I Lived 30 Days Without a Number—Here’s How

[mouakter14]

Introduction:
For 30 days, I decided to live without using or recognizing any numbers. No clocks, no money tracking, no counting calories, steps, dates, or likes. Not even saying "just a second" or "give me five." My goal? To see what life would feel like when stripped of the quantifiable, the measurable, the countable.

Outline of the Experience:
Why I Did It

My growing obsession with tracking apps

Feeling overwhelmed by metrics (calories, followers, deadlines)

A desire to reconnect with qualitative life

Setting the Rules

No use of numbers in speech, writing, or thought special database (as much as possible)

Analog tools only: sun for time, mood for energy, intuition for distance

Allowed to use replacement phrases: "a while" instead of "10 minutes," "some" instead of "2"

Week 1: The Shock of Unmeasured Time

Missing appointments

Cooking without measurements

The odd liberation of not knowing the time

Week 2: The Social Disconnect

Struggling with birthdays, ages, and prices

Feeling out of place in a digit-drenched world

Week 3: The New Rhythm

Relying on the body's internal clock

Measuring success through feelings, not stats

Richer conversations that weren’t timestamped

Week 4: The Inner Shift

Feeling less anxious

Discovering how often numbers dictated self-worth

Letting go of productivity guilt

Challenges and Slip-ups

Unavoidable moments (Google Maps, bank logins)

The difficulty of completely eliminating a number-based mindset

What I Learned

Numbers are tools—not truth

Life is more vivid when lived in analog

We don’t need to count everything to make it count

Would I Do It Again?

Not fully—but I now live with a healthier balance

I count less, and care more