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Hi. I'm going to vague post a bit for now, and I apologize, but having thought about what I want I basically have to conclude that I don't really have the time to explain everything in detail. The very short version is that I've spent the past week thinking about what I want for this challenge and concluding that I've got a lot of interconnected problems that may require some relatively drastic solutions. I'm tempted toward drastic changes now for the first time in a long time, not because my life is particularly bad right now but because I feel a pretty profound sense of disconnect between where I am now and where I want to be in terms of my health and personal development. The good news is, moving on from my situation doesn't really require any sudden dramatic shifts. Slow and steady and consistent change suits my temperament better, and I can get after it. Having got the heavy movement (my strength and conditioning) dialed in for the most part, it's time for me to turn to two other kinds of movement: daily movement, or Mobility, and martial arts, or Play. These will be my goals for this challenge. Goal 1: Mobility I don't like how sedentary I've become. It's bad for my waistline and for my mind, and I need to set a boundary for myself here to get up and move. The standard of 7,500 steps is a little too drastic right now for me to take, not because that much walking is hard but because that much walking is long. There is one way to get that many steps a day though in a relatively short amount of time: the Dreaded Running. Which I'm not convinced is a good short term idea to just jump into, but I think in the long run would actually be very beneficial for me. That's probably more Epic Goal than anything, but the first step (hah!) toward that is carving time out of my day to get away from the job and move. So, goal is to get a half hour every day of walking. That's it. Goal 2: Play You ever have friends who were your enemies? I'm kind of there now. I have a lot of wonderful friends whom I love very much and whose lives I want very much to be a part of, but they're getting in the way of my mat time and so I'm becoming less and less the person I want to be in order to be more and more the person I think they want. There is a solution to this, and it's one I've been holding off on because I don't think I'm worthy of it, but avoiding it isn't making me more worthy of it, so I'm just going to have to do it, and that's this: I need to make a point of doing noontime classes for martial arts whenever I can. The one day I've been doing it consistently, it's been good for me because I get to honor both my obligations to myself and to others. I need to do that more. Along with that, Goal 3: Study Dedicated study of what I learn. Detailed notes on the things I'm taught so that I can keep engaging with what I'm learning and internalize it better. And... yeah. That's that for now.

SYRRAN: [My name is] Arev. T'POL: That means 'desert wind'. SYRRAN: Does it. Why are you here? ARCHER: We could ask you the same thing. SYRRAN: I follow the path of Surak in meditation and study. Challenge goals: Walk Meditate Study Train traditional Vulcan arts Walking is, well, walking. But I'm going to add some light exposure goals, stolen from Andrew Huberman. He says they're the one important thing to do, so on the list they go. Blackout from 11pm-4am, and sunlight early in the day. Meditation, I will technically count anything, but I'll mostly be using Plum Village's pebble meditation, minus the pebbles, and possibly plus swords. I think that's a set of metaphors that Vulcan could go for. They're big into religiously significant mountains, and, like, water, and space and stuff. Maybe I'll add some rest tracking. Studying for challenge purposes will be mindset stuff, encompassing Zen, martial arts, and ADHD. Also I have a book that I want to go through that should fit in there, sorta. I'm keeping a reminder for the dopamine increment habit, because it's not quite sticking yet. Martial arts is sort of limited, since I cannot study space naginata. Even aikido is not really available locally. Heck, even other stuff is a little hard to come by. So we'll work on strength and mobility. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Those pictures contain a lot of weapons for a supposedly pacifist planet, don't they?" Yes. Yes, they do. We're not falling into the soft Zen trap this challenge. The Needs of the One Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Total Walk Evening Blackout Morning Sun Meditate Take a rest break Sleep deficit < 7h Study Dopamine Increments Strength Mobility Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Total

