Eirlys

I like your little tales there Dreamspin! I sense you are a very creative person What are you thinking of in the realm of dreams?

Rest days are important, well done for taking one How fantastic that you enjoyed your zumba class. Exercise that's fun.. can't ask for more On the writing goal, in a previous challenge I set myself a task to write 10 words a day (while on my commute to work - I'm not driving!). I found I regularly exceeded that by writing about 450 on average in the time the commute took. I think by setting such a low bar it made it a lot easier to succeed (I took this idea from Mini Habits - there's a book associated with this) as the hard part is really inertia and getting started! Hope you had a great weekend!

I've realised that one of my kneecaps is out of alignment, which is what prompted me to pare down the squatting goal. I'm not sure whether I will be able to fare well with the standing on one (bended) leg, as I'll need to go fetch my orthotics to do that which is a big hassle. I had been hoping to just do it whenever. In the mean time I will add some more to posture: 1) stop hooking right leg over left when sitting - this can't be helping with kneecap 2) don't hunch back when washing dishes at sink, straighten out shoulders (maybe put up a sign reminding me) 3) start doing morning stretches from the posture book I just bought And posture/charisma: 1) While out and about (especially pushing pushchair), be conscious of my posture and make the effort to correct it when I notice I'm slouching

Hi Hira, welcome back - I really missed you! xx So sorry for you to hear that you had a breakdown. I hope that the gentle arms of the druids will help you on your new path xxx

Ooh congratulations on your new puppy! What a lovely-looking doggie Cute name, too!

Hey Nax, I seem to remember it was your birthday recently... happy birthday for a few days ago!!

Protein: it's a supplement, but I recently came across Garden of Life, Raw Protein, Chocolate Cacao, 23 oz (650 g) recommended elsewhere on these NF boards so now have a tub in my kitchen cupboards I'm lazy so generally use nuts as a default protein source.

Retrospective of past couple of weeks: 1. CHARISMA When people (who aren't immediate friends/family) ask me how I am, reply with "fantastic!" "brilliant!" or similar. Although as I'm incredibly sick at the moment, I think I can get away with "I've got bronchitis, but otherwise fantastic!" until I stop feeling deathly lousy. I had to do a lot of brain work here to work out why I couldn't stop saying I feel bad. Ultimately I realised it's because I want people to cut me some slack & not be too hard on me, based on bullying behaviour I've experienced in the past. I realise that I need to address this by putting in assertive boundaries should people try to push and nip any bullying in the bud. Easier said than done! So far, I've managed to take it up to "good, thanks" (not brilliant yet) - fingers crossed for a job offer soon and that may be what is needed to elevate it! Improvement made but more needed to go. 2. POSTURE When I bend over to pick things up, do a squat down (bending knees and hips) rather than bending my lower back to do so. Reducing scope on this one: will bend knees & hips when picking up baby and when picking up stuff close to the floor. I need to work out what normal people do when they bend over just a little bit - that will be a future task. In addition, I need to improve my knee strength, so I set a new goal of standing on one leg for 10 seconds a day. 3. PHYSICAL WELLBEING Search the internet for vitamins that are in a form easier for me to take (e.g. chewable vegan, or liquid with a pleasant flavour). Vitamins acquired! And they all taste good. The children's multivitamins are yummy, but very expensive (probably equivalent to $1 / day based on the amount I need to eat). However I still rate them as worth it! Next goal set: I have stopped taking inhaler after the medication gave me a mouth infection (nasty!) I need to start taking inhaler again, twice a day, and then wash my mouth out with water afterwards. I also should ensure I take a multivitamin supplement once a day. I will create a little grid to track what I've done each day, otherwise I forget. 4. RECHARGE Rest a lot to get over this chest infection. Chest is better, throat is still sore most of the time. More rest is needed. Will have a think on the next improvement here. 5. DECLUTTERING Tidy/organise the cupboard under the kitchen sink. I've not done this yet, but I have made a start on some other decluttering activities around the house. And my socks are much more neatly ordered now, which makes me happy! I will adjust this goal: schedule decluttering activities into my calendar over the next week.

I like the organised bookshelf With mindful eating, I was wondering about this myself for future challenge. Could you perhaps rate it as success/not based on whether you eat without doing another activity at the same time? e.g. I read (internet/kindle) while eating, so a big step towards mindful eating would be not to do that. Perhaps you have something similar?

Hi Leimanu! I like your "absolutely" trick (if it's fair to call it that). I am currently unemployed but have a job interview tomorrow. I will try to channel your positive vibe It's funny you should say that about butts, my self-talk goes a bit crazy when I bend down sticking it out.. I'm sure someone must have said something untoward about it years ago which is buried deep in my psyche! Fortunately I don't care about that any more. Especially when the world (apparently) loves Kim Kardashian! Hey there! I have been taking before & after pics so when I get a moment I will post these for decluttering inspiration Thanks for popping by, and I look forward to hearing more from you in your quest, too! Hi Dreamspin! Nice to see you again I'm just getting over the chest infection, I've had 2 other infections/nasties since that hence being quiet on here, and trying to sleep it off a little. Will catch up more later - have to go and pick baby up now

Aww loving all the goat imagery. Goats in pyjamas! So unbelievably cute! Taylor Goat wasn't too bad either Good luck with your challenge, I like your ideas!

