Experiments

“The point of an experiment is not to arrive at a predetermined end point, to prove or disprove anything, but to deliver a poem that reveals much about the process taken.” -John Barton

I’ve run a lot of life experiments. To get a feel for what that means, you might want to check out my introductory posts on what life experiments are all about:

• What’s a life experiment?
• The Experiments page
• Two kinds of experiments
• Small experiments before big experiments
• More advice for life experiments
• More bloggers should do this
• 10 ideas for life experiments

After you check out some of the intro, here are the experiments I’ve documented personally, at least a little, on Marshallogue.

2013

• 100 pushups: I followed the Hundred Push Ups routine to do 100 pushups in one set.
• Cool showers: I took showers without hot water when I lived in Saudi Arabia for 9.5 months.

2012

• No sight: I blindfolded myself for six hours straight and tried to perform basic tasks.
• Short posts: I published posts on Marshallogue that contained no more than 100 words each.
• Sleeping sitting up: I slept seated in chairs or on couches with my head upright, a much more difficult task than I originally thought it would be.
• Adoption fund: I asked friends and family to contribute money to help me adopt a child in the future, raising funds over the course of a month.
• 13 item wardrobe: I lived with just 13 pieces (socks and shoes count in pairs) of clothing, including a belt and a watch.
• No heater: I didn’t turn on my heater for a winter in Korea.
• The Flinch: I completed the five challenges presented in the book The Flinch in an attempt to practice doing stuff that scares me.
• Linking here on Facebook: I posted a link on my Facebook profile every time I published on Marshallogue.
• Daily checklists: I made a checklist each day for what to do.

2011

• No refrigerator: I unplugged my refrigerator.
• Sleep schedule: I tried to get to bed by 1:00 AM and out of bed by 10:00 AM every day while working second shift in Korea.
• No A/C: I didn’t turn on my air conditioner for a summer in Korea.
• A jar of peanut butter a day: I ate a jar of peanut every day, six days a week, for a month.
• No shampoo: I stopped using shampoo for a month, and kept going.
• Email ask: I emailed a different person each day, asking for something, anything.
• Hacking Hangul: I learned the Korean alphabet and some Korean phrases.
• 100 items x 10 posts: I wrote a list post with 100 items in it each day for 10 days.
• No TV: I quit watching TV for two weeks. And then I went a year without TV in Korea.
• Chopsticks, Korean style: I learned to use metal, Korean style chopsticks.
• Facebook once per day: I cut my Facebook time down to once per day.

Please let me know your thoughts on these, especially if you’ve had similar experiences. Also, feel free to suggest other experiments for me to try. I love getting new ideas.