With everything going on in the world right now, my mind is quieter than it’s been in years.
I’m 28 days into my latest 8-week Shedooby commitment. As the developer of the app, I’ve run this challenge several times over the past two years. But this time feels different—I’m finally all in.
What changed?
In the beginning, Shedooby was purely about self-denial: staying off social media, avoiding alcohol, and redirecting all that mental chatter toward something useful. Eight weeks of pure willpower is a great test, and finishing it feels rewarding. But something was still missing. There was no real payoff at the end.
My brother suggested making it more like a game—pop-ups, rewards, something to keep users coming back. So I added daily engagement rewards: interact with the app 10 times in a day (by tapping the Brain Button) and you’ll trigger a fun animation. (If you’re using Siri on that tenth time, the animation skips for safety—Siri is there for hands-free or private moments when you don’t mind her speaking your “lash” out loud.)
The biggest upgrade came with Mission Goals.
You now set three meaningful goals—one professional, one personal/hobby, and one physical fitness. Each goal has its own hidden image that reveals itself slowly, day by day, only if you complete your daily practice. That single addition gave the app real drive and purpose.
Goals need to be challenging but attainable. I’ve learned that the hard way. Years ago I wrote down a goal to host 100 website clients. At the time it sounded reasonable. What I didn’t anticipate was how tough acquiring new clients would become—especially with the rise of AI and the realities of my local market. Being a competent coder is one thing; consistently landing clients is another.
That lesson stuck with me. In this current 8-week challenge, I’ve broken everything down into small, doable daily practices. And it’s working.
Twenty-eight days in, I’m seeing real results: a flat belly with visible abs (that elusive 6-pack I never had before), stronger hands and arms (helped by my factory job standing and spray-painting molded plastic parts from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.), and consistent daily reps of weights, push-ups, sit-ups, and leg lifts. I wish I’d started this when I was 20 and chasing attention from the ladies. Now, at nearly 60, balding and gray, fitness still matters—I can feel the drag of age, and these habits are pushing back against it.
Best of all, my mind is quieter.
Each day I still catch myself slipping into mind chatter—imaginary arguments, mostly political or personal. This morning alone I did it three times right after waking up. But overall, it’s way down compared to the constant mental noise during Covid lockdowns, when my head was filled with endless debates against people I’d never meet. That was wasted energy—energy that could have gone toward building something worthwhile or financially rewarding. Instead, I was spinning on a social media hamster wheel.
There’s a lot happening in the world: disingenuous news media pushing fear and division, foreign actors and bots amplifying hate, constant marketing trying to sell you things you didn’t know you needed (including drugs). As Flavor Flav put it in Public Enemy’s “She Watch Channel Zero”: that stuff ain’t real—turn that shit off.
I vaguely remember life before smartphones, the internet, social media, and 24/7 news cycles—before so many things became politicized or racialized. Back then, disagreements happened face-to-face with people you actually knew. The possibility of real consequences kept things somewhat civil. Americans have been arguing with each other for nearly 250 years, but 21st-century technology turned the volume way up.
Shedooby is about getting wise to all of that. It’s about controlling your information diet. Asking simple questions like: What’s the source? Who benefits? Compared to what? Those questions help you see when you’re being played. Your time and attention are far more valuable when spent on attainable goals instead of rage bait designed to keep you scrolling and clicking.
So here I am on Easter Sunday 2026, 28 days in, mind relatively quiet—quieter than at any point during the pandemic. I have clear Mission Goals, daily practices, and rewards waiting if I hit them. I’ve already seen physical improvements. Wars continue. Politics rage. Virtue signalers keep signaling. Opinions fly everywhere. I still have mine, but right now I’m keeping them close—like cards in a poker game.
The real question is: Can I finish strong and achieve my Mission Goals in the 28 days left? A vacation is coming up, so I’ll have to improvise—no guitar, no weights, no laptop for a week. I’ll figure it out.
Jesus sacrificed His life. I’m sacrificing my time on social media (and I gave up alcohol nearly eight years ago—one of the best decisions I ever made, though I wish I’d never started). Maybe giving up social media and booze can’t compare to that ultimate sacrifice, but they’re powerful steps toward your own kind of resurrection—finding real fulfillment through self-denial and focused effort.
Happy Easter!