Red1263 coming in and out consciousness, he hears voices... he thinks. "Hey!... I think he's de..." "... yeah? What ever gave you that idea?" "Well, he fell..." "Yes! When he fell through the ceiling!... Just grab wh... and go..." "Uhhnn... Who dat? Who dere?" "Whoa! He's alive!" "Ahh!! Run!" Red1263 struggles to get up, searching for his sword. "I'm... I'm still alive! Where are you?" His vision starts to get clearer. "Ohhh... My head... Lousy Gravity Knight... Where did he send me?" He scans his surroundings, there's no one there, but Red1263 sees himself in a winding, but narrow tunnel. "Huh, weird. I could've sworn I heard other voices around me... I guess it must've been the wind." "Heh, Idiot! There's no wind down here." "SHHH! Shut up you idiot! He can hear us!" "I can hear you! Show yourselves!" Red1263 started doublechecking his gear, he noticed his Crystal shard collection. "The shards! My Sword! Thieves! I'll find you! You can't run from me" "Quick! Run!" Red1263 only barely saw movement but it was enough to see which direction and give chase! The tunnel's twists and turns doesn't let Red1263 see whom he's chasing, but he can tell there are two of them. The chase lasts a few minutes until he gets to an opening. He stops, scans the area. 'They're here... I can sense the shards... they're close... I think...' Suddenly there's a flash out of the corner of his eye, something swipes at him! "Whoa!" His legs get kicked out from underneath him, causing him to hit the ground, he instinctively rolls away and jumps back to his feet. "Attacking me from two sides, eh? Smart." The battle continues for a few minutes until a distant boom caused all fighters to stop in mid action! "Uhhh... Please tell me that was you." "No... Was it you?" "Uhh... heh heh, ahh, no. Was that you?" "SWEET CID'S BEARD!!! TALKING CATS?!" "Crap... he saw us." "What do we do?" BOOM "That... doesn't... sound good..." the three of them say as they turn to see what was the source of the sounds. What the three didn't realize was that the opening was home to a former sleeping Giant Centipede! As they're running, Red1263 decided that this was an excellent moment to ask the other two cats some questions in a calm manner, whist running for their lives, "Give me back my stuff!!" "What stuff?!" "Yeah! We didn't steal your stuff!" "I know you have the shards and my sword! Give it back so I can fight this thing!!" "Your sword isn't going to do anything to that thing!" "You idio--" "HA! I knew you had my stuff! Now give it back!" "OK OK We'll help you if you can get us out of this!" "You have to give me your word! Otherwise no deal!" "Fine! I give my word! We'll give your stuff back if you can save us!" "Deal. But I'm going to need your help!" "Let's do this! It's all about outlasting the creature. Pushing yourself when you're really not wanting to!" "That's great! Because I really don't want to!" "Just follow my lead!" * * * So life became rather hectic for me lately (hence my absence about 2 challenges ago). But the goal of this challenge is one word: Discipline. I give in too easily to not working out or studying because of a minor setback. Some of these goals are a checkmark everyday, while others require focus and persistence. All of them reflect (in my humble opinion) an act of discipline that I can practice. Bruce Lee once said, "the Successful warrior is the average man with lazer-like focus." This is going to be my Mantra for this challenge! Challenge Goals: 60 Push-ups everyday Read/Study for 30 mins everyday Reach 5 Pull-ups without breaks Live with Aster and Iris* *So one of the things that been the cause(s) of the hectic-ness of my life, is the simple fact that I have adopted 2 kittens: Aster and Iris (pics coming soon). Both currently around 10 weeks old, I'm going to learn how to take care of them and try to establish something of a routine with them as well as maintain my sanity with work, studying for boards and being on-call.

As I am working on this challenge my theme is starting to take on more form. With the whole Corona virus pandemic I think it is ideal to use this as a way to add flavour to my challenge. I am not exactly sure how the challenge will develop. After all the pandemic is going to be part of our lives for the next six months at least, so it's not like I can kill the plague-bearer daemon in one challenge. Maybe it will involve me hunting and tracking it down. Or just surviving the effects of a plague daemon on my world. H'mm I may even get back into some creative writing with this challenge. Let's see how I go. So my goals for this challenge: To Defeat the Daemon one must Study the Daemon Study with the uni going into shut down there will be no more on campus classes. I need to focus on maintaining my study habits and get my assignments in. I am studying two subjects and it is recommended to spend 10 - 15 hours per week on each subject. So that is my goal, ten hours per week per subject studying. To Defeat the Daemon one must hunt the Daemon Walking I love my walks they help clear my head, and help me feel good in the mornings. Ideally walking daily is best, however as long as I get a minimum of three times per week I will be okay with this. To Fight the Daemon one must be Stronger than the Daemon Bodyweight Workouts I have been a bit slack with my physio exercises for my knee. Which is not good. I need to get these going consistently. This goal is vital not only for strengthening my joints, but also with the lock down it may become the primary means of exercise. I also need to start doing some upper body and core strengthening exercises as well. This is a good time to bring back the NF BBWW routine. The goal will be three times per week.

