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Decided to wait on starting my first challenge post until after my camping trip was done. Anywho, the last one basically petered out. I lost steam with the "project" approach, probably because it got to be way too much to keep up with. It ended up being way too granular which, though it got me off to a good start, turned keeping up with this stuff into a chore. More importantly (and in keeping with what Mrs. Keys learned from her nutritionist), it resulted in having things occupy my waking mind that didn't need to be there. (She told my wife that she wasn't in support of tracking food-She said it causes you to think about food all the time. You should do your best to eat good food, but then when you're done, don't think about it). And it's way too easy to get wrapped around the axle with my own shame issues of having to follow "the rules" (even my own ones) way too precisely. So, I'm going to think of things at a much higher level. My only real activity for the challenge will be to post here each night. That post is going to entail an evaluation of my progress towards my goals-Eat better and do creative things. Yes, they're not goals--not the SMART kind--fine, call them "mission statements" or whatever. I intentionally want them NOT timebound, NOT specific, NOT measurable... Think of them more like stars or the rise in terrain away from a river when you're trying to make it back to the road. They represent the general direction that I want to head, and by virtue of checking in each night and evaluating how I handled the day, I can at least know whether I moved closer to where I want to get or farther away. And I know this works for me because I've already seen it. At the beginning of this year, I decided that I wanted to step up my cooking game, and over a few challenges, I tracked some things, yes, but then I stopped paying attention to it and stressing about it. Yet I still made progress toward that goal because I enjoy cooking, and separate from my challenges, I started practicing more and learning more and thinking more strategically about my cooking. Yes, committing to X meals over the course of 5 weeks lit a fire under my butt, but it was all the other stuff that's much harder to measure that kept it lit. I experimented, got curious, my wife went to see a nutritionist and learned stuff, not to mention I've been doing my own therapy work, learning to accept my mistakes, not to mention reading up on the principles of cooking, etc. So, here's the plan: I'll evaluate my meals-Breakfast, Dinner, and everything else. I'll also evaluate my progress towards piano and my other various flights of fancy. No structured scale. Just this: Am I moving closer to my goals (eat better and do creative things) or am I moving further away, and how do I feel about that? Only one rule: Post each night (unless something more important causes me to miss a night, in which case, that's okay, too)

We love throwing up threads on our lunch break. May be a little haphazard but the intent is there at least? Started work last week, still adjusting to being out of the house ten hours a day. Life is kinda falling by the wayside because of it. So basic tasks, getting a grasp of this new and making it normal. 1) Steps target every work day. This should essentially be a given, since my target is only 2k steps and I have to park about a ten minute walk from the building. Construction actually working in my favour right now. 2) Check in every day. Just getting in the habit of getting on and checking in here. Even just "hi, not dead, things are still things." Or a cat gif. I like cat gifs. 3) Eat like a person not a trash panda. The temptation now that I have adult money and less time is to just grab takeout or hit up a drive thru on the way home every day. No bueno. I have tasty foods in the house. I paid good money for those tasty foods. Take the extra couple of minutes to make the tasty food. That should be enough to be getting on with. Overloading myself with adjustments while I'm fresh back into the workforce after 8 years unemployed is a bad idea.

So. Covid-19. 0/10 would not recommend. Especially not when other parts of your body are imploding at the same time. So between covid recovery and having a bunch of doctor appointments to figure out mysteries during this challenge period, I have no clue what I can or can't or should be doing right now. It's fun. Therefore, super duper bare minimum challenge time! 1 - journal or meditate every single day for any amount of time 2 - do some other kind of healthy or self-care thing every day and report it here no less than every other day here's a boobcat

Welp, I stuck around and didn't ghost the last challenge, so I didn't technically need to respawn, but I'm basically just doing the same challenge as last time because it was not such a successful challenge. So maybe not-ghosting is an accomplishment!? I'll take it! I'm on my lunch at work right now, thinking about how my morning went and it was overall unproductive which was a lost opportunity for making my day just that little bit better. I could really use this basic challenge to turn my mornings into more consistently productive and simultaneously refreshing ways to start my day. Since the ends of my days aren't really available for doing these "refreshing" activities and I'm more of a morning person, getting this challenge to work out will be a MAJOR win for me. Here's my challenge, take two: Early rise -- Get up at 4am or 4:30am on weekdays so that I can get a few foundational things done and have "me time" before I have to go to work. M-F. 🌞 Exercise -- Walk for 30 minutes, cardio dance for 30 minutes, yoga for 30 minutes or weights for 30 minutes. It's all good. Daily. 🏃‍♀️ Drink More Water -- Drink 1+ liters of water every day. Daily. 🌊 Meditate -- Practice meditation for 5 minutes minimum, working my way up to 15 minutes by end of challenge. Daily. 🕯️ And... that's it! I got up early yesterday and drank more than a liter of water. No meditation or exercise yesterday, though. Let's see how today fares.

