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This challenge is (mostly) a continuation of the previous challenge where I was doing Daily Quests. Because I figured that if I did Daily Quests in Final Fantasy XIV without a problem, then surely I could do the same in Real Life too, right? For those of you who have read any of my previous challenges, feel free to start laughing. The previous challenge daily goals were: - Sun salutations every morning, followed by a 1 min plank. The Sun Salutations have happened probably 4 times, and so have the planks. The problem here consisted of "morning". - 4 min Tabata workout on the Assault Bike every morning. See above. This daily goal was also made more difficult due to the drama surrounding the use of the Assault Bike. - Sweep the main floor every evening (because the wind from the Assault Bike sends cat and dog hair flying EVERYWHERE and I don't want to have to sweep in the mornings). Bed time arrived and I was like "nah". - Intermittent fasting (easy, because making food is annoying and this means I'll have to do it less). This was probably the only goal I stuck with from March 5 until Today (ongoing). Less effort, more win! - Go to bed at a reasonable hour (easier because if I'm sober I get tired around 9 PM because apparently I am Old™ now). And also this. - Daily bodyweight workout (the details aren't 100% figured out, so this goal may be left out, or implemented mid-challenge). The details are still not 100% figured out but I've done something each day and that will have to do. Okay, so there were at least three Dailies that survived the last challenge (and by "last challenge" I really mean the last 2 weeks of the last challenge because that's about when I started crawling out of the depression shit pit). I would like to establish some kind of a morning routine, though, which is difficult due to the aforementioned problem of mornings. And then an idea hit me in the face: why don't I do my FFXIV Dailies in the mornings? This would both a) be something I actually look forward to doing, and b) have a higher likelihood of getting me out of bed without pressing the snooze button 4 to 12 times. All I would need to do is clear space on the desk that is conveniently located at the foot of my bed and put the gaming laptop on said desk. It's not an ideal desk since it doesn't have much space for a mouse, but it's not like I need to be super precise to do daily quests on FFXIV. Week 0 goals: - UNCLUTTER THE DESK. Because if the desk is cluttered then I can't put the laptop on it and therefore can't do FFXIV dailies in the morning. - Find a spot for the alarm clock. Ongoing goals: - Stick with the Slow Carb Diet until April 21. - Do some physical exercise daily. - Attempt to get >7 hours of sleep. - Keep alcohol consumption to a minimum. Right. All of this until April 21 because I'll be traveling during the last week of April, so this will be a 4-week challenge. Or maybe 5 week anyway since I'm still doing these goals during week zero. So, uhh...7ish week challenge in total since I've been doing these goals since March 5?

No matter how many or how few flowers you plant in your garden, you will eventually want to do some work with them that is not about planting more. Spruce up the borders. Build an automatic watering system. Make nicer pathways. Heck, build a cute picnic table that you can eat some of those home-grown veggies at. This is that time. I noted WAY back, not long after I first joined if I recall correctly, that my challenge items tend to fall into the "habit" or the "goal" category, and that mixing both tends to mean I succeed on goals but fail spectacularly on my habits. Probably this is because habits are harder and more nebulous in their benefit and wanting, and they are never completed, whereas goals have normally a more urgent (or at least current) reason for coming about, you can throw yourself into them for hours at a time, there's an end date, and you get something out of it at the end. And I like to front-load my work, because I am lazy like that. If I can put in some time to automate a thing so that I either never have to do it again or it is forever easier somehow, this is HIGHLY motivating for me, as my day of building out my work dashboard at the end of the last challenge proved. But committing to doing something forever without end feels like the exact opposite of that. It is adding work to my life. So I'm going to take a page from @KeysMcGee, and my own past challenges, this time around. I'm going to focus on goals that I can (hopefully) complete in this challenge time period. I will also have some habit-based stuff thrown in, because I never learn. But I am going to try to frame them more like goals. Anyway. Here we go. Goals 1. Sort out my investments. Pretty sure I have had this on the list before and didn't finish on the follow-through. I built a plan a couple of challenges ago with categories and percentages and everything! Now I just need to apply it. This goal has three steps: Finish moving money. There is a limit to how much can be moved per day, and some things I need to watch with moving things between accounts. The money that should be in investments accounts is not yet all there. Research categories. For each category, pick one ETF. Two or more if there is a good reason for it (but do not get lost looking for the perfect in the good! That can come later!). Purchase things. Self-explanatory. 2. Fix my bicycle. I have an electric bike. It's a bit of a mess right now. Needs a new battery, issues with the tube. I've wanted to get it rideable again ever since we moved here (and indeed before), but I cannot motivate myself to work on this in an unheated room in the winter. I know this as surely as I know my own name. This is a summer-or-bust job. This goal has three parts. Not so much steps; they can be worked on independently and each have multiple parts, but we started with a numbered list so we're sticking with it: Fix the battery. This basically involves getting a new battery (or two), wiring it in, and disposing of the old one(s). This is both an exciting project and a frightening one. My father was an electrician. I have respect for electric current. Fix the tires. The tube in one of the tires (possibly both) has a slow leak. When repaired, it returns. So the last time I rode this bike, I would just pump it up before I went out, and that would normally last the day, but it would be flat in a day or two. (I did take the pump with me.) I am not 100% sure what the issue is, but I have some ideas to test. This step is done when both tires hold air for a reasonable length of time after a ride. General maintenance spruce-up. check the brakes. Check the cables. Oil things a little. See if the chain needs replacing. The usual stuff. 3. Finish knitting scarf. I have a commission to knit a scarf. I have already been paid. I set the deadline in the contract I wrote for the end of August. The buyer has extended it into December, but if I can honour my original terms, I will feel better. This project has but one step, but the step is easily broken down into measurable pieces. I am currently at row 325 of 780. A little more than 40%. Two rows takes approximately 3-3.5 minutes to knit, so I need to average about 30 minutes per day in order to finish "on time". Habits Many of the habit things from last challenge that weren't going well were lacking a trigger, or had a bad one. I need to apply the Tiny Habit spirit of experimentation here, rather than just complaining that I need a good trigger and then doing nothing about it as I have been. So my habit goal for this challenge is to take one goal per week that has not been consistent (or even existent), and play with its parameters. Try a new prompt. Turn it from a starter action into a scaled-back behaviour, or vice versa. Think about what makes this action difficult. Change the habit entirely to something that better meets the intention behind the habit. And so on. I took notes. I just haven't been applying them. And I plan to continue the habits I already have (or like to believe I do). The ones I will track will be getting rid of one thing per day, exercise in some form (probably GMB), and reading and posting on NF (this last one will be one of the weekly items to work on, but it can stay here in the meantime). So there we are. Three goals, one "goal", and three continuing habits. It is enough. Happy challenge everyone!

