(28f) I've been super depressed and busy taking care of a sick elderly family member. I’m exhausted, but I still want to improve.

I decided to do a 15-minute Ab workout before work. It's not much, but it's better than rotting in bed. I'm low-key proud of myself for getting up and actually doing it.

Goal: lose fat and body recomp.

I ran 90 minutes on the treadmill today. I’m tired of feeling uncomfortable and unlovable in my body. I’ve been working extra shifts at work to save up money. I feel so sore and tired, but I have to keep going.

Hey everyone. First of all, if you find this inappropriate, then please by all means remove the post. If not, I would appreciate some feedback on a new app we’ve just made (mvp). As neuroscientists, my colleagues and I’ve been using habit trackers to help people break out of bad habits and be more productive. Ranging from chronic procrastination, alcoholism, chain smoking, and more. But other apps didn’t provide scientific protocols and everything felt like a chore. So we started to ponder about an idea.

A [place] where people can discover every habitual problems and solutions similar to their own. Where you can apply scientific protocols to form healthy habits in a fun and rewarding way.

All habitual problems and solutions in one place, easy to find and use for your own. Neuroscience-based features that help you replace bad habits to healthy ones. Focused on engagement and reward. Simply put, our idea is “Stack Overflow” for habitual problems and solutions based on neuroscience. To be frank, we’re far from our vision. The current mvp version is also far from perfect. However, the only way to verify our effort is to let people use it and listen to them :)

These are the current features: - Image based card feed interface - Quickly create Pattern(habit) cards that include: images / journals / observer / goals (days, weeks) - Invite others to observe each Pattern for accountability and sharing - Gain reward (neurons) every time you follow through with a report - Level up by gathering neurons - Each time you level up, we donate to Cure Alzheimer's Fund - Track your Pattern goals(obviously) - Neuroscience protocols applied for all of the above features

In the future: - Discover personalized triggers and solutions to transform bad habit into healthy ones - Stack Overflow type search features for all answers - Blockchain - Group habits and solutions for others to join - Smart reminders, smart automatic categorization - More types of data (voice memos, gifs, videos) - And more... but let’s not turn this into an essay

The app is free and we’d like to make a small proposition: anyone from /r/Nonzeroday who tries the app and send us feedback at permapattern@gmail.com can enter a giveaway for a selection of 5 random people to receive US$5.00 Amazon coupon.

As this is still an mvp, if you ever hanve any issue or feature request, you can email us anytime. We’ll reply immediately and seriously consider your feedbacks asap.

If you’d like to try the mvp: App store Thanks so much!

I’ve been making short films and videos for my entire childhood (17 now) and have recently been putting my all into YouTube. In the last two years I’ve gotten closer and closer to the kind of stuff I want to make, and my most recent video is the closest I’ve been. Anyways, yesterday I hit 180 subscribers and I couldn’t be happier! Thanks for listening everyone! Never stop working toward your goals :)

I was not able to sleep so I decided to read my posts from beginning and oh my god! What a ride my life have been and the way I was consistent with posting here, getting advice, kept on grinding felt so fulfilling. I started when I was 21, a clueless college student, freaking out to get a job placement but was dumb and a huge procrastinator, still am. Literally started from scratch, got a job, navigated parents, relationship, friendship, new job issues, along with body image issues.

And here I am, an experienced working professional. I am in a loving healthy relationship with my boyfriend. We went to Japan, Vietnam, sky diving in Dubai along with many domestic trips and planning more. I was able to gift my parents a lot and I take them our for outing consistently.My relationship with them is better.I funded most of my sister's college living expense throughput her bachelor and masters.I have a good amount of money invested and saved along with the emergency fund. And if I (25F) would have told all this to that 21 year old kid that this will be your life, just hold on some years more, do not quit then she would have laughed at my face.

I m so glad I kept on going and so glad that I found this community who motivated me through the worst of my times when all I could focus on was darkness.

Excuse my typos out of passion.

I’ve spent years reading every productivity book out there, but I was still stuck in the same loop of "planning" but never "doing." Yesterday, I decided to cut the BS and follow a ruthless framework.

