I meant just to list all my sidchas in my post Freedom exists in structure; it’s not chaos, randomness, or luck. Here’s my structure and freedom, but I made a mistake. I included standard procedures with sidchas.

I didn’t think of the distinction. One is habits. The other is the best way to do something. I’ve written about sidchas. What about procedures? If there’s a better way and worse way, why do the worse way? Choosing a best way saves mental effort on top of the benefits of doing something better. Doing it consistently allows for continual improvement and increasing self-awareness.

For example, living on the fifth floor, I could take the elevator or stairs. I decided once and for all to take the stairs. The result: mental freedom in the moment every day I’m at home and the benefits of extra exercise.

Without further ado, my sidchas, standard operating procedures, and preferences, kept separate.

Sidchas

Morning

• 1 minute: wake up, make bed, cross room, turn off alarm
• Morning 15-minute burpee-based calisthenics, synchronized with 6-day exercise/mindfulness cycle

[Edit, January 2025: here is a video of my morning sidcha]

Evening

• Evening 15-minute burpee-based calisthenics, synchronized with 6-day exercise/mindfulness cycle
• Clean countertop of all books, work, etc before sleep

Writing and Podcasting

• Post to blog or podcast daily

6-Day Exercise/Mindfulness Cycle

• Meditate for 30 minutes followed by light stretching of neck, back (supine cross-leg spinal twist and down dog), and front (bow pose), plus balance (knees-on-elbows pose) [January 2025: added wheel pose and squat]
• [Days 1, 3, 5: meditate for 45 minutes; Days 2, 4, 6: meditate for 15 minutes]
• Day 2: Mop floor
• Day 2: Turkish Get-up, Kettlebell swings, Farmer’s walk, aka “Gross Day” since it works gross anatomy—that is, all-body muscles [January 2025: added Kroc rows to Gross Day]
• Day 4: Lift 3 cycles of leg-push-pull-leg-push-pull: Kettlebell single-leg deadlifts, Single Arm Kettlebell Floor Press, Single-arm bent-over rows, Split-Squat, Arnold Press, Curl
• Day 6: Water-only fast 24 hours (from dinner day 5 until dinner day 6) or about 36 hours (dinner day 5 until breakfast next cycle day 1) or Cardio (at least 300 calories rowing or meaningful effort plogging, biking, walking, or climbing stairs)
• Day 6: Cold shower

Community

• Volunteer
  • 2024-present: Serve as auxiliary police officer in NYPD (also deliver food donations)
  • [2022-23: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday to bring food donations from stores to community center]
• Pick up litter daily: at least 1 piece from anywhere plus 3 pieces from northwest corner of Washington Square Park
• Disconnect apartment from electric grid (can plug in phone and computer at NYU, though minimize) [Edit: stopped plugging in at NYU April 2023 except one day in September 2023]

Standard Procedures

Morning

• 1 hour: before connecting to internet
• Monday and Thursday: shave
• Start shower in stream, not after it warms up
• Turn off shower when done washing, usually about a minute
• [Testing, starting October 2024: 15 minutes just thinking, with pen and paper, after email and brushing teeth, before starting work day]

Evening

• Put phone on airplane mode before sleep

Diet

• Salvage when clean from farmers market scraps, compost, volunteering, found
• Avoid waste
• Compost scraps

Computer

• Minimize apps on phone
• Remove pictures and other files after use
• Unsubscribe from most mailing lists
• Block ads and javascript as much as possible

Community

• Line dry clothes
• Don’t fly
• Call or email to avoid unsolicited mail

Symmetry/simplicity

• Put wallet and keys where they belong on entering
• By odd-even days:
  • Half-lotus upper leg left-right
  • Put on clothes left-right leg-arm
• 31st or 29th day of month odd-even day by odd-even month

Preferences

Diet

• Eat no animal products
• Avoid doof
• Avoid fiber-removed foods
• Avoid packaged food (some allowance for salvaged and defatted peanut flour)
• Screens off while eating
• Favor CSA, farmers markets, coop, salvaged

Computer

• Avoid proprietary software, especially Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon
• Avoid buying equipment
• Avoid sites that update faster than daily
• Set videos at minimum resolution, prefer to download and watch outside browser

Community

• Avoid elevator at home
• Favor public transit over cars
• Avoid buying clothes, favor used
• Minimize shower water flow
• Avoid buying or owning books, favor library

• ← A response to “more people means more problem-solvers so we should grow the population.”
• This week’s selected media: May 7, 2023 →