Juliebarkley tweaks and tends the garden that she has nurtured. Some plants are healthier than others, and some have many flowers while others have only a few, but all are growing. And there is room for more plants in the tangled tumble of the garden bed. She steps back to get a better look. The edge of the bed is eroding. Hmm. Looks around. It would be nice to have a place to sit. A bird feeder over there. And some raised beds for the vegetables. The flowers in the garden need a good environment to support them, and it is time to give that environment a little attention. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Building off the gardening theme from the last two challenges. The habits I've built are going well. I have not added more in a while, though I have many things to try and still plan to (I just got a bit derailed by illness and holidays). Hoping to get more planted and tweaked in the weeks ahead. For this challenge round though, I'm going to focus on the other part of the Tiny Habits recommendations: one-time actions that support your habits and help you achieve what you want to achieve. This could be things like finding a tool that makes the behaviour you want to do easier (ex. get a pill sorter if you have trouble remembering which pills to take when), improving your environment (move the fruit bowl to make the fruit you want to eat easy to see), etc. I'm going to expand that to any one-time action that permanently (more or less) makes my life better in some way, whether it is part of a current goal or not. It can be something that gives me more time, makes something less annoying/easier, reduces future maintenance, makes my environment less cluttered/more organized/otherwise more pleasant to be in, saves me money, and so on. As long as it is a one-time thing, not a maintenance thing. Filing papers doesn't count, even if it badly needs doing, because it will need doing again. Fixing the filing system or getting rid of old papers does, because the fix makes things permanently easier, and the papers are gone forever. There are grey areas here, but I think it's clear enough. So my goal is to do at least one of those one-time actions every day, big or small. Oh, and I have a new reading challenge set up. I made a list of authors and will try to pick one daily via RNG and read a short story of theirs. If it doesn't end up being daily (and I will certainly miss days), the world will not end. The goal is to sample influential authors to broaden my horizons rather than to stick to a rigid goal. If there is anyone that should be on my author list (especially non-English authors whose name I might not recognize), please do suggest! Happy challenge, and happy 2023 everyone!

For this challenge I will continue my previous challenge. I got a bit of a late start, so a short mini-challenge is just a perfect opportunity to get the most out of it. Here are the seeds I've planted in my garden so far: After I fold and put away my scarf, I will take my dirty clothes to the laundry room, then I will celebrate by doing a big victory sign. After I decide to go to bed, I will pick one important task for the following day and highlight it, then I will celebrate by whispering "I got this". After I get out of my chair at home, I will do two pushups, then I will celebrate by doing a fist pump. After I get up to eat supper, I will choose a book to read and bring it with me, then I will celebrate by hugging it to my chest. After I put my clothes in the laundry basket, I will knock on my son's door, then I will celebrate by smiling big. Here are my new additions: After my son goes to bed, I will select an audition, then I will give myself a tiny clap. After I do my Duolingo, I will read one person's challenge, then I will imagine that person smiling. And I still have ideas for more. The little plants fill my garden in one of three ways: they grow, they spread, or they multiply. The laundry, important task, and reading have grown - more reading happens, more tasks get done, or more laundry gets folded. The laundry has also spread - it became the anchor for a new habit, like a runner planting a new tiny plant. The pushups may grow, but I can feel that they will also multiply, inspiring new habits that are not directly related but have a similar goal. Happy challenge!

Hi Everyone! Last challenge was about doing the minimum to try and sustain myself while Dave was overseas. I didn’t manage my goals but I came out of it intact and well, so I am calling it a win. This challenge Dave will be gone about three weeks, so I will need to embrace that again and look toward meal prep to keep away the peanut butter sandwiches and Supernatural to get (and keep) me moving. I have noticed that I am starting to slow down as the days shorten and the leaves drop here and I crave cozy burrowing rather than movement and the elongation of muscles. I have often been nicknamed “Bear” in my life and I feel that energy strongly in the fall: consume and get ready to rest. But hibernation is not the world I live in, so I must build the world and habits I want to winter in. Nourish: -Eat breakfast. Include some protein from dairy, nuts, seeds, eggs, or meat. Peanut butter does not count for breakfast. -Pack something to take to work. This doesn’t have to be a whole meal, but needs to be something other than simple carbs. I was doing well with my veggie boxes over the summer but now that the weather has gotten colder I want something warm. Time for soup? -Cook the GoodFood meals (3) each week without them going to waste. -Eat fridge leftovers so they don’t go to waste. -“Game snacks” only on Fridays. -Bake something from my new cookbook once a week. Den: -Set up my SAD lamp at my desk and have my first cup of coffee in my office in the morning with the lamp on. -Wear cloud socks while at home for cozy toes. -Keep the dishes done so the kitchen is more pleasant to be in. -Update the Oculus to Meta so I can play Supernatural. -Continue recycling the living room boxes to reclaim that space. -Exchange the box springs and get the old one to the dump. -Figure out the top-down camera for D&D combat now that I have the articulating arm. Move: -Play Supernatural for 15 minutes a day 3x a week. More often and longer is better, but the challenge is getting the headset on lately. -Wear my FitBit and aim for 30 minutes of movement a day by its calculations. This can be Supernatural, walking, yard work, vacuuming, etc. -More work on the house while Dave is gone: decluttering, tidying, nesting. -Fine Motor: Host Paint Nights on Wednesdays. I am hoping to take more pictures this challenge as well as I find that they really help me to stay motivated. Thank your for being here! I appreciate your support! ❤️ Sax for tax!

