Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

No phone for a week

The modern smartphone has become an indispensable part of our lives. From the moment we wake to the seconds before we fall asleep, we are practically glued to our smartphones, constantly on the search for the next dopamine hit of news, memes, or image of hot women on instagram. Sometimes I wonder what I’d do if I didn’t have my phone for a period of time. Would I go crazy? Or to the contrary, would I actually be better off?

Due to life’s circumstances, I got the opportunity to test out the hypothesis. For a solid week earlier this month, I was without my iPhone XS, and it turns out, life goes on just the same. I was fine.

First it must be said that I of course still had access to a computer and the Internet at home and at work, so I wasn’t completely out of the loop. The absence of my phone simply made it so I was unable to access information at anytime, anywhere. I can’t check twitter while waiting for the bus, or look up a certain items immediately after inspiration strikes me; it all had to wait. During those times where I would otherwise be entertained via my phone, I was forced to be in my own head. There were no music or podcasts to listen to; I had to get comfortable with stewing amongst the thoughts in my head, and I have to say, it was surprisingly meditative.

Not having my phone also forced me to concentrate on my tasks at hand, increasing my intentionality. I couldn’t check the latest news every 10 minutes, or see if my friends have texted me over chat. It’s confirmation that I definitely have been distracted from my work by my smartphone, and that it’s quite the time sink. Waking up and not having the ability to check twitter for half an hour in bed was oddly liberating, not in the mere action of reclaiming those minutes, but rather, starting my day with the right intention.

Of course, there were negatives: I lost active contact with my friends for a week; I couldn’t check when the nexts bus is due to arrive; and in the event of an emergency, I’m unable to contact anyone, and vice versa. The biggest challenge though in not having the phone with me is the lost of the camera: no device to capture the beautiful or peculiar scenes I encounter throughout my day. Truly, the best camera is the one you have with you, and I lost mine for a week.

Now that I’ve got a phone again, I’m going to take the positives points of better focus and wasting less time, and apply them going forward. It’s definitely nice to have my phone back, but perhaps I’ll be more cognizant of precisely when do I pick it up from the desk.

Always.

It's my birthday

You know, once you’ve crossed the line pass 30 years of age, it’s not so bad. All the anxiety and dread that came before that, however artificially drummed up they may be, simply goes away.

At least it did for me.

I am turning 31 today, and honestly I nearly forgotten about it if not for kind relatives wishing me a good one on the messaging apps. I’ve been so focused on my learning and tasks that it was too easy to forget about milestones like this, especially when its significance is far from that of the 30th birthday.

Today is just another day, really.

Indeed I am supremely grateful for yet another year on this earth, and I think this coming one will be the best yet, mostly because the fourth Avengers movie will be released. Isn’t that the whole point: to improve and get better year by year? For sure there are downs to go with the ups but as long as it’s a net positive at the end, then it’s a good year.

It’s about the long game, and the powers of compounding.

I can say I’m truly at a good place right now, though I did spend a large portion of 30 trying to find the right groove to fit into. I wouldn’t categorize it as anything tumultuous; I merely wanted to find something to latch onto in the coming few years. Steady as I was in my studies and work (and immensely gratefully so), I needed some sort of grand project to put my time and creativity into (not to mention, money).

And I found it in one of my very first loves: cars. Earlier this year I sold my Miata and went car-less, and somewhat paradoxically it rekindled my interesting in the automobile. Something about taking things for granted and having it stripped from you to realize it. These days I really miss having a car to mess around with, to go places and indulge in my other hobby of photography.

So I spent the latter half of 30 implementing severe austerity in order to save money for an 911, and I’m oh so very close to pulling the trigger. The calendar will have to turn over to 2019 before that happens, though.

In the meantime it’s simply day by day. It’s great to be alive, and I’m thankfully to have done it for 31 years. Cheers to many more to come.

People watching is one of my favorite sports.

People watching is one of my favorite sports.

Productivity hack: daily checklist

Keeping a daily checklist of enriching must-do items is a good tactic to keep motivated and not waste time. Especially if you posit the list as I do: something to complete before the fun and mindless things like watching Youtube shows. Like doing homework before play or eating broccoli before dessert, putting the hard stuff first and have something sweet at the end is highly conducive to good productivity. 

For example my daily checklist consists of the following: 

  • Read whatever book I'm currently on for one hour.
  • Study Korean for at least two hours.
  • Practice driving in Gran Turismo Sport for half an hour.
  • Write something on the blog. 

As you can see the tasks all revolve around learning and self-improvement. I believe it's crucial to do such activities so to avoid regression as a person. I do them everyday (and on the seventh day I rest). 

Indeed it's simple and short but checking things off on a list is a great mental framework to keep me focused and not stray to frivolous time-sucks like social media. I can do leisure stuff only after I've finished the tasks for today, so I'd better get moving quickly on the work if I want to spend a decent amount of time enjoying the latest Star Wars fandom wars on twitter.

The San Francisco outsiders imagine it to be. 

The San Francisco outsiders imagine it to be. 

Was I ever good at multitasking?

Lately I've come to realize that having singular focus is supremely important. Whatever I am doing at the moment needs my complete attention, otherwise the results will be suboptimal. For example, when I write on this blog I can't have music on in the background because I'd have difficultly stringing words and thoughts together. 

Or perhaps my playlists are too good and engrossing for its own good. 

Is this need for singular focus a byproduct of getting old: a deterioration of attention-ability? Back in high school and college I'd multitask the hell out of everything and it turned out fine. Studying while having the baseball game on was a tradition, and I graduated with honors. 

Fast-forward to the present and even a wandering mind can be detrimental. Whenever I listen to podcasts I have to rewind more frequently than I'd like to admit because when my thoughts goes off to a distraction I absolutely cannot pick up any of the podcast's dialogue during.

I thought learning a third language and reading many books would keep my mind tack sharp (mental exercise), but I guess not?

Some people can watch a television show while keeping tabs on social media on the smartphone (or playing Candy Crush) yet they suffer no loss of detail from the particular episode. I am definitely not one of those people. 

Focus on the task in front of me: no distractions, no multitasking. That shall be my process to producing/attaining quality. 

I stuck my iPhone X out of a four-story window to take this, thinking I was going to drop it the entire time. 

I stuck my iPhone X out of a four-story window to take this, thinking I was going to drop it the entire time.