TBH - that's all the energy I have at the moment. I will be continuing my attempt to find the motivation to just walk. That's really all. If you've followed along at all over the years and have seen everything I've wanted to improve - I've done pretty well. The house is mostly clean (finally). The kitchen stays clean. While we aren't "full on" meal planning, the little guidelines about a nightly theme and suggestions I keep on the fridge have WAY helped so we're not eating the same thing 2-3 times a week and while we do have a few things in heavy rotation, it's not really a "rut" - basically a ton of stuff I've been desperately spent years trying to work on have kind of fallen into place. It's certainly not "perfect" by any means, but I've learned long ago there's no such thing and there really is a "good enough" and for some of those areas I've reached it through some sort of motivation and finally sitting down to do the pre-work required. I'm still trying to reach that with walking - some of which is also fixing my sleeping which is also a gazillion times better - so I'm just going to keep at it!

Okay just playing in the Battle log section got lonely. - Lose 2lbs - Drink 2L water every day - Floss and brush every day - Apply to at least 1 job How do I plan on losing 2lbs? Attempting to listen to my hunger cues. Eat when hungry, don't eat when not hungry. I might play with some fasting stuff. Move more.

A couple of days late due to travel, but I am happy to pounce upon a new challenge. What to expect: Ambitious goals that I will profit from pursuing even if I don't succeed 100% Charts and graphs Random photos Enthusiasm and optimism but also probably some snark Musings on assorted tangents Also, fair warning to the visually minded among you: I have changed my user icon to a custom avatar I had designed by an artist I love. Sorry for any discombobulation. And now the question that matters: what am I up to this time? Three things! 1. NOT EATING CHOCOLATE You know those people in multi-decade toxic codependent relationships with shitty partners who are nothing but bad news for them, but inexplicably they keep getting sucked back in? That is the story of Severine and chocolate. Chocolate is kind of an asshole who has never had anything but a negative experience on my life, health, self-esteem, etc. and offers me so very little in return (most of the time I barely enjoy it; it's more compulsion/addiction than anything). Yet, it's been so hard for me to stay broken up with chocolate. It took me a long, long, long time to realize that moderation simply does not work for me with chocolate. On the bright side, I have given up chocolate completely twice in my life (once for more than six months!). Both times, it was an unequivocal and drastic improvement, positive in every single way. Yet, due I think to inadequate awareness of the challenges of maintaining that policy, and attendant lack of planning on my part, I stumbled back into chocolate's sinister embrace both times. So, let's repeat what worked so well and iterate on it to solve the problems that arose last time. I will be tracking this, reflecting on it, and working to make a durable long-term plan with necessary contingencies. 2. IMPROVING MY HANDWRITING I don't think it's any secret that I love notebooks, journalling by hand, doodling, etc. As such, I probably pay more attention to my handwriting than is standard. It has been bothering me for quite a while that my handwriting seems to be getting sloppier. The reason isn't mysterious: I don't write by hand anywhere near as much as I used to, and my muscle memory isn't what it was. Plus, I am often in a rush when writing these days (sometimes for legit reasons like needing to note things down during a video call, but often just because I am impatient), which just makes things worse. And then not loving my handwriting means I write less...which means worse handwriting. Vicious cycle. I'll post a separate post with a 'before' sample. Good handwriting is often incorrectly associated with being smart or organized, but it's a physical skill, and it responds to physical training, not thoughts or intentions or strategies. Just as I would need to do strength training if I wanted to get better at lifting things, I need to do handwriting drills/practice to improve my handwriting. My goal is to do this for a short period of time every day, probably about 10 minutes. I will periodically post the progress. I am confident that I will see a concrete improvement over the duration of the challenge. This is important for me because I really enjoy writing by hand - I do it for stress relief and creativity and fun and the neurological benefits (esp. with regard to learning), and I want to feel completely positive about it, not have this lingering dissatisfaction with my physical handwriting skill decreasing my enjoyment. 3. USING MY EXPENSIVE ELLIPTICAL BECAUSE COME ON SEVERINE I have probably mentioned that I find it difficult to spend money on anything that isn't strictly necessary. We bought the elliptical recently for very good reasons, but the consciousness of its cost is still kind of needling at me, and I know from experience that the more I use it, the better I will feel about the purchase. So I'd like to try and get into the habit of using it every day, even if it's not for that long. As such, I'm setting myself a goal of at least 15 minutes on the elliptical every day unless I'm too sick for it to be advisable (hopefully this will not happen). C'est parti!

