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I had our beautiful daughter 4 months ago, and now I've reached a point where it's time for me to start working on improving things. I'm not so much in a 'rut', as that I'm coming out of the fog of new-parenthood and there are things not going so well which I want to do something about. Special shout-outs to Teros, DarK_RaideR, ShadowLion and Phayze, who each in their own way inspired me to come back for another challenge, and also inspired how I approached this challenge differently to others I've done. This challenge fits more with the Adventurers than my usual Assassins guild stuff, it's not fitness focused at all but is about getting my mind and body back to a state where I can later go back to some more fitness-based goals. My 4 goals are focused on improving things I am unhappy with which I have control over - and to ignoring everything else for the time being. Main Quest: Build a foundation of basic mental and physical wellbeing, from which I can reach for fitness goals in the future. Goal 1: Nutrition a. Make a list of foods I will and will not consume over the next 6 weeks, based on my histamine sensitivity requirements. b. Plan meals for 2-3 weeks in advance (and maybe repeat the same meal plan(s) for the rest of the challenge, if it's easier and I'm not too bored with them). c. Plan my shopping trips for the week and put in my calendar (with a baby, it's hard to get to the shops sometimes!) d. Plot all 'off-plan' days/meals/treats at least 2 weeks in advance. This goal is to address issues I've been having with my skin, as well as overall health and energy levels. Because I'm breastfeeding, I can pretty much eat whatever and not put on weight, however this eating pattern has led to some persistent eczema which has officially driven me to the wall. It must be stopped, and I know from experience that eating well will be my best strategy! Goal 2: Sleep a. Prepare for sleep coaching, following sleep plan instructions in weeks 1 and 2; give simple instructions to my partner so he can help. b. Take a nap during the day at least three times per week, for at least 60 minutes, in a separate room from Baby. c. Go for a walk of at least 10 mins every day. d. Start sleep coaching from week 3 or 4 of the challenge. As other parents can understand, my sleep is shithouse at the moment. Baby girl is still little, and will likely wake up 2-3 times a night for the next couple of months. What I want to work on is getting her to go to sleep on her own, instead of while she is breastfeeding - that's what sleep coaching is. If she can fall asleep on her own, I will save both of us 30-60min every nap and at bedtime, because that's how long the current routine is taking us and it's driving me batty! I'll also be taking naps to try and address my sleep deficit and going for walks to ensure my body clock stays mostly on track. Goal 3: Mood a. Write in journal every day, including gratitude exercise. b. Continue to do 4-7-8 breathing exercise 2+ times per day. c. Do re-framing activities and other strategies from psychologist to help improve mood and outlook on life. d. Engage "quiet berzerker mode" to summon courage to raise issues which are bothering me, with relevant people. This is probably a bit of an unusual goal, but I've been wavering close to the edge of depression off and on for a while now, and I need to take charge and do something about it. Most days are good, some days (nights, mainly!) are truly awful, so proactive steps are what I need to stay ahead of the Black Dog and not let it spoil this wonderful time of my life. Goal 4: Personhood a. Organise time to myself - 3 or more 30+ minute blocks each week (ALL by myself, without baby, doing whatever I want to do, not housework). b. Book/organise/plan activities in advance so I don't waste time deciding what to do, even if it's only the day or morning before. c. Do the Things, and enjoy myself! It's true what many say, for me at least, that when I became a mother I felt like I died - the old me is gone, she's never coming back, and since I came out of the newborn-sleep-deprived fog I've felt like I don't know who I am. I need to take time to do what I want to do, again, so I can find out who this new person is, other than just a mother. That's a worthy thing to be, don't get me wrong! But it definitely isn't all I am, either, and it's very important for me to give time to myself in other ways. Not all of these goals are track-able, and I'm not going to determine stat point allocation now - I'll decide at the end of the challenge what I feel I deserve to award myself. I'm going to do my best to keep updating here on the forums, as well as following a few people. I usually do this on Tapatalk on my phone while breastfeeding for what feels like 12 hours a day, so there may be a lot of short, one-hand typed mini updates! Now it's time for me to start down the path to Wellbeing. Will you join me?