Ahoy-hoy friends! Welcome to my first challenge of the new decade! Starting things off with a mix of every-day goals (teeth, bedtime) and by-the-end-of-the-challenge goals (ride my bike, pay off the credit card, chip away at subject readings for class), the last set of 'goals' are really more like 'get-back-to-pre-holiday-weirdness' (gymming twice a week, going to Auslan practice, DnD-ing). Extrapolation of the goals + GIFs!: Bedtime- go to bed at 10pm each night. Have a warning timer at 9.30 to remind me to take my meds and get myself sorted. Buddy-goal: charge my phone on the drawers, so I don't look at it in the night, and so when the alarm goes off I have to get up to turn it off. Ride- I have a new bike-to-work buddy. Ideally I would ride to/from work with her twice a week, but to start things off for success I am aiming for five rides total. These can be split into 'in' on one day and 'home' on a different day as I build up my leg muscles. I am fairly sure after my last ride that my brakes are actually constantly on, so I will check that tomorrow, if they are I may not be as unfit as I feel... I hope it's the brakes haha. Credit card- this was accidentally still linked to one of our food delivery services, and we managed to wrack up $220 in orders and interest before I figured it out. I've chipped away at it, but want to clear the remaining $120 before the end of this challenge. Teeth- now knowing that SLS is what makes toothpaste feel like it is fire, I will buy a brand of toothpaste that doesn't have it in the ingredients, and try again to build this habit. If that means I'm brushing with baby bubblegum toothpaste, so be it. Gym - twice a week. Git swole. 2020 goals are to drop bodyweight to 70kg, then lift: Deadlift 140, Squat 105, Bench 70 (2:1.5:1). This will only happen if I am consistent about going to the gym (holidays to America excepted). Sign/Auslan- this kicks back off next week after the holiday break. I did a little practice over the holidays, but it mainly consisted of watching the live news coverage of the bushfires and trying to follow along with the Auslan interpreter (beardy translator is my favourite, content warning for the faint of heart... our country is on fire) DnD- I haven't been throwing myself whole-heartedly into playing lately, and the reason is a bit silly... Duunack (my half-orc barbarian) made a deal with a devil, which (of course) has led to a bunch of chaos and put the party on the road to hell (literally, we're visiting Dis). I was carrying a lot of guilt about it IRL, in fact I cried about it yesterday while discussing it with Mr. After our chat I feel much better and am focusing on playing the game for the game, not to try and /win/ (oh hello, perfectionist). TLDR, here's my bujo~

Last challenge, over in warriorland, I implemented my 23andMe results into a diet and exercise plan. I wound up floundering around quite a bit. Weight went up for a while, now it's back down. I realized that weightlifting during weight loss is not a winning strategy for me, even tho I want it to be. So, I'm back. One thing I did realize is that I really like thinking about biological problems, which is probably why I went after a PhD in genetics a while back. (settled for the M.S. after 6 years and being burned out). I looked at my results, and figured out a dietary program which mostly works so far. I went with a gluten free, lactose free, pescatarian diet and lasted a month before I kinda derailed for a couple days for cheeseburgers and pizza. If I could had a taste of one or the other it would have been worth it, but now I know that both was overkill. Now I alternate fish and poultry every day, so I'm feeling a little more balanced and able to hold off on meats. Anywho, point is I used science to solve a health-related thing and it was fun. I kinda thought about getting back into some research or being a doctor, and somehow took a practice/sample MCAT exam. I did terrible, but it was mostly from forgetting simple facts I learned in undergrad/gradschool. Somehow the idea wormed its way into my brain and now I can't think of anything else but to at least try. So this will be my last big attempt at being like OMG, he's a doctor successful. Bear in mind. I'm not doing this because I hate being a machinist. That is a good steady job and I sense some opportunities on the horizon in my current company (QA manager is kind of an idiot bro and I know I could do a better job managing his department) but I'd still need at least a year at the company to move up, and probably some experience in that department would help. But before I"m a year in at the machine shop, I'm going to take the MCAT before I choose to settle in. I haven't scheduled it yet, but I'm hoping to schedule it in Jan. If I do well I'll start moving in that direction and apply. Go back to school and take a couple pre-reqs, work in some bio labs. If I do it I'm going for neurosurgery. Why aim any lower? (also, google avg. neurosurgeon salary and try to to squeal and go "I want, gimme!") Edit: And now we're naming goals after brain partz! Goals: Goal 1, Hippocampus! The hippocampus is the part of the brain