This time is all about keeping up the things that have worked for me, keeping me well, keeping me happy. A not fully inclusive list : -organized fitness 6 days/ week -eating well/ not over-indulging on snacks -reducing alcohol -sleep enough -listening well -pausing before I speak, especially in irritation -meditation/review time -mentally prepare for the day -remember we are all human, flaws and struggles included -advocate clearly and calmly for myself I will add if I think of anything else. Obviously some of these are harder to quantify but I will try to bring organization to them anyway.

This setup started out okay in the last challenge until shit blew up so let's try again. There are 4 categories and I need to do one thing for at least three every day; no other guidelines, just one thing that will help in that area of my life. 1 - a food thing 2 - a movement thing 3 - a stress relieving thing 4 - a thing related to finding a job or learning a new skill please send spoons.

Yeah, yeah. Those of you who've been around a while have seen THAT before LOL. Right along with "and this time I mean it". But, I'm gonna keep laser focusing on that because it truly, truly is that LAST key piece to my fitness struggle. So, my challenge is raising my step count on my fitbit to 5k and hit it 5 days a week. I'd love, love to hit 10k a day at some point. My body is capable of it. It's cooling off and there's no real reason I can't walk twice a day other than weather (rain and avoiding sun rays). Can't do a WHOLE lot about rain, but I have "sun sleeves" and hats - so I need to stop using "I can only walk in the shade" as an excuse - because that's what it is..... an excuse. Enough challenge stuff LOL. In other news, I just made it back (and am recovering) from DragonCon - where I totally averaged > 10k steps a day. Every year we do a little less - getting older SUCKS - but we hit a few panels, saw some old friends and were amazed at everyone's Cosplay. If ya'll are interested in seeing pictures - Search FB Groups for Dragon Con (Official) and Dragon Con (Unofficial). There will be a lot of cross-over as many folks are in both groups - but tons and tons of pictures - some by pros. I think my personal favorite costume was Marvin the Mandalorian - a crossover Marvin the Martian as a Mandolorian character. Brilliantly done (and he was in the "masquerade" where you have to show that you constructed the piece, so yes he designed and did all of the armor himself). Barbie and Ken were EVERYWHERE - and everything you can imagine was Barbiefied - from a Barbie Mandalorians and Storm Troopers to "Hungover DragonCon Barbie". Folks are so brilliantly clever and talented. I've always loved Cosplay but never was good at designing my own stuff. I'm CONSIDERING working with Mom to design a kind of universal wrap dress pattern, then using fabric and fabric paint to design some nerdy nods in dress form which would work as something cool\comfortable for Con and if not too in your face I can wear it outside of Con too. I really, really want a skirt out of the Dr. Who van Gogh pattern.

I’m back. I am so glad for this community and its acceptance of respawners such as myself. Thank you, everyone. I can always try again, right? That’s what I’m going to go with. I need to learn to accept my own failures as much as those around me do. I need to give myself as much grace as I do others who don’t meet their aims. This time around, here’s my plan: 1. Exercise 3x a week for 30 minutes each session. 2. Practice meditation 3x a week, working my way up to 15 minutes. 3. Drink at least 1 liter of water each day. 4. Get up at least an hour before my son so that I can start my day right, daily. I really need to nail down these habits, so if you’re reading this, consider sticking around and encouraging me along! I’ll do my best to reciprocate.

