ReverbPaul

I have a picture of my journal, but I'm having trouble uploading it. So instead, I'm putting it as public link on my DropBox. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4017978/NerdFitness/IMG_1934_small.png Also, a recent wound is making it extremely painful to do any kind of arm-related exercise. Bummer.

Update time: I have to redouble my efforts, because I'm starting to slack off on my workouts. Only did one this week! I'm hoping to do tonight's workout tomorrow morning though, so that I'll only have missed one instead of two. However, I'm doing a lot better on my writing requirement. Haven't missed a day! Interestingly, I'm really taking a liking to the whiteboard in my basement as a brainstorming tool. Then I take a scan on my iPhone if I need to erase the board. I'll still use the book for brainstorming when I'm not home though. I'll try to remember to take some pics sometime soon, when my phone isn't practically dead.

Bah, it happens to the best of us. I think that carrying 100 lbs for a mile should count for something though.

Nice! I'll bet you can hit a full minute pretty soon

Agreed. "That guy" is a great guy (gal?) to be. If my lifestyle was anywhere close to being as hectic as yours, I don't know that I'd be doing as well as you are doing. Keep it up!

When it comes to making lists on my iPhone, I'm kind of obsessed with having the perfect app. For just generic lists, I like "Clear" but I think it costs a couple bucks. For to-do lists, I currently use Carrot, but I have also spent quite some time designing and refining my own app. Now all that's left is to learn how to code an iPhone app. For the hipster PDA, there is a nice alternative you could try. http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Innovations-Bronze-Onyx-Silver-Complete-WN3-Pack-BOS/dp/B000V8PP7Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370713881&sr=8-1&keywords=wallet+notepad I'll definitely post some pics once the notebook has seen a bit more use. Basically all I'm writing in it is blog posts which is no big deal to show everybody.

Nice planking, Arkham! I'll bet by the end of this challenge you'll reach your push-up goal. Instead of doing wall push-ups, do you think chair push-ups would work? It would be a little tougher on your arms, so if you can do a few of those you'll probably be able to reach your push-up goal even faster. Or maybe do some wall push-ups, and then hulk out by doing your final push-up on a chair for extra power.

Arkham, I was at Target the other day and found a notebook (Cambridge Premium Notebook) that is PERFECT for the system I'm using. On the left, it's just lined paper, but on the right, it also has a sidebar at the edge of the sheet, which is exactly what I wanted to do anyway. As icing on the cake, there's a tiny writable area on the front cover to label the notebook, and right above the sidebar on every page is a little area to title the page. I agree with you about writing it out, I can type or use my iPhone, but there's just something about writing by hand. There's also this other idea you might like called the Hipster PDA. It's basically just a bunch of index cards that are all fastened together. Most websites suggest attaching it together using a binder clip, but personally I think butterfly clips make it easier to add / remove index cards. I used to carry one with me at all times (and had a fresh supply of cards both at home and at work), and the only reason I stopped is because I tried something else for a while and now that I want to go back, I can't find my clips. I also carry a Zebra compact pen on me at all times. It's my nerd pen.

Update time! Week one is going pretty well at the moment. On the downside, I was unable to do my workout yesterday. On the upside, I'm doing it again today. Another downside, I've been doing more coding than blog writing, and on the upside I have been writing every day anyway. The Details I'm still in the process of setting up my final writing system. Inspired by Arkham's awesomely insane (insanely awesome?) methods, I've decided that the thing for me to do is to get a big blank Moleskine (or a really nice knock-off). I'm doing that tonight. The left side will be for mind-mapping, and the right will be for writing. Once I'm ready to put it online, I'll write it in markdown using dillinger.io. Then, finally, I will add the converted html code to WordPress, tag it, title it, add pictures / video / audio, and finally publish it. Seems like a huge process -- insane, in fact -- but I think it will work out for me. In case you were curious, the "so far" version of my portfolio website (the coding portion of my writing goal) can be found here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4017978/IMPaulB/index.html The goal is to make it look like IMDb, because my domain name is IMPaulB (a play on "I am Paul B"). Oh yeah, and... Best News of All! My wife has agreed to exercise with me! This cannot be overstated. If she's doing it, that's even more reason for me to keep up with it.

