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Thank you, Chris, for posting this. I've been wanting to get a discussion started around these issues (coming up with new systems) for a while now. I think you've nailed the general principles, and you're right that there's no reason these principles couldn't be applied to everyday problems beyond the basic "input/output" issues of diet and exercise. Below are a few other systems I've been working on, but what I'd really like is to start hearing group members' ideas on new problems or systems (yes, I know there aren't too many of you at the moment, but that'll change). Don't feel that you need to have a complete system to post. If you just have a specific (or not so specific) problem identified, that's a start. Someone else might have a good solution for it. Another member might have a good name or metaphor to ground the system. And yet another some critical refinement that makes it more than just sound good. The systems I list below are cases in point. Some are in dire need of a better name. Some just scratch the surface of a larger issue. Some might just not be of general interest or applicability (good to know before investing too much time publicizing). Glass Ceiling: This I've mentioned on the nosdiet group and site. I used to have a problem with occasional excessive drinking. It didn't come up a lot, but when it did, it was bad. I wanted to be able to continue to enjoy alcohol without that slight but significant risk of suddenly finding myself out of control drunk. My solution? A two drink a day "glass ceiling." I usually have a glass of wine or beer with dinner, sometimes two, never more. Is it possible to fake out this system using enormous glasses? Of course. You can do the same thing with no S and enormous plates, if you're determined to be an idiot. But it's been about two years now since I've been on it, and despite some occasional stretchers, I've never broken the literal rules, and I've never gotten out of control drunk. As a side benefit, my tolerance has gone way down and I can now get a nice buzz off of two drinks. http://www.nosdiet.com/#drinks As I mention at this link, "glass ceiling" is not intended for people who suspect they may be serious alcoholics. Common as that problem may be, I'm not going to call it "everyday." See: http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/ Low Smoking I'm not fond of advertising this system because 1) I'm not sure how reproducible it is and I don't want to distract people from their "no smoking" efforts and 2) it doesn't reflect particularly well on my other health related systems. As a neighbor said to me: "I can't believe you smoke! I'll never take you're health advice seriously again!" The striking image is a no smoking sign with a small gap in the red circle. It's loosely inspired by a scene in Goethe's Faust where Mephisto can't could get into Faust's lab, but not out again, because of an incompletely drawn pentagram. The rule is no smoking except on S days, and then no more than 4 a week. My original limit was 7, because I'd read in some antiquated consumer reports study that 1 cigarette a day would have a negligible health impact "but no one has the self-discipline to actually do this without escalating." It turns out, with this rule, I do have the discipline. I've since lowered the maximum to 4 from 7 just to be safe(r), and I rarely hit even this lower limit. Because I smoke so little, I can afford to smoke the very fancy cigarettes I prefer (Nat Sherman's MCDs). Please do keep in mind that 1) I was never a very heavy smoker so if you are this almost certainly won't work 2) no medical professional today will tell you that *any* amount of smoking is OK 3) I am neither a medical professional nor am I telling you that low smoking is OK, just that it's pleasurable, possible (at least for me), and presumably better for you than not so low smoking. Weekend Luddite The original luddites were textile workers who rose up and smashed the machines that were putting them out of work or forcing them to take lower skill/lower pay jobs. A weekend luddite is a little different. Let me explain the problem first. I'm a computer programmer. I sit all day if front of a computer. You'd think that when I come home and in the evenings and on weekends the last thing on earth I would want to do is spend more time on the computer. And yet this is precisely what I do. It starts with me checking my stocks (which couldn't have changed, it's after business hours) then I follow a yahoo news story, then I check my web site statistics, then I check some blogs, and pretty soon I'm on some random site about malaysian skyscrapers, which is interesting, sort of, but maybe ten thousandth on my list of what I'd like to be doing. I look up and it's midnight. I don't watch much tv. I don't play video games. But I fritter away endless hours in front of the computer. I tried a bunch of restrictions on home computer use. It was much harder to stick with them than I'd thought. Here's what did stick: thou shalt not touch the computer on weekends between breakfast and dinner. I started out trying to just do Sunday no computer, a single 24 hour period. It seemed appropriate, "sabbatical." But it was just too hard. Unread emails sang out to me like so many Loreleis. Doubts as to whether my web servers were still up and receiving their proper due of traffic plagued me like pangs of conscience. It sounds pathetic, but I couldn't go a whole day, much less a weekend. After some experimenting, I found that 12 hour blocks were doable. I started with dawn to dusk instead of breakfast and dinner, but that's too seasonally and geographically variable, poorly defined, and since I rarely get up before dawn on weekends, makes it too tempting to cheat. Breakfast