So I have been trying to sit down write out a "Hi, I am back, the world is still dumb, sorry I disappeared" post for a week and a half. Honestly, I have a word doc with notes and sentences and gifs and stuff on my computer open with these things. But the way I am writing this shows its not going well. I didn't mean to take last challenge off, it just fell off my radar. I was emailing @fleaball and told her I was just out of spoons. But this challenge has come around, my weight is a new high of 315, I am tired, I am stressed, and I feel like I work and come home nad collapse every day. I stopped all walking. I stopped doing boxes, I just kinda existed and I hate it. So I am trying again. Things are still bad at work, its the busy time, great time to reset. I mean I worked 12 hours yesterday and 11 the day before and well, more than that the week before that. So yea, I am back. I am doing boxes. I just need to do something because I really really can't keep doing this. I need my life back. Adding the Gifs I had collected to make a fun Hi, sorry I left post. Ugh, the second gif link is bad. this annoys me. Maybe someone can get it to work. I need to go to work. its almost 6 am. https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/226379337_4383410528346736_5132151508722304137_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=gGYkAQEWJ4UAX9_P2BD&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-1.xx&oh=00_AfDjuxZqXChxAZ9OwtVa9z_Fsu4QpYDgXXCZaFV9uEJ9SA&oe=64C8DD5D (This is my life. Someone send spoons or help, or reminders that this is not what life is) That last sentence is really bad and I want to take it out. but at the same time. That is truth for you

I'm here. My life has been in a bit of turmoil personally, but I'm still trying to be my best me. I'm not changing much from the last time. Feeling like it's a good time to set up Stoic practice and that means setting a plan for myself. I will report back on what that looks like.

I was on the fence about starting this one now. On the one hand, I do want to add more of a narrative flair to my challenges, complete with characters, a story arc, etc. On the other...well, the idea machine just ain't working right now. I don't want to let my writer's block get in the way of building some healthier behaviors, so I'll start with just my mini projects for now and will build in the narrative stuff later once I have the time to sit down and come up with some better ideas. So here goes: Mini projects: 1. Clear headed: No beer until Saturday the 29th. 2. Reconnaissance: Every day, until Saturday the 29th, go for a walk somewhere. No minimum distance. 3. Lore: Do 1 hour of work reading on Sat the 29th (so it must be done on Sat. The goal is to get me accustomed to doing little bits of weekend work.) 4. Well supplied: Finish organizing garage. (The garage shelves are finished. Now, I just need to put the garage back together and get my things in their new home. Might also use this time to brainstorm some new construction projects.) 5. "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot": Daily minimum 5 minute piano noodling each day until Sat the 29th. I've got an event I'm going to on Sat (nothing major-just a hangout with the bros), so that will be my day to update mini project progress.

Deep Space 9; Season 7, Episode 10. Nog has been through battle and seen friends killed and injured and has lost his leg. Serious PTSD. He deals by checking himself into the holosuite with Vic Fontaine full time. Vic finally kicks him out saying “You have to play the cards life deals you “ I have been denying my cards. Saying it’s not so bad, it’s no big deal. But after several visits to the ER and with surgery scheduled next month, I have to accept it and deal with my shitty card. I have a bad heart. Born that way. I always tried to just minimize it but after seeing how the doctors are reacting I can’t deny it anymore. It is a big deal. I’ve had atrial fibrillation and an irregular heartbeat my entire life. (the RVRs, rapid ventricular rate are the scary ones. Feels like my heart is trying to pound its way out of my chest.) I always knew that someday it would get worse. Someday has arrived and it has gotten worse. A whole lot worse. I blame the pandemic and the stress and my fat but that doesn’t matter. The reality is I have a bad heart. I want to exercise more and get to at least my pre pandemic level of fitness but exercise of any kind seems to send me into irregular heartbeat and then to the hospital. (You want to get to the front of the line at the ER? Tell them you have an irregular heartbeat. They’ll whip you back for an EKG and then into a bed. Paperwork? Screw the paperwork!) I have an appointment coming up with the doctor doing the surgery and i need to talk to him about exercising and getting some of my fitness back. I don’t want to. I’m scared that he’ll say that I can’t. I want to pretend that everything is fine and ignore my problems. But my problems won’t let me ignore them. I have to play the cards life dealt me. I have a bad heart. There, I said it. That’s reality. So I can’t exercise but I can eat better and take off some of the weight. And I have been working on that. Sadly eating healthier means cooking and taking time to plan and cook And I am tired a lot of the time (I don’t like these new meds, not doing very well on them). I should be working on my healthyish lunch but I’m tired. Going back to bed for a while.

