Experiments
Essential to Raptitude is the idea of experimentation. Concepts and insights can be useful and encouraging, but it is the application of those ideas that effect big improvements in one’s life. It can be very revealing (and fun) to try on a new habit or technique for a week or two (or four), and observe the results.
I will conduct experiments in my own life and post my observations and conclusions. I would love to hear about your experiments too.
All Raptitude experiments will be listed here.
Raptitude Experiment No. 1 — Sharpening the Mind
In this experiment I attempt to engage in formal sitting meditation every day for thirty days. I’ve meditated many times before, but not in a disciplined stretch like this. Will I become the Buddha, or succumb to the restless monkey mind?
Result in a nutshell: I struggled. I was not ready for meditation. Not willing. But that didn’t prevent me from making some very revealing discoveries…
View experiment log no. 1 – View final report
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Raptitude Experiment No. 2 — Strength, Soviet Style
In this experiment, I employ a low-tech Russian implement, the kettlebell, to see what sort of improvements I can make to my physique in six short weeks. Will I achieve world domination, or will the kettlebell crush me under its ironclad boot?
Result in a nutshell: I did make considerable strides in my six weeks, but an injury and a peculiar internal resistance staved off miraculous results. Still, I was quite proud of myself. There is a before/after picture in the final report.
View experiment log no. 2 – View final report
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Raptitude Experiment No. 3 — 30 Days Without Drugs
In this experiment, I attempt to throw off the cultural shackles of casual drug use, notably alcohol and caffeine. Will I stand sober and self-assured amidst the crowds of tipsy twenty-somethings, or will I find I don’t belong anymore?
Result in a nutshell: Changed my life forever. Completely altered the way my mind and body respond to drugs, and now I’m free of virtually all negative effects of my casual drug usage. I am in love with the sober, base-state and my body doesn’t let me forget it.
View experiment log no. 3 – View final report
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Raptitude Experiment No. 4 — Defensive Eating
In this experiment, I set out to renegotiate my relationship to food and lose the “spare tire” that has formed during this summer’s ice cream binges. Eating with care and mindfulness, I vow to no longer eat to the point of sluggishness, and to hit the kettlebells again. Will I deliver a fit and strong David to New Zealand this fall, or will I slip quietly back to “almost healthy?”
Result in a nutshell: I did eventually slip back to “almost healthy.” I found that social and cultural factors play a HUGE role in how, what and how much I eat. You too probably. Some interesting discoveries in the progress log.
View experiment log no. 4 – View final report
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Raptitude Experiment No. 5 — 21 Days Without Complaining
In this experiment, I aim to eliminate the habit of casual negativity using a simple method pioneered by a Missouri minister. The experiment will be over when I’ve gone 21 consecutive days without complaining, disparaging or gossiping. It will probably take a lot longer than 21 days. Will I achieve a state of total non-negativity forevermore? Or will I finally collapse into a heap of cursing and bitterness?
Result in a nutshell: Well I did it, without compromise. I effectively killed my impulse to complain. But I found it strangely dissatisfying, and I developed a rather negative view of the whole “Complaint Free World” idea. This is an interesting one.
View experiment log no. 5 – View final report
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Raptitude Experiment No. 6 – Logging Everything I Do, All Day For a Week
In this experiment, I track everything I do that takes time — which is everything. With the ultimate goal of dismantling unproductive habits, I aim to find out exactly how much of my time is invested in getting the things I want, and how much is slipping through the cracks. Will this trigger a personal productivity revolution, or simply expose the bad habits that have me at their mercy?
Result in a nutshell: I completed it as planned. More than anything I learned that productivity is not so much what you do, but where your mind is when you do it. I also learned that laundry only takes twelve minutes, not the 90 I previously thought, and much more.
View experiment log no. 6 – View final report
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Raptitude Experiment No. 7 – Establishing Meditation as a Habit For Life
In this experiment, I return to meditation with the tenacity of one hand clapping. Meditation has revealed itself to me as an indispensable ingredient to a healthy psyche, and it’s time to make it an everyday thing for me. Will I sit at the centre of the universe as often as I eat breakfast, or will I continue to act as if it just isn’t important enough to earn a steady place in my schedule?
Result in a nutshell: Terminated prematurely. I was forced to delay the experiment while I traveled because I could never depend on having a suitable meditation spot, and now that I’m home I do not have the same desire to meditate I did back in Australia. It will come back, but until then it will stick to active mindfulness instead of sitting meditation.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 8 – Five New Habits at Once, Made Possible by Low Standards
In this experiment, I attempt to overturn the conventional wisdom that multiple concurrent habit changes are doomed to fail. My secret weapon is ridiculously low standards, allowing me to hit my mark every day in every habit, for a month straight. Will I master the Art of Showing Up, or will my long-running self-sabotage habit prevail?
