Things I’ve Recently Stopped or Cut Back On (Bite-size Article)

Introduction

I couldn’t think of anything to write today, so I’m going to jot down a few things I’ve recently stopped or cut back on in everyday life—and that I’m glad I did. This will be a short post.

Alcohol

I like drinking, but lately I’ve been cutting back without really making a big decision about it. That said, I still drink when I’m invited out or when I have plenty of time, so it’s not like I’m completely banning alcohol.

The reasons are simple: it tends to affect how I feel the next day (my sleep gets lighter and I feel sleepy during the day), I’ve been finding it less enjoyable than before (this depends on the situation—some gatherings are still genuinely fun), and I’ve started to think, “Do I really need to spend money on this right now?”

Not Setting My “Limit Estimate” Too Low

In work and personal projects, I tend to set goals based on past experience. I think forecasting is important—much better than guessing without any basis.

But sometimes that estimate becomes a hard ceiling. The moment I decide “This is what’s realistic for me,” I stop thinking beyond it.

So recently, I’ve been intentionally creating moments to compare myself with others. In many contexts, comparing yourself to others is seen as a bad thing, but what I mean here isn’t jealousy or self-criticism. It’s more like: “If someone is further ahead, what exactly is the gap—and what would it take to close it?” A comparison as reference data, so I don’t narrow my own possibilities too early.

Not Continuing Things Out of Habit

This is a broad one, but lately I’ve been enjoying questioning the things I keep doing out of habit. For example, canceling subscriptions for tools I haven’t used in a long time, or trimming down my weekly review template to only what I actually need. Small adjustments like that. This year, for various reasons, I’ve been cutting back on a fairly wide range of “defaults” in my life—habits, subscriptions, and fixed costs.

The more automatic something is, the less often we revisit it. Even if it looks like a “good habit,” whether it’s the best choice right now depends on the situation.

For instance, going to the gym every week is generally a good thing. But if there are other priorities and time is tight, sticking to that routine can actually make life harder. That’s why I want to avoid auto-renewing things just because they’re “good,” and instead keep adjusting based on my current circumstances.

Conclusion

I couldn’t think of a proper blog topic today, so this ended up being a simple post.

When we try to improve, we often focus on “adding more”—starting something new, doing more, taking on more. But sometimes, simply reviewing what we’re already doing—and stopping or reducing a few things—can lead to better results.

Have you recently stopped something or cut back on something? If you feel like sharing, I’d love to hear.

Thanks for reading!