Declutter the mind

Right now, at this moment I sit here contemplating what I need to do when the tasks are right in front of me. My mind is running circles around me while I remain in the same spot showered in dust.

The fact that my list is more than half my size is not helping. Just looking at it is daunting.

That’s it, let’s break this down. Since I don’t know where to start, lets just start by looking at the list. I’ll go over the playing field and see where I can take that first step.

As I look over the list, I slowly begin to understand the chaos within my mind. There is no order to it, just a bunch off random things thrown together on a piece of paper. This explains why its so hard just to start. Surprisingly , I came across a few things that I could tick off which gave me the momentum to continue.

What stood out to me on the list was the task “A detox day to clear my mind”. Clearly this is something I need. At the start of my need to change journey I came across a video on YouTube from Improvement Pill explaining the benefits of a dopamine fast but I never properly did it. I have now researched more into the concept of dopamine detox and it all makes sense.

Dopamine Detox

Dopamine is a feel good hormone we all have that give us a sense of pleasure. It occurs when our brain is expecting a reward. Now we are the ones that create this connection between cue (the trigger) and our rewards (a dopamine fix). One we all may have is the urge to immediately check our phone once we hear the notification ring (cue) or when we are constantly scrolling through posts (cue) on social media. These actions gives us small hits of dopamine.

When we are constantly bombarded with these small dopamine fixes through out the day, our mind never gets to rest. We are constantly acting on the cue for pleasure that we leave no time for ourselves to understand what we actually need to do in that moment. We lose control of our behaviour and impulsively act on our cue.

Now when we have something that requires hardly any work and provides us with instant gratification, why would we bother to focus on the things that require us to put in work, in order to the reap our rewards in the long term? This is where many of us get stuck. We fall into the trap of instant gratification but this is only something temporary. Just how it comes instantly it goes in an instant. Is this momentary feeling worth the cost to our future?

A detox day will help me get on top of things again, it will give my mind a break from the impulsive actions I fall into during the day, and rid myself of my time wasters. Time to rid myself of the daily temptation that effects my growth. I will escape the need to constantly be stimulated and reflect on the distractions that control me during the day. Time to reset my control.

Set the rules

The day before set your game plan. Customize the rules to fit you. Choose to abstain from your biggest time wasters. The things that you find yourself constantly doing and sometimes even forget how you got there.

My rules are to stay away from

• Manga
• Social Media
• YouTube/ YouTube shorts
• Netflix

These are my biggest time wasters. They consume my day leaving me feeling unsatisfied by the end of it as I realize I have done nothing and I am never going to get this time back.

After creating the your game plan, set yourself up for success, create a list of things you could do instead. Something beneficial you could fill your time, something as simple as going for a walk.

Alright, lets do this. Time for a detox!

Detox Day

Sunday 09/10/22. Unlike my normal days time moved a little more slowly. Randomly during the day I would get urges to check for updates or jump on YouTube. I felt that when I would notice these urges to act it would actually lose it power over me.

What made it easier for me not act on my urges was the fact that it was just for 24 hours. I could tell myself: Chill, it is just for today and I can easily look at at tomorrow if I still wanted to.

Slowly I begin to drown out all the noise and start to enjoy the present moment, I moved around more, did more and felt calmer. I also felt more tired then usually, this could be due to the fact that my mind finally got a break from the constant stimulation.

A dopamine detox did what it says. It helped me declutter my mind and allowed me to become more present. It is now easier than before to take a break from my timewasters, I feel like I have gained more control of life.

Let me know if you try it and if it helped you in anyway, How you felt after?

“A detox day to clear my mind” – CHECK. On to the next!