creating a dopamine menu to end my doomscrolling

(calm music)

Today, I'm creating my dopamine menu.

I saw people on the internet do this thing

called a "dopamine menu".

I was intrigued, I did my research,

and I was like, "I need to do this thing."

A dopamine menu is a list of enjoyable

activities divided into courses that you

can do to stimulate the release of dopamine

in the brain. So it's just basically

designed as a way to provide alternative

sources of excitement, enjoyment,

pleasure, motivation, instead of relying

on your typical doomscrolling,

binge-watching, binge-anything.

And I actually don't hear a lot of people

talk about dopamine menus and what

they are and their purpose, so I just

decided I might as well do my own dopamine

menu while explaining to you what a

dopamine menu is. So, this is what

I am going to do today.

So, to create this menu, I used some

watercolor paper and folded it in half to

create this sort of... menu style kind of?

You can see basically.

And then, I went on the internet to find

some ideas of how my menu could look like,

but I ended up not really finding

anything, so I just relied on my brain

and on my creativity to create my menu.

A dopamine menu, like I said, is a menu

divided into courses just like a

restaurant menu that's divided

into courses.

And the goal of this dopamine menu

is that, whenever you feel like getting

dopamine from doomscrolling, you can open

your dopamine menu and pick whatever

activity you want depending on your level

of motivation and the time you have ahead

of you, and get your source of dopamine,

enjoyment, excitement, from

these activities, from these healthy

activities, instead of relying on

doomscrolling and binge-watching.

And most importantly, to remind yourself

of these sources of dopamine because

sometimes, when we scroll on social media,

or when we wanna scroll on social media,

we forget the alternatives that make us

happy, and fulfilled, and excited.

So, you just have to open your menu to

remind yourself of what you can do

instead of doomscrolling.

I decided to include five courses

in my menu, but you don't actually have to

include all of these courses.

The first course in my menu is appetizers

or starters.

In this course, you include activities

that take less than 15 minutes to do, so

typically ranging from two minutes to 15

minutes.

I included yoga, making a coffee,

tidying my room, journaling,

sitting in front of direct sunlight,

playing my favorite song, listen to

affirmations, but you can include

whatever you want.

Then there's the main course.

It includes activities that take over 45

minutes to do, or maybe 30 minutes.

I would say over 30 minutes to do.

In my main course, I added watching an

educational video, reading articles,

exercising, deep cleaning, long journaling

sessions, and shadow work.

And again, you can add anything you want,

so those are activities that require more

energy from you and more time from you,

but that still gives you a sense of pride

and satisfaction when it's finished.

My third course is the sides.

So basically, this includes activities

that you do while doing other activities.

For example, listening to music while

working out, listening to a podcast while

doing some light work, lighting a candle

while you stretch or read a book.

The fourth course, which to me is the

most interesting one, is the

desserts course.

So, I call this one a treat after an

exhausting day.

For example, if I had a bad day, or if

I've been productive, or if I'm proud of

myself and I wanna give myself a treat,

then I will pick one of these desserts,

let's just say.

So, I've included things like scrolling

on Pinterest, watching a movie or my

favorite TV show, watching a YouTube video,

read a fiction book, do a complete

skincare routine, and more, and more,

and more.

You can literally add anything you want,

but I personally try to keep it in check,

not put "doomscrolling on social media"

or anything, or maybe if you put

"doomscrolling on social media", maybe

put "15 minutes of doomscrolling",

something like that, I don't know.

And the last course of the menu is

the specials.

So, I call this one out of the ordinary

events, things that I don't get to do

every day.

So, I've added "go to the movies",

"go to a coffee shop", "go to a concert",

"go to the beach", "buy a wishlist item",

and "take a class".

So, those are events that are not ordinary

for me, and that's what you're supposed to

put in your specials as well.

Then, I decided to create the front page

of my menu and it was a disaster.

I ended up coloring the page in green and

I hated it - I absolutely hated it, so

please do not judge me for it, but this

was a way for me to beat my perfectionism,

because that's also one of the reasons why

I stopped painting and I stopped drawing,

because I am a freaking perfectionist.

So, I decided to let it go and just

do something.

I just try to remind myself that things

are not supposed to be perfect,

and especially because it's for me, so it

doesn't even have to be perfect.

(music)

Then, I wrote a little note on the back

page that you can see, and I've decided to

fill the menu by adding PNG images of food,

because it was a bit empty, so I just

printed some images of food and glued them

to my menu and it really turned out super,

super cute.

I just love the way it turned out.

(music)

So, I'm done with my dopamine menu.

The front page looks like this.

I kinda regret having put the green,

it doesn't look that good, honestly.

So, I think - I feel like I'm gonna do my

dopamine menu again, but - because it

kinda gave me ideas while I was making it,

but this is the front page, "dopamine menu",

"pick what you wanna try, made by your chef."

I added these little PNG images of food.

My printer didn't have any juice, so the

images don't even look good, but, yeah.

And then, when you open the menu, you have

the starters, the mains, the sides,

the deserts, and - desert or dessert?

The desserts, and the specials with more

PNG images of food.

Honestly, it looks really cute.

It looks really, really cute.

And then, the last page.

"We hope to see you soon."

I actually kinda want to make another

dopamine menu, but more work.

I didn't really plan the way I wanted

it to be.

That's why it turned out a bit random,

but I want to work in more.

And I invite you to do the same thing.

I'm not gonna keep it on my desk, but you

can see like this: "Hmm, dopamine menu."

laughs But anyway, I hope you liked the

video, and if you did, then, that's nice

because this was really exciting to make,

and yeah, you can tell me in the comments

if you knew about dopamine menus, if you

didn't know, if you plan on making a

dopamine menu now that you have watched

my video, and yeah, I will see you in

the next video.