Cheesestick

Thanks, Kishi. Week one was alright. I didn't fall over. I trained twice, as intended. I might Teeter this week (probably not going to make it to training because of other obligations) so I really need to endeavor to tackle the other challenges to make up for it. I successfully handled one part of the financial challenge, and I managed to express gratitude for a new thing each day. By the end of the week, my list was long enough that it helped lift me up. Halloween candy and festivities prevented me from being as mindful as I wanted to be about my consumption, but that gives me a base to start from improvement on this week. Onwards! Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

A day late and a dollar short, I'm on to my second challenge as a monk! I'm trying to go easy on myself this month. Not to get into too many personal details, but I've been processing a significant loss. Things seemed to be looking up for the past few months, but recent events have complicated things and have thrown me into a bit of a funk. There's a lot of uncertainty surrounding things that are (used to be?) important to me, and I think I need to be easy on myself while I get through it and figure out what comes next for me. Last challenge, I focused on finding balance, and my hope for this challenge is just not to fall off the wagon. So without further ado: 1. Don't fall: Keep up the healthy habits I've developed over the last 8 weeks. I haven't been perfect about everything, but I have been good at remembering to take my vitamins and supplements and going to muay thai twice a week. If I can keep these up, I will consider that to be a win this challenge. 2. Mindful Consumption: I'd like to be more aware of what I'm putting in my body. So from today on I'm going to keep a rough count of what I'm eating, drinking, and the total caloric consumption of both. I'm not doing this with the intent to limit anything (yet), just to be aware. 3. Finances: My procrastination demons from last challenge caught up to me. I'm going to tackle these one at a time, with finances being the most important. Breaking this down piece by piece, I aim to tackle at least one of the following per week, in order of importance: (1) tracking down my old landlord about my yet-returned security deposit [and hopefully not having to take any formal action, but that may be necessary], (2) submitting healthcare receipts to my insurance, (3) drafting a monthly budget, (4) cancelling my newspaper subscriptions. 4. Stay Centered: I've been focusing a lot on loss and what I'm missing. I need to practice redirecting my attention to what I've gained in the process, and gratitude for the things I have. Once per day, I want to vocalize appreciation for one of those things. Here's to carrying on! And best of luck to you all!

aaand week 4! As I noted in the last post, this wasn't the strongest finish to the challenge. I was traveling for work Wednesday through Saturday, which threw a big wrench in the works. BUT I managed to get to Muay Thai twice and ate something (not always protein) for breakfast most days. Overall, it wasn't a terrible conclusion to the challenge. I'm settling into a new routine at a new place, and I've made small sustainable steps toward improvement. At a minimum, I've started a good training regime that I hope to stick to next challenge. I was better, if not perfect, about having breakfast in the morning, and I'm adjusting to biking to work. Next challenge I'd like to practice being more mindful about what goes into my body, and also take aim at the mountains of tasks I let my procrastination demons accumulate while I was trying to adjust to my new routine.

Super late week 3 update!!! I'm definitely teetering on the balance beam right now. I've been in court A LOT this month which is really unusual (but fun!) and has been throwing a wrench into my attempts to find balance. Biking was nigh on impossible with so many days that I needed to suit up, but I managed to bike in one day and bike back another. I'm happy that I forced myself to find a way to get some in, even with the craziness of last week. I also went to muay thai twice, which was really an effort in the chaos, but I made it a priority because it really helps me focus and reduce stress. Protein breakfasts and planning fell off the wagon entirely. These things work very well when my schedule is predictable, but I tend to forget when I have to go to court or start work at home early in the morning. I need to find a way of making sure they stick even when everything else is flying through the air. And as for my procrastination demons: I made minimal progress tackling the financial stuff. I canceled a few subscriptions, which is good, and examined my budget to see where else my money might be going. My progress stalled when I hit the newspaper subscription, which requires calling, so I couldn't do it late at night when the mood struck my fancy. In short, I'm teetering, but I haven't fallen off yet. I'm traveling for work this week, which means I won't be able to finish as strong as I would like, but I'm working with what I've got. Toodles! Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

