I try to read more but what else is there when I don’t wanna just read? I’ve done some notebook stuff too but I’ve found using it too much makes me be anxious about writing a lot down lol.
For instance as I lay on the bed for 10-20 minutes waiting for my child to take their nap. Do I just stare into the void?
Seconded Kiwix! Or, start learning some programming- I listen to Python programming videos while I’m doing boring stuff to absorb information…and it’s relaxing ha
WikiTok
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
SGT Puzzles
Kiwix
LiChess ( and Tactic Master)
Street Complete (OSM mapping)
Gurgle( wordle)
Luanti
I said I don’t want to use my phone tho
Exactly that. State into the void and let my thoughts wonder
solitaire. download the PySolFC app, it has a ton of variations.
Point at a perfectly functioning thing on my server, blow it up, relearn and fix the thing.
An IT friend of mine said “your home server should be like a zen garden…”. I was taken aback. Where else would I get to play with all the new shit I need to learn eventually? Surely not in production. And the home server is meant to serve up distractions not files.
I miss adderall.
I say this sitting beside four servers (including this instance) and one offsite server, you’re very much right. I enjoy homelabbing a lot. Probably my biggest hobby outside of research and gaming. That’s a fun way to think of it!
I love home labbing but sometimes it a chore not an escape. Especially more when you rely or want to actually use the services rather than tinker with broken shit.
Agreed. I’ve chilled out about it a bit. Now that everything’s working I do not care to add more things. Actively trying to run less services.
games? I found a civilization port for the phone and it sucked up a lot of time. Turn based so you can do it for a few minutes at a time: https://yairm210.itch.io/unciv
learn a language? duolingo and other apps are out there
I do crosswords with an app that downloads a variety of them for free.
I enjoy thinking, closing my eyes for a bit, or focusing on my breathing. Or I’ll listen to the birds outside.
Bird watching is actually fun. Animals and nature watching in general.
Something slow or still and beautiful. I relate to wanting some of my time back whenever I get the smallest moment only to find that nothing is good enough to balance out the activity of rest of the day. Low stimulation activities are also not good enough and are boring but can be a much needed moment to get grounded. The best solution is to address what’s really draining you and address it in a way that is not as draining for you. Far easier said than done, I know.
Reading on my e-reader (e-ink) or print books. Short periods - eg waiting for a kid to do something - are good for poetry. Meditating. Listening to music. Listening to podcasts. Sometimes I’ve taken out some paper and doodled while listening to something - which is really gratifying (even though I’m no Picasso). I also cook, which is wonderful. Or I go for a long walk. I’m also actively trying to fill my time with offline human engagement - volunteering twice a week and participating in a men’s group (a safe space for men to share their experiences).
Listen to music or watch a video, if you don’t want to read?
You need to practice mindfulness. People should be OK with 10 minutes “staring into the void” and this is exactly the damage phones did to us
Edit: if I really want to look at my phone I open Wikipedia and check out the featured article or maybe the top read of the day list. It’s not brain rot and it’s not that fun either but it’s time well spent
Mindfullness that is free
Guided meditations that are downloadable freely under CC BY-NC-SA.
This is a great recommendation. To add another you can also get the Medito App for either Android or iOS which is also free.
mindfulness
I practice this alot during the day. It helps sometimes to disconnect from the world, and rejoin the server at another timepoint.
My goto device time killer is chess.com. It’s both educational and fun (assuming you don’t get your ass handed to you by a bot 😅).
FYI, lichess.org offers the same functionality (arguably better) for free. It’s a crowd-funded, open-source non-profit, free of any ads or trackers.
sit with your boredom for a bit, its healthy. or rather its unhealthy to be constantly bombarded with dopamine for nothing. enjoy your freedom from the screens.
Yeah, I’ve also found that just being bombarded with information all the time tenses me up. You might think of scrolling Lemmy or similar as “idling”, but obviously your brain is still processing information when you do that.
Just rawdog it? No thanks
theres always drugs
That’s a cute little webapp
Yep! I wish there was a way to narrow it down to broad topics, keywords, or geolocations, but I make myself go to it whenever I feel the urge to look at Instagram.
Depends on the mood I’m in. Lately, I’ve been drawing in a tiny sketchbook I bought because a little sketchbook isn’t very intimidating, and I can just do a few quick practice drawings or commit to a small but detailed piece for an hour.
Another thing I like to do is lay on my back with my headphones on, put on some music, and do literally nothing except stare at the ceiling and listen to all the little details of my favorite songs that I don’t hear when I’m doing other stuff. It’s my form of meditation since “normal” meditation has never worked for me personally.