Athaclena here - sliding into a new Challenge. I've ticked a LOT of things off of my life to do list with the "if only" and "if just". Welp, I've had that fancy job that lets me live anywhere (with internet) and good $$ for over 9 years. 2 years ago we made it up to the Chattanooga area and FINALLY last year sloughed off the houses that were draining all of our finances and we have settled into our dream home in the mountains. Along the way I've finally formed a few habits I've worked on FOREVER - like going to bed with a clean kitchen - but there are a LOT more I'm working on and now's the time to finally form them - and this time I think I have a shot at it as I didn't realize how much stress, anxiety, etc. were really tied to my living situation that are now gone.... and I feel actually free and in a better headspace than I have for.... well... maybe ever. Only took me 50 years..... Anywho..... as I've found I really do need to start small - that's what I'm going to do. Small, consistent changes. 1) 10 min of moving every day. It really doesn't matter if it's a walk, stretching, gardening, etc. But just 10 minutes EVERY DAY - going to try to work this into my AM before work. 2) I've been terrible to my teeth during the pandemic - so I'm adding in using my Water Pik and brushing my teeth every night before bed. 3) Now that I'm not living in a dungeon setting (blackout curtains required to block "city" lights so I can sleep) - actually set a realistic schedule. Starting my go to bed routine by 10:30p (tidy kitchen, run dishwasher, feed kitties, etc). Up by 7:30a. I hope to inch that back a half hour over the challenge and up my morning moving. But that's it - those 3 things.

Little late, but here. I am moving again roughly a week after this challenge ends, assuming nothing changes. And I am so over it. Packing a few bags, setting everything on fire, and jetting off to a warm beach somewhere is starting to sound like a sensible and rational plan, but even that would involve packing bags, and who wants to do that? This whole situation is psychologically wearing and often overwhelming to think about, and in order to make time (which I then procrastinated away), I abandoned the habits that are supposed to help me cope: exercise, prayer, gratitude, fiddling joyful music. (I have mostly kept up the reading). Which left the only "acceptable" thing to do working on the move, which of course led to procrastination, extremely long breaks, ruminating on other stressful things, etc. Not the most productive in terms of stress reduction, mental health, or basic self-compassion. So this challenge, while I am carrying over goal-oriented items from last time, my real focus is on the habit items (bolded). My non-habit goals are going to be of the take-that-box-and-fill-it-with-things variety, but if I need a break, I still intend to roll against my list and do Something Else when I need to. Assuming my habits are all done, of course. STR Exercise daily with GMB programs. Make a list of specific movements that could be interesting to build towards, such as a pullup or pistol. DEX I will build a skill tree to figure out which movements "unlock" harder skills. CON Eat at least two meals every day. INT Read two books per challenge, one fiction, one non-fiction, both of a different genre/topic than previous challenge. WIS Find a study circle and join it. Read Quran every day, even if only a handful of verses. Pray every day, even if just a quick prayer of gratitude. CHA Start training for volunteer position (scheduled for early March). Occupational Get all my Amazon stock listed. Assemble tax information and place it in an easy-to-find place pre-move. Art & Tool Practice fiddle every day. Find a challenging fiddle piece as a goal for the year. Have another look at the many organization categories that need purging and make some sort of realistic plan for this. Try one fun new thing per challenge cycle. One session of trying it out is fine to fulfill the goal. Language Activate and/or schedule plan for practicing languages. Schedule annual goal items. Continue my daily Duolingo lessons in at least one language per day, as well as my Arabic lessons through Bayyinah (at least two per week).

Greetings, heroes, and welcome to the next chapter in the fascinating saga of Artemis Prime's adventures in Middle Earth! Last month I read Gretchen Rubin's Better Than Before, which overall didn't do much for me, but I did really like what she had to say about what she called foundational habits. The gist of it is, some habits have a larger impact on our lives than others, so it makes sense that we put most of our effort into those habits. That resonated with me, and also made me realize that I'd let my "garden" get a little out of hand by trying to plant too much in it (which is also what happens with my actual garden, coincidentally enough.) So instead of trying to fit everything I do into one of my garden categories, my focus for this challenge is going to be nailing down those habits that leave me with a strong foundation to pursue other things. I made it through all five weeks of the last challenge, but it was a near thing at the end there. I started to get bored with my three goals, but also didn't want to mess with consistency too much, so as a concession to my desire to do ALL THE THINGS! I've decided to breathe some new life into my Battle Log. The general idea is that I do random things over there as determined by drawing cards, which will hopefully leave me better able to focus on small, consistent changes in my challenges. Somewhat unexpectedly, a job opening presented itself and I had an interview on Tuesday that went really well, so with any luck I may be changing jobs during this challenge, which I think makes it even more critical to cement my foundation. I had already been planning a basic habits challenge, but the timing is working out rather nicely. So, without further ado, the revamped garden: Athelas: This was originally about Bible reading and somehow morphed into my morning routine. So I'm trimming it back to be my spiritual disciplines category. I have a book on spiritual disciplines I'd like to work my way through this year, some of which might become regular parts of my routine, and others which are just to be done seasonally as needed. For starters, I'm focusing on morning devotions M-F (I've found a book on women of the Bible that I'm really enjoying for this) and connecting with a local congregation. That involves attending Sunday service at St. Peter's Anglican and checking out their women's small group with meets on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month. The White Tree of Gondor: The White Tree represents Gondor's strength, and as such covers my fitness regimen. I know I said I wasn't going to jump out of Hero's Journey early, but I've decided that I'm going to jump out of Hero's Journey early. I think it's done its job of getting me into a regular routine of working out again, and the overall scheme of doing lots of bodyweight reps of everything just isn't meshing with what I want my workouts to look like. I miss lifting things. So I'm going to switch to a more traditional push/pull split plus my Battle Log workouts on Saturdays, shooting for 3-4 workouts/week (counting the Battle Log stuff.) The Battle Log also introduces more walking/hiking, although the mileage per week will vary based on what cards I pull. Old Man Willow: Just like Old Man Willow put the hobbits to sleep in the Old Forest before Tom Bombadil rescued them, this is my sleep habit. I've been doing fairly well at getting to bed between 10 and 11, and also want to work on the habit of brushing my teeth and washing my face at 9:30, so I'm ready to go and don't have to worry about trying to get the routine done once I'm already tired and ready for bed. Party Tree: As much as I like to pretend that I'd be happy as a total hermit, I need interaction with people. This overlaps a little with my spiritual discipline goal, as I'll be working to connect with the other congregants and trying to find a small group to join, but there is other socializing to be done as well. Part of my Battle Log involves looking into groups to get involved with, whether it's gaming or theater or music or hiking, but I have no way of knowing when those goals will be drawn, so for now we'll let them be. I have two main groups of friends: Slippery Rock friends and Butler friends. The goal here is simply to hang out with each group at least once during this challenge. Two Trees of Valinor: The two trees of Valinor were the source of light and water to the Valar before being destroyed by Melkor and Ungoliant and becoming the Sun and Moon. So they represent my need to drink water and spend time outside. Once summer hits and things heat up, I'll probably bump this goal up, but for starters I will be aiming to empty my Nalgene bottle once/day. I have to be outside twice/day to take care of my animals, but I've decided that doesn't count for this goal, so I have to spend 10 minutes outside doing something fun. This will probably mostly be playing with Jade, who I don't think I've officially introduced to you guys yet. #besties For all these daily goals, 7/7 would be ideal, but 5/7 will be a passing grade. I'm toying around with using Habitica to track my habits, so if anyone else is interested in jumping on and forming an Adventure Party, hit me up! I took zero week off, which I don't regret as long as I manage to rev back up for week one. I'll officially be starting on Sunday.

