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These two delight in a lack of progress, in maintaining the mental status quo, and possibly backsliding if they can make it work. They've decided to combine efforts and come for me just when I want to advance some skills and when I need to focus on continuing education. The Distraxolotl- It is a cute little critter who whispers to unwary people that 'all the things' deserve attention, and that 'you can finish later' but 'later' is filled with another thing. He offers 'false' progress through acquiring lots of new skills without actually advancing in any current skills. He's come for me just as I've finished two major goals and am drawn in several directions by a few things I've had in the back of my mind. The Ignoraminx- A wily animal that sneaks around the edges of thought. It gently sings the alluring suggestion that learning is hard work and unnecessary. It values idling in what you already know and convincing its victim that education efforts are pointless. Maybe just give up that thing that requires education? That sounds easier. Thankfully I recognized its song in time. And it may have backfired! Its mindless melody reminded me that I have an impending deadline for continuing education. We've met the insidious creatures, on to the plan for battling them. I have a shiny new point system that I've outlined in my battle log. This is my first attempt applying it. Here we go! -to fight the Distraxolotl I need to pick and focus on specific tasks that will either use (up) supplies I have, advance current skills, or learn new but related skills. 3 pts per day/ 4 days per week = 12 pts wkly The battle plan is: 🦎 finish the crazy yarn project for Lyn finish the dragonwing shawl I've drooled over for years and finally started either start learning Tunisian crochet to continue my on-going goal to convince knitters that crochet isn't just granny squares, or pick my next knit skill to learn and a project to go with it. But! only if I'm having success against the Ignoraminx. -elude the Ignoraminx by making progress on the massage CEUs I need by the end of April (this can take two challenges to actually complete if needed) and return to the studying I need to do for my job (to meet other personal goals) 2 pts per day/ 4 days per week = 8 pts wkly The battle plan is: 🦨 make significant headway on massage ceus. subtasks are: look up exact hour needs and dates for AMTA and state license double check what I've already done return to learning difference in sewing machines by: returning to cbt work using machines at work to do the learning tasks from each ^cbt^ -ongoing lesser goal for the challenge are 1 pt per day/ 4 days per week = 4 pts wkly each strength training - finish current DB program then return to my own pull up focuses plan, if the weather allows me to play outside yet. 4 pts wkly 🏋️‍♀️ pick a household task daily. Any sort of task; cleaning, meal planning, making it more homey (ie painting etc), whatever is needful 4 pts wkly 🏚️🏠🏡🏘️ (hey look! different levels of houses!) Points basic breakdown total 28 pts/ week. 140 per challenge bonus point is 1 pt per extra day of any above.

All right, all right, new year, fresh start! I actually don't need a fresh start from the perspective of "I've fallen off the wagon and need to start again", but more like "Time to look back at what I've done and where I can make improvements." But I don't believe a 'fresh continuation' is a thing, so... To catch everyone up, I'm a skinny guy who wants to build muscle. I was inspired by one of Steve's articles last summer to pick a routine and stick with it - for months, not weeks! I modified Anthony Mychal's 242 Method to include 6 "marriage" lifts that are performed on 2 days a week and then use a 3rd workout day to "flirt" with other routines I've seen. I stuck with it pretty well, doing Deadlifts, OHP, and Dips on Mondays and Squats, Floor Press, and Pull-ups on Fridays. A couple of months ago, I started doing a modified version of Kinobody's Bodyweight Mastery Program for my Wednesday workout, focusing on progressions for Pistol Squats, Handstand Push-ups, One-armed Push-ups, and L-sits. I'm still enjoying the routines, but I'm taking an opportunity with the new 4 week format to try and change up some rep/set patterns and see if it has any positive impacts on my muscle-building efforts. Oh, also, my previous attempts at trying to bulk up left me with a bigger midsection than I wanted, so I tried leaning down 2 challenges ago, stuck to maintenance last challenge, and now I'm planning to bulk for a couple of months. Now on to the goals! Diet/Fitness Quest 1 - Add 10# to my sandbag floor press I lifted 120# for 10 reps on 1/1, but I'm going to try and stick with a 5-rep range from this point forward, so I'll shoot for 5x130# this week and go from there. Quest 2 - Hit 3 sets of 6 reps of seated pistol squats for each leg Currently at about 4 reps per leg for 2-3 sets. I'm going to train these twice a week because I really want to master the pistol squat this year. The sooner the better! Quest 3 - Bulk responsibly - eat at a 250 calorie surplus each day This should be a relatively easy surplus to do and will work out to about 2 pound weight gain for the month. The hard part will be tracking my calories consistently. I hate counting calories. Starting weight = 154.66 lbs (7-day average) Starting midsection = 34.5" Starting chest = 37.5" Level Up Your Life Quest 4 - Less focus on my phone, more focus on my family Goal is no social media or games from 6-9 PM each night and no phone after 10 PM, except for reading my Kindle app. I'd like to spend the after-work/before-kids-bedtime hours focused on my family and the after 10 PM time reading actual books. I have 4 books I'd like to read over the next few months, including Steve's book when it comes out. I'm excited to get back into the challenges after a 3 week break and I'm excited to see what everyone else comes up with!