to dinner was clear, and (in my case) relatively unvarying. Knowing that I'd just have to wait *half* a day, I didn't get so antsy that I'd break the rules, and I reclaimed most of my waking hours for worthier pursuits. In the evenings my wife and I tend to go out anyway, so it wasn't like I was glued to the computer all night Saturday and Sunday. I found that I had time to do serious, careful reading again. One of my biggest excuses for procrastinating on the web was tending my web sites. So now, if I have an idea that seems web-worthy, I write it down on a piece of paper. In fact, I find it's easier to write this way. No malaysian skyskrapers to distract me. The weekends seem substantial again. It's a real victory. No, it doesn't sound impressive. But I have my weekends back. If you're in the condition I was, you know what a great gain that is. Because weekend luddite has worked so well, I've been trying to extend weekend luddite into the week, simply by reversing the weekend rule on week days (so no computer before breakfast or after dinner). I call this "weekend and evening luddite." Sounds like some twisted cell phone plan, doesn't it? Despite the cute name, I can't say this extension has been a great success so far -- I'm violating it right now. Still, I think I'm onto something big here and that the "weekend" bit only scratches the surface. For every "labor saving" device it seems there are at least two "time consuming" ones to soak up all that freed time again. T.S. Eliot wrote something about us moderns being "distracted by distraction from distraction," and that was pre-Internet and pre-TV. We're in infinitely worse shape now. I call this larger issue "distraction management." Audiodidact I hate this name, but I love the system. I was an English lit major and trained to be a librarian. Now I sit all day in front of a computer. When I come home, besides the electronic distractions described above, there are a thousand practicalities to attend to: dishes, vacuuming, laundry, etc. I miss reading, and dread the dull chores that now take up my free time instead. The solution? Audiobooks. I know a lot of people who listen to books on tape during long commutes, and if I drove much, I'd do this too. But where books on tape really shine for me is in these little nooks and crannies of time when I am doing some mind numbing chore. Not only do I get more "reading" done than I ever did before, but formerly dreaded chores become positively pleasurable. I don't want to stop doing the dishes, or painting, or mopping. And I am thorough like I'd never be if I weren't dying to find out what happens to Teddy Roosevelt next, etc. I listen to novels, lecture series (from, among others, the excellent "teaching company"), plays, history, finance, science, in English and German (and some very elementary Hebrew, which I'm trying, without any spectacular success, to teach myself). I don't consider listening in any way inferior to silent reading. If anything, I'm a listening snob. Sieben Sachen der Wissenschaft This is another terrible name. It means, literally, "the seven things of science" in German. But I've been using it successfully now for at least a year, and should report it on the chance that someone else might find it useful (and maybe come up with a better name). The problem: there are too many little doo-dads I need to take with me every time I leave the house. Watch, doofy headphones, ipod, cellphone, wallet, keys, micro cassette recorder. Despite their "necessity," somehow I can never quite remember what they are when I'm rushing out in the morning. The solution: instead of trying to remember *what* they are, I just remember *how many* of them there are: 7, in my case. As I locate each item I place it on the table. Instead of an error prone checklist I just do a simple count. Yes, some brain wracking is still required to identify the missing items at the end, but it's minimized, and frankly, that's the easy part. The hard part is to tell *whether* something's missing. You raised a couple other issues that I'd still like to respond too (problem areas like finance and "storage") but I need some sleep first. Thanks again, Chris. Reinhard --- Chris Highcock <> wrote: > Hi there Reinhard (yes this was meant for the whole > group!) > > I'd like to get some discussion going on this forum. > I've been very > impressed by the Everyday Systems: shovelglove, > Urban Ranger and NoS - and > would be interested in some of the thinking behind > them. > > As far as I can see, they are based on simplicity, > the key principles being: > > simplicity > minimal investment of time, money (and effort) > integration with normal life > habit. > > The aim is to solve common problems faced by > individuals in western > economies in the 21st century - lack of real > functional exercise (basically > aerobic but also the strength/endurance addressed by > shovelglove) and poor > diet / overeating. > > You have mentioned that there are other systems > under development......what > are they tackling? > > I'd be interested in thinking about how the axioms > of the systems can be > applied to other problems beyond exercise and diet. > What are my other > problems? > > I'm not sure, but try > > finances - saving, investment > general thrift > reading e.g study, research for work etc > writing - minimising the time spent on writing basic > reports for work > Storage - I live in a small flat (apartment in US > English) > relationships - er. ask my girlfriend about my > "issues" there..... > > These are not necessarily the major areas of > challenge, more I'm trying to > think of areas where the "Everyday axioms" could be > applied. > > So, what do you think? Where do the systems go > next? > > Chris Highcock > (UK) |
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