courtneyc

You're right. Life is too short to spend 40+ hours a week on something you don't like! If I might recommend a book, you could check your library for So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport. I think he gives really levelheaded advice for approaching your career. His basic philosophy is that the majority of people don't start out with a passion for a particular career but develop passion for it as they become more skilled. That's not to suggest you should stick with your current field. He lists out a few things that would disqualify a job for having that potential, for example if there is little room to distinguish yourself, the work is focused on something you think is useless or detrimental to the world, your work forces you to deal with people you can't stand. It's an encouraging read, if you have the time. Hope you find some clarity on the career stuff soon!

Accidental double post, so you get pandas playing in snow.

Science is most definitely awesome! Happy to hear about the realizations and the decent talk with your mom. Family stuff can be so stressful, especially during those transition times when you might really want to have definite answers to give on the future but things aren't quite figured out yet. I hope the car keeps holding out for you.

I think this is my 3rd time rewatching the series. It's safe to say I'm a fan. The only thing that irks me in the show are all the clipped off corners on papers and books. Somewhere in the 13 colonies there is a warehouse filled with the corners they cut off for no apparent reason. I hope the cylons found a good use for all that wasted paper. Thanks! Things are starting to click more with the training, and it's got me very excited. Thoughts of trying some competitive rolling keep entering my head. The elbow thing really sucks. Is there a way you could take this recovery time to work on your leg and foot work for grappling? I don't have a clue what that would look like, but I've noticed some guys in my studio use their feet almost like hands. A couple weeks focused fully on maneuvering your lower body and you could have a few new tricks to pull on people.

Week 2 Day 4 Core Exercises: 4/6 Training: 3/4 Tracking: 4/7 Meditation: 4/7 Weekly Word Count: 3,809 I'm keeping it brief tonight, because I'm exhausted and Battlestar Galactica reruns are calling my name. Training was much better today than yesterday! Stuck around after class to roll for awhile. The daytime Tuesday/Thursday class at my studio is bjj-lite. So, the training portion is at a regular, exhausting level but roll time is all about taking out the speed and strength and focusing fully on technique. It's a great way for me to focus in on my grips and practice some of the techniques I'm learning in class without getting muscled out of a hold straight away. Okay, time to get my Starbuck fix.

Yeah, I think we all have those moments where we are a little oblivious. I try not to, but I'm sure I'm still guilty of it from time to time. I really enjoyed Steve's article, too. I know some people find tracking stats through pictures, the scale, or measurements exciting, but I've always found that when I start looking at that stuff I go off the rails the fastest. Glad to have you around, Terra! We are a bjj loving group around here. What are your Ranger interests? Week 2 Day 2 Core Exercises: 3/6 Training: 2/4 Tracking: 3/7 Meditation: 3/7 Weekly Word Count: 2,265 Tonight's class was rough. I felt nauseous as soon as we started moving, and the assortment of bear crawls, crab walks, kangaroo jumps, and monkeys at warm up put me in a precarious state. I took the rest of the class at an easier pace than my usual and skipped rolling. I don't think it is a stomach virus...maybe my light dinner just didn't settle in right? I managed to get the ab workout in immediately after though, which I count as a victory considering the circumstances. Meditation keeps getting pushed off to the end of the day. Bedtime is not my preferred time. Reading is my wind down activity, and I appreciate the calm clarity my 10 minute sessions gives me more as apart of my working day. So tomorrow I'll prioritize that for the morning before I sit down to write. Only 4.5 hours of sleep happened last night, because that's how life is sometimes. Time to get some real rest. Goodnight fellow nerds!

Agreed on the hard copy vs. electronic copy learning. You lose the easy browsing with digital, so it ceases to be useful as reference unless you are incredibly diligent about making notes and keywords on whatever platform you use. (I'm not!) There is also a design barrier with digital: font choice, line length and space, and even margins all alter the mental work involved when reading. Most e-readers don't preserve those design considerations.

I know the healthy eating stuff is frustrating, but can we stop and celebrate that meditation achievement?! If I'm remembering correctly that didn't happen at all last challenge and now you've already got 2 sessions under your belt? It sounds like giving it more structure is paying off. Are you still tracking it all, even when you go over your calories? If so, I don't think that counts as a complete failure. Being honest and accountable takes more effort than flying off the rails completely. My suggestion for what it's worth is to plan a couple healthy meals you're excited about and let that give you some momentum. Now go show week 2 who is boss!