Thanks to my patron saint of well-being and accountability (the inimitable @fleaball, who is a good influence even though she took umbrage the last time I said so), I am back and working on building some positive momentum after *gestures vaguely at the previous eight months*. My last challenge did me a lot of good (as so many challenges have done), and then once it was over I stopped paying so much attention to my goals like a dumbass (as I have so often done when confronted with success) and so of course *more vague and disappointed gesturing*. I watched the Dungeons and Dragons movie recently on Netflix, and there's a scene I appreciated where the bard, in trying to swindle his friends into sticking with the mission despite his shit leadership and repeated disasters, says "we must never stop failing, because the minute we do, we've failed." Made me laugh, but it's also true, so it is in that spirit that I am back here yet again. Okay, so what is going on and what do I need to do about it? Something interesting happened since I was last here: in January, I went back to school for an MS in Computer Science, via a program specifically designed for career switchers whose undergrad degree wasn't in CS. I'm currently in the bridge portion of the program, which is basically just a series of prereq courses to make up for what I'm missing before starting the full-on Masters courses. I've been doing well and learning a lot, although to say that a return to studenthood was not a good thing for my self-care and healthy habits would be a hilarious understatement. However! I am me, so it can't be that simple. I periodically have doubts that perhaps I'm making the wrong move and that I won't be able to find a job linked to my technical interests (mostly educational tech and computer-assisted language learning/translation). I miss helping people and feeling like my work has larger purpose, and an old idea I once had about getting a Masters in Counselling Psychology and becoming a therapist has resurfaced. So of course I have researched what would be required for that (roughly the same amount of schooling as my current plan). My people are supportive and have encouraged me to do whatever feels right. But if I'm going to switch, it needs to be ASAP, so I need to decide. But I can't decide. So a big part of the challenge has to be about figuring that out. Preferably before CS classes restart in late August. Thing the first. I would be particularly eager to get perspective from any of you who work in either of these two fields or anything related. Also, I need to get exercise back into my routine. Nothing crazy: I just need to walk and stretch. Thing the second. Finally, I would like to limit fried food to once per week. Thing the third. I should also mention my unease about an upcoming appointment with my endocrinologist. This involves bloodwork for (1) annual testing to make sure my cancer hasn't returned and (2) monitoring my blood glucose/A1C, because my doctor was concerned I was at risk for T2 diabetes. The appointment is on August 4, so fingers crossed. I wish everyone the best of luck with their own challenges ❤️

Yep. I'm still trying to walk. My one goal is drag my sorry a$$ out of bed in the morning and walk. That's it. That's the challenge. We're working to lock down some new stuff with hubby's company so we're busy AF. Business meeting about an event later this year tomorrow and working a takeout for another series of events where their current network vendor has not been doing a good job so we're working our contacts on their next big event and helping some coordination and some other sticks in the fire may catch so fingers crossed 2024 is "the year" to actually get his company off the ground and running.....

hi my name is flea and after 9.5 years on here i'm still a hot mess. current attempt is to do one thing in at least 3 of 4 categories every day beyond what i normally do. if it works i may tighten up the rules later in the challenge. wish me luck. send cat gifs. 1 - a food thing 2 - a movement thing 3 - a brain thing 4 - a batcave thing

ugh. I was doing well. then I noticed I was doing well so I stopped doing that and did the opposite. What a pain in the ass. Up on time AM shower brush tooths skin care Breakfast Morning anti-crazy pills Pack lunch AND remember to take it to work to work on time - I chose Starbucks over punctuality wear make up - I don't feel like it Lunch Afternoon anti crazy pills Leave work at 5 Clean house in preparation for cleaning crew. Cleaning crew is doing an initial deep clean and I don't want them using their time on surface level stuff that I can take care of before they get there. Get ready for bed at 9:30 PM Shower brush tooths again Take practical joke amount of vitamins/supplements Actually go to bed track food and also be in a calorie deficit BMR 2053 Intake Goals: 1700 Total Intake: 2033 (I feel like I am forgetting something here?) Total Outgo, according to FITBIT: 3062 Monday Calories : -1029