THE MAIN GOAL: From December 5th to December 25th, I will get up every weekday at 6:30 in the AM and, most importantly, I will not slam the snooze button 4 to 8 times. That is it. That is, literally, the whole challenge, because I've learned that the bar has to be set really low for me to be able to succeed at this habit building thing. (This is essentially the same thing as the Daily December challenge that some other NF Rebels and I are doing in the NF Prime Facebook group, but I figured I'd make a thread here as well for extra accountability. And to have an extra place to brain dump.) IDEALLY, I would like to establish a morning routine that I can actually stick with. Here is the routine I have in mind: - Wake up. - Do some quick movement/stretches. - Wash my face and shower, and not forget to use the expensive cleanser and moisturizer that is currently not being used. - Walk the dog, but longer and in less of a mad rush. - Drink my coffee (and have breakfast if I'm not doing IF) while relaxing and not being in a mad rush. Even though it's a really fucking basic and bare-minimum routine, it cannot happen if I don't get up on time 😐 So this will be it for the Holiday Challenge. And also for the next NF Challenge just to make sure the habit actually sticks.

I'm just jumping right back into things. I've already got a bit of a thing going but I want to hone in on everything and just keep it moving. My real focus is habit, routine building, and consistency around a couple key areas. Goals 1. Do something active every single day. Walk the dog, do yoga, lift some weights. Doesn't really matter, just do something. 5 days out of 7 is success to me. Well, 7/7 would be ideal but I'm really working on going easy on myself. 6 months ago I was working out 0 days out of 7 and any improvement over that is a win for me. I found this harder when I was trying to schedule myself too strictly. Now I just do the thing as soon I have the time in the day and that's working really well. The big secret for me is just putting my workout clothes on. I just have to force myself to get dressed for the activity and by that time I'm invested and I'm not backing out. And it's pretty easy to convince myself to just put the shoes on when going for a walk sounds like too much. 2. Nail the sleep routine. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. I have discovered that sleep is the foundation on which everything else rests. Bad sleep for me means no workout, no healthy food, and bad moods. I really hate this on the weekend, but I have started to come around. I actually really like getting all my weekend errands done on Saturday morning and having the rest of the weekend to hang out and relax. It's a bit of a mindset shift and it is taking some time to adjust to but I am genuinely beginning to see the good in it. Noticing the benefits is a big motivator for me. I have a sleep book I've been taking tips from and that's super helpful. 3. Do the things my therapist tells me to do. Journal. Meditate. Read. I just keep forgetting. I want to set reminders on my phone but I haven't really figured out the time of day where this stuff works for me. So I want to spend a couple days experimenting and really trying to figure out where this makes sense on a daily basis and then keeping it up as a habit. I'm just grading everything out of 7 at the end of the week for the sake of simplicity.

With two successful challenges under my belt so far in 2021, I’m back and ready for another! ...Well. Actually. No. Not quite. Technically, I’m at the beach for the next two weeks. So… if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance I’m sitting in the sand with a piña colada in my Yeti right now. Sorry. 😬 But I’m not going to let all that good momentum go to waste! I’m definitely going to enjoy the hell out of this vacation, but I am committing to sticking to some of my goals, and hitting the ground running when I get back. This will (mostly) be a challenge in two parts: 🏖 Weeks 0-1 🏖 and 🏃 Weeks 2-5🏃 with three main focuses: Diet, Exercise, and Habits. DIET 🏖 Weeks 0-1 🏖 My goal for these first two weeks is just to eat mindfully and try not to binge eat just because I can. At this point, Intermittent Fasting 16/8 is almost second nature, but I know I’m going to struggle with not eating after 8pm if we’re doing something fun like drinks by the pool or a special dessert. Paleo/Primal will also be a challenge because we’re doing group meals and it can be hard to eat grain-free when someone is making, say, baked spaghetti. So I’m just going to do my best. And to make the game more interesting, being mindful of my goals during the beach weeks will have a direct impact on how much I have to buckle down during the second half of the challenge. IF 16/8 at least 4x a week Each Primal meal I eat earns me an extra “non-primal” meal in weeks 2-5 🏃 Weeks 2-5 🏃 Time to recommit! I’ve been having really good success with a “primal-ish” diet - basically no grains, no high fructose corn syrup, no legumes. But I’m comfortable with limited amounts of dairy, exceptions for condiments, and starchy veg like white potatoes. IF 16/8 at least 6x a week Eat Primal-ish most of the time: 1 non-primal meal per week + any extra meals I “earn” during weeks 0-1 EXERCISE 🏖 Weeks 0-1 🏖 I know that exercising in the southern heat, on vacation, is going to be a challenge, so I’m cutting myself a good degree of slack here. This is mostly for the sake of “keep it up, don’t lose that momentum.” Run at least 20 min, 5 times Bodyweight workout, 3 times 🏃 Weeks 2-5 🏃 Last challenge, I finished the C25k and consistently did the NF Beginner Bodyweight Workout. Now I’m working toward my ultimate goal of a sub-30min 5k and supplementing with some strength training. I’d like to find an ST workout that I really love, but I'm not sure if that’s going to happen with this challenge, so keeping up the BBW is fine too! 1x long run per week - starting at 30min and adding 5 min each week 2x 30 min runs per week - focused on speed 3x ST workouts per week HABITS Here’s where I break from the Phase 1/Phase 2 approach because the habits are critical - all challenge long. So they just need to get done. I’ll be tracking these in Habitica and there had better be a 35 day streak at the end of this challenge. Drink 8 cups of water Floss and Brush teeth No nail biting And that’s it! Usually I like to include a creative goal – bullet journaling, organizing, self-care – but honestly, I feel like this is enough for now. I may come back in and add something when I get back from the beach, if I feel like I need more of a challenge. But I’m pretty sure that coming down from the vacation high is going to be challenging enough.