Week 2 Day 1 Core Exercises: 1/6 Training: 1/4 Tracking: 1/7 Meditation: 1/7 Weekly Word Count: 0 I was really dragging yesterday...pretty much just felt like sleeping all day. My mom had the day off, so I spent it with her catching up over lunch. We did a little shopping afterwards, something that since having my daughter I've lost interest in. It just wasn't as fun when I'd always play the guessing game of "will anything in the store fit me?" It usually doesn't help that when I'd go out with my mom she'd complain about how fat she felt, and if she could just lose 10-15 pounds, she could get out of her fat clothes. I think she wears a size 6 or 8? So while she's wondering which single digit size to get, I'm wondering if they even make my size. Sometimes I'd make a joke about it, hoping she'd begin to see that I might not be the appropriate person to complain to about these things, but it never stopped her. I guess people get stuck in their own worlds when it comes to body stuff. Anyway, yesterday I actually initiated the shopping idea, because I'm ready to wear clothes I feel good in. I think a lot of that shift has come about thanks to training harder in bjj. It's not that my body is physically much smaller but that I appreciate what it can do more. I think less about what size my arms or legs are when I'm thinking about how to use them to escape mount, evade yet another triangle (damn you triangles!), or get a choke. And guess what? Shopping was fun! I bought shirts and sweaters and even a dress that (gasp!) stops a little above my knees. I hesitated for a moment with that dress. I honestly thought to myself, "have my knees earned the right to be seen out in public." which is obviously some toxic garbage. Then I remembered that the legs I was criticizing are the same ones that carry me through class and are one day going to put someone else in a triangle, and I kicked that thought to the curb where it belongs. It was an all around good experience, except maybe for the credit card. Today will be a bit of a wildcard. It's snowing and school is out, so I'll have to be creative getting the writing time in. I'm not sure what that will mean for the midday bjj class either. Hope everyone is getting a good start on week 2!

Day 7 Core Exercises: 6/6 Training: 5/4 Tracking: 7/7 Meditation: 7/7 Weekly Word Count: 7,524 Word count met. Time to meditate and stick a fork in week 1. *no bears were harmed in the meeting of today's word count*

Day 7-ish Core Exercises: 6/6 Training: 5/4 Tracking: 6/7 Meditation: 6/7 Weekly Word Count: 3,070 Oh jeezy creezy, that word count! I don't think I've ever written over 4,400 words in a day before, but you better believe I'm going to try my best to make it happen. There's no way I'm getting this close to a perfect week and letting it slip away without a fight. Cue Eye of the Tiger and

I'm an aspiring professional writer. My daughter's in kindergarten this year, so I'm using my new found free time to hone my skills. Currently working on the first draft of a science fiction novel, which is where most of those words are going, but I also write the occasional short story.

Glad you decided to join us this February. You're right, though, that quick turn around between challenges was, well...challenging. But on the plus side I found it kept me from losing some of my tracking momentum. Your challenge goals look good! I like that you're giving a little more structure for the meditation this time around since it was a struggle last time. I hope that makes incorporating it into your days a little easier. Let's get to it! February doesn't stand a chance.

Ha! Good to hear from you. I was hoping you would show up this challenge.

Nice looking challenge! The daily minimum exercise seems like a great way to establish a base activity level and takes some of the excuse making out of the process. If you get creative with your dinner veggies, do share! I can't be the only one who gets in a vegetable rut. So selfishly I want to know.

You need a canine sidekick.

Thanks, and it's never too late to start. Thanks! Rewards are always good. I've already had a few night where I've forgotten the ab exercises until right before bed, but the thought of not getting my prize because I couldn't deal with a few minutes of work keeps me committed. Day 5 Core Exercises: 5/6 Training: 4/4 Tracking: 5/7 Meditation: 5/7 Weekly Word Count: 3,070 So far the first week is going extremely well. I'm beginning to adjust mentally to keeping within a caloric range, adjusting one day if the previous went over a little. Honestly seeing how I have to pick and choose where my calories go I'm kind of shocked my weight wasn't going up before. No complaints of course that it wasn't, but really, where was all that food going? Currently, I'm not including my workouts in my daily calorie count. If I find myself getting really hungry consistently or the intensity increases to a high level I might consider it. But it seems like it would be very easy to be overly generous with what gets burned. Writing has been the trouble spot this week. Part of that is the increased training time. Those day time bjj classes end up knocking out nearly half my working hours. They tend to run a little long. Then by the time I'm home and cleaned up it's time to pick up the wee one from school. Today I was editing a short story for a writing group tonight...editing is a slippery slope for me. I get so caught up in thinking about clarifying the direction of a piece, character motivations, descriptions, dialogue. It's incredibly time consuming and does nothing for building up that word count. BUT it is a skill that needs improving (anyone else seeing the seeds of a future challenge component?). Anyway, I have some serious writing to tend to this weekend, if I want to make my goal. Otherwise, things are going well. The in-laws are coming over tomorrow, and I'm making braised short ribs with pureed sweet potatoes. Chocolate cake with raspberry sauce is for dessert. Better be conservative with the morning/midday calories.