Hey all, it's been a bit. Seems like something is always coming up when I think of starting up a challenge post. I'm late to this challenge, but I figured I would start something anyway. Better that, then thinking I'll just wait till the next one The last couple of weeks, I have been trying to get a little more consistent with a few things like sleep. This challenge I might start off smaller and add to it as I progress. We'll see how it goes. I feel like I'll be keeping it pretty casual. A driving force to me really needing to get myself going. High blood sugar tests. Even on medicine. So I need to get this fixed. Then just in general more family deaths, has made me look back to watching to just be able to live a much better life. Also, things may change some because my wife is getting a knee replacement on the 14th. So bowling and pretty much everything else I do is on pause to help take care of her. I hope to be able to get some things going around that I can continue during this time too. So let's get to it. Goal#1 - If I am too tired, I won't do squat Sleep is so very important. I've been working on it again, but I certainly have had the go to bed at 2am+ too often. I just haven't been getting the best sleep. Losing weight will also help get better sleep. So it will all work together. It's summer, so I don't have to worry about taking the kid to school till sometime in August. I have been enjoying my reading as well, even when I go too late at night haha. My wife also bought a sleep mask for me to help with the light Though it is a pain to have a sleep mask and cpap mask on. Off to read at 10:30pm Off to bed at 11:30pm Goal#2 - Movement For the moment, I want to start off with 15 minutes walk. Hopefully I can still do this while taking care of my wife too. For now, I can start the daily incense in Pokemon Go. It's 15 minutes. Walking around my block takes about 13 minutes or so. That is pretty much what I want as my start. Eventualyl either making more time per walk or adding in a second walk later on. Maybe after a week or so I can also start doing some home workouts in. I know I would be able to have that going while I was helping my wife. First though, I want to try to get walking going. Plus getting back to walking will help improve my mood too 15 minute walk each day. Goal#3 - Tracking foods Part of finding out my blood sugar numbers were really bad, was I looked closer to what I have been eating and drinking. Obviously, I knew getting and eating candy or sweets can be bad. I found I was drinking a powered drink mix thinking it was ok. It had maltitol as a sweetener, and that was spiking my numbers a lot. I was drinking a lot of it too haha. At least I figured that out, and took it out. With the blood sugar numbers, I also considered jumping back to keto. Then thinking maybe more keto with fruit or something. First though, I am going to give a shot at losing weight with tracking calories. Lower calorie higher volume is more what I want. More proteins, more veg and fruit etc. Track food intake each day in Cronometer That will be enough. There is plenty more I want to add in, but I want to just focus getting more consistent in each of these errors. No grading really.

