I cancelled ChatGPT Plus. It was about twenty dollars a month, roughly two hundred and forty dollars a year. I did this because I am now able to think for myself. Donna asked why I needed to cancel a thinking tool to think. I said that is the kind of question a subscription would answer for me. I want to answer it myself, with equipment. Here is what I could buy instead.
about six thousand dollars. Shark rating 0.4.
This removes light, sound, and outside opinions. Donna says I already ignore outside opinions. I say this makes it official. I would float in the dark and have one clear thought. If I have two, I would get out and write them down. The tank is not for everyone. It is for me.
about four hundred dollars. Shark rating 0.6.
I can put it on and watch my brain work. Donna asks who watches the headset. I say I do, which is the point of thinking for myself. If the graph moves, that is thinking. If it does not move, I will think about why.
about sixty dollars. Shark rating 0.7.
A bottle of capsules for thinking. Donna says I can think without pills. I say I can, but not while also supporting the supplement industry. She says that is not a reason. I say it is a reason with a bottle.
about thirty dollars. Shark rating 0.9.
It is a mushroom powder. Donna reminds me I hate mushrooms. I tell her this is not about taste. This is about mental clarity. I will mix it into coffee. If it tastes like mushrooms, I will mix it into more coffee.
about two hundred dollars. Shark rating 0.95.
It uses lights and sounds to guide my brain. Donna says my brain does not take guidance. I say that is why I need a machine. I would use it for twenty minutes a day and then think about using it tomorrow.
about one hundred dollars. Shark rating 1.1.
I put my phone inside and it cannot reach me. Donna asks how I will check Amazon for the rest of this list. I tell her I will check before I put the phone in the cage. This is called planning. The cage is for after planning.
about three hundred dollars. Shark rating 1.15.
I sit in front of it and my face gets warm. Warm face, clear thoughts. Donna says that is not how thinking works. I say she is not a panel. I would use it while reading, which means I would use it twice.
about eighty dollars. Shark rating 1.2.
The weight keeps me from floating away from my own ideas. Donna says I am not going to float away. I say that is exactly what someone says before someone floats away. This is a preventive purchase.
about thirty five dollars. Shark rating 1.3.
One hit and the room changes. Donna asks if I know how to use it. I say I will learn by hitting it. It comes with a cushion, which is another thing for sitting. I would keep the cushion on the thinking chair.
about forty dollars. Shark rating 1.4.
I need to sit on something while I clear my mind. Donna says I already sit on the couch. I say the couch is for watching. This is for thinking. Different furniture for different activities.
about three hundred dollars. Shark rating 1.5.
It tracks my sleep. Donna says I do not sleep, I nap. I say the ring will track the naps and tell me which ones were thinking naps. She asks if I will wear it. I say I will wear it on the hand I do not use for pointing.
about one thousand dollars. Shark rating 1.7.
I walk slowly and think. Donna says I will fall. I say falling is a separate event and I have not budgeted for it. The desk is for walking and thinking. The falling would be a free extra.
about four hundred dollars. Shark rating 1.8.
I think better standing up. I have not tested this sitting down. Donna says I sit all day. I say that is why I need the desk, to make sitting impossible. She says I will lower it. I say I will lose the key.
about five hundred dollars. Shark rating 2.1.
For long thinking sessions. Donna says my thinking sessions are ten minutes. I say this chair will make them longer. It supports the back. The back is connected to the brain. That is not a medical claim. That is directions.
about thirty dollars. Shark rating 2.2.
They block the blue light from screens. Donna says I cancelled the screen subscription. I say I still have screens. I have many screens. The glasses make the screens less blue, which is better for thoughts that arrive at night.
about one hundred fifty dollars. Shark rating 2.25.
I type my thoughts. Donna says I type with one finger. I say one finger deserves quality. The keys make a sound. That sound is the sound of thinking being typed. When I make a mistake, I can hear it.
about one hundred dollars. Shark rating 2.3.
I talk and the computer writes it down. Donna says that is what she is afraid of. I say it is efficient. I can think out loud and not lose the thought. If I lose the thought, I can say it again louder.
about fifty dollars. Shark rating 2.5.
For ideas that come when I am not at the desk. Donna says my ideas leave quickly. I say that is why I need a recorder. I would keep it by the bed. I would record the idea and never listen to it, but at least it is captured.
about thirty dollars. Shark rating 2.6.
I label the folders I will buy. Donna says labels do not create organization. I say they announce it. A thought in a labeled folder is a thought that has a home. A thought in a drawer is just a drawer thought.
about ten dollars. Shark rating 2.7.
To mark the important parts of my thinking. Donna asks how I know which parts are important. I say I mark them and find out. The yellow one is for main ideas. The pink one is for ideas that feel main at the time.
about thirty dollars. Shark rating 2.8.
