Roosevelt21

Okay. I've been thinking about this and have done some re-evaluation, and re-reading some older NF articles, and I've come to the conclusion that everyone else said up-front: I for sure bit off more than I could chew. I really want to do a hand stand by December 15 (cough *Star Wars* couch). I really want to learn more. I really don't want to run a half marathon, but I've committed, so I really *don't* want to not finish. I think the next step is to start small and try to fail small. It's a bit late for this 4 week challenge, but I'm going to try and do a warm up challenge on my own - focusing on just one of those goals, and then get ready to focus on that one goal next challenge.

Thanks @fleaball for checking in. As I guess you can tell, I fell off the wagon, and then was too ashamed to say anything, so I continued to stay off the wagon. Not too sure what next step to take.

Hey Everyone! Thanks so much for checking in on me! First week went... alright I'm trying to practice a little bit of growth mindset. Definitely room for improvement, but here are the numbers as they stand. Runs: 3 out of 4 Handstand practice: 1 out of 3 Interview prep: 2 out of 3 Tutorials: 1 out of 4 Not great, but considering the week before I went for 0 runs and did no interview prep, I'm going to call it an okay start and keep working on it. In terms of tracking, I have a stack of post it notes on my desk and I just put a tick mark next to the activity when I've done it. Seems to be working in terms of tracking, but not necessarily motivating (which I know I shouldn't rely on that anyway ). Something I learned this week is that setting a timer on my phone really helps me. For the interview prep, when I set that timer, it was really easy to tell myself that I was not going to get up until that timer buzzed. So I think that between the timer and the post it notes, I've got a good set of basic tools - just need to use my tools more. Another thing I learned is that I am much more likely to go for a run if I do it immediately when I get home. On the day that I was supposed to run and didn't, I ended up going to the grocery store before going on a run, and then by the time I was done with that, I just wanted to veg out and not do anything. I think if I immediately do something else after a run (like handstand practice), that would be a good way to knock out 2 things before I put on the proverbial (or not so proverbial) sweatpants for the night. Now for the good news: I set a PR for distance this week WATCH OUT WEEK! HERE I FREAKING COME!

Thanks for adding a book to my "To Read" list

Thanks for this @zeroh13! Currently I run... once in a while. I'm a former college athlete (club, not varsity), so I used to be in the habit of everyday workouts, but it's been a hot minute since then. I'm currently using RunKeeper. I went for my first run today, and it seems like it will be a good fit. A little annoying that they are always trying to sell the upgraded version, but hey, whatcha gonna do? I've found a half marathon training schedule that will technically start on Monday, but I didn't want to get behind on runs for this week. So I guess runs will only count if they are for the specified distance. Walking part of it is cool for this month I think. I have not been practicing handstands everyday, so I think I'm going to take your advice on that and drop it to 3 times a week. That's probably a much more realistic goal. Thank you I've been trying to watch tutorials for 3 hours a night which totally failed. I would end up watching maybe an 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 when I did watch, and then I'd feel discouraged and not watch the next night, because I'd already failed at my plan so what was the point. I think you're probably right again on this one, and maybe I should drop it down to 4 times a week. Thank you for your help! Thanks for tagging people @Sylvaa. I appreciate it and all the tracking suggestions! I'm hoping with all of that, this time will be more successful than last @DrFeelgood, thanks for sharing :D! Your spreadsheet game is super impressive! Is your most recent one in Excel or Open Office Calc? I really like it!

I believe that you will win. What sort of books are you looking to read?

Killing it.

Hi All! Well, my first challenge was a sort of bust (same story: consistent for a hot minute, meet wrench, fall in to a heap). But! Today, we had a speaker come talk to us at work about the Growth Mindset, and they mentioned SMART goals, and that got me thinking that I should come check what those were again because I know I've got some goals and have been struggling/overwhelmed with how to achieve them, AND LOW AND BEHOLD A NEW 4 WEEK CHALLENGE IS STARTING ON SATURDAY. So I took some time and wrote out some goals, and I'm feeling a lot better about things after breaking it up into small pieces. I'm trying to grasp that some things are out of my control/take longer than I would like, so instead of focusing on that, I tried to narrow down some stuff that I think will be achievable. Fitness Goal: Run 6 miles without wanting to die/and or stopping (Brakes = death) How: Run 4x week Tracking: Run tracking app thing. I'm hoping that can sort of gamify the whole thing for me (I hate running, but signed up for a half marathon in December. Send halpz. And snax.). I can currently confidently run 2 miles, but I don't really know how long I can run for (lies: probably 2.2 miles), so this may be a stretch goal (implementing the schedule is the real goal). Goal: Reach Level 7 on NerdFitness Handstands How: Practice for 15 minutes each morning 3x/ week Tracking: I'm not really sure how to track this, so any tips would be helpful. What has worked best for y'all? I've thought about making a google calendar event, but I'm pretty professional at ignoring those. Maybe a checkbox by the door? I have to do it before I can leave? Journal? Post? Idk... Diet Ignoring this for meow. Maybe next challenge. Life Goal: Know more than nothing How: Watch 1 hour of tutorials/instructional videos per night 4x/week; do interview exercises 3 times a week (This is a 2-for-1 combo meal deal of small goals) Tracking: Not sure how to track this either. I planned out a bunch of things to watch on my google calendar (see above) and then promptly ignored them all. Not sure if the problem is with google or (gasp) me. Likely the latter. May try to add a tick on my calendar that is above my desk? And yes. I still have a physical calendar. My plan is to post at the end of each week with a honest to goodness assessment of how I did (i.e. Well, I ran 7x instead of 4! ((more likely - well I ran 0x instead of 4))). Hopefully, if I am committed to posting the findings for the week, and doing a review of what went well and what didn't, I will at least have the threat of shame to focus me on my goals. We all need a Septa Unella in our lives. I'm hoping I can find that here. Though I imagine it will be more cat gifs than public humiliation. (Note: I realize this is not a .gif. I am remedial at the internet, so please have patience.)

Dude. I'm impressed that you woke up when you wanted to even though you went to bed late. Inspiration +1.

Way to go!!!!

Oh. And here is this.

I'm back! I'm back! Things got off to a bit of a rocky start. I didn't do either of my daily goals on Monday. I also didn't practice my handstands on Tuesday morning. But Tuesday night, I decided that the day wouldn't be a wash if I read before bed. I read 2-3 chapters of Amy Schumer's The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo (hilarious). Wednesday morning - I didn't do a full handstand practice, but I did some, and last night I read more before bed. Finally got a full 10 minutes of handstand practice in this morning! Pretty excited about this month!!! Thanks guys!

Hi Everybody! I'm a longtime NerdFitness peruser, first time challenge do-er. Here goes nothing. Fitness Do 10 minutes of handstand practice every morning before work (Know what my workout needs to be in the morning before I go to bed) Diet Consistently meal prep (when I finish with my last prepped lunch, then I make the next batch that evening - no exceptions) Level Up Your Life Read at least one chapter each night before bed. That's all I got! Wish me luck!