involved in memory formation. This goal is about studying/cramming for the MCAT. I've got four years of undergrad science classes worth of material to review in less than six months. I bought a boxed set of study guides for the test (seriously, material is almost identical to my B.S. Biology with a minor in chem and psych), and it comes with three online practice tests. The plan is to work through those guides, and take a practice test each month before January (three tests in this set, plus the three available on the AAMC website). I want to finish reading the books, then take the first practice exam at the end of this challenge. (3288 pp. and I'm already about 700 down in the first week). Goal 2,Spinal Cord! Even when complex movements are worked out somewhere else in the brain, our balancing abilities, reflexes, and the final motor output are controlled by the spinal cord. This is my yoga goal. Mindful, stretching, and balancing is the way to go if you're gonna be a neurosurgeon. Got work on balance, muscle control and endurance in all those posture muscles to work so I can keep my balance. Yoga, 3x per week. Goal 3, Anterior Cingulate Cortex! This part of the brain is believed to have roles in processing self-awareness, consciousness, empathy, morality, emotion, and bunch of similar stuff that Buddhists and people into mindfulness talk about. This is my meditation goal. I'm back on doing Soto Zen Zazen in the morning after a quick stretch sesh. It's a good way to start the day. Do morning meditation daily (>= 10 min). Goal 4, Cerebellum! The cerebellum (or little cerebrum) coordinates complex motor movements. The commands for movement usually initiate from the motor cortex along with the help of a few other places. The problem is that the signals are not refined. The cerebellum fine tunes those signals so that muscle contractions are coordinated and balanced. This is my coordination goal. Use my time at work to develop the connection between my eyes, hands, and brain. Not to mention my art and guitar playing. I've already got a lot of acumen when it comes to the eye-hand-brain thing. I just need to do some thing daily to steadily improve. Practice a fine motor skill involving the hand and eye every day. This could be painting/drawing, playing an instrument, or tinkering/fixing something. But! I have to challenge myself and put forth maximum effort so that I improve. Goal 5, Pineal Gland. The pineal gland regulates sleep/wakefulness. It secretes melatonin which regulates your circadian clock (daily metabolic cycle) and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) which is the most powerful hallucinogen known to man.Its the chemical that knocks you out. It's also called the spirit molecule. Hippies think the pineal gland is the "third eye" and a window into the spiritual realm. This is my sleep goal. My aim is to habituate myself to functioning on less sleep. Right now I'm shooting for 6 hours per night as opposed to the 8-9 I usually get. This seems counterintuitive to health, but the fact is if I want to/can become a doctor, I have to figure out how to function on less sleep and do complex things while I'm a little groggy. I'm just going to see what happens if I stick to just 6 hours a night M-F for now. I'm in my second week of this and it's actually going well. I actually sleep much better, and deeply, I'm less groggy in the morning, and I have more energy. Of course, partly this is linked with an improved diet. Goal 6, Pre-frontal cortex. The pre-frontal cortex is the big area behind your forehead (it includes the anterior cingulate cortex) that is involved with logic/reason, planning, and moderating social behavior... adulting. This is my adulting/stoic goal. Clean kitchen and bathroom weekly. Tidy up daily for like 10 min. Schedule a trip to the doctor. Schedule a trip to the dentist. Finish reading Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. Back on that too.One of the facts of being a doctor/surgeon is that you can't fix or control everything or everybody. You lose patients. You can make mistakes and ruin lives. Even with the utmost of effort and skill, it will happen and you have to strengthen yourself to accept and cope with those facts. Not wanting that level of responsibility, not wanting to bear such a burden is probably what kept me away from medicine in the first place. Every bio student has to consider it. First, I chose research but wound up in a field that just burned me out. But part of research in speciation is that human lives do not hang in the balance of every decision. So it was cozy for a while. Now I want to do something with some real weight to it and hopefully do some good. I actually thought about it pretty deeply last week. The time it takes to become a neurosurgeon is another 11 years (4 in med school, 7 in residency). Yes the paycheck is dangling there, but on the way are the lives of so many people that I might be able to help. Neurosurgeons save people from brain tumors, aneurysms, paralysis, and pain. If I can help even one person, change or save even one life, all that effort will have been worth it. Plus, brains are super neat.