things in my life are going so well that I can hardly cope: Remember when I wrote the concept for my friendship bench* project last challenge? well, it was accepted and its ooooooon! the project will start in September or October and I will get paid for it. we are still organizing funds, but since its just peanuts money for the group of sponsors its about 90% sure that I will have a new job soon. A better job too. My hiking during the last challenge enabled me ,although injured, to take part in a real race. I was in the walking competition and did 7k yesterday without problem. I was embarrassingly slow, but I couldnt care less. 81,15 minutes of pure exitement! look at me smiling: this was part of a political campaign. This one here founded a great running/ walking team. yay! third: I went back to keto. It was such a good way of eating for me until I fell off. then I didnt have the money for it. But Ive been smoking and drinking less and can afford it now. Lost 2kg already and feel energized. fourth: Ive lost the habit of daily drinking and even when I had some, I didnt overdo it. that made for some early mornings with lots of energy. win! SO HOW DO I PROCEED FROM HERE?? GOALS keep this sh!t up!!!! stay consistent with your good new habits. dont go back to drinking a lot, move your black @ss as much as you can and stay with 24cigarettes a day. stay keto, stay energetic, stay mentally balanced ( as well as is possible with schizophrenia ) by journaling and planning and taking rest days. work on your career, dude!!!!( tomorrow I contest for a seat in my states diversity council, speech is written. wish me luck! ) . Political work needs to be done constantly during this challenge. also I want to prep my new project and get stuff done so I can start working in fall. (I found out that I need breaks, even from this awesome place on the internet. So dont worry I I go awol in between. I try to update daily and its fun to be here, but sometimes I just need to step back a little. I apologize in advance! Sometimes I come here just to read your threads though... I just can't be active here all the time.) SO LETS DO THIS, YOU HEROES!!!!!

I have free time at work... so I'm using it write the new post. Work = Rec and Park Internship where I get to try out the "manager role/admin duties". I'm a Rec and Park undergrad finishing up my degree with this internship. Will be working until Fall, but getting my degree in August (yay!) Internship is going great, like seriously "perfect Internship I couldn't even dream of level". Especially during crazy pandemic still continuing. Downside, I'm no longer in a physical job. Upside I am taking advantage of a normal job routine, and live in a place where its quite a bit less stressful. So taking advantage of the situation as I'm getting this groggy after work, continuing weight loss... I just passed the 20 lb milestone, for 2021! This challenge is definitely going to be a grind on creating habits (may finally have to read the habits book...) Keeping at if even if my job blew out my brain a bit... Routines: This is a hate/love relationship right here... Morning and Bedtime routines. Hoping to find a good "routine" to check off of every morning and night. No screens after 8: Find I tend to go to bed faster or finish things up when I put the phone away at 8. YNAB: Doing something on the app once per a day gives me a point. A budgeting software I tried on and off for years. I was on the fence for this goal, but honestly this is a goal to get handled where I hope to master. I have some money habits I would like to get in check, especially as of the many unknowns after graduating this August. No Screens with meals: This was on top of my list from my Naturopath... I can do this, it is not as hard as it was 5 years ago (where my mind was my enemy). I just need a reward... Going to add eating and driving, since I realized eating a pack of nuts and lara bar before driving home might do me better than driving home. Bonus: Working out: I have Ring Fit, I have trails I need to walk on my own time... just making the time to do it will help. Meal Prep: I'm actually giving myself a point for every meal I prep in advance. Allowing myself frozen dinners, but getting this in would hit my goals better. Myfitnesspal: I don't hate it as much as I used to, find it less stressful then YNAB actually. Right now using it for "checking in" tool. ' Since I'm earning full time pay, my hope is to turn my goals into points... that I can cash out when I hit a goal. First goal: Oats Overnight... started eyeing them for breakfast or a bed time snack. Will see if I like them.... Also I actually need to watch this show.....

Suddenly the machine was wobbling... In a few hours the shops out there were expecting deliveries, and they weren't going to arrive. The government couldn't sit this one out. A city like Ankh-Morpork was only two meals away from chaos at the best of times. Every day, maybe a hundred cows died for Ankh-Morpork. So did a flock of sheep and a herd of pigs and the gods alone knew how many ducks, chickens and geese. Flour? He'd heard it was eighty tons, and about the same amount of potatoes and maybe twenty tons of herring. He didn't particularly want to know this kind of thing, but once you started having to sort out the everlasting traffic problem these were facts that got handed to you. Every day, forty thousand eggs were laid for the city. Every day, hundreds, thousands of carts and boats and barges converged on the city with fish and honey and oysters and olives and eels and lobsters. And then think of the horses dragging this stuff, and the windmills... and the wool coming in, too, every day, the cloth, the tobacco, the spices, the ore, the timber, the cheese, the coal, the fat, the tallow, the hay, EVERY DAMN DAY. And that was now. Back home, the city was twice as big. Against the dark screen of night, Vimes had a vision of Ankh-Morpork. It wasn't a city, it was a process, a weight on the world that distorted the land for hundreds of miles around. People who'd never see it in their whole life nevertheless spent their life working for it. Thousands and thousands of green acres were part of it, forests were part of it. It drew in and consumed... ...and gave back the dung from its pens and the soot from its chimneys, and steel, and saucepans, and all the tools by which its food was made. And also clothes, and fashions and ideas and interesting vices, songs and knowledge and something which, if looked at in the right light, was called civilization. That's what civilization meant. It meant the city. Was anyone else out there thinking about this? Was anyone important thinking about this? Suddenly the machine was wobbling, but Winder and his cronies didn't think about the machine, they thought about money. Meat and drink came from servants. They happened. Vetinari, Vimes realized, thought about this sort of thing all the time. The Ankh-Morpork back home was twice as big and four times as vulnerable. He wouldn't have let something like this happen. Little wheels must spin so that the machine can turn, he'd say. But now, in the dark, it all spun on Vimes. If the man breaks down, it all breaks down, he thought. The whole machine breaks down. And it goes on breaking down. And it breaks down the people. Terry Pratchett, Night Watch My machine is wobbling, and little wheels must spin so that the machine can turn. Right now, it all spins on me. If I break down, it all breaks down.