Week two updates! Morning rituals: C? (whoops) I was all over the place this week. Kept my good habits with respect to vitamins (and after a month of omega 3 I feel amazing). Planned 1/5 work days. Ate breakfast at home 1/5 work days. Bought a quiche at the work cafeteria for some of those other days, which isn't ideal financially, but it was better than nothing. Find balance in nature: A-. I biked to work twice this week. I was ready and willing to do more, but it has been raining for weeks and I had meetings/court a couple of days that required me to look presentable (I.e. not like a drenched rat). Shooting for 3 this week! Train consistently: I feel so good about finally going to muay thai I'm going to give myself an A+. I really liked the new gym and the instructors. I bought a membership that gives me two weekly sessions, and I also bought handwraps and gloves. I'm going back again tonight. Tackle my procrastination demons: I'm failing this challenge hard core (unsurprising, since this is my biggest weakness). I've done 0/4 of my tasks. I'd like to put some of the blame on this big hearing I have today that's been demanding a lot of my attention, but I also know I could've found time this weekend to start some of them. My goal for today, after court, is to pick one and strategize how to break it down into workable pieces for the week. All in all, I think this week was a success. I wasn't as in top of everything as I'd like to be, but Im making progress, and I feel great! Good luck in week 3 everyone! Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

Mini updates! I biked twice this week. Not three times like I hoped but it has been torrentially downpouring all week. Tomorrow is supposed to be nicer and several coworkers were inspired by my commuting to go on a long trail ride together tomorrow afternoon. I tried the new muay thai place and I loved it. The basic elements are very similar to krav, the instructors are great, and I got a good workout in. The gym is also directly on my bike path home, which will be great as I get in better biking shape. So I signed up for a regular membership. I've been kind of a mess on the planning/morning routine front, but I'm feeling great going into the weekend! Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

Well Week One is complete and the verdict is: meh. I didn't really meet any goals for the week, but I made some progress on all of them and everything is baby steps. Morning Rituals: I kept my good habits (vitamins) and was better about planning (3/5 weekdays albeit usually only once I had gotten to work). I had a quick protein-based breakfast 5/7 days. All in all, B+. This is a pretty big change from the chaos that my mornings used to be, so I'm fairly happy with this progress. Finding Balance in Nature: I'm going to grade this on a pass/fail basis this week, and I passed. I finally got my bike on Thursday! I went for a short ride on Friday. Today marks my first day commuting. I felt great after finally getting this done this morning, although the commute back is uphill, so the hard part has yet to come. I also scheduled a longer ride with coworkers on local trails for the coming weekend, so week 2 is looking up. Train Consistently: Big fat fail for last week. I had a change of clothes and water in my backpack all week, but anxiety about starting at a new place definitely got the better of me. I'm trying to approach this week with the mantra of "I'll feel better once I get started." I plan to go on Wednesday. Wish me luck! Tackle My Procrastination Demons: I did not tackle any of my projects this week, although I did do a little unpacking (#2). I plan on doing another hour or so of unpacking today to make up for it. Hope y'all made decent progress in week one. Here's to a fresh start in week two.

These are great, simple ideas, and things that have worked really well for me in the past. I am extremely guilty of putting off going to the grocery store indefinitely, but a big batch of eggs would definitely help with this problem. Oh I feel this intimately, and I thank you for sharing, because mental health is definitely too stigmatized. I've inadvertently managed to develop the coping mechanisms to get through law school and the early years of work by channeling my hyperfocus for good, and hating myself the rest of the time (feeling too lazy, undisciplined, etc). But while my coping strategies for getting work done are decent, if anxiety producing, I'm all over the place when it comes to the rest of my life (forgetting to eat when hyperfocused, oversharing, impulsive spending, failing at routine hygiene and basic household tasks, the list goes on). It's good to finally have an explanation for my issues, but I often feel like I can't really talk to anyone about it because of the stigma and lack of understanding. I've gotten a lot of "but you're smart and got good grades, how can you have ADHD, maybe you just need discipline?" from people. And it doesn't help that I'm in a profession (law) where people routinely abuse amphetamine prescriptions because they feel like it will give them an edge. Anyway, I honestly don't know if I can do this without meds, and I am definitely not writing them off. I know a lot of people who could not have developed the coping mechanisms necessary to manage the problem without meds, and I 100% believe in better living through science. But for a lot of reasons we don't need to get into here, I'm at least trying to develop those coping mechanisms (with the help of a great therapist) without medication for now. I intend to reevaluate that decision after a few months have passed.