Result in a nutshell: Aborted! Two in a row now. The principle really backfired for me, for reasons explained in the experiment log. Check it out below.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 9 — A Place for Everything
In this experiment I resolve to get rid of everything that I am not prepared to use and give a permanent place to in my home. I’m going room-to-room, closet-to-closet, box-to-box, and when I’m done, I will have no stuff, only things. Will I strip down to my minimalist skivvies, or drown in ugly clothes and cracked jewel cases?
Result in a nutshell: Well look at that, I live in a tidy house now. Reversed 30 years of clothes-on-the-floor living, and gained some other benefits I didn’t expect. Check out the final report below.
View experiment log no. 9 – View final report
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Raptitude Experiment No. 10 — Vegan for 30 days
In this experiment I resolve to eat a vegan diet for 30 days. No meat, dairy or other animal products. I will also refrain from knowingly buying any non-food animal products but this experiment is primarily about diet. I want to see what happens in my body, my mind, and my social life as a result of this rather “alternative” lifestyle. Will I grow stronger and steadier on a plants-only diet, or will I wilt like spinach in the microwave?
Result in a nutshell: Smashing success. Not only did I change my diet, but my philosophy and lifestyle.
View experiment log no. 10 – View final report
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Raptitude Experiment No. 11 — An Attack on Procrastination
In this experiment I resolve to dislodge my lifelong procrastination habit by committing to certain regulatory behaviors for 37 days. I’m allowed to goof off if I really, but only if I’ve consciously decided to goof off. No blind avoidance. Will I conquer the beast of procrastination, or will I end up putting this off until next month?
Result in a nutshell: Mixed results. I didn’t cure procrastination, but I am much more aware of it now and I can’t let myself get away with too much of it.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 12 — 1000 words a day
In this experiment I attempt to transform my lopsided writing habits so that I write a modest amount every day, rather than do it all on one or two days of the week. One thousand words a day, every day, for 30 days. Will I become a consistent, prolific wordsmith, or remain a literary weekend warrior?
Result in a nutshell: Outright failure. Writing became something I hated and dreaded even more than before. Making myself do something every day makes me an angry person who hates that something.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 13 — Daily self-arousal through visualization
In this experiment I conduct a daily “excitement ritual” in which I sit and visualize things I want, for 20 minutes a day, for 30 days. The idea is to inject a regular period of extreme arousal in order to learn to think more about what I want and less about what I don’t want. Will I blossom into true optimism for the first time in my life, or revert back to obsessing about unfavorable outcomes?
Result in a nutshell: I quit. Same thing as last time. I took something that was important and attractive to me, then forced myself to do it when I didn’t want to, and I began to hate that thing. I don’t think I’ll do another experiment for a while.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 14 — Working an eight-hour workday on my own work, at home
In this experiment I attempt something I have never done: work a full eight-hour workday on my own creative work. I’ve done it thousands of times for employers, but never for my own purposes. Will I become the disciplined, self-directed writer I yearn to be, or will I play an eight-hour game of Angry Birds?
Result in a nutshell: Excellent! Check out the experiment log for details.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 15 — Returning to doing dishes by hand
In this experiment I give up one of the most iconic post-war domestic conveniences: the dishwasher. I want to be required to attend to the dishes by hand, so that some part of my day requires my full attention. Almost everything else is automatic, it’s time to start unplugging.
Result in a nutshell: Went very well. Un-automating a small part of my life left me feeling more responsible and a little more clear-minded.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 16 — A book a week
In this experiment I attempt to clear the bar set by the celebrated genius George W. Bush by reading a book a week for a year. Will I become the daily avid reader I believe I’m supposed to be, or spent 30 of the weeks slogging through a single Steinbeck?
Result in a nutshell: Catastrophe. I quickly began to see reading as a chore. I fell behind immediately and really hated everything about this experiment. Abandoned it about halfway through the year. Now I don’t place quotas on reading any more, and I read more than ever.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 17 — Improving default posture
In this experiment I attempt to use the last two weeks of 2013 to get used to standing up straight (as opposed to my habitual slouch.) Will I become the upright man my mother always wanted me to be, or will I regress into a reptilian precursor?
Result in a nutshell: Moderate success. Two weeks is probably way too short a time to make major corrections in posture, and it’s difficult to evaluate, but I am more aware of my posture and standing up straight more often.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 18 — A month of Soylent
In this experiment I attempt to live on a home-made superfood called soylent for about two-thirds of my meals, for 30 days. Will I become a 21st century superman, or a tragic example of idealistic technology gone awry?
Result in a nutshell: Smashing success. Six months later, I still consume it for 50-67% of my calories, still feel great.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 19 — Working standing up
In this experiment I do what productivity nerds have been telling me to do for a while: work standing up part of the day. Will I burst out of my winter slumber with renewed vigor, or will I just be another poor sap left standing when the music stops?
Result in a nutshell: Definitely a success. Working standing up was surprisingly natural, and I find I get distracted less standing than sitting.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 20 — Intermittent Fasting
In this experiment I restrict my food intake to an eight-hour period every day, and go without for the rest of that time. Will I emerge lean and clean, or succumb to irritability and overcompensation?
