octatrack

I often leave the house without my iPhone. Here is my full stack:

- Ask wife to set up screen time passcode and not tell me

- Block social media and other distracting websites in Screen Time

- Set a 1 minute time limit on distracting apps

- Keep the phone in the garage as much as possible

- Get an Apple Watch cellular so that I can still communicate with people, make payments, get directions etc when I am out and about

Not a perfect dumb phone but this has helped me reduce usage tremendously.

Love it. MIDI sync and start/stop functionality would be great to connect it to other gear/software!

Apple Watch with Authy is a great solution for this. I don’t need to have my phone in the same room to use 2FA.

Better yet, don’t answer unknown phone calls.

There are health risks associated with vaping though, so the risk is not minimal. But yes, you need to _want to_ quit in order to be able to.

I am committed to not smoking or vaping, no matter what.

So far, I haven’t experienced any strong cravings for the gum when not taking it for a day or two. When I decide to stop in about a couple months, I will power through with discipline.

I used to be a smoker, for a good decade. Then, switched to vaping for 3-4 years, which allowed me to taper down my nicotine use and quit completely.

This was about 5 years ago.

Recently, I’ve started using nicotine gum to increase focus while working. I usually use 1 mg, maximum 4 times a day. I typically begin taking it in the afternoon, my morning work sessions are usually nicotine-free. I have been using it on most days for about 3 months.

I have zero desire to smoke or vape. On days when I am not taking it, I don’t have a strong craving for the gum.

I’ve also quit caffeine a few days ago, with the intention to not use it for at least 3 months. I find that even low amounts of tea increases my anxiety to the point that it becomes difficult to focus. I’ve been very productive since I stopped caffeine. Mild withdrawal effects in the form of physical tiredness, but I am fine with the tradeoff for less anxiety.

I might have developed some level of physical dependency to nicotine, I’ll see it once I’ll do an extended break. For now, it’s the only dopamine-increasing substance I consume, and I’m fine with it.

Doesn't seem to be available in the EU.

I mostly use my large iPad Pro as a secondary screen with Sidecar when traveling. For this, it's excellent.

I've used it for some minimal coding via Codespaces or SSH, which was fine, but as a development machine, the 13" MacBook Air is a way superior choice.

> or some other psychedelic

MDMA, sure, would have severe consequences if consumed so much.

Psychedelics, such as mushrooms or LSD, would cause hardly any harm and simply would stop working due to tolerance build up, unless the user keeps doubling the dose every time.

> There must be some deeper biological reason for it to be favored so heavily.

Or perhaps the fact that it's legal and readily available in every grocery store, restaurant and entertainment venue? Unlike any other mind altering substance we use.

I recently discovered IVPN and really like it. It's my preferred VPN. Previously, I've used NordVPN and ProtonVPN.

I also vouch for Chromatic, it has been extremely valuable for us. It is only working with Storybook, though, as it's made by the same company.