So first, your garden sounds amazing. I've got some tomatoes, green peppers, and herbs (rosemary, chives, thyme) growing. I think we planted too many tomatoes this season, way more than we could reasonably eat. Now that the summer is over and the tomatoes are starting to rot on the vine, it might be time to start thinking about what we'll plant in the fall. As for "eating rocks," I'm slowly working my way into a supplement regime based on my doctor's recommendations, and my list is similar to Dr. Hallowell's (with some substitutions). The omega-3 target is hard, and according to my doc, you need to be careful with it because higher than 5g is actually where fish oil can have complications. I'm taking about 2.5g omega-3 daily in supplements and actively working more fish in my diet to try to make up the rest. I think its too early to say whether I think its helping, but I'd be interested to hear how you feel your zinc/magnesium/etc are working for you by the end of the challenge. I'm also impressed with your meditation goal. Last 4 week challenge I set a 5 minute goal per day and I couldn't bring myself to finish. The days I could were great, but most days when my timer went off I was already in the kitchen, or doing work, or daydreaming about something else. It's definitely a work in progress. As for sleep, its seriously a struggle. I used to be the kind of person who would realize 2-3 times a week that it was 6am and I never actually went to sleep. It took me many years to get a regular sleep routine of 7+ hours in place. Now I have a job that sometimes requires pulling all nighters, and I'm slowly falling off the wagon again. But, in case its helpful, here are some things that worked for me in the past (but again, it was a long struggle): I started by making a list of my worst time sinks (the things I know I will hyperfocus on). For me this was fiction novels and story-heavy video games. I put a hard cut off on these 1 hour before bed time and set all of the alarms on my phone. I know I'm extremely guilty of justifying staying up by just "one more chapter," (aaaand then its 6am and the book is done) so I had to have this well in advance of actually going to bed. Setting multiple alarms made it impossible to accidentally "dismiss" one instead of snoozing. I wish this was enough to solve the problem, but I still needed more of an incentive to stop ignoring all of the alarms. I made a list of relaxing things I enjoyed that I wouldn't be tempted to do forever. A bath? A cup of tea? Listening to relaxing music in bed? When that 'stop reading' timer went off, it was time to do one of those things, every time, to (hopefully?) trick my body into associating this with being sleepy. Cold showers at night (And I'm only mostly joking on this one, because it sadly was the most successful of all of my attempts). Having a long term relationship with someone with an extremely regimented sleep schedule. Good luck in the rest of your challenge! Rooting for you!