So, somebody developed a fixation on Mount Everest during these trying times. it's me, I developed a fixation on Mount Everest during these trying times I don't remember what got me into googling about the mountain, watching tons of gopro videos on Youtube and reading Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air. Sometimes, when I'm exhausted with my life, I get fixated on stuff this way - but, in my defense, it's a pretty interesting mountain, alright?? Climbing Everest requires so much effort and resources that I will never do it (also, I'd die in 20 different ways), but rock climbing has offered me a perpective on changing habits and self-development. I have this idea that changing your life is like a movie montage, where you just magically end up where you're supposed to be in a fun scene. But in reality, change takes time and effort. There are setbacks and days when you're tired. This isn't a bad thing, but the way I've been looking at my life has been kinda impatient, thinking that I should already have this and should already have accomplished that, when I simply haven't gotten there yet! When climbing a big-ass mountain, you need to pace yourself, acclimatize, evaluate your decisions well and trust your team. I need to understand that I have no rush to be where I want to be (pace yourself), and if I take time to make small changes over time, I won't get overwhelmed (acclimatization). When a new situation emerges, I can think about where I'm headed and decide, where to go (evaluate your decision well). Also, spending time around like-minded people and asking for help when needed can help me reach my goals in a more pleasant way - and I can also support other people to live their best life (trust your team). So, this is gonna be my way of looking at things as I keep developing habits and systems, which I started in previous challenge. My three habits: 1) Eat a proper breakfast and lunch Eating a big breakfast and lunch have proven to help me eliminate snacking and excessive cravings (some cravings are a-ok). I have been eating a big breakfast and big lunch, and now I want to focus on finding a couple of new lunch alternatives I'd like. - eat a big breakfast and lunch at lest 20 times a month - try out at least two new lunch recipes during the challenge 2) Journal a couple of times a day I will stack the habit of journaling on my other habits to make them stick better. 1. When I wake up in the morning and put on the lights, I write one page worth of text in my journal. 2. When I go to bed in the evening, I write another page. Small, but that's acclimatization, baby!! 3) Do a strength training workout twice a week I bought a course that has workouts you can do at home. So, twice a week, I'll do a strength training workout Bonus: Do something nice for someone else and/or ask for help at least once a day I have issues with trusting people and thinking that they want to support me (I have experiences of bullying and being used), even though I have wonderful friends and family around me. I'm thinking that if I focus on making someone else's day a bit brighter, I might find a new way of looking at this issue. I tend to withdraw and suffer in silence, so I've tried to learn to ask for help when I need it and trust that I'm not a burden to others. So, I will either find a way to make someone's day a little brighter or ask for help when I need it every day. I'll revise my progress at the end of each week. Let's goooooo!

[STORY PLACEHOLDER]

Hello folks! Many years ago, I used to post in this forum. I was a casual poster, but tried a few challenges. A lot has changed since I was last here, so it seems fitting to return to the start line. I have unfortunately dropped the ball on my general health. I got distracted with my career, love life, and anxiety chewed away at my remaining will. I used to be of average health, now I'm back to my pre-fitness levels of obesity & performance. I'm not putting myself down for it. I simply have postponed taking action longer than I'd like. No more of that! Right now is the perfect time for me to focus on my physical health. Because I have such a long journey from where I am starting to where I want to be, I divided up my goals even further than I normally would. For the Biggest of Pictures, I have my Ultimate goal. This will be my compass when the fog of everyday life gets too thick. It will help me remember why I subject myself to these whims. Ultimate Goal: Balanced performance of strength & endurance 20-23% body fat Comfortably bike 30+ miles Comfortably hike 4-6 hours Run a 5K It will take me a very, very long time to get to those goals, especially the body fat %. Because it seems so far away, I created a mid-boss to have an anchor to look forward to in the meantime. When I was at my healthiest, I was still on my journey to that Ultimate Self, but I was also very satisfied with who I was in the moment. I miss those days with a giant dose of nostalgia when I see pictures from that era. It was about 5 years ago, so there's nothing stopping me from returning to that level except my procrastination. Mid-Boss: Novice lifter 170 lb (don't remember my %) Comfortably bike 15 miles 4x/week Comfortably walk 2 hours 5-6x/week Hike 2-3 hours I loved who I was even at the mid-boss level, but I'm not even close to that, either. That's okay, that's why I'm here. Today: No strength routine 240 lb Can bike for 1.5 miles until heart rate spikes (Oof) Walking for more than 20 minutes feels like jogging at mid-boss level Hike? Outside? Can we just take a drive? So. Cat's out of the bag, I have really let myself go. I grew up a fat kid, had a near-death experience, took charge of my health for 3 years, lost a lot of social support in a short amount of time, and mental illness ravaged whatever threads I had left. Over time, it just got a bit worse every year until now. Okay , Okay. Enough rambling. Let's get to the good stuff. Quest 1: Establish a Fitness Routine Establishing habit is my main goal for this challenge. It is the King Bob-omb. I'm not going to look at performance as a metric, although I will keep it in mind as the weeks go on. I haven't decided on a specific strength routine yet, but luckily I have previous experience to draw on before the 2nd rolls up. I'll make a second "pre" post detailing it. SMART translation: Strength train with full-body work-out 2x/week Walk or bike for 20+ minutes, 3+x/week Quest 2: Improve Endurance Okay, I lied. I'm honestly worried about my heart's health, especially with current events. I don't like how obvious my body struggles to exist, so it's my "lighthouse" goal. I need something tangible to feel like I'm doing something productive, because establishing habits doesn't quite do it for me. SMART translation: Increase walk duration by 5 minutes each time Increase bike duration by 5 minutes each time Quest 3: Begin to Lose Weight I'm leaving this one somewhat vague on purpose. I believe that actions come first, results will come later. I have unfortunately had a lot of false starts by expecting to lose weight as quickly & firmly as I did the first time, and gave up after weeks of my weight not budging. I honestly consider plateauing a victory at this point, but I'd like to see my weight go down after 4 consistent weeks of habit-forming. SMART translation: Weight at any point under 240 lb by 9/5/20 Bonus: Record-Keeping My last goal is to journal more often. It helps my mental health. SMART translation: Journal entry 3+x/week Duty calls, so I must depart. But I will be back soon!