Result in a nutshell: This was awesome. I learned an important skill that has served me well ever since: how to not eat without getting cranky. Weight loss and portion control isn’t a struggle any more. I am in great shape now and getting better all the time.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 21 — Decluttering using the KonMari method
In this experiment I go through every single object I own, hold it in my hands, and keep it only if evokes some amount of joy. Will I cut loose years of life-destroying clutter, or will I end up simply packing my life into a roomful of Rubbermaids?
Result in a nutshell: Excellent. Culled all of my possessions down to what really serves me, and I want to keep it that way. Highly recommend this method.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 22 — Studying my own sleep
In this experiment I test the quality of my sleep under different conditions, in an effort to discover what really does create the best sleep for me. Will I find a well-marked path to Dreamland, or will the Sandman go AWOL?
Result in a nutshell: Not sure. Most of the things I tested were inconclusive. It became clear that I sleep much better when it’s cool or cold, and that caffeine after 6pm is a bad idea.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 23 — No aimless TV
In this experiment I eschew screen-watching as an entertainment option. It’s books, staring out the window, or nothing. Will I break the draw of the glowing rectangle, or will life become an ascetic nightmare without my usual altar of worship?
Result in a nutshell: Worthwhile. I didn’t learn a huge amount, but I did end the questionable behavior of watching X-Files reruns, and now I better understand TV’s main role in my life: dissolving the existential aimlessness I feel when I don’t know what to do with myself.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 24 — Making social media immobile again
In this experiment I eliminate social media from my morning routine, and my phone. Will I wrest Mark Zuckerberg’s silicon grip from my brain, or will I act out his wishes without realizing it?
Result in a nutshell: Major lasting change to my life. I still have no Facebook or Reddit on my phone, and I waste very little time on social media. It also made me much more aware of my habits around electronic devices, and the cost they are having on all of us.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 25 — Early to bed, early to rise
In this experiment I wake up at five am with no snoozing allowed. Will I become healthy, wealthy and wise, or will daily life feel like a self-imposed boot camp?
Result in a nutshell: Quit early but learned some things. Waking at 5am helped me shape my morning routine into something I liked better, but I just could not get to sleep early enough.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 26 — Making my smartphone boring
In this experiment I attempt to make my smartphone into the life-improving supertool it could be, by removing all of its addictive/entertainment functions and keeping the useful ones.
Result in a nutshell: Unsure. I broke the worst of my habits at the time, particularly playing YouTube videos while I did things nearby. But I did not achieve the ideal of making a boring multi-tool out of my phone. Some bad habits have crept back. I’m not sure where I stand with this thing.
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Raptitude Experiment No. 27 — Very Long Meditation Sittings
In this experiment I challenge Pascal’s famous claim that we are unable to sit alone in a room, by sitting alone in a room to ludicrous extremes. Will I transcend my human frailties, or be driven to war and revolution?
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Raptitude Experiment No. 28 — Making Sure All Food Gets Eaten
In this experiment I delve into the forgotten corners of my pantry, in an attempt to make sure every lentil, noodle, and tinned sardine actually ends up being consumed. Will I deliver “A Job For Every Bean,” or let my lonely legumes languish?
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Raptitude Experiment No. 29 — Calorie Tracking
In this experiment I test the adage “What gets measured gets managed” by recording all caloric intake for a month, without trying to meet any particular target numbers. Will I reverse my Covid-era weight gain, or simply watch it continue, only this time with hard data?
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Raptitude Experiment No. 30 — Stoic Living
In this experiment I attempt to live according to Stoic philosophy for 30 days. Will I accept the will of Nature in real-time, or will the locus control me?
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Raptitude Experiment No. 31 — No screens at bedtime
In this experiment I try to remedy my sleep issues by renouncing my terrible habit of using my phone a lot in the final two hours of the day. Will I sleep like a baby, or double down on my pacifier?
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Raptitude Experiment No. 32 – Fasting
In this experiment I try out the time-honored practice of fasting. Will I become airy and enlightened, or ravenous and cranky?
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Raptitude Experiment No. 33 — Monk Mode
In this experiment I try the 21st-century tradition of Monk Mode — dedicating oneself to a well-defined higher standard of daily work and abstinence from vice. Will I shake myself out of my late-summer complacency, or discover a more humble and dedicated man inside?
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Raptitude Experiment No. 34 — Living for the Highest Good
In this experiment I return to ancient philosophy territory, by living an entire day resolved to Marcus Aurelius’s famous dictum. Will I discover the key to eudaimonia, or fall back into akrasia?
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Raptitude Experiment No. 35 — Renouncing Bottomless Internet Content
In this experiment I zero in on the deadliest aspect of smartphones: scrolling through bottomless feeds that characterize today’s social media platforms. Will I see through the mirage of endless user-generated content, or drown in it?
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Photo by ArtemFinland
I'm David, and Raptitude is a blog about getting better at being human -- things we can do to improve our lives today.
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