Consider this a respawn journal. I took part in a couple of challenges in Summer last year, but as soon as university stepped up and I was travelling a lot between school and family, I lost my way again. This year at university has been harsh - obviously, the work is harder and there's more of it, but a bunch of personal stuff has been going on too. But I'm done with excuses. I really struggle with self-regulation and admitting mistakes. Always justifying what went wrong... I have decided to start a casual battle log to try and remain accountable but flexible - life's unpredictability makes it difficult for me to have a solid routine, but I am going to try and keep as much 'stuff' going as I can despite this. So, here is where I will track whatever I am working on at the time, whether that be my diet, my studies, my mental health etc. My general goals are to incorporate healthy daily choices alongside keeping up with the demands of university, and see if I can truly become more accountable to myself through using this log. Perhaps I will return to the 4 week challenges at some point, but for now, this is getting me back into facing my decisions and tracking the ones that went well and the ones that went not so well, in my physical health, my mental health and in life in general. So, hello if anyone is reading this! I can't promise this thread will be interesting or regular or inspiring, but hopefully it works for me. Uplifting song for this post - Two Steps From Hell / Never Give Up On Your Dreams

After a successful previous chellenge where I wanted to start good habits anew and arm myself better to win against such threats as team chocolate cakes, overindulgence of dim sums with friends, and more generally a "laissez-faire" policy due to stress which led to the gain of almost 10kg, we are moving to a more difficult part of life, how to make these good habits the new normal. How do I learn again that eating everything that I want is NOT the norm? (Or healthy or even sustainable) So this time Bulbasaur and I move further into the Kanto forest. We have our new weapon Vine Whip, from our previous challenge, and our determination is strong. We are Level 7, so we know we can defeat most weak Pokemons. We know we will meet a lot of strong Pokemons too, so we need to move towards two equally important goals: 1- Get stronger to win against these Pokemons 2- Get used to losing once in a while and not get overly upset about it (no turning off the Nintendo DS!) (To be honest, I think Goal #2 might be much harder than #1! I had example of that just yesterday.) The great thing about Pokemons, is that as they level up, they learn new attacks. Our next stop is Poison Powder, a great attack against almost all Pokemons, which infects them with poisons and slowly make theim faint! But this attack is learnt at level 13, which will not happen for a moment. However, we are slowly but steadily going there! How does this translate into Pokemon SMART goals? Easy! I will steal from my former self! 1- Spend time in the tall grass - Fight off other Pokemons and get stronger! 2- Go to the Pokemon center regularly - Always be full of energy! 3- Eat good Pokebeans - Make sure my body is fed the right nutrients! 4- Visit all the houses on the way - Pick up skills and hidden objects! Boring point details which I need to be able to nerdilly follow what I do every day on a 15-min basis Ok, so, hum, 165 points per week is the revised extimate, down from what I could be doing. Rewards will be in the form of new mangas and new candles to keep me warm while I study. As long as I meet my point goals, I should always have the candles to support the study. (Reward will also be when I succeed at my exam in January haha!) Finally, For Bulbasaur to reach level 13, all I have to do is... lose weight. 1 kg per level. It increases in difficulty each kg and can be as slooooow as levelling up. The ultimate goal is to be healthier, with more muscle than now and less fat, but there is no denying that I should lose weight, so that is easy maths! Since losing 6 kg in 4 weeks is either impossible, unhealthy or medically induced, this will be the target for the next challenge. For this time, we will aim at 3.5kg (since earlier kg are easier to lose). Starting weight: 88.5kg - Target for end of challenge: 85kg. The added beauty is that at 85kg, several pieces of clothing which I cannot wear now will fit me again. Happiness ensues. See you all in the forest!