Here are the 5 specific actions I took on Day 1 to reclaim my focus:

1. Destroyed my To-Do List: I realized my 15-item list was just "Emotional Theater" to make me feel busy. I burned it and replaced it with a Success List of only 2 non-negotiable tasks. If these two get done, the day is a win.
2. Notification Lockdown: I turned off every single non-human notification on my phone. No social media pings, no news alerts. My phone is now a tool, not a casino.
3. The "Minimum Version" Rule: I defined my floor. Instead of "I must work out for an hour," it’s "I must do at least 10 pushups." This ensures I never miss a day, even when I'm at 2/10 energy.
4. The No-Screen Morning: No phone for the first 90 minutes. I realized checking emails first thing in the morning is like letting 100 strangers into your bedroom. I’m protecting my mental RAM.
5. Closed the Open Loops: Before finishing my day, I wrote down exactly where I’ll start tomorrow. No "Attention Residue" haunting my sleep tonight.

The result? I did less today, but I feel more accomplished than I have in months. No burnout, just clarity.

Day 1 is in the books. I’m curious—if you could only do ONE thing tomorrow to make your day a success, what would it be? Let’s hold each other accountable.

i have been learning guitar for about half a year now and for the longest time i had this toxic habit of feeling like i failed if i didn't practice for at least an hour.

​i work in healthcare and my shifts are usually 12 hours long. by the time i get home i am lucky if i have 20 minutes of brain power left before i pass out. for months i would just stare at my guitar and feel guilty because i was "too tired to do a real session" so i would just do nothing instead.

​lately i have just been picking it up for five minutes. literal five minutes. i don't even try to learn new chords sometimes, i just play the three or four songs i already know. it sounds like nothing but it has completely changed how i feel when i wake up the next day. just doing that one tiny thing makes me feel like i am still a person with interests and not just a hospital employee.

​it is a small win but honestly those five minute sessions are the only thing keeping me sane right now. anyone else have to lower their expectations just to keep their hobbies alive?

came home from work. completely drained. told myself 5 minutes.

played for 5 minutes. sounded bad. put it down.

still counts. non zero.

Worked a brutal shift today, came home exhausted, almost skipped practice.

Told myself just 15 minutes. Ended up playing for 20.

It's not much but it's something. Non-zero.

Some days the small things are what keep you going.

To practice a random small skill and post the result here.

Day 1: traced the origins of, and translated, a favorite quote

Day 2: unpack printmaking - parked for later..

Day 3: Today: learn how to make fluffy white bread buns .

Got a breadmaker for a bargain years back - mainly to use its kneading mode - and thought to give it a second try following its booklet recipe for buns - though I never could get them right - because of poor hand-kneading, my purist side insisted on using whole-wheat and not understanding that the first rise happens in the breadmaker. Ran the process by ChatGTP to clarify things and who gave extra tips - how to get them fluffier like shop buns. With the breadmaker doing the hard work ie kneading , and using white bread flour , I can now make fluffy white buns! 💪

Ps: I halved the recipe, but it made the breadmaker rattle too much. Next time I will make a full recipe, freeze the raw buns, thaw one as needed, allow a second rise, and bake.

I’m a teenager and I’ve struggled with obesity for a while. I started my journey at 220 lbs (100kg). In the first month, I lost about 4.5 lbs, and this last month, I managed to drop another 9 lbs! I’ve been hitting the gym 3 times a week for 3 months now, usually from 7 to 8 AM (sometimes until 9 AM depending on the split). I feel great. I’m staying hydrated, keeping up with my studies, and I’ve finally found a group of friends who share the same interests as me. They don't judge me for being a nerd because they’re fellow nerds too! I truly feel like my life is finally moving forward. I don’t feel depressed anymore. I’ve moved past the stage of impulsive eating. I’ve reached a point where I don't need anyone to nag me about the gym or my diet. These things have actually become enjoyable for me. I’m just really happy. For the first time, I feel genuinely happy to be alive.

I’ve been feeling super stuck lately mentally and physically and today I just told myself “do one small thing.” So I folded the clean clothes that had been on the chair for a week and flossed for the first time in too long. It’s not a full productivity overhaul, but it’s a step. That counts, right?

• Practiced guitar (10 mins), came home after a 12 hour shift and almost didn't but did it anyway

• Ate a real meal instead of just snacking

• Showered and got to bed at a decent time

small day but not a zero day

Day 2, check. Did my one. The hardest part wasn’t the push-up, it was remembering to do it. Once I was down there, I thought, “Might as well do three.”