Hmm those family dynamics ring a bell ;-) While living with my parents, I felt like a pegasus in a field of horses. They tell you that flying is impossible, but turns out - you can. So I hope you can fly, while not giving a flying f*ck

I think SMART goals aren't necessarily great. You have to guess for a month what you think you might be able to accomplish, and it's very easy to set yourself too much or too little to do, and then get impatient for the next challenge to start so you can go afresh. My approach this challenge will be: work out what the next best 5% (or 1%) improvement I can make to my life at this point deduce a corresponding mini habit work out how to integrate this mini habit into my existing habit cycles once I have successfully integrated it & feel confidence that it's under my belt, move on to the next 5% (or 1%) improvement The last line means I don't have to set upfront some artificial timeline of when I think I might get to that point: I can it when I'm ready. So my 5 pillars of improvement this month are: 1. CHARISMA Next 5% improvement: When people (who aren't immediate friends/family) ask me how I am, reply with "fantastic!" "brilliant!" or similar. Although as I'm incredibly sick at the moment, I think I can get away with "I've got bronchitis, but otherwise fantastic!" until I stop feeling deathly lousy. 2. POSTURE Next 5% improvement: When I bend over to pick things up, do a squat down (bending knees and hips) rather than bending my lower back to do so. I think someone in my earlier life must have said something untoward about my bottom sticking out because I've been very conscious of that for no good reason, so I wonder if that's why I've developed a bad habit? In any case, time to change! 3. PHYSICAL WELLBEING Next 5% improvement: Search the internet for vitamins that are in a form easier for me to take (e.g. chewable vegan, or liquid with a pleasant flavour). 4. RECHARGE Next 5% improvement: Rest a lot to get over this chest infection. 5. DECLUTTERING Next 5% improvement: Tidy/organise the cupboard under the kitchen sink.

Hey Nax, I was just reading your last challenge summary. As part of a self-esteem course I did last year, we covered assertiveness. I wonder if your family know how they are making you feel? I imagine they don't want to actually cause you mental anguish. Is it worth saying to them something like: "When you laugh at me when I'm wearing X, I feel utterly miserable and no longer want to go out. In future, I would like you not to laugh or smirk (or pull faces) at me, so that I am able to go out and have a good time, whatever I am wearing". They may try to argue "oh it's only a joke" but I think you can repeat this with an emphasis on how low it makes you feel, until they get that it's a nasty thing to do. I am presuming here that your family aren't actually mean bastards at their hearts, anyway! My family totally don't get my LARPing, fortunately they didn't get to see me in my costume!

Congrats on being approved for a home - how exciting!! That gif of the dancing men is strangely hypnotic...

Thanks, Dreamspin! x

Liking your next challenge Nax. People-pleasing is a hard habit to break, but so important to do so! There's lots of people out there who think you're cool as you are, so to hell with anyone who thinks you should be different p.s. hope you had a great birthday weekend.

Weigh in 6/6/16: 123.6 lbs With my height this gives me a BMI of approx 21.6 In theory I'm 1.5 lbs away from goal weight. I'm 39 lbs down from peak pregnancy weight.

Well. While I have made progress to get healthier it hasn't been enough. For the last few days I've been suffering from a viral chest infection. It's pretty horrible, I am coughing up lots of yellow phlegm & my lungs are burning from all the coughing. Good thing I have a low bar for my mini habits, I can still manage 10 seconds of stretching tonight. Sending healthy thoughts out to everyone!

Thanks Leimanu.. still waiting to hear on the job front. Fingers crossed! I have an interview with someone else today, as I don't want to put all eggs in one basket. I've decided to pre-empt next month's challenge with a new way of doing things. I think SMART goals aren't all that. It's kind of like Waterfall vs Agile project planning. I've been reading a lot of self-help literature of late, and my best take-aways so far are: work out what you could do to make yourself 5% (or even 1%) better at X set yourself a really really low bar towards doing X using mini-habits work out where in your existing habit loop you can integrate X My plan is to keep adding lots of 1% improvements as the challenge goes on in an agile way, rather than set lots of goals up front and then fail miserably at half of them each month. I also found that I can nearly do a proper push-up - much to my surprise! It must be because I am lifting an almost 10 kg (21 lb) baby many times during the day. So I am doing the kneeling push-ups until I can build up my shoulder strength to go the whole hog I have a few days off at home now which I hope to really blitz on the tidying/organising/decluttering front. p.s. oven is now fixed, and so is leaky roof. Hooray!

