Unexpected benefits.

I am unexpectedly happier without coffee. Despite being such a pleasure to drink coffee, or at least caffeine, has been a barrier between me and happiness.

I think the most powerful effect has been on the improvement in the quality of my sleep. I need much less sleep to be satisfied, and I don’t have to drag myself out of bed.

A second effect is that I no longer have to fear headaches. I get the most dreadful headaches from caffeine withdrawal. Not drinking coffee frees me from the worry having to keep my caffeine topped up.

See more progress on: create my own Happiness Project

"Lighting up"

I am re-reading a book: Lighting Up: How I Stopped Smoking, Drinking, and Everything Else I Loved in Life Except Sex by Susan Shapiro.

This book has brought me happiness. I can’t remember where I first heard of it, but I was intrigued by it’s descriptions, and I bought it with loyalty points.

Apart from being a good read, it is also a kind of Happiness Project, because it tells the story of the author kicking her smoking habit, with the help of her therapist, dr Winters. She discovers the multiple addictions she has, and what it means.

The book also brought me happiness, because I could lend it to a friend, who lent it to a horde of other people.

I am also trying to increase my happiness by following the book’s implicit advice. I am also trying to kick my addictions, the two of them being starch and coffee, often in combination.

Over the last few weeks I have been tapering down my coffee use, and yesterday I had my first day with none at all. It is not a particularly happy experience, but I know I will be healthier and better once I’m totally off it.

See more progress on: create my own Happiness Project

Other side of the coin

According to Gretchen Rubin “what we do every day matters more than what we do once in a while.”

Until today I’ve read this as meaning that we should work on our happiness by doing happiness-producing things every day. This is true, but there is another truth in there: If we do a thing once in while that is not conducive to happiness, it does not matter much and there is little to worry about.

See more progress on: create my own Happiness Project

Other side of the coin

According to Gretchen Rubin “what we do every day matters more than what we do once in a while.”

Until today I’ve read this as meaning that we should work on our happiness by doing happiness-producing things every day. This is true, but there is another truth in there: If we do a thing once in while that is not conducive to happiness, it does not matter much and there is little to worry about.

See more progress on: create my own Happiness Project

Just having a look.

I have a very useful phrase for starting a job that I’m procrastinating on. I’m not sure if I should make it a commandment or not. Here it is: “Just have a look.”

Making progress on a big job does not just depend on work, it also takes some planning and thinking. “Just have a look” might give new ideas or sharpen the questions.

“Just have a look” means the covers are off, the book is open, the file is loaded. If it really is too much work for now, then it will be clear. Often there is something small that can be done that will add to the progress. Sometimes the job just starts flowing. Just by having a look.

See more progress on: create my own Happiness Project

Happiness and 43 Things

I’ve been wondering about the relationship between my 43 Things postings and my happiness project. A post by Gretchen Rubin on the original Happiness Project makes it clearer, I think. She writes about the difference between resolutions and goals. You achieve a goal. You keep a resolution. So 43 Things is a good place for plotting the progress towards goals, while something else would be good for keeping track of resolutions.

See more progress on: create my own Happiness Project

To-do list entries.

In a flash of insight today, I saw why it is important to make goals as well-defined as possible. I had a mixed bag of things on my to-do list. One of them was as simple as “trim membership card” (so it would fit in my wallet) and the other was “do paperwork”. When I went to tick off the things on my list, I noticed that the things I’ve done made me glow with accomplishment, while the “paperwork” made my spirits sag momentarily. I’ve done some paperwork, but have I done enough? Have I forgotten something? A tiny dent appeared in my shining happiness.

So it appears that for my happiness, I should try to make the items on my to-do lists as sharply-defined as possible.

See more progress on: create my own Happiness Project