Greetings! I'm Cheesestick, I'm fresh off the Level One forums, and after much agonizing, I have decided to roll a monk. It feels strange to say, because although I started dabbling in krav maga a few months ago, I have been at best inconsistent about going. But I really have enjoyed it when I went, and everyone starts somewhere, right? Anyway, I think rolling monk is the most in line with my overall main quest. As I mentioned in my first challenge, I've started to realize that a huge obstacle in getting healthy before was my (at the time) undiagnosed ADHD. The way things roll with hyperfocus is that I give things 210% or nothing, which makes consistency nearly impossible. The irony is that consistent exercise and other forms of self-care is exactly what I need to manage my easily distracted brain. So my life quest is to learn to achieve harmony: to master brain and body, and for once, to learn how to work on both things at the same time. Last challenge, I was moderately successful at breaking my takeout habit and building smaller mindfulness changes into my day. I was less successful at building in exercise and adding necessary structure and routine (I hate it, but so so desperately need it) to balance out my tendency to procrastinate. I want to build on the habits I did well and revise my strategy for tackling the ones I failed at. So without further ado, and a day late (is it any surprise?), my four week goals (with accompanying mantras to remind me why I'm dong them). Morning Ritual Routine is the key to achieving balance in my life, and that has to start even with the smallest things. Just as a wizard can't cast spells without preparing them, I can't expect to make big changes without ensuring that little self-care pieces are in place. I'm currently unmedicated, and I'm trying to keep it that way, which means I desperately need to work toward introducing external structure and self-care routines into my life. Last challenge I focused on adding additional steps to my only consistent morning ritual: coffee (its sacred and you will never take it from me). I aimed for adding taking vitamins/supplements, stretching, meditating, and planning to this; it was too much. I only successfully managed to do one of these things consistently: taking vitamins. I'd like to build on that while taking stock of the reasons I failed last time: too much too fast. Here is the plan for this challenge: Building on good habits (vitamins): Continue to take my multivitamin & omega-3 every day. My doctor has recommended additions to this, but I want to add them a little bit at a time to avoid nausea, so no additional supplements in the first week. Keeping these next to the coffee machine has really helped me remember. Fixing didn't work as well as I wanted it to (planning): 5 minutes of planning out my day in my journal every morning WITH coffee. I fell off the boat here last time for two reasons: (i) 15 minutes was too much once I got busy at work and (ii) without a set time, I would start putting off planning until "later" (i.e., never). I hope to learn from these mistakes because writing things down each day has been helping to order the chaos. Adding something new (breakfast): I skip breakfasts, and I need to stop. I focus so much better after eating a high protein meal. So each Sunday, I am going to batch cook easily grabbable high-protein breakfasts for weekday mornings. As a fail safe, I will allow myself to buy full-fat greek yogurt if I forget because it is far more important that I EAT SOMETHING every day before I leave for work than it is for me to cook that thing. But I would LOVE any suggestions you all have for easy grab-and-go breakfast foods. Find Balance in Nature I have a very monastic, academic job smack in the middle of a city. I love my metaphorical ivory tower, but I used to feel so centered running around in mud and swimming in lakes. I want to rediscover the part of me that loved those things. This is a repeat of a challenge I did not make much success on last time. At the beginning of the last challenge I decided to kill two birds with one stone and get outdoor time and exercise by making commuting by bike part of my daily routine. I bought a bike from the bike store on special order, and it was supposed to come in weeks ago. Some combination of procrastination and social anxiety prevented me from every following up on with them when they did not contact me. But I called last week and I called again today (as I made this post) and I've been assured that the bike will be in the store tomorrow morning. Here is the game plan: Building on good habits (leave the city): Continue to get out of the city at least one time a month. Go on a hike, or kayak, or climb. But get out! Adding something new/Fixing what didn't work as well as I wanted it to (commuting): Follow up with the bike people. Get my bike. And get riding! I originally set my commute goal to 3 times a week. I know myself, and I know I'm more likely to stick with the goal if I can't make excuses to put it off (i.e., if I force myself to do it every day), but I think this challenge I need to account for initial soreness and getting used to riding in the rain. I get bonus points on this challenge if I go for a longer ride on the weekends. Train Consistently Exercise is the best substitute for medication When I started Krav Maga back in February, it really helped my focus. I tried to make this part of my challenge last time, but moving threw a wrench in the works. I was no longer within walking distance of my gym, and that additional obstacle made things hard. There is a muay thai gym closer to my new home, which I'd like to try, but I know myself and the real heart of this challenge is going to be eliminating obstacles and excuses to get there: Building on good habits: Keep bringing a change of clothes with me to work, so that if the "I want to hit things" bug strikes, I can seize it without warning. Also bring protein bars and a water bottle, so that I can get through an unexpected workout. Fixing what didn't work as well as I wanted it to/Add something new: Try the closer muay thai place in this first week. Over the course of the challenge, go at least one time per week, but build up to going twice per week. Wrestle with My Procrastination Demons I know where my demons hide and I will not let them horde all of my productivity and build their dreadful task mountains. There's nothing I hate more than small (but often important) administrative tasks. I put them off because they're boring until there's suddenly a mountain of them and then I put them off because they're overwhelming. My procrastination demons have managed to amass small hordes of tasks that need to be completed, and I'd like to make tackling them part of this challenge so that I can hold myself accountable. I aim to do one per week: Finances: Ironing out the details of these, including cancelling subscriptions that I no longer use/don't want (there's more of these than I care to admit), sending insurance and travel reimbursements (same), and changing my address with all financial institutions. Organizing my home office step 1: I have a small mountain of boxes left to unpack and I've shoved them in my office. This really needs to be tackled because I can't keep living out of boxes and I need to actually do work in the office. Organizing my home office step 2: once everything is unpacked, I need to decide how to arrange furniture, what I want to keep, and how to best set this zone up for maximum productivity. Preparing to meal plan next challenge: I've been relying a lot on cooking subscription boxes to try new recipes without the burden of thinking about shopping lists and meal plans. I want to break away from this slowly, but I know I struggle a lot with meal planning. I think the first place to start ADHD-friendly meal planning is by making myself a little recipe index card box of my favorite easy recipes, with nutrition facts and everything, so that I can just grab my favorites once or twice a week and go to the store. If I get started on that this challenge, it will make it easier for me to break away from subscriptions next challenge. I appreciate any of you who made it through my rambling. I hope to get to know each and every one of you better over the course of this challenge.