Day 2 Core Exercises: 2/6 Training: 2/4 Tracking: 2/7 Meditation: 2/7 Weekly Word Count: 2,765 Another good day yesterday. The midday bjj class was interesting; it's kind of like getting a sneak peak at what the upper belt class is like while being a white belt. I got to work with a black belt the whole class, which was amazing. At the end we worked on a flow rolling drill with arm bars and arm bar escapes. I had no idea there were so many different ways to be put in an arm bar! I started a bjj notebook this week to help solidify the moves I'm learning and write down issues I run up against during class or rolling. Auditory learning is by far my weakest learning style, so I'm hoping this will help me interact with the material in a way that encourages retention.

Nice start to the challenge! On the productivity/time management front I'd suggest reading some of Cal Newport's blog, specifically on fixed-schedule productivity and time-blocking. With time blocking you have a dedicated notebook with a page for each day. Make 2 columns and in the right one do a massive brain dump of all the tasks/to-do's that come to mind. Then in the left column you make time blocks with dedicated chunks of time for the tasks that you decide should be taken on that day. Anything that doesn't get crossed off the list or you don't finish gets bumped to the next day's brain dump. Once you get the hang of it it only takes about 5 minutes to make each morning, and as someone whose work is entirely self-directed it has been very helpful in keeping me focused and productive.

What is ROP? All of your fancy bodyweight training sounds like fun. I've got a lot to work on before I can progress to things like handstands, but it could be a fun goal down the line. Good work on day 1!

Core Exercises: Yes Training: 1/4 Tracking: Yes Meditation: Yep Weekly Word Count: 2,065 Day 1 was a success! I went to my first real gi class tonight...damn, does it get hot under all that fabric! Sweatiness aside, the gi class was amazing. First off, all the upper belts and a few people I know from kickboxing are at this class, and upper belts rock. They don't get awkward about rolling with a woman, you can learn a ton from them. Plus the gi slows everything down and gives more handholds, giving me a little more time to think. Tomorrow I'm trying out the midday class. Yay! My first meditation session was nice. I've shied away from meditation in the past, because I always imagined it to be this thing where I sit in silence for x number of minutes with nothing happening. It sounded kind of boring and like one more thing I had to do the mental execution work for, but guided meditation was pretty good. I'm looking forward to trying it again tomorrow. Now, time for rest.

Always happy to cheer you on! Great job finishing strong with the tracking and the soda!

Another month, another challenge! Is anyone else appreciating the brevity of these 4-week challenges? Something about 2 fewer weeks makes me feel like I can take on something a little more ambitious. Maybe not as good if you have a big goal you want to achieve but perfect for the commitment-phobic. Last challenge I committed to daily tracking, and it went really well. There were a number of days when I wanted to quit, but the pass/fail component made me stick it out. So this challenge I plan to follow that style more. Fitness Core Strength: My core guys...it is frailer than a newborn kitten, and core strength is everything when you've got someone sitting on top of you and you need to get off your back. So daily core training is happening this February (with Sundays as a rest day). I'll start at 10 slow bicycles, 20 sit ups, and a 30 second plank for now, and move up if that gets too easy. (Pass/Fail) BJJ Training: I have a gi! That opens up a whole new world of classes I can take at my studio. There are early morning classes, midday ones, and evening ones. This month I want to make it to 4 bjj classes/open mats per week. Assuming I don't get terribly injured...(Pass/Fail) Weight Loss Continue daily tracking with a new goal of not exceeding my weekly calorie allotment. (Pass/Fail) Life Mindfulness: I would like to be more aware of my thoughts and emotions, rather than letting them lead me through my day. I've become more aware lately that I don't notice my agitation or rising stress level until I've already raised my voice, searched my kitchen for cheese and sweets, and so on. A daily meditation session seems a good first step. I've heard a lot of positive feedback about Headspace, so I'm going to give that a try for the month of February. (Pass/Fail) Writing: Meet a weekly word count of 7,500 words (Pass/Fail) Rewards Now we get to the most exciting part: the awesome prizes! Hitting my Life Quest goals earns me one afternoon of guilt-free leisure time reading and enjoying a glass of wine at one of the restaurants downtown. Meeting my tracking goal unlocks a rash guard purchase. And for the meeting the Fitness goals: new gi pants.

The challenge was a success. I didn't miss a single day of tracking, which is pretty huge for me. We had our weekend off, so now it's time for the next challenge!

Okay, really quick update, because there is only so long I can hide from my 5 year old before she finds me. Tracking is going well. Staying at or below my calories is going well. My sanity? Lost, 2 closed school days ago. This update was brought to you from my hiding place in the attic.