Insane methods are the best kind! I Could see myself doing something like that too. I like that the process becomes more than just the standard school method of first draft, second draft, final draft. It seems like it's more of a combination of brainstorming and writing at the same time. Now I'm thinking about ways I can include a ideas from Cornell Notes, Holistic Learning, and Deliberate Practice. Still figuring out the details, but that probably means one page for mind mapping, and one page for handwriting, with the writing page being given a wide margin on the left for notes. Or something.

And now, a big decision. Should I write by hand, or computer?

I'll have to try that random list thing, thanks! And of COURSE there would be a kitten-based text editor, lol. Thanks for all the ideas guys.

Thanks Arkham! Yeah, writing is fun, but it's tough if you can't think of what to write. I try to keep a running list of ideas, but sometimes I just can't think of how to convey the idea even if I know what the idea is, or maybe I'll write something and it seems too similar to something else I've written before. But maybe with this challenge I'll be able to improve somewhat. What do you like to do when you've got writer's block?

This is my second attempt at doing the six-week challenge (June 3 to July 14). After completely bombing the second half of my first challenge, I'm going to start a bit smaller this time around. So, these are my new goals. What do you think? Write every day for at least 15 minutes I am hooking this action to my evening shower. My existing process is Go Home, then Shower. I will add "write" after the shower. A: 0 strikes +4 WIS +1 CHA B: 3 or fewer strikes +3 WIS C: 6 or fewer strikes +1 WIS Specifically, I will do one of three things that kinda fits into the "writing" category: Blogging, composing, or web coding. As long as I do any one of these (or any combination of them) for a minimum of 15 minutes, I have accomplished this goal for the day. On any given day, if I accomplish this goal AND post to NF (this thread doesn't count), I am allowed to remove one strike. What I'm hoping to accomplish with this goal is to get in the habit of writing blog posts more frequently, which might force me to start doing music learning posts again, and consequently might move me forward in my efforts to create an official Play Without Thinking guitar learning system (i.e. something that could be thought of as a Rebel Guitar Guide). When I have mentioned this before, people seemed interested, which has increased my desire to see it through. I recently modified my system in order to learn Ukulele during my honeymoon. I got to a competent level in under a week. But really, all that stuff is just icing on the cake. The main thing is to just WRITE. I am also allowing myself to continue writing music, like in my previous challenge, but I'm not holding myself to finish x number of songs, it's just another option in addition to blogging. I also want to make coding count because I am currently working on creating my web developer portfolio site, which I hope will help me to start getting side gigs for extra cash flow. Many times I have tried to get a gig, and the employer wanted to see a portfolio site, which I don't have yet. I already bought the domain, now I just need to create the website. Start over with the Dumbbell Division I am hooking this action to arriving at home on Monday Wednesday Friday. So on those days, the whole process will be Go Home, Dumbbells, Shower, Write. A: 0 strikes +3 STR +2 CON B: 2 or fewer strikes +2 STR +1 CON C: 4 or fewer strikes +1 STR This one is pretty straight-forward. I will start over with the Rank 2 workouts. If I accomplish this goal AND take pictures before my workouts on June 3rd, June 24, or July 14, I am allowed to remove one strike. I may or may not post the pictures to the thread. Haven't decided yet. That's it! Wish me luck!

So, I'm not sure how many people have actually been reading this, but post-wedding, I completely bombed doing anything about anything in the 6-week challenge. As such, I'm not sure whether I should give myself any extra stats this time around. Thoughts? Also, I think the reason is that I bit off more than I could chew, so in the next challenge (failure is just a stepping stone toward success), I will be taking what I've learned from this challenge to come up with goals that are more doable. Plus, I've had plenty of time to think about what my next goals would be.