Time to wrap this one up. Overall, I'm going to consider my level one challenge a success. I succeeded at some things, and failed at others, I'm still in a better place than I was five weeks ago and that's progress. Things I'm proud of: 1) For the first time in my life I took vitamins every day. I can't say how much they have helped my focus, but I finally did it. It feels kind of silly being proud of something like this, but my ADHD makes remembering and forcing myself to do these little self-care tasks feel like climbing a mountain sometimes. So I am delightfully pleased that I did this stupid little thing every day. 2) Cooking! I cooked so much wonderful food this month, and really kicked my takeout habit. Part of it is owed to the fact that I wanted to learn to cook Vegan for my new roommate, so I tried Purple Carrot subscription for a few weeks. It eliminated a lot of the obstacles to my cooking, which is really good for me. I cancelled it this week, so I'm not going to get the easy way out in the coming weeks, but I've started to enjoy cooking for its own sake again, so I'm hoping that will motivate me to make lists and go to the grocery store more often. Things I'm not proud of: 1) I totally failed my get active outside challenge. My bike never came in off of special order and I was too much of a coward to pressure the store to get things done. I'm making this my mini challenge for today, so that I can head into this next 4 week challenge ready to go. 2) I kind of dropped off going to krav. Part of it was inconvenience--the move made it difficult to go back to my old place. Part of it was anxiety about trying to get to a new place and learning the schedule. I need to think about how to eliminate obstacles to going next challenge so that I can be more successful in this regard. Things that didn't work for me: 1) Trying to add vitamins, planning, stretching, and meditating in the mornings was too much for me all at once. I want to incorporate these things into my life, but I think I need to (a) stretch them out over the course of the day and (b) implement them a little bit at a time. 2) Trying to force myself to clean for a set amount of time every day, but not defining when that time would be. I have a hard time shaking the little voice in my head that says "later," and sure enough, later never comes. I made progress binge organizing, but there is still quite a few things to unpack. I think I need to define a set time that a little bit gets done, no matter what. Anyway, that's all for me, and the end of level 1. I'll see you all in the forums!

Updates! Week 2 was not quite as on point as I'd like it to be, but as always, something is better than nothing. 1) Morning Rituals: B- For a variety of reasons, there were a lot of weird mornings working from home at very early hours, which really flubbed my routine. I managed coffee, vitamins/supplements every day, but often ate at my computer upstairs while working and skipped planning, stretching, and meditation. BUT I made myself eat a protein-y breakfast every day, which was not on my original plan, so I'm giving myself some credit for this. 2) Get active outside--fail I'm still waiting for my bike, which is supposed to come tomorrow (fingers crossed). Unlike last week though, I didn't spend any time outdoors to supplement this activity. I'm resolving to do something more interesting this weekend if the bike still has not arrived. 3) Gather Ingredients--B+ I only cooked once this week, but I managed leftovers or no-cook meals at home every night except for two. That's a pretty big improvement over my usual takeout every night. 4) Martial Arts--Pass Went to krav once. This might be my last time there. I'm going to try a muay thai place closer to my new home this week, and if I like it, that will be my new dojo for a bit. 5) Master my environment Still struggling to make progress on this. I think the mental load of knowing I have to unpack for 30 minutes is stopping me from even starting. I did it once last week (and finished with all of the boxes in my bedroom), but couldn't bring myself to start any other day. I think I'm going to take the suggestions from last time and lower this to 15 minutes a day to see if that helps.

