AverageFish

It's been a while since I read the trilogy but I remember my mind being blown multiple times.

Sounds amazing!

I'm on a quest to find the best cinnamon rolls in town. I suspect none of them will be close enough for me to make them a regular event - just a special treat!

I've seen London Fog on the menus but haven't tried on yet. It's on my list!

Fortunately there isn't a coffee shop that's conveniently located on my way to work, or I could really develop a habit!

Saved for updates.

My last challenge wasn't entirely successful, but I've identified a major obstacle: screen time. Once I sit down and pick up the tablet or phone, I lose track of time and get nothing done. Hence not enough sleep, inconsistent exercise, and a cluttered house. So similar goals as last challenge, but with the addition of paying attention to screen time. 1. Screen time - stick to the time limits I set on the time-devouring apps. No more hitting Ignore Limit --> Remind Me in 15 Minutes. This will help with getting everything else on the list done. 2. Strength - dumbbells and PT twice a week. 3. Space - still need to do some decluttering. We're starting a bathroom remodel in a few weeks, so time to clean out the vanity/medicine cabinet/walk in closet. One thing that has been going well is cardio. I've been doing the Walk to Mordor (although I haven't updated my distance here for a while) and doing fairly well with walking before work. Next week my gym starts it's annual virtual Ironman (5 weeks to cover Ironman distances running (or in my case, walking), swimming and cycling, so I'll be adding in some stationary cycling. It will also be the kick in the pants I need to get back in the swimming pool, for which my back will be grateful. I've also done well sticking to my reading goals. I had 2 LONG books for my book groups so I had to set a page goal, which I managed to meet most days. I would like to keep this up - less screen time = more reading time.

I just popped in to say hi and found myself drawn in to all the tea discourse. It's been chai lattes for me lately, but I have a fair amount of tea in the cupboard I should be drinking.

So apparently my infrequent posting habits haven't changed after all these years.... Not my best challenge - which means room for improvement next time! Sleep - mostly got to bed too late, although I had a couple of mornings I was able to sleep a little later than usual and a couple of nights when I just crashed after dinner. I was able to get up to exercise most mornings though, so that's progress. I'm more likely to fall asleep early when I get up early. Strength - sporadic, but better than nothing. Space - this didn't happen, but it still needs to. Keeping it on the list for next time.

Started Bookshops and Bonedust for my audiobook this week - much lighter than what I've been reading! But the previous book in the series gave me an irresistible craving for cinnamon rolls... Not an advertisement, just FYI - For those looking for more Discworld, Humble Bundle has their Discworld bundle for a few more days.

In the past week I finished Apeirogon and Spaceman of Bohemia. Started Covenant of Water (physical book) - I'm in two book groups and they both chose doorstoppers at the same time. Between Apeirogon and Covenant of Water it's almost 1200 pages 🤪 I'm about halfway through Solaris in ebook. I started it a while ago and keep getting distracted by other things. I now suspect it may have been one of the inspirations for Spaceman of Bohemia?

One of my favorite books last year! I was listening to the audiobook walking in the woods trying not to cry because I didn't want to not be able to see the trail where I was walking...

Thank you! Thank you! Well, I just popped in to update on my relative lack of success this challenge when I found out there's another week left, so - there's still hope? Sort of - I have one, but I usually start it later than I should. Definitely an area I could focus on more.

I started this once before ages ago. Time to give it another go.

Lots of overlap with things I like and things others in the group like so following to see what everyone else is reading. My first books of the year are Apeirogon (physical book) and Spaceman of Bohemia (audiobook).

Tentatively sticking my toes back into the challenge waters after a 2 year absence.... Short and simple refers to posts, not the challenge itself. If I try to make it too long and/or complicated and/or interesting I'll never update. So here it is in a nutshell: 1. Sleep - this is the most important. If I get to bed on time I wake up on time to exercise before work, have more energy and focus at work, get home sooner to eat sooner to go to bed sooner.....I need to plan backward from bedtime to be sure I get dinner, dishes, reading etc in before lights out. The goal is 8 hours. 2. Strength - I haven't been doing this consistently for a while, and I feel better when I do. The goal is at least 2x /week, dumbbells and/or body weight/PT. 3. Space - My office is a mountain of papers. My home office is a mountain of papers. My closet hasn't been cleaned out in ages - and we're getting ready to have our bathroom remodeled, so I need to get it emptied out in a way that's organized so I can find what I need during the process. The goal is to spend 2 hours each week sorting, organizing and discarding stuff. Since all of my goals require me to be mindful of how I use my time, I'm going druid this time around.

Time to summarize - I didn't do very well with the tracking part, but I did feel more focused doing my administrative work. It's probable that the lack of other activities/meetings/responsibilities over the holidays helped here. Now to keep it going as the semester starts up next week.... Buzzfeed was successfully banished for the most part, and I don't miss it at all. I opened it twice then remembered I wasn't supposed to and closed it right away. Twitter may need to be next on the chopping block. PT has been sporadic. My foot is better if I do it really really regularly but I can tell if I miss a day. Something else that will carry forward to the next challenge I suppose.

Oops, somehow I completely missed this. Probably has something to do with not checking in for the entire challenge🤪

Hard as it is for me to believe, I seem to be posting a challenge the day the challenge starts instead of my usual week or two into it. I'm not letting it go to my head, though, because I have a long history of posting very infrequently on here. But having a goal written down does seem to help in some weird subconscious way, so here goes. Last time around I went with a Phantom Tollbooth themed challenge, and I think the principles are still sound. So I'm sticking with them for my main goals: 1. Don't Dawdle in the Doldrums: This is my "just do the stuff you need to do" goal. I'm making it more concrete this time around. I will identify the "need to do" items at work each day, and do the highest priority ones first when I have my administrative time. No checking emails, messages, or other time-sinks until I've done the important stuff (exception - a quick look to be sure there's nothing urgent that needs to be dealt with). 2. Track the Terrible Trivium: I know where I waste most of my time, but it never ceases to amaze me how much time I waste. Time to put some numbers to it. I'll add specific websites (not naming names (Twitter)) to my time tracking app, and keep track. And one more draconian measure: no more Buzzfeed. It is clickbait within clickbait within clickbait and it adds nothing of value to my life. These two goals should help me use my time more effectively, and free up time for sleep, exercise, reading, and things that I really want to do but can't "find" time for. 3. Build Up the Body: My plantar fasciitis is acting up, my back is acting up, my knees make interesting crackling noises. Time for a PT challenge, independent of my success in the others. I need to ice my foot at least once a day, stretch it at least twice a day, and do PT for my back at least twice a week.

Following for self care!

Following for dollhouse updates!

We could have an accountability group! But no one would ever post in it......

Week 5 was, again, a bit better. The fact that it was such a short work week didn't hurt any🙃 I was fairly effective at work, and didn't get further behind than I already was from the first few weeks. Because of my earlier procrastination, I did have to do a few hours worth of work but I was able to spread it out through the holiday weekend so it wasn't too burdensome. Moving forward - I need to come up with a more quantitative way to track how well I'm doing. The overall goals are still what I need, but the measurement piece needs work.

Stopped by last week to check on you then went down the rabbit hole with all your recipes. Very impressed with all your green check marks!

Week 4 was...somewhat better? I definitely didn't spend as much time on devices, and got more done at work. Sleep was also better. So I'm counting it as improvement.