TMedina

There is an overwhelming sense of nostalgia when you go back through old papers and suddenly get dragged down memory lane.

From time to time, I wonder if I'm drifting from the core concept, but I believe it all loops together in a glorified Gordian knot. I found this article entitled "The Disease of More" to be very interesting, and provided some insights into what we do and why we do it. Well, some of us at least: https://markmanson.net/disease-of-more EtA: along the same vein, this article as well: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-29295/how-i-went-from-being-a-hoarder-to-a-minimalist.html

YAY!

Have you tried taking a couple of days off?

I tried looking up agomelanin, but I didn't have any luck. Are there any side effects to the medication that might be contributing to your physical issues? You mentioned pain in your legs and feet - can you be more precise as to where they hurt? What kind of shoes are you wearing? You're walking dogs - what kind of ground are you walking on? Pavement? Grass? Sidewalks?

Those of you with Netflix, there is a documentary on Minimalism, entitled appropriately, "Minimalism: a documentary about the important things" - I haven't watched it yet, but apparently it sparked some interest on the topic on another forum I frequent, so I thought I'd mention it here as well.

I need to try making dish day a ritualized, systematic event. It's too easy for me to skip days and end up with a sink that escaped from Jumanji.

Yeah, the bullet journal system should come with a warning and a disclaimer about all the prettiness. I just love the indexing.

Sometimes a horse can be led to water; sometimes the horse has to find it himself.

Lots and lots of self-talk. A couple of tricks that sometimes help get me in motion: 1. If you're tired of starting over, stop quitting. (and other motivational cliches) *Where would I be today, if I'd been consistent last month? Last year? *One step at a time, one rep at a time. 2. Don't confuse emotion with exhaustion. Being excited and motivated helps, certainly. But it is absolutely not required in order to get up and do the needful. *Some folks have called this "negative motivation" or "discipline" or even "habit" - all are true, but I also think of it as mindfulness, or moving meditation. Be aware of the feelings that are telling you that you don't want to go, recognize them as emotions and not legitimate reasons (i.e. a broken leg), and go do the needful. Focus on the activity and let the emotions float by, like clouds in the sky. 3. Don't break the chain. (http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret) 4. Look at pretty pictures. I have bookmarks of fitness models, muscles flexed, exercise GIFs, videos, whatever. *I enjoy lifting weights, even more now that I'm seeing physical transformations, never mind the primal joy of picking up things, moving them around, and putting them down. *The videos and GIFs are a visual reminder of my goals, and get my mind thinking about the activity; I start to visualize myself doing the activity, and the ball starts rolling. 5. Use a log to track workouts. Little victories, similar to "not breaking the chain" - and having a log of your efforts are a tangible reminder of the effort so far.

I know, right? Just the concept of the index and collections is enough to make me a happy (and somewhat more organized) soul.

A couple of blog posts that I found interesting: "9 common pursuits that rob us of happiness" (http://www.becomingminimalist.com/find-happiness/) "A guide to let go of your perfectly good things" (http://www.becomingminimalist.com/letting-go) "What to do when decluttering makes you feel miserable (http://www.becomingminimalist.com/miserable)

How's the bullet journaling coming along?

That's tough. I'd honestly suggest counseling, if it's an option for you two. A 15 year relationship carries a lot of baggage that can be tough to overcome when you need to work on mutual communication skills. Additionally, a neutral third party referee can help break old habits that couples tend to fall into when trying to openly communicate with each other. Good luck!