Cheers from a fellow wizard/spellcaster who hopes to multiclass one day! And congrats on Cambridge! Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

I absolutely love your write up. It's so creative! Good luck to you in preparing for your next great adventure! Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

I love your challenges and your dogs are the absolute cutest. Im definitely borrowing your kitchen quest for the next challenge! Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

Week 1 updates! But first, a moment of gratitude: Thanks to all for reading and for the encouragement. I've got your challenges bookmarked to read through when work is a little less busy! @MizMarvel Sometimes the long way round is the best way round, I've found. You certainly learn a lot about yourself and the world around you. @redgrill18 Veggies as an afterthought are definitely my problem too. My new roommate is vegan and I love cooking for people, so I'm hoping to use this as inspiration. @RES I was actually thinking of the Churchill quote, but thank you for introducing me to this new song! I love it! @Kharissandra I actually learned recently that I love (roasted) brussel sprouts. I used to think they were the only food I disliked, as it turns out, I just never had them cooked right. Now I think they might be my favorite. If you have any good suggestions, I'd love to hear them! Updates: It was a far from perfect week, but I actually think that's a good thing! I'm so used to setting goals, doing everything perfectly for 2.5 weeks, and then burning out, so I think that doing 70ish% of my goals on the first week, but not stressing too much might actually be a good thing! 1) Morning Rituals-- B I took my vitamins and supplements every day!! Keeping them right by the coffee helped a ton with this. I didn't get a full 10 minutes of planning in every day, but I did open my planner every morning over coffee. I was less good about stretching and meditating, but I think I did those most days of the week. 2) Get Active Outside -- This one is graded on a pass/fail this week. And I passed! I bought my bike, which is huge, and am still waiting on the special order (they said about 2 weeks). In substitution of the one long weekend ride, I walked about 5 miles throughout the city on Sunday. 3) Gather Ingredients (Nutrition and Cooking) -- A+ (And at the last minute!!) I managed to keep my usual takeout/delivery habits most of the week, and was feeling really bummed/stressed about my total failure to make it to the store in furtherance of this goal. Then, on Friday, a friend asked to cook dinner together, and on Saturday, I made it to the store for a second meal. I tried a new veggie recipe that involved sauteing squash, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, chiles, shallots, and lemon. It was delicious and I got bonus points on my challenge! 4) Martial Arts--PASS Saturday was my once-monthly boxing get together with friends and friends-of-friends. I missed the last few months (and haven't been working out much in that time), and the workout kicked my ass. I'm sore all over, but I feel GREAT. 5) Master My environment--meh This is where I really failed. At best, I get a C- here, but I think I need to accept failure on this goal. I did straighten up a little this week, but I really only spent 2 nights out of 7 unpacking. I endeavor to be more on top of this in the coming week.