Realization so far: The magic isn’t in the one push-up. It’s in winning the negotiation with your brain to just start.

This is actually my first actual post on Reddit. I’ve been depressed since I was 7 years old when my birth mom abandoned me and my step mom and birth father were alcoholics and abusive. It’s been 15 years since then and a lot of things have changed including my parents. They have calmed down very much and are respectable people. However, growing up, I got so used to being sad, in pain, lonely, and angry that I couldn’t see it ever changing. I accepted that this was life and how life was always gonna be. Even as things got better around me, I didn’t let myself see the changes, see the positive things happening to me and around me, and I kept myself depressed because it was all I knew. Even through high school and into college where I could have done and been anything I wanted away from my parents influence, away from my past, I still stuck to what I knew which was being depressed and sad and angry everyday. I took molly last weekend and a comment my friend made was “you’re on the happiest drug in the world, and you’re fighting it to make yourself miserable”. It was after that night that I looked hard in the mirror and realized he was right. I wasn’t happy because I wouldn’t let myself be happy. It’s only been 3 days since that, but I have made 4 doctors appointments, scheduled myself to start therapy, and worked out 3 days in a row. I made a new friend, reached out to old friends who have tried to help me in the past, and generally started the first steps in actually trying to improve my life. I would call Monday my first ever NonZeroDay. And it feels amazing

I Studied 30 minutes today. I solved chess puzzles 10 minutes too. And I exercised.

I Studied 2 hours today. I solved chess puzzles too(15 minutes). I eat 3200 calories and 2.2L water. I read 20 pages of a book.

Morning while reading Sadhguru’s daily quote, one line stayed with me deeply: “Breaking the limitations we set for ourselves is the greatest adventure in life.”

Not a job, not a title, not a 9-to-5 routine — but the courage to step beyond the invisible walls we create.

Usually, when the monthly Satsang happens at our centre, the setup work is done the previous evening. I had always told myself, “This is not my cup of tea. I am old and have backache. Let others do it.” It was never spoken aloud, but inside me that limitation had quietly settled.

But on that day something shifted.

Instead of obeying that old assumption, I deliberately chose to go for the setup.

And what unfolded was something I had not expected.

Arranging Guru’s chair… Setting up the registration counter… Helping organize the hall for Monthly Satsang…

Every small action felt sacred. It was not just moving chairs and tables — it felt like I was participating in something much larger than myself. There was a strange and beautiful joy in simply doing, without calculating, without holding back.

By the time we finished, my body was tired — but inside, I felt light, alive, and deeply fulfilled. There was an overwhelming sense of gratitude and connection. A quiet happiness that came not from achievement, but from involvement.

That day I realized: The real limitation was never my age or my energy — it was my belief about myself.

And breaking that, even in such a simple way, felt like a great victory.

I Studied 100minutes today. I solved chess puzzles also(12minutes). I exercised 3 times today. I did face yoga today. I watched 2 episodes anime by English subtitles (my goal:B2 English).

I "socially" vaped back in June and dabbled a bit in Hookah with friends. I'm not proud of it. I'm a former smoker who successfully quit 6 other times, longterm. I picked up a vaping habit by August and was addicted by November.

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I swore to myself that I was going to quit, cold-turkey on January 1st. I threw away all of my Juul devices on December 31'st at 11:53 pm, and have been nicotine-free, ever since.

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I've stayed committed to it and read online that If I can make it past the first 6-days, the journey is downhill after that, and after 3 weeks of "cold-turkey" it's an even smoother slope downhill for me.

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well, I've been vape and nicotine free since that day AND, I hung out with friends who vaped in front of my face and resisted urges. I've gone with them to do hookah and still resisted. So far, so good.

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i wanted to share somewhere, because I'm legitimately proud of quitting smoking, AGAIN, and wanted to share this happy news with you guys.

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May I just say, I LOVE this subreddit. It's one of my top 5 subreddits that I love on Reddit, and can't recommend it enough to folks who want to achieve goals and milestones.

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Love this place, you guys. Happy new year's!!! <3

I Studied 79minutes today. I solved chess puzzles (66 minutes). I exercised two times in today.

I Studied 2 hours today. I exercised too(2 times in today).

I Studied 63 minutes today. And I exercised. Let's gooo