Bedtime brainstorming I can't turn off

This is my submission for the BlogBlog Party - February 2026, a Chinese blogging community event. This month’s theme is “Is it just me?” hosted by Wiwi.

Do you have any strange habits or obsessions that make you wonder “Am I the only one who does this?” but you’re afraid to say it out loud in real life, worried people will think you’re weird?

After reading this month’s prompt, my first thought was:

“Isn’t this just asking about unfair advantages?”

These weird habits and obsessions might be my moat. How do I stand out as a YouTuber? How should I position my personal brand? Could I write a book about them?

Wait.

The prompt is asking about quirks. Why am I already thinking about practical value?

This is my first weird habit: everything must become useful.

Even playing games has to teach me life philosophy. Even this writing prompt isn’t spared.

Second weird habit: I only wear black Uniqlo

I’ve written about this before. When I moved to Malaysia, I got rid of every piece of clothing that wasn’t black. If it wasn’t Uniqlo, the style wouldn’t match. I even gave away expensive streetwear black tees and black jeans.

Now my closet has one type of t-shirt, one type of long pants, one type of shorts. Head to toe, all black Uniqlo. No decisions needed.

One regret: Uniqlo’s most comfortable athletic shorts don’t come in black! (Why!?) I have to settle for dark gray.

But someday, I’ll replace it.

Third weird habit: bedtime brainstorming on autopilot

Every night when I lie in bed, my brain boots up automatically:

• What exactly should I do tomorrow?
• What exactly should my next post be about?
• What exactly is the fix for that app bug?
• What exactly is the meaning of life?
• What exactly will happen in 2030?

I noticed I habitually start with “what exactly” the moment I get into bed. Once I say those words, questions just start popping up.

Then I can’t sleep.

Sometimes I even get up at 2 or 3 AM to write down ideas, afraid I’ll forget.

Recently I invented a method: compress ideas into 2-5 words and store them in my fingers.

For example, last night I thought of a YouTube video idea. I compressed it into five characters in my mind, then imagined stuffing those words into my thumb. Two other ideas went into my index and middle fingers. When I wake up, I look at these fingers, the keywords pop out, and I decompress them back into full ideas.

My wife, who falls asleep the moment her head hits the pillow, asked with concern: “Can’t you just empty your mind? Just think of darkness—”

I wish I could. But I can’t.

These are my three weird habits.

Next month’s BlogBlog Party is my turn to host. Tonight before bed, I’ll need to brainstorm a good theme.