Hi, Druids! Still hanging out here because I'm still working on more of an inner discipline/self-improvement challenge! Last challenge I managed to create and stick with a regular schedule for the first time in my adult life. After living that for a month, I have a few tweaks to add to it, and some things I want to flesh out a bit. This is the schedule I want to keep for this challenge: 7:30 AM: Wake up. Turn on sun lamp. 8:15 AM: Exercise with wife (yoga or weight lifting) 9:00 AM: Breakfast, then leave for work. 1:00 PM: Lunch (30 min) - Do DuoLingo. 6:30 PM: Head home (arrive ~7:15). 7:30 PM: Eat dinner. 8:00 PM: Go for a walk with wife. 8:20 PM: Free time (TV, hobbies, art, gaming) - use blue light blocking glasses 9:45 PM: Take melatonin. Get ready for bed. 10:30 PM: Bed time. The biggest change here is that I'm going to try to work out in the morning, and walk in the evening. It seems to take me about 45 minutes to get ready from waking up to ready to walk out the door. I also want to leave 45 minutes for exercising and then showering/whatever afterward. Since I need to leave for work at 9 AM, that means waking up at 7:30 AM, half an hour earlier than I am now. Which means the end of the day has to shift a little to compensate. I think the sense of accomplishment and physical benefits of regularly doing yoga and lifting will make the earlier bed time worth it! I should also mention that I'm not going to start lifting until I start taking testosterone. I've been told that once I start, I will quickly see some major changes re: energy and hunger. So I'm going to need to adapt to that once I do start, which should be in 2-3 weeks. So the latter half of the challenge should be... interesting. There's an order of priority in keeping my schedule, with the highest priority being "stuff that has to happen every day no matter what": 1. Wake with sun lamp at 7:30 AM; take melatonin and get ready for bed by 10:00 PM 2. Eat breakfast before leaving home; eat lunch by 1:00 PM 3. Some form of exercise in the morning 4. Nightly walk; use free time constructively A change in focus this time around is on eating in a regular schedule. With sleep more generally managed than before, I became aware that my eating habits are all over the place. And I'm developing a worrying habit of skipping breakfast and then "putting off" lunch as late as possible - usually after 2pm. The worst part about that is that when I finally do eat, I can't seem to get properly full unless I eat something very heavy in fat and carbs. Also, I just feel terrible, with headaches and lightheadedness. Why am I doing this to myself? So eating regularly is priority 2 now, almost as important as book-ending my sleep time with rhythm-resetting light/hormone cues. Because food also resets the rhythm, and because this quasi "intermittent fasting" thing isn't doing me any favors. (And skipping meals is going to be a LOT worse on me once I start adjusting to a male metabolism! So I gotta nip this in the bud now.) EDIT: And I forgot to add the other important challenge I need to do: Hydration! For now, I am making it a goal to fill and then drink my entire 1.5 liter water bottle every day (including weekends!!) I think part of my low energy/feeling like crap issues are coming from chronic dehydration. I don't look forward to peeing 20 times a day, but it needs to happen. And another, "softer" focus is on using my free time in a more constructive manner. I have about an hour and a half every evening to do whatever, but it mostly gets used to watching TV or YouTube videos. So I've created a loose weekly schedule of what to do each day during that evening time. TV time is still on there, but so is painting with my wife (one of her favorite hobbies) and days where I play video games (a hobby I miss). My hope is that I'll appreciate my free time more if I actually use it for hobbies I like.

Happy New Year Everyone! So, I'm finally back, and glad to be here. I am ready to reboot like a ranger: Ms. Moros is back to normal, and I can reboot my workout program. For a while, her situation was like this: Now, she's better, and I have been rebuilding quietly. Now, I am ready to get back into it. My goals are pretty simple: 1. Continue with my sleep and morning exercise goals 2. Create a healthy way to wind down in the evening, and better prepare for the morning 3. Focus on food - the 80% of the battle: Details are below the fold. I still need to add an appropriate award, but I need to think about that for a bit. Maybe some new NF gear?