I pin cards to it and step back. Donna says stepping back is the only part I have planned. I say it is the most important part. The board lets me see the whole thought at once. The whole thought is usually three cards and a receipt.
about one hundred fifty dollars. Shark rating 2.9.
I map my thoughts on the wall. Donna says the wall already has a map of excuses. I say this one is bigger. A giant whiteboard tells me I am serious. A small whiteboard tells me I am making a list. I am not making a list. I am making a system.
about ten dollars. Shark rating 3.0.
One idea per card. Donna asks what happens when I have two ideas. I say I use two cards. This is the system. The system is cards. If I have three ideas, I will buy more cards. That is the beauty of a scalable system.
about fifteen dollars. Shark rating 3.1.
Problem solving in my hands. Donna says I peel the stickers. I say I have moved on from peeling. I now twist it and put it down. That is thinking. The cube does not need to be solved. It needs to be present.
about thirty dollars. Shark rating 3.2.
Strategy and consequences. Donna says I lose at checkers. I say checkers is a different board. Chess teaches me to think ahead. I will think ahead to the next move. I will not think ahead to the move after that because that is where I get into trouble.
about twenty dollars. Shark rating 3.3.
It is a problem with a picture on the box. Donna says I start puzzles and leave them. I say leaving them is part of the process. I come back with fresh eyes. The puzzle waits. That is more than most subscriptions do.
about thirty dollars. Shark rating 3.4.
I follow instructions and build something. Donna says I ignore instructions. I say I read them and then do my own thing. This kit is for following instructions exactly. If it comes out wrong, that is the kit’s fault for having too many small pieces.
about ten dollars. Shark rating 3.5.
Quiet thinking without words. Donna says I cannot stay in the lines. I say the lines are suggestions. The coloring book gives my hands something to do while my brain works. If my brain stops, I can color a shark. That is not a joke. It is a shark.
about fifteen dollars. Shark rating 3.6.
A place for thoughts. Donna says I have eleven notebooks. I say I need a twelfth for the new system. The old notebooks are archives. This one is current. You cannot think in an archive.
about forty dollars. Shark rating 3.7.
A good pen makes a thought feel official. Donna says official to whom. I say to me. I would sign the bottom of the page like a letter. The pen makes me slow down. Slow thinking is still thinking. It is just more expensive per word.
about eight dollars. Shark rating 3.8.
Erasable thinking. Donna says I erase everything. I say that is the point. With a pencil, I can change my mind without starting a new page. This is not indecision. This is a feature.
about ten dollars. Shark rating 3.9.
For the pencils. Donna asks why I need a sharpener when I have a pen. I say the pencil is for mistakes and the pen is for conclusions. The sharpener keeps the mistakes sharp. A dull mistake is hard to read.
about five dollars. Shark rating 4.0.
For when the pencil thinking goes wrong. Donna says I will need the big one. I say they only sell the small one and the big one. I will get the big one. This is not a commentary on my thinking. It is a commentary on the size of my mistakes.
about twelve dollars. Shark rating 4.1.
To put the papers in. Donna says my papers are in a pile. I say the pile is a folder without walls. These folders give the pile walls. A thought with walls is a file. A thought without walls is a pile. I want fewer piles.
about fifty dollars. Shark rating 4.2.
Light on the page. Donna says the ceiling light works. I say the ceiling light is for the room. This is for the desk. The desk is where thinking happens. I need to see the thinking. If I cannot see it, I will assume it is not there.
about eighty dollars. Shark rating 4.3.
For the books I will read when I am thinking. Donna says I have books stacked on the floor. I say the floor is not a library. The bookshelf makes it a library. I will read the books once they are organized. I may not read them, but they will be organized.
about thirty dollars. Shark rating 4.4.
It makes a steady sound so I can think. Donna says the dishwasher already does that. I say the dishwasher is not in my office. The white noise machine is in my office. It drowns out the dishwasher thoughts. That is a real kind of thought.
about twenty dollars. Shark rating 4.5.
I turn it over and think for that long. Donna says I will turn it over and check my phone. I say that is why I bought the Faraday cage. The hourglass is a timer without a screen. It is the opposite of a subscription. It does not renew. It just runs out.
about twelve dollars. Shark rating 4.6.
For thinking in small blocks. Donna says I already have a phone timer. I say the phone timer is in the phone and the phone is in the cage. The kitchen timer is for the kitchen. I will think in the kitchen. The kitchen has snacks. Snacks help thinking.
about fifteen dollars. Shark rating 5.0.
Donna, my feet get cold when I think. This is not a system. This is not a gadget. This is socks. I cancelled a subscription and I would like warm feet while I use my own brain. She looked at the list. She looked at the socks. She said, “Just buy the damn thing.”