Introduction Well folks, it has been A. Year. The Beginning Right around this time last year my partner of seven years, the love of my life and my best friend, started showing signs that his chronic depression was worsening. It was a slow decay, and I sometimes wonder had I been more patient, more understanding, more something, I could have salvaged things between us. But it's in the past now. By January, he had a complete breakdown, to the point where I didn't recognize the stranger that wore my best friend's face. He was constantly negative or drinking or angry. Often, he was all three. He had isolated himself completely from his hobbies, his friends, his family, and I was next on the list. Two days before my birthday, after some gentle prodding on my part to seek professional help, he left in a blaze of snotty tears and Things That Cannot Be Unsaid. I wish I could say I handled it well, but honestly, for a while, my life fell to pieces. The Realization Recovering from that day has been a long and painful process, but after a while I finally recognized a fundamental truth about my situation. After months of trying to be an emotional rock in the face of constant criticism and ridicule from someone determined to hit rock bottom, I had forgotten how to take care of myself. I sometimes wonder if I ever really knew. So I started trying to focus on myself and what would make me happy. I rethought life goals and tried new things (krav maga, rock climbing, kayaking). I went to therapy and discovered--this is a long time coming--that I have (mild?) ADHD. It turns out, I've gotten to the position I am in almost entirely by mastering the art of going balls-to-the-wall when hyperfocus kicks in, and then flying by the seat of my pants the rest of the time. I'm really just at the beginning of figuring out how my executive dysfunction affects me and how to minimize my symptoms, but the diagnosis explains a lot, and I'm ready to direct the energy I poured into being my ex-fiance's main source of emotional support into managing my own condition. The Conclusion I don't just want to get through the hell that has been this last year. I want to conquer it. Main Quest I would describe my current character as a spell-caster of sorts. I have a very monastic, sedentary, academic job that I'm extremely good at, which helps to make up for the more absent-minded months days. But I'm a few pounds over a healthy weight, I get winded easily, I probably drink too much, and I eat way too much take out. I've tried in the past to get fit, and when I do, I give it 210% of my energy. But it's not sustainable. The things I'm already good at fall to pieces. And when I try to balance those things out, I fall off the wagon. The sad (or funny?) thing is, consistent exercise (among other forms of sale care) is extremely helpful managing my focus issues. So my goal is to achieve balance: to master brain and body. And I need to learn how to work on both things at the same time. 4 Week Goals 1) Morning Rituals Routine is the key to achieving balance in my life, and that has to start even with the smallest things. Just as a wizard can't cast spells without preparing them, I can't expect to make big changes without ensuring that little safe-care pieces are in place. I want to build healthier habits from the ground up, and this 4-week challenge I'm starting with my mornings. Right now, my morning ritual is to down coffee, put on clothes, brush my teeth, and run out the door. I want to add to that, a little bit at a time. This month, the goal is to add the following things to my coffee ritual: (i) stretch, any amount at all will do, just remember to do it; (ii) take vitamins and supplements; (iii) spend 10 minutes planning out my day in my planner; and (iv) meditate for five minutes. Once that ritual is complete, THEN it's okay to run out the door. 2) Get Active Outside I spend a lot of time in my ivory tower, but I used to feel so centered running around in the mud and swimming in lakes. I want to rediscover the part of me that loved those things. I've decided to kill two birds with one stone and get some outdoor and exercise time in by making commuting by bike part of my daily routine. My goals for the four week period are to buy a bike from the local bike store (which I did today) and, once it comes in (they didn't have my size in stock), to start commuting the 3 miles to work at least three times a week. I also want to do one long weekend ride per week, and one other outdoor activity outside of the city (hiking, kayaking, etc) at least once this month. 3) Gather Ingredients (Nutrition and Cooking) I miss cooking. It was my favorite thing to do with my ex-fiance, and I really want to get back into it again. And frankly, I'm blowing my budget on take out and delivery right now. I want to start slow: cook for myself two times a week. Because novelty is the spice of life, and the kind of thing I know will keep me interested in this goal, at least one of those days has to be a new recipe. And I really need to learn how to make more vegetables, rather than the standard meat+starch, so I will get bonus points on that goal if I make a tasty new recipe that is vegetable heavy. 4) Martial Arts I've found that exercise, especially martial arts, has been really good at improving my focus. I started doing krav maga back in February, but work got busy and I kind of fell off the wagon. I want to get back to doing this, starting at least 1 time per week for this challenge period. 5) *bonus goal* Master my Environment I moved last month. I got out of the condo my ex-fiance and I used to share, and into a shared home with some good friends. A lot of my stuff is still in boxes, and frankly, with my busy schedule, is probably going to stay that way for a while. But I need to start making progress in making this place feel like home, and I don't want trying to master myself to get in the way of making progress in my environment. So for the next 4 weeks, I'm also holding myself accountable to do at least 30 minutes of unpacking 4 times a week (Monday through Thursday nights), at least until everything is where I want it to be. Gratitude If you've made it this far through my rambling, you're a saint, and I thank you for your support on my journey. I hope to get to know each of you well in the coming weeks, so that we can push each other closer to our goals of becoming our best selves. Ramble on.