Here is how I make my own life difficult and what I benefit from it.
Living further away from work
When I came to work at this school, I had a choice between on-campus or off-campus housing. On-campus housing is 2mins away from the office, and off-campus housing is 15mins away from the office. I chose to live further away. I did this because I (rightly) felt that it would be good to have time to gather my thoughts before I arrive at school and time to decompress before I arrive at home. As well, the gym here is still expensive so this is one way to force some exercise into my life. Once I unpacked and settled in there was no way I would be willing to re-pack and move everything over so I can only stay committed to this plan.
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| Plus, views like this on my way to work. |
Never stay logged in to any website
I purposefully log myself out of all social media accounts and streaming websites to prevent mindless browsing. I can count on myself legitimately being too lazy to type in my email and password so if I open up facebook I will just close the tab. After the first week of doing this, I find that I don’t even accidentally open social media websites anymore. The crappy internet also helps to prevent me from using social media.
Unsubscribed from all news
The news is never happy, and it’s quite literally engineered to be addictive. I’ve been forcefully unsubscribed since I got to China because the internet stinks here and I’ve never been happier. I’m less sad and anxious all the time, my thoughts slow down and I worry less. I’m concentrated on only the things that directly impact me and things that I can change. It’s super freeing to ignore what doesn’t matter to you. I have no idea what movies are coming out, what’s happening around the world, and it’s been great.
Hang drying all my clothes
Even when I had a dryer I would still hang dry all my clothes. It greatly reduces wear and tear so I get to keep my favorites for longer. I don’t like having a lot of clothing choices, and I’m picky about my clothing so I need each piece to really carry its weight. There’s also something very heartening about taking the time to touch and lay out all your clothing, caring for the things you own and not forgetting what you have. It’s also more eco-friendly and in the warmer days, it gets me out of the house.
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| A little warm spot on a cold day. |
Use only cash
China is in 3019 while the rest of us are in 2019 in terms of online money transactions. I’m pretty sure I’m the only person here that uses cash. When I go to the farmer’s market, there’s a guy that will kill a chicken right in front of you and he accepts payment via WeChat. I use cash because the physical act of handling money forces me to think about how much I have left and how much I’m spending. I do find myself more mindful here than when I was living in London even though things here cost so much less.
Do you make life harder for yourself as well?