Political Detox Week – No politics on HN for one week (2016)
In 2019 my New Years Resolution was to avoid all news and social media.  The reason I started the ban was because I found my mind unsettled after reading the news and I had trouble coming back to a tranquil headspace.<p>The inspiration is this simple quote: &quot;The chief task in life is simply this:  to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control.&quot; (Epictetus)<p>I held this resolution for about 5 months and it was profoundly glorious.  It&#x27;s not hard.  Treat current events like Game of Thrones spoilers.  Focus on what you have control over.  Be frank with others that you are taking a break from the news cycle.  If your results are anything like mine you will find yourself calmer and able to concentrate on what matters.  Your mind wont wander to externalities you don&#x27;t have control over.<p>At the end of it, you can go read Wikipedia for 30 minutes and be just as caught up as anyone else because you know the end result of the news cycle instead of suffering through it as it happened.