De-Brainrot Vacations

Date: 2026-09-07 | Author: Daniel Setting: A peaceful scene with cows grazing in the fields.

The Mental Fog

I've noticed a decline in my cognitive sharpness compared to a few years ago. When I first entered the field of Software Engineering, every task was a fresh challenge. I vividly recall the early days of my career where the sheer volume of new information was so overwhelming that I would return home and collapse into bed, completely drained by the effort of solving problems that felt entirely alien.

Nowadays, that novelty has vanished. Solving daily tickets doesn't leave me exhausted; it simply requires a certain amount of time. While my efficiency has increased, I feel my thought processes becoming sluggish, superficial, and lazy.

The Distraction Cycle

The modern digital landscape is designed to kill boredom, but at a cost. I am surrounded by:

• Short-form content: High interest, zero effort.
• Entertainment: Video games, manga, and TV shows.

I used to get bored. Now, boredom is impossible, but my mind feels softer.

The Reading Metric

For me, the clearest indicator of my mental state is my reading volume. My history with books has shifted dramatically:

"I still possess a love for reading, but it has been eclipsed by an abundance of distractions—specifically the habit of doomscrolling before bed."

The Path to De-Brainrotting

Over the past year, I've attempted to implement a "mental recovery" plan:

• Handwriting for planning and pleasure
• Developing side projects
• Maintaining this blog

Despite these efforts, I still feel a gap between my current cognitive abilities and where I was eight years ago. I decided my recent vacation needed to be a dedicated "brain reset."

The Countryside Retreat

I spent my time off visiting family in the rural countryside, celebrating my wife's birthday one weekend and my mother-in-law's the next. It was the ideal environment to decelerate and cultivate better habits.

Activities included:

1. Spending time in nature with my dog.
2. Witnessing a raw nature scene: horses fighting off vultures attempting to eat a newborn foal's placenta.
3. Socializing over mate.
4. Playing football, board games, and Roblox with my nephews.

A Literary and Scientific Awakening

I packed two specific books to challenge myself:

• SPQR by Mary Beard (to reconnect with my university roots).
• De Newton a Einstein y algo más by Francisco Claro (to satisfy a curiosity about physics).

I became so engrossed that I finished both in the first week. To keep the momentum, I purchased a collection of F. (short works), which I breezed through by the end of the second week.

Transitioning to Math and Physics

The proofs in Claro's book sparked a deeper hunger for knowledge. I decided to dive into Stewart's Calculus: Early Transcendentals. However, I quickly realized my foundational skills were rusty.

My learning path looked like this: Algebra/Trig Review $\rightarrow$ Calculus $\rightarrow$ University Physics

Because reading textbooks on a screen is often a clunky experience, I sought out web-native resources:

• Paul's Notes (for clear mathematical guidance).
• Active Calculus (for an interactive approach).

To quantify my progress, I've been working through problems involving limits and derivatives, such as: $\lim_{x \to a} \frac{f(x) - f(a)}{x - a} = f'(a)$

Reflections on Learning

Unlike my initial foray into programming, which was driven by the pragmatic goal of employment, this pursuit is purely for the joy of learning.

In the current climate, the professional landscape for Software and Data Engineering is increasingly ambiguous due to the rise of AI. While I'm not sure how this hobby will impact my career, my personal goal is clear: I want to eventually comprehend advanced physics concepts and read contemporary research papers.

The result? I'm having fun, and I can feel the intellectual laziness lifting from my daily life.

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