Come one, come all! Hello everyone! These last few months have been tough, but I feel like now it is tougher and I am in need of some additional support, so here I am :D! We all know Christmas can be magical and wonderful and the best moment of the year. As long as it does not generate anxiety, fights with our loved ones and general fear of overeating AND desire to eat just one more slice of that pie that only comes once a year. So I feel I will need to setup goals, accountability and more generally to infuse my life with some FUN, because I want Christmas to be awesome but it is not starting well. *sigh* But I have hope! So let's start! My goals to prepare Christmas are: 1- to get back to having good food habits, so that when I am offered this second (or fourth) slice of pie, I say no serenely, not feeling like I am depriving myself. 2- to find out workout routines I can do anywhere, in a short time, so that I have no excuse for not moving at least a little, no matter what equipment I have (or do not have) 3- to make some more space in my life (and in my apartment) for the future. My apartment is a mess (hidden inside closets, but still a MESS) and I want to stop hiding piles of junk and just have what I need. I am revisiting Marie Kondo and all of the tidying experts and just getting rid of a bunch of stuff. The common thread for these 3 goals is that I LOVE the feeling post doing them, but dislike the process of doing them. So I shall set smaller goals, which should create good habits! I want to be proud of me and my life and for that, I have to invest a little time and effort in making them better, rather than complain about them. So no more Mrs. Sad-pants, welcome Mrs. I-am-able-to-do-things-at-least-in-small-increments! I will focus this challenge until the 22nd and hope to pursue it the week after, but I want to be realistic. 1- food habits - Good food habits start with knowing what it is that you are doing right and wrong. Sooooo logging has to come back. There is no good way to do this - I just have to get back into the habit. I will start a fresh google spreadsheet and do my best - One simple way to reduce the amount of food is to work on eating incrementally later in the morning - and then leading to intermittent fasting. I have done it in the pas, so I know I can do it again. This will be a progressive goal - with the target to be okay eating after 11am once I am on holidays at home and the bakery is downstairs from my home. (#tempationisaliveandwell). - Finally, I want to eat more mindfully, taking time to appreciate the food and then paying attention as to how it makes me feel (like I discovered that eating fried chicken gives me a stomachache, so why would I eat that again? I don't eat spicy food for this reason) 2- workouts - Move everyday, no matter what. 5 minutes of barbell. A 15-min walk. The difficulty will be to put clothes on (#comfypajamas) and to overcome the holiday blues which makes me want to stay in bed and do nothing (#yesterday) That's. It. No hour-long workouts, no PR competition, no 100-squats a day (although I could do 10 and add 1 every day!). 3- tidying up Every weekend day, I will choose a small place and tidy it up. Last week I worked on my shoe and umbrella storage place and ended up donating 3 bags full of shoes and umbrellas (I had 8 umbrellas at home and 4 at the office - I don't know how it is possible). If I am working on a larger place (saaaay the stationary closet - OMG there is soooo much stuff in there), I can cut it up in 15min increments. But I have to put in at least 15min per weekend day. That's it! I will setup weekly goals and try to update this thread as I go. I will also participate in mini-challenges, because 90% of these are so so so fun ^^. I will setup a point system and a nice reward at the end. All the compulsory things will yield positive and negative points and then I will add a bunch of other stuff which just give bonus point (e.g., meal prepping!) just to add positive things :). Hope to do well and wish you all success in your challenges and happiness in this end of year!

I was on a bit of a roll with the previous challenge, but I had a random encounter with the depressions, and before I knew it, it's almost the end of the month. No training, no reading, no writing, no lifting, no hygiene. I even forgot what color my toothbrush is. Welp, reload and tackle this challenge again. I'll be seeing the doc this week to see if we can adjust anything. On a plus side, I've been getting a lot of training lately. Impostor syndrome is kicking in, insisting that this will not last. Whatever. I'll just provide the best service I can and worry about the future when the bills start to suffocate me again. I'll add training every day to the quest list, so it's three. ====================================================================================================================== MONDAY > laundry > grocery > meal prep TUESDAY > jiu-jitsu WEDNESDAY > VA appointment > jiu-jitsu THURSDAY > meal prep > dishes > Skyrim FRIDAY > wake up early > VA appt SATURDAY > jiu-jitsu > curriculum > snatch SUNDAY > early wake-up and work > shoot videos > oil change

I've found out from my previous challenge that my task list was quite difficult to accomplish due to factors that I was unable to take into account. I will be trying a different approach of habit-building rather than addressing specific targets one at a time. The Rule of Three Focusing on too many things is focusing on nothing. I end up looking for small fires to put out rather than addressing the huge ones right in front of me, burning my eyebrows off. Before bed I will write down three things I need done the following day--that's it. The three will be priorities that must be completed that day, and the other shit won't matter. A Morning Routine Unless I do something dumb, my wake-up routine is pretty much the same--check social media for more time than necessary, brew some coffee and Fallout Shelter, and check my HRV. Also pretty dumb. For the next four weeks I'm going to try a better 30-min routine. No social media until everything is done. HRV check, dogs taken out to pee, and 30 minutes of reading a book (which may later turn into writing). Nothing too crazy, but it's shit that has to be done, but I'm not prioritizing. (I will probably gradually add more things as we go.) The Dream Week I've found that if I don't schedule something, I will find a way to waste that time. The goal is to account for my time all week, and schedule all the important activities I need to do. I'm looking to download Google Calendar and allot time on Sundays to put down everything I will be doing that week. Let's see how concentrated efforts play out.

Hi everyone. Hope it's ok to hang with the Scouts for a bit. I'm getting into running, but hit a snag when I became sick. I was up to running a half-mile without stopping; but now I'm not sure where to begin again. I was doing Couch 2 5K; so my question is this: do I start over (it's been about 2 weeks since I've done any running)? Do I pick up where I left off? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Antidepressants and unhealthy habits have pretty much put my libido in a Saharan pit, so, hey guys, here's a super fun challenge. Of course, this being a public forum, I'll be working hard to keep it to innuendo and limit the juicy details. Food: - track on MFP every day - 10 points for every day without sugar - 10 points for every healthy meal - better hydrate... 10 points for every bottle of water consumed. - limit to 1 diet coke a day Brain: - read at least 30 minutes before bed every night House: - clean for 30 minutes every day as soon as I get home from work - 10 points for cleaning in lingerie Relationship (this was hard to make into smart goals because it involves more than one other person's needs and schedules): - 10 points for going out on a date - 10 points for hanging out together doing stuff other than watching TV - 50 points if I finish reading The Book about poly stuff even though it is dense and dull - 100 points if I you know what with the you know who in the you know where Exercise: - yoga on rest days to be sexy and flexy - 50 squats a day - darebee workout program for amazonian sex goddess warrior body - 10 points for every swim in the school pool Loot - 50 points: facial - 100 points: massage - 150 points: dinner at Brown House - 200 points: dinner at Patty's -250 points: free pass day

Well I'm just going to come out and say it, because I bet others are dealing with this too. My biggest obstacle to levelling up and staying on a fitness plan is masturbation. I know it sounds like an awful excuse, but it's something I struggle with. Often in the morning, instead of getting right out of bed and doing my morning routine, I'll be lulled into snoozing and jerking off instead. Ugh, I sound so lame saying this. But does anyone else have this problem?