If you find it easy to live a moderate life, good for you. Many others don't find it easy at all.

It's hard when so much of commerce is conspiring against us. I truly enjoy using Facebook (in the absence of a non-evil alternative) to interact with family and friends, but every time I do so I have to fight the platform's design that optimizes for quantity of interactions.

I have tried doing a bit of woodworking when I need a break (I work from home), and I've found it's much better for my mental, emotional, and physical well-being compared to going down a social media rabbit hole (like I'm doing presently). Not only do I feel like I've accomplished something and have gotten some exercise, but it also doesn't usually suck me in for hours at a time—especially since I mostly use hand tools that tire me out fairly quickly.

tl;dr: rabbets instead of rabbit holes

Cooking and baking are my big ones. It’s tactile. There’s an end to each session (as opposed to most side projects which have a nigh on infinite set of potential tasks, or work which is much the same).

I’m on my feet. I usually don’t have music or TV on so my brain gets a nice bit of breathing time and original thoughts bubble up.

And then if I’m doing dishes maybe I will turn music on, get a bit of dance on.

I love the smells of things as they sauté, or roast, or bake. And the sounds of the knife hitting the chopping board, or the water coming from the faucet, or the coffee grinding and gurgling (especially in the mornings).

And then I get to eat something delicious (the vast majority of the time). And I love learning about new flavors, and how I can combine them and using new techniques with high quality ingredients.

Very pleasant. My Pops does woodworking and stained glass making and photography and cooks and bakes and I imagine it’s much the same. Tactile, not a lot of screens, on the feet, keeps the brain energized and making new neural connections.

Definitely better than looking at page 12 of Reddit (for me, although I do that sometimes too).

>It's hard when so much of commerce is conspiring against us.

It's true. I'm no health nut but I can't even consider a sugar-free lifestyle without going very much out of my way since everything has some sort of added sugar or sweetener.