So I'm kinda on "holiday" at the moment... although looking after a 1 y/o who has definite ideas about what he wants yet is unable to communicate them in any form (except a level of frustration when his expectations are not met) is not 100% relaxing However I get a couple of days to myself next week (fingers crossed) where I am looking to make major inroads on my decluttering. I am loving my house downstairs this evening... it's clean and tidy, and after all the decluttering it's spacious and relaxing too. I feel happy when I'm down there & so proud of all my efforts! Plus I feel very organised as well. Probably because I am Which is a massive turnaround from 10 years ago There is still a little way to go with the organising/tidying of cupboards downstairs and a couple of other things but nothing that interferes with my mental wellbeing now! My routines are going well. In the last couple of weeks I have managed to incorporate: inhaler taking, hand moisturising & stretching into a daily routine; on top of my work to bring forward nightly household tidying so that I can go to bed earlier, and it's worked! Further down the line I hope to spend my evenings doing stuff like guided meditation, journaling and maybe even yoga and stuff. Plus, I may soon have a job offer. Watch this space - it's for a dream company/job so I am super-excited!! Nice to finally get some light after a long dark tunnel.

Ooh that away-timesounds awesome. What kind of job do you do? Life is best when you have a job you love, as you spend so much time of your life working

Congrats Briniel! Happy news

2016 Challenge Review I thought it would be interesting/useful to see where I am with the challenge goals I have set in previous challenges this year. January 2016 1. Eat healthier My breakfast is still good Evening meals are ok although not super-healthy. Sometimes I don't eat in the evening at all, because I am too tired. But I think not having a final meal of the day is quite a reasonable idea, all in all. 2. Improve bedtime routine I claim a win on this one! At least, I tidy the house & wash the dishes after putting baby to bed by default now. 3. Start using bedtime sling Haven't used it for months Should revisit this, otherwise it's an expensive mistake. 4. Sort house move My aim to have this done by the end of Jan was wildly optimistic. I still have one whole room to sort now at the end of May. However, I've done all the things on this list. 5. Keep on top of solicitor requests I have been doing, and guess what, she sent me a whole bunch more things to do just today (boo-hoo). At some point, everything will be resolved. I look forward to that day! February 2016 1. Improve diet Joint meal plan still hasn't happened, although I opened some cookery books last night as I was thinking about this. I need to get the landlord to sort out the broken oven before I can move on fully here. I still am stress-snacking far too much. 2. Exercise Kind of redundant one as baby is now at nursery rather than with me. 3. Posture Standing up straight when following baby around - I am starting to thiiiiink about doing this one again, and being more mindful of my posture when with him. But it's hard 4. Bedtime routine Basically, sorted 5. Forgiveness still on my to-do list, still not started 6. Enjoy time with baby no mobile phone during meal times - not sure on this one as his grandparents keep facetiming us during his dinner. However, I think that I have managed to achieve what I was looking for, which was not to keep checking e.g. email, websites when sat in front of him read together every day - we definitely do! 6a. Deactivate facebook account achieved!! 7. Tidying I had a massive massive list of to-do items as part of this task. While I have made big progress, quite a number of these are still outstanding! I look forward to having a nice block of time to plough through these. Between routine housework and my solicitor's requests, carving out this time is hard. March 2016 1. Get stuff out This was really premature. I have got rid of cardboard boxes, posted stuff to charity, and gotten my father to remove quite a few items that he'll get someone else to sell on ebay. However, I still haven't made any progress on disposing quite a few things I had specifically in mind on this day. 2. A clutter-free, clean and tidy house vacuuming & dusting/cleaning regularly - am doing unpacking goods and learning how to use them - have unpacked & using toothbrush, but not read the manual or even opened the germ killer UV thing. Oven has broken 3. Earlier to bed Apart from a couple of exceptions, I am doing much better with this. However, that is partly because I have been collapsing with tiredness as soon as I've put baby to bed recently. 4. Use sling regularly total fail here 5. Mindfulness: be present when it matters I am getting a little better with this, but it's hard to stop mind racing off and thinking about other things in the future/past April 2016 1. House beautifying I haven't managed to make much extra progress on any of the listed items, and the spare bedroom is now overrun with clutter again. However, the rest of the house is looking in very good shape. 2. Mini habits recording tidying times - did only for a few times, but they were roughly equivalent each time. As I'm managing to get this done a lot earlier in the evening I am happy overall speak words of thanks at end of each day - I tend to forget this, but when I remember, I do this lay out yoga mat with rolled up towel - I now have a replacement mini habit which is achieving the desired effect that this was supposed to achieve bring notebook & pen with me on work commute - I demonstrated that I could use tablet computer to write successfully on commute. However since the challenge has finished I have not done this since. Partly because I am not sure what direction I want to take with my life. turn off television when I come downstairs - aside from a few exceptions, I am generally doing well with this. 3. Redefining achievement this was helpful 4. Shoring up the small things this was about clearing a massive list of minor to-do items. I never got around to this as too many other things (particularly illness) got in the way. I hope to get some time to chip away at these soon, when I am taking a couple of days off work. 5. Food using oven & slow cooker - still nowhere near. Landlord has said he will get oven replaced but I've not heard from him about it in a while.

Hey there Leimanu I think we all tend to set ourselves far too much stuff to do in each challenge... I say this because the fact you are beating the coffee dragon and doing all that meditation are such big wins in themselves for your body & mind! Please give yourself lots of pats on the back for your success with these