.....  get off my dead brown weedy lawn

 

[Ilov80s]

I get all that - it's just the one piece of tech I can't do.  I hate reading books on a screen.  There is something about the weight of the book and the smell of the pages that need to be present for me.    I know - get off my lawn...

Agreed- it has to be the physical book

Reading fiction.  I have absolutely no interest.  I’m 100% non-fiction.

All my non-fiction reading at this point is news, research, etc but it’s all internet and rarely books. I used to be 80/20 in favor of non-fiction but that’s totally flipped the last 5 years. 

 

[The General]

How does it affect you before sleeping - relative to other "screens"?

I have bad insomnia, and any "screen" exposure right before bedtime can keep me up longer. Books don't seem to have this effect.

I have tried some of the special "modes" on my laptop and phone and that does help some - but it is not perfect.

Not al all. Typically I get in bed read about 5 minutes and am passing out.

 

[MAC_32]

Great answer.  I need quiet evenings as decompression time, and over the past few years I've become a lot more willing to say no when people suggest social outings.  

I'll admit that at least part of it with us is certainly driven by our day-to-day.  If we didn't demand as much out of ourselves it wouldn't be as great of a problem.

It's a lot of work on the front-end.  And there's some sort of recovery needed on the back end.  Need to find someone to stay with the kids - and if it isn't family pay them.  I know I won't do anything more than an easy workout the day after so find time to also do a hard workout before.  And if something that requires effort needs done around the house and conditions/the schedule isn't conducive to it being done after that needs squeezed in too.  We also usually do some sorta food prep just about every day of the week, so a night out means 3 days of prep the day before.  Because we so rarely go out that we stay out later than we should and are then operating on minimal sleep the next day - whether we're at work or being responsible for small humans.  And basically bypass all but the bare minimum to get to the end of that day.

All that is worth it on occasion, but if we tried to do it with any sorta regularity there would be unintended consequences elsewhere.  Maybe that'll change when the kids are older.

 

[NutterButter]

Based upon the OP's clarified intention, I'll go with following the news.   I really don't see the point.    Its not like a can do anything about what's going on, I have no desire to talk about the news with other people since I find most people to be too imbalanced and being aware of the day to day happenings of our government just detracts from my happiness.  

 

[Arodin]

I completely get where you are coming from.  My only suggestion is be the best you and don’t measure yourself against others.  That idea wasn’t why I started the thread but it’s a part for sure.  The idea hit me when I was listening to a podcast and the guy was talking about martial arts - I took some classes when I was a kid but only progressed a couple belts.  Never continued.  Still think it would cool but I know I won’t do it and I’m good with that now.  And I don’t know why I didn’t include this in the first post.  

I have a lot of things I pursued for a while in my life then, despite being worthwhile, I gave up and never went back to.

Your martial arts example called it to mind, but others would be playing an instrument, sport participation, even video games.

Thing is, I think we get a lot of value out of these things we dabble in, so the time spent was worthwhile even when we reach a stage of deciding that going further isn’t for us.

I am still using lessons I learned in my brief martial arts training, but see no need to revisit the art.  Similarly, learning enough to read music has been invaluable, even when I realized that the time and effort required to improve beyond basic proficiency wasn’t something I was willing to invest in my instrument.

Maybe not what you were aiming for but I would encourage the life lesson that trying something and moving on isn’t the same as “giving up” or “failing to follow through.”  Learning something about many things can be as good as learning a lot about one thing.  And pretty much all of us have at least done the latter.

 

[Mookie]

Stretching and back exercises.  I wake up sore and stiff every morning and sit at a desk most of the day which makes it worse.  I have a 20 minute stretching and back strengthening routine and feel great after I do it - just once a week yields great results.  For some reason, I just can't do it regularly.  

 

[nirad3]

Posting in this thread.

 

[The General]

Stretching and back exercises.  I wake up sore and stiff every morning and sit at a desk most of the day which makes it worse.  I have a 20 minute stretching and back strengthening routine and feel great after I do it - just once a week yields great results.  For some reason, I just can't do it regularly.  

Make time for this, Mook. Doesn't need to be crazy routine just have to do it. Doing anything is dependent on being able to move around and the back getting wrecked takes everything else all out of play.

I'm sure you know all this but doesn't hurt to hear it again

 

[Hu-Tang Clan]

Make time for this, Mook. Doesn't need to be crazy routine just have to do it. Doing anything is dependent on being able to move around and the back getting wrecked takes everything else all out of play.

I'm sure you know all this but doesn't hurt to hear it again

I forced myself to get into this routine every morning and it's made a huge difference in my day-to-day. A sore back can affect so many things, just force yourself to get it done for a few days in a row and it will quickly become easier to do every single day.

 

[The General]

I forced myself to get into this routine every morning and it's made a huge difference in my day-to-day. A sore back can affect so many things, just force yourself to get it done for a few days in a row and it will quickly become easier to do every single day.

Yup. Trying not to stress out and doing the core stuff is now just part of the daily routine. Even if I just get a little in.

 

[Bogeys]

I was the same way until using the Kindle on vacation. Trying to travel light with a couple books isn’t a good combo. The screen is easy on the eyes, easy to hold, better at night. Can’t remember the last physical book I bought.

This.  I didn't like holding just the kindle, but I bought one of the leather covers for mine and now I prefer it to holding a book.

 

[Gianni Verscotchie]

Everything bores me at this point. I enjoy having my time free even though I'll probably not use it productively.

I HATE having to be somewhere at a specific time. If you offered me free Super Bowl tickets, I'd probably say no.

I like going out to dinner at my leisure. I hate going when I have a reservation

 

[AAABatteries]

I have a lot of thongs I pursued for a while in my life 

 

[Don't Toews Me]

Thank you.

@Ilov80s - check this out.

If this is still too much, try pamphlets.

And you only say you read children's books if someone asks. If not, let them assume it's 500 page novels. 

 

[Man of Constant Sorrow]

And you only say you read children's books if someone asks. If not, let them assume it's 500 page novels. 

I have lately focused mostly on picture books.

Some I can even color myself, but they slow me down.

 

[Mr. Ected]

I also read at night just before going to sleep, helps to relax my mind.

I love reading on my iPad. I have had several of them over the years, and I liked the Mini before I got my new full size one a year or so ago. The iPad is great for reading at night, since you do not generate that much light to bother your partner while reading. You can set the background to black with a white text, that you can adjust the brightness of, so that you are not shooting out a huge white light. I read books on both the Kindle app and the Apple Book app, both work well.

There is a program with Amazon Prime where you can 'borrow' up to ten books for a certain fee per month and you can exchange them as often as you want.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

The iPad is great for reading at night, since you do not generate that much light to bother your partner while reading. You can set the background to black with a white text, that you can adjust the brightness of, so that you are not shooting out a huge white light. 

Yes, exactly what I do with my tablet. Easy on the eyes, even in the daylight.