And we're back after a several week-long (and much needed) hiatus and ready to roll. Got a few more bad habits to shake, a couple of updated perspectives, etc. etc. One thing I want to start doing this time around is to plan my challenges a little bit better. In the past, there's been a focus on building healthy habits through identifying things that I do routinely (each day, each week, etc) which is useful, but is also incomplete. Building habits without any particular end in mind feels too much to me like just building a habit for the sake of a habit. It doesn't go anywhere. There's no endgame. Instead, it felt too much like an endless slog of self-improvement protips. So, different approach. Let's strategize, do some good ol' fashioned SWOT* analysis, and figure out a strategy to get where it is that I want to go. *SWOT Analysis-Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats. Step 1: Decide on End State. Step 2: Assess Current State. Step 3: Assess Threats and Weaknesses. Step 4: Assess Opportunities and Strengths. Step 5: Devise and Execute Strategy. 1. Decide on End State. At the end of the five four week challenge, here's where I'm hoping to be: 1. Eating out limited to once per week. 2. Sufficient meals prepped to enable #1. 3. Significantly curbed "zonk out in front of computer" time. 4. Awareness of what I'm putting in my body. That means tracking my food. I'm not happy about this one, and it's going to be hard, but it is what it is. I need to be aware of how much food I'm putting into my body. I'll need to do my utmost to keep my perfectionist tendencies from short-circuiting my goal here. Progress, not perfection. 5. Moving more. Less time on my butt in front of a computer and more time on my feet. 6. Increasing my time spent working on the weekends to take pressure off of my weekday work time. 7. Get back to regular (daily) piano practice routines. Even 15 mins per day will be fine. It's high time I got back to that. ---- And just to have it down, let's add in a couple of things that I hope will happen but won't lose sleep if they don't. 7. Basement repairs finished. (Yes, we are 6 months from when the flood ruined our basement. Yes, the insurance company is being jerks about it. Yes, I'm extremely pissed.) 8. Significant progress made on building a new workbench / mitre saw station for the garage. (Ideally, it will be complete by then, but not stressing it if not). 2. Current State. Diet is not so good. There's the recurring "something sweet" theme that happens almost daily where my wife and I talk ourselves into getting something--Ice cream, chocolate, gummy worms, etc. to cap off the night (when I was a kid, my parents called this "bedtime dessert" and it became pretty much an expectation that we'd get some kind of candy bar or something right before laying down for the night). Then there's the beer that's also basically an every day thing, but with the occasional dry week or couple of days. Then there's the running out of stocked up meals in the fridge and just ordering out which is both bad for our bank accounts and our health. My weekday routine consists of getting done with the workday, cooking dinner (or ordering once the fridge stores run out), and then gaming until bedtime, usually while drinking a couple of beers. On weekends, I usually fill one day with some kind of project and then the other day with a marathon gaming session. My gaming has picked up significantly since I finished my second computer build, and I suspect that some of it is driven by being able to play games previously unplayable on my older machine. Some of it is also driven by a desire to make good use of my investment because some of those parts weren't cheap. When not doing that, I was mindlessly scrolling reddit, but that's been curtailed since the API controversy. Work could be more fun, but still feels kind of like a slog as I have to motivate myself to do most things. I enjoy my job, and I get to do a lot of the things that I find fun--reading about esoteric topics, writing, strategizing client engagements--but I get pre-occupied by cravings for video game time and goofing off time (or maybe just turn-my-brain-off time?). My wife and I both game a lot, mostly to distract ourselves from the stress of day-to-day life. I want more interaction with her as well which requires pulling my nose out of this machine. And piano basically hasn't happened at all since I moved it back into the unfinished basement when we bug-bombed the house a month ago. 3. Assess Weaknesses and Threats. Weaknesses: -Work takes up a huge chunk of my weekday time and energy, and cooking dinner takes another huge chunk, so I'm left with not a lot of time to do much during the week. -I've got workout equipment in the garage, but going in that building depresses me because there's a huge crack in the concrete, and every time I see it I think "This needs to get fixed, and damn is it going to cost me a lot of money." -My workout space isn't very organized. Weights and other stuff are stored on the floor or on top of coolers. Might not be a big deal to most, but I've learned that having an organized space is important to me. -I don't have much in the way of workout-appropriate attire. Shoes starting to show their age (and I don't think they're really running shoes per se). Also don't have much in the way of workout equipment, but I've got enough to get me by. -Fridge space is very limited due to having a small fridge. Kitchen storage space is also pretty limited. -I'm a perfectionist. I tend to feel waves of guilt when I'm not measuring up to my own impossible expectations. I don't post on here as much as I think I should or I lapse on a commitment to myself, and then it all falls apart. -My property is very shady which doesn't leave me much in the way of gardening options. Threats: -Gaming is really tempting now that I've got some beefier hardware, and it's hard to resist. -Cravings for beer or sweets hit and its all I can think about. These get especially pronounced when I have a hard day and just want comfort. -There's plenty of stuff that can quickly throw me into a shit mood which will easily derail any attempts at self improvement. There's domestic stuff to stay on top of. We're still battling flea issues with the puppies. The $#$%#$ basement still hasn't been fixed and our insurance company is being the opposite of helpful. Work has its various frustrations and stressors. And the money just doesn't come in as much as I'd like it to (it never does). -Work is getting more complex, and I'm now taking on tasks that I don't understand (more strategic layer stuff) and am leveraging down the stuff that's easy for me. That's the way this is supposed to work, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. -I've also been cajoled into coming in to the office at least once per week which cuts into my weekday routine significantly. It also means devoting resources to improving my wardrobe (which, let's face it, needed to happen regardless). 4. Assess Strengths and Opportunities. Strengths: -I'm a damn good cook, and I know my way around the kitchen better than the average bear. I also enjoy eating most vegetables. -I've got a supportive community, both here and IRL. My wife is also highly motivated in the journey to make ourselves healthier and happier. -I still have my health and my youth. My knees work fine. No major injuries or ailments to contend with. Same for my wife. -No kids or dependents aside from the critters, and none anticipated any time soon. -Cash flow is currently pretty good, and expected to improve as time goes on. -Work is pretty flexible if demanding. I don't have set office hours. As long as I get in my minimum amount of time each week, I should be good. I'm respected at my job, and I do good work. Opportunities: -Got several good grocery stores around. The usual suspects, plus a farmer's market or two within relatively short distance. -I do have the basic workout equipment. Weight set, Olympic bar, bench. There's a lot you can do with just that stuff. -Also some nice walking trails nearby. -Plus a kayak. -I've also got lots of tools in the garage-Enough to enable me to build the organizational tools that I require if I have to. I've also got various technology tools to help me out. And meal trackers have been getting better these days. 5. Devise and Execute Strategy. Whew. Okay last bit. In light of all that, here's the breakdown for this challenge. 1. Daily-Track basic meals in my meal tracker. I'm not going to shoot for catching everything. Just the easy stuff. I'm also not going to stress tracking "beer" in the tracker. I'll pick one "beer" that will serve as a default beer in the tracker, and each time I have one, I'll track it that way. (Meal planners seem to be notoriously bad at recording beer calories which drives my perfectionist brain crazy. [though this ought to be an indicator of how bad beer for you is in that the ingredient labeling standards don't appear to be nearly as robust?]) 2. Weekly-Devote at least 30 minutes each week to building out my recipe collection in my meal tracker to make #1 easier. 3. As needed-Computer time on a timer. I'll set a timer to monitor my computer time. Reporting here will be limited to just whether I did that for the day or not. 4. Weekly-Devote at least a portion of my weekend time to meal planning and prep activities. That includes cooking, but also grocery planning, shopping, etc. I also intend to cook at least a few dishes each week that can serve as staples (so a braise or some other kind of meal that I can mix and match with other stuff). 4b. Look up a video on how to re-heat rice. For some reason, every time I try to reheat cooked rice, the texture's always way too dry, so I end up throwing out leftover rice. 5. Daily-Step goal of 8,000 steps. 6. Weekly-Minimum 1 hour of weekend work. Rule: That hour must be spent ONLY on work tasks that I enjoy and that excite my curiosity. Save the unpleasant stuff for the work week. I want my weekend work time to be something that I look forward to and not something that I dread. 7.Daily-Min 15 minutes piano practice time. Downstairs in my unfinished basement if need be.

