.:I already have to change the experiment:.

OKAY HEAR ME OUT!! I initially wrote up the experiment blog after an all-nighter when I was really angry with myself and I didn't see the holes in my plan. While I think the time limit thing was a GREAT start, it isn't useful longterm and it's becoming more trouble than it's worth.

Pros about the time limit:

• It was a good starting push to get me to do other tasks, such as cleaning or working in the studio on weekends
• I picked up old hobbies again, like reading and taking walks
• I use LeechBlock which shows me how much time I have left and I like having that visual of seeing how much time I've spent (or wasted) online. It reminds me to check in on myself and what I'm doing and if it's worth continuing to be online
• I'm sleeping at a more regular time now that I'm not on here right before bed usually, which helped me stop drinking caffeine which means my anxiety is down quite a bit and I'm in a much better mood throughout the day

• I stopped working on my sites entirely since I've included Nekoweb as part of my 3 hours, this is the opposite effect of what I wanted
• Since I'm more aware of what I'm doing online, it gets frustrating whenever I'm close to time and I'm having a good time on a call with friends while already doing what I needed to do for today
• I don't start videos I wanted to watch or do things I wanted to do if it exceeds the time limit or if I feel like I'm going to want to be online at a later time

I kind of realized the time limit wasn't working out accidentally. In the beginning, I said I would spend at least one hour in the art studio. During my time in there, I would get things done, yeah, but I would really drag my feet about it and take breaks and just keep myself busy whenever I got to a good stopping point with the drawing/got bored of drawing and I still had time left. The time limit also made it hard for me to even want to go to the studio in the first place. For the past few days, I decided to change my plan to "Figure out what specific piece I'm working on and draw until I get to a point where I can leave it for the day." This could mean to where it's a finished piece, or if it's getting there, but I need fresh eyes to catch details or mistakes. I got more done in half an hour a day than I did with the one hour time minimum, and it was easy to just get up and go do that without worrying about time. Knowing that I was free to leave whenever motivated me to get in there in the first place! If I no longer need a time limit for studio work, do I need to keep my computer time limit when I now have the desire to do things offline?

Again, the first version of the experiment did help me tremendously and I would not get to the point where I'm at now if not for it, so the new plan is going to keep a lot of the similar structures (8pm-8am cutoff time which is more of a 9-9 now, not having Steam installed, keeping LeechBlock installed, restricted zones), but a couple of things will change according to what I feel is best for me. Additionally, this may change and I'm allowing myself to change the plans if necessary now.

THE NEW PLAN!

I'm keeping LeechBlock, but I'm setting the time limit to 23 hours instead of 3. This way, I have the freedom to do whatever I want, but I'll still have a visual cue in the corner of my screen to check if what I'm doing right now is worth my time and if I'm better off doing something else. Also, the extension has different "blocks" with a customizable time limit. I'm going to group different types of sites into different blocks so I can better see how I'm spending my time on my computer. Whenever I log on, I will ask myself why I want to be online, and I will continuously check myself to see if I'm bored, off task, etc, and log off accordingly. If I feel like I'm failing to keep myself in check, I will return to the time limit for a week to refresh my brain. My browser and some apps are allowed back on my phone, but I will take them back out if I feel like I'm not getting anything done and I will keep my phone on dnd when I enter a restricted zone.

Some takeaways I've had from this experiment so far:

• The time limit is good as a phase one, but it cannot carry me longterm
• Once I've gotten used to having that limit in place, I found it a lot easier to ask myself why I'm online, how I'm feeling, and if I should log off for now
• The countdown timer itself also helps me in that case, even now when it's no longer just a few hours
• Hamlet's Blackberry is a must-read if you decide to do this experiment or anything similar
• Restricted zones really do work! I focus more on my work and I feel better eating without distraction so I don't accidentally get super full
• The key to get all of this to work for me in the first place was to replace screen time with hobbies like reading or drawing or even things like taking a walk, cleaning, and hanging out with friends
• I initially wanted to get really neo-Luddite and get a dumbphone like every other person on YouTube, but realistically I see that it might be more trouble than it's worth and it might not be what I need in the end. I'm not gonna beat myself up for not going that far in, I'm glad I did this experiment and thought about it more before going for it
• I get less bored if I'm listening to music. All hail the iPod
• I'm already noticing a lot of mental results, like less stress, less panic attacks, better mood, more motivation, etc
• The screens aren't the problem for me, it's what I'm doing on them and when
• Not having Steam installed actually helped me so much, I suggest at least uninstalling that temporarily if you have something important to work on
• Getting into a morning/night routine helped me with staying off my devices during the cutoff time and it helps me get better sleep and helps me get ready for the day way faster
• Positive reinforcement works, I'm not gonna beat myself up for already having to drastically change an aspect of the experiment...(coping)




Anyway, I'll still do weekly updates and I'll see how well I do with this new plan! I think I bit off more than I could chew by making this like three months long, but I was kind of being mean to myself lol I have to give myself some grace and allow plans to change... I am a bit worried that I'll fall back into my old habits since I'm changing it so soon, but I can always restart the old time limit for a bit if that happens.