King
Famous rationalist with a substack
Friends:
Scott, other Scott, other other Scott
User ID: 587
King
2mo ago
Work for twenty minutes, draw liberally from a vape device while appreciating the work you've completed, then go back to work. The timing can be adjusted, I found I was using a lot less than before I started this project. I think vaping/smoking will give better results than patches because it's overwhelming and direct instead of a subtle feeling, but it might be different for non-smokers like Gwern in the linked article. I don't know anything about the gum so can't compare.
I've not had any temptation to cheat, I included exercise as a reinforced behavior so I'm only 90 seconds away from a reward if a craving is intense (that's for one set, then I'll reward myself and go back to lifting so the activity surrounds the enforcement behavior). All this work is easy enough I'd be really disappointed in myself for cheating, and since starting I've been able to quiet my mind and focus on my tasks when before I could only clean for a few minutes before getting distracted.
Now that my place is clean I've broadened the reinforced behaviors to include other things I'd like to address in my life (omitted for redundancy and to avoid personal info) and it's been very successful. It's important for me to find new tasks to reinforce so I continue having a reason to reward myself.
A month ago I made a post exploring whether nicotine could be used to addict oneself to housework. Since then, I've received a number of private messages asking for an update. I happily report overwhelming success. Last month I couldn't have imagined making my home presentable. Now it's clean and organized from top to bottom (even my storage room and closets are tidy), tastefully decorated, and I've even hosted friends a few times, something I hadn't done in years. And the best part is it took absolutely no discipline. In the same way an alcoholic isn't using willpower to trudge a couple miles through the snow to the nearest liquor store, I just go into autopilot and let my addiction take over. I can't get over how absolutely life-changing this has been at the cost of zero effort. I'm not recommending this to anyone else, but if you're already addicted to nicotine please consider which habits and thought-processes you're reinforcing and which ones you'd like to reinforce.
King
2mo ago
But then I’m a (bad) libertarian who thinks seat belt laws are justified on utilitarian grounds.
Are you against tobacco and alcohol? If not, is it a cost-benefit situation with very specific numbers and math, or something unique to seatbelts? The right to not wear a seatbelt is a natural consequence of self-ownership.
King
2mo ago
I don't know if you're all still on friendly terms with Aevann but this [site issue followed by people being logged in as the main admin] was common in the first six months or so of rdrama, there's likely documentation and a path to assistance.
I'm addicted to housework (cough)
As none of you might know, I've been trying to kick a legal, infamously moreish habit for the last several months/years, sometimes quitting easily and for months, sometimes struggling to get through the first few days. I was recently reattempting the latter of those two strategies (with minimal cheating, mostly) when I came across gwern's piece on nicotine. It's a good article, my main interest was the idea that nicotine isn't especially addictive, but rather extremely habit forming. Even with nicotine supplements like gum or patches, smokers will chew toothpicks and suckers to simulate a cigarette. Other drugs don't do this; recovering alcoholics don't swig from a flask of tap water imagining it's vodka, methadone patients don't poke sewing needles into their arms pretending it's drugs (unless they do, correct me if I'm wrong on these). [the article has more and I might be misinterpreting things but it works]
With that in mind, and a substantial tolerance break, I decided if I could get myself addicted to self-improvement and/or the feeling of accomplishment. Subconsciously preparing for the role, I'd carefully gained twenty pounds, reduced exercise to ten moderate minutes two or three times a week (plus walking), and steadfastly defended the virtue of the packing tape around 25 U-Haul boxes from my recent move (more than six months ago). I decided to reward myself with my addiction after doing what I felt was an appropriate amount of work (starting with about twenty minutes of cleaning or a couple sets of any exercise, lifting or bodyweight).
I've never cleaned like this before in my life, and it's never felt so easy. I'm always been a slob, I like to keep my place a comfy four (give or take). I never focused and half-assed everything. Now I'm cleaning and unpacking almost all day through and feel like I'm in a trance the whole time. I've never had the attention span for hypnosis but I have to imagine this the next best thing. Interestingly, the activity of cleaning feels nearly as rewarding as my original compulsion, in a similarly satisfying way. I'll often forget if I've indulged because I'm content cleaning, and instead of rewards every twenty minutes I'm going well over an hour as I get distracted by new things to wash and put away. I've been trying to get through some fun articles and videos all day but I can't spend more than a couple minutes seated before I start looking for things to put away or move around.
I'm engaging in the original addiction much less than normal and I'm not even slightly bothered. This wasn't supposed to be a plan to quit but my cravings are weaker, less frequent, and easier to manage. A switch flipped and now it's easy waiting to earn it.
Developing the urge to exercise hasn't been as successful, but I just started this program and haven't had as much reinforcement time. It's easier to reward myself after exercising rather than before, but I've started mixing the reward in between sets to build a stronger connection between habits. I used to lift a lot and I think it will be easy to get back into that groove as I build discipline and diligence. I was initially planning on rewarding myself whenever I felt especially hungry to recapture the fun of my wannarexia days, but now I'm taking the power seriously and worried the effect could be too strong. I'm tying the reward to positive, productive behaviors in general (I hope you think this post qualifies, because it does) so I'm hoping to see improvements over time in multiple areas. So far this project has exceeded expectations dramatically, and the benefits are immediate.
Of course, I've just started, so it's possible I crash, relapse, and give up the scheme entirely. The easiest way for this to happen would be engaging in the reward without practicing a good habit, thus weaking the reinforcement. This is the value of the exercise component. I might mentally bargain my way out of twenty minutes of housework, but forty pushups are quick and keep the reward honest. The new positivity and confidence will help a lot.
I know this post isn't especially useful since I'm only a couple days in, so if there's interest I will try to post an update in the future.
King
1yr ago
That struck me as odd, I can't find a hard state-by-state comparison but I found a recent Jalopnik article describing the easiest states to get your license and Texas was the only one that didn't have a driving exam, and that was contingent on the applicant having completed drivers ed.
If you vape at or around your computer it's probably reinforcing the browsing and masturbation, I've spent a third as much time online since I started this and now I can't remember how I was able to spend all day scrolling. My best suggestion would be to avoid any nicotine during the things you're trying to avoid, and find better or neutral behaviors to replace them with so you can still vape. I'm not sure your specific problem with masturbation but I wouldn't be surprised if the gooning phenomenon were directly correlated with vaping.
TMI section: One part of this reinforcement I didn't mention is that along with the housework, I've started taking a hit right before and as I orgasm, but at no other point during masturbation.1 I used to like edging and opening tabs for hours but this has made me eager to finish quickly, saving me time and dramatically improving my sexual stamina. I'm also aroused more often and have more sexual fantasies while I'm out and about, which I consider healthy and preferable but might not be a goal of yours.
1 this is part of my longstanding efforts to give myself a sex addiction
More options
Context Copy link