Respawn time! I have decided to join a challenge in the hopes that I can form some habits that last more than a week. Probably my biggest struggles right now are mental health and basic self care, so I am starting SUPER simple Every day I am aiming to - Go for a walk of any length - Brush my teeth - Either meditate or journal, outside if the weather permits Hopefully I vanquish the challenge and can keep building on these in five weeks time

So here i am facing one of the greatest undead, the powerful Kerrigor!(aka breast cancer!) the hardest part of the fight is over, but i'm left weakened in body and mind. My goals for this challenge are to help build up my strength for the final stretch(radiotherapy, or rounding up the last of his minions) So my plan is -walking -meditating -physio exercises every day. hopefully some of you will follow along!

Grandkaj is Returning to STAY!! Hey everyone! Returning Rebel for the... who knows how many times its been. I tried to return a few challenges back but i dont remember the reason i didnt keep up with it... So for this challenges im keeping it SIMPLE so its easy to do and stay with these challenges. Goal 1 [Nutrition]: - Eat 1-2 pieces of fruit every day; Its not a lot but i went from 2-3 pieces of fruit every day to 0 which i kept being stuck on. I can have fruit in every meal i want but especially after my workout. Goal 2 [Level Up My Life] - Stretch atleast 4 days a week; - Read when waking up, read before heading to bed atleast 4 days a week; For both stretching and reading i've lost the touch for it in the last year and a half. Everything is going pretty good now and i want to get properly back into those cause they help me stay flexible but also (regarding the reading) help me prepare for the day/relax for the night. - Pomodoro Clean my apartment; I'm oke-ish at keeping my apartment clean, but i HATE doing it for a long time. So this challenge im going to start with Pomodoro Cleaning again. I got this handy dandy little cube with timers that i will use to signal when to clean and when to relax. I can think of WAYYYYY more stuff i want to do, but then it will be too much and burn me out. All of these are doable and will give me a good start again.

Last challenge went pretty well and I'm going to roll on with the same thing. Just keep trying to do things. Next verse, same as the first. Also copy and paste with a few changes. 1. Do the exercise run/walk 3 days per week, minimum 2 miles. Try for more running than walking. continue through GMB floor loco and integral strength. Try to do it outside and despite that people might see me. new this time: once a week weigh in, Tuesday mornings 2. eat the food use the fall back plan for breakfast, savory oats. Try to resist bacon most of the week plan and make ahead lunches. Try to avoid the siren call of chips and munchies avoid the alcohol. just try new this time: add more protein 3. enjoy things got decent knitting needles so it is less challenging now. try to make time read for fun. try to sit still see what life brings. try to be open to what is offered. new this time: finish one sewing pattern, probably linen shorts I also loosely want to explore Stoicism just bit more, so time to hit the library!