Hello everyone,

Before reading, you can skip down to the bottom to get the gist of what I have to ask but if you don't mind getting a bit of understanding from where I am coming from in which you will understand my reasoning or go ahead and read the whole post, appreciate it.

This morning (August 11th at ~1:30 AM) I decided that I will look into partaking in monk mode for a period of time (3-6 months depending on how long it takes for me to get to where I would like to be as far as goals go).

With my new goal in mind, I went to bed at ~2AM, woke up to my alarm at 5:45 AM, did 10 minutes of meditation, stretched, prayed, wrote in my journal (goals, to-do list, thoughts/feelings, brushed my teeth/floss, made something to eat, read articles on line pertaining to personal finance and monk mode, in which I then begun to study for my final and in between taking breaks from my studying, I would read an article or two pertaining to personal finance and monk mode.

Later on in the day, I took my little sister and her friend to the movies and then for ice-cream (took about 4 hours or so) in which I made some small-talk with some people I encountered (mainly girls as I spoke to them at the establishments I went to) (I saw the suggestion [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheRedPill/comments/2qfw0e/guide_to_monk_mode/] that you "stick to your self" so to say while in monk mode, but I figure that I'd prefer to develop my social skills without being outcome dependent) and then once I got back home, I studied some more and now it's about 8:30 PM, I was planing on playing a few games or two with one of my friends (<= 1hr) and then going to bed, but I decided not to play as it makes sense to just lie in bed and doze off before my bed-time of 9:30 PM.)

One of my questions is, in regards to taking breaks from doing something mentally challenging such as reading or studying-- I don't want to nor do I plan on partaking in much "junk activities" (http://archive.is/YaGML), but I do think that I can handle it in moderation, such as about 1-2 hours daily-- Is this too much to give to such activities in general? (Once I get more busy I probably won't do such things at all as I am loosing interest in them and if I don't have the time for it, I won't make the time for it).

From all of the information I have come across today alone, I know that I have a lot of the mindset that one would learn while in monk mode, such as:

  • Introspection
    • I have always thought about my life in different perspectives, why things are as they are, and I try my best to be objective about situations I am in and my motives, etc-- psychology had a huge impact on me in High-school [I just graduated in June-- 18yrs old now])
  • I have no toxic friends around me to cut-off or anyone really
    • I've always been solo in real life, and as for the friends I do have now, we aren't able to hang-out IRL as they live elsewhere, but they are doing something with their lives and their mindsets aren't really toxic, all except one has above SMV for our ages (18-20) (one of them plays baseball in the minors, the other one plays college basketball, the other two are becoming pilots in which one of them is very strong/bulky (he hits the gym)--- but some of their beliefs I can't cosign, so I'll be keeping more of a distance as I get to where I want to be been mentally and also psychically
  • I know what I want in life
    • As of now I'm majoring in Computer Science (CS) and I have alternate plans if I don't like CS once I get my feet wet in that industry-- (I will switch to another STEM degree as I like challenging myself mentally, enjoy/interested in technology, and I also like the way that engineers think logically, so I believe that STEM is the path for me)
  • I have a DGAF attitude for the most part
    • (I understand that we are here today and gone tomorrow ["As one born, a next one gone"]-- I have an "it is what is is mindset" if you get my drift as far as me not really caring and this is only to improve once I get more experience in the real world)
  • I understand my weaknesses and I'm working on improving them
    • I will begin studying more effectively and more frequently to attain my goal of a minimum of a 3.5 gpa
    • I will begin trying to match the energy of people I'm communicating with
    • I will begin reading more frequently (I already have the 48 laws of power and have a list of books I have been suggested to read in my notes)
  • I know that I can be happy by myself
    • I'm innately an introvert and I have been solo ever since I decided to cut off all my social ties in the 9th grade to focus on my education and to begin thinking more for myself-- I didn't want to be influenced by anyone
  • I understand the reality of my situation; I'm not self-delusional
    • I deep down enjoy the harsh-truth, even if it is not what I would like to hear as I know I can learn from my shortcomings
  • In a fight or flight situation, I'm going to fight
    • This is my mindset in general-- In hard times I look for ways out and work towards that goal or I bounce back when I fall
  • I have been become more quiet in general as far as letting people speak and not trying to influence people to see a "better" opinion
    • I understand that people don't want to hear the truth so I let them be-- it as if people innately seek confirmation bias, so I have been taking a backseat in conversations and I must say it feels good to not ramble about something for the person to not only don't care, but to get offended by my thoughts in which an argument would arise
  • I have been on nofap (no porn, masturbation, etc) for over a year now
  • I have been off of social media for ~ a year
  • I have been taking cold showers for ~90% of my showers since nofap
    • I recommend doing it after a workout as your body is more warm then, but in general you get used to the cold water after a while and if needed, play some aggressive music to pump you up or even be motivated by the way men in the military shower and how efficient they are
  • I have been working out (when I can)
    • (Gym I have access to is closed for renovations or I had no ride to go and it is ~ 20 minutes by car) but I plan to get very consistent in the gym once I go off to college this month as I will have access to my college's gym and also my apartment's gym and/or no equipment exercises when I can't access the gym)
  • I have been learning how to cook along with tracking my meals

These are just some of the benefits the come with Monk Mode that I know that I have, and I understand that there is still more to learn and ways to improve.

I basically have all of these down pack (http://30challenges30days.com) except for a few such as waking up early, reading one hour, working out consistently--all of which I am working on now.

(More) Questions: Would me partaking in "junk activities" (~ 1-5 hours daily on average) which would mainly consist of youtube videos: (vlogs where I can see different perspectives of the world in which the vlogger is neutral as far as influencing me personally), car videos, interviews, gaming, studying at places in public such as a coffee shop (to get out of my room), going for a drink of some kind to get out of the house (these two wouldn't be daily as I don't want to spend $ unnecessarily), or checking reddit be bad for my growth in your opinion? I believe I would still remain mindful of my goals and maximizing my time to do what is best for me in the long run-- I would likely partake in such activities once I am mentally worn out or if I have done something that will impact me in the long run in which I then have the time to indulge in such acts. What are your thoughts? How was this day as far as this being the rule of thumb for the rest of my days: work and then ease the mental workout with something lighter but still beneficial, or even just a "junk activity" such as a YT Video in between study breaks.

Feedback is appreciated. Thanks for reading the post.