I've been selected for the Hunger Games! I guess that's a bad thing... but maybe it'll teach me some things. My diet is my biggest barrier to progression right now, so that'll be the main focus for this challenge. The 4 Missions: Defeat Opponents - Complete 3 NFA Body Weight Level 4 workouts each week - /12 Dodge Traps - Skills training/extra activity 3x each week - /12 I might consider trying my first PvP challenge as part of this... any suggestions? Find Food - Eat at Diet Level 5 every day - /27 - Vegetables with each lunch and dinner - Keep to calorie and macro goals - White breads/pasta only once/week or less - Sweets only once/week or less -Halloween gets a free pass Outsmart the Capitol - Meaningful study daily - /28 BONUS QUEST Save Peeta - Try intermittent fasting for one week Keeping up the exercise and study, and really trying to focus on diet. I thought about doing intermittent fasting for the whole challenge, but I don't think it would work that well - I have a feeling I would eat like a maniac when not fasting, and then actually put on a bunch of weight. So I decided to give it a try as a bonus quest, just to see how it would work for me. Scoring - 90% to pass, zero week is bonus points I really need to be more consistent, especially in my diet, if I want to succeed. So as always,

I came across this study on how we're evolutionary programmed to dislike exercise. I've only just read the abstract but thought it might be of interest. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4996983/

So! We are back from our honeymoon (in New Zealand, the most amazing, beautiful place I've ever been - the mountains! the lakes! The lil birbs! the general environmental awareness!) and it's time to come back to real-life, back to work on Monday etc. This challenge will be focused on four main things (TLDR- Money, Adulting, Food, Self-improvement. Large preamble/explanation initially then with short goals at the end): 1. Moneeeeeeeey. We took a loan to go on the amazing adventure and we want to knock it over as quickly as possible. Minimum repayments are 140/ftn, whenever possible I want to bulk that up a bit to knock it over quickly. First though, I want to pay back my Dad - when we arrived on shore (after being cheated out of $600 at the money-changers at the airport) we found there was a $400 fee for extra insurance on the hire car- long story short my Dad transferred us $500 to get us on the road as quickly as possible and I want to pay him back ASAP. I've banked the $300 check from the wedding bond refund so planning to send that as soon as it clears, plus $50-100 from my next couple paychecks. Mr also traded all his September shifts with a workmate to go and have time on return to job hunt for something better, so at the moment we're a single-income household, meaning we have $500/ftn to cover all food and incidentals (paying Dad back, medications, pet needs, household thingys, gifts, unexpected costs etc) which sounds like a lot, and yet we historically go over all the time. To ensure that we don't go over I will write down all spendings in a little notebook and check in at the end of the day with a running total for the fourtnight, any 'spare' dosh will be used to either knock over a debt or on small loot items. TLDR GOALS: Track all spending. Pay back Dad $500. Minimum repayment or higher on loan. Fortnightly spending less than $500. 2. I'm an aduuuuuuuult! So I need to take care of myself and act like one. I need good sleep and hydration, to keep my toothy-pegs and to not live in squalor. While we were traveling I loved the hotel-feeling of a neat and tidy living space every time we arrived, so I need to make an effort to keep our house somewhat tidier so I can have that at home. Bonus if I can declutter any crap, as more than once we tossed around the idea of moving over there permanently (yes, it was that amazing) and I wouldn't want to move junk. TLDR GOALS: Dedicated cleaning 5mins/day minimum. Brush teeth daily. No electronics from 10pm. Chamomile tea in bed from 10.30 (concessions on game nights, but phone away). 3. Om-nom-nom-nom! While we were over there we hit the bottom of the savings (hello surprise $600 money-changing charge) and for the final few days we were surviving on cup-o-noodles and instant soup, with the occasional fast-food thrown in for variety) this was not good and I believe the cold I am currently suffering is partly due to the lack of nutrients in those 'meals'. I am also wanting to bring in some more meatless meals, as I saw just a tiny clip about how much of an environmental toll eating meat has, but I'm not keen to go fully vegetarian/vegan and Mr isn't keen to give up meat at all - meatless meal can be either dinner or lunch as breakfast for us rarely has meat. Due to the money goal above I will also be making a conscious effort not to spend money at work, but to instead bring my lunch/snacks from home, and drink only tea/instant coffee instead of drinks bought on campus. Budget goals mean we will also be reducing our eating out, likely to once/fortnight with the exception of this first fortnight as it is best-lady's birthday and we will eat out with her as well as visiting our favourite Mexican restaurant where we haven't been in ages. TLDR: Homemade lunches/no spending at work. Meatless main (lunch/dinner) 1+ times a week. Eat out 1x ftn (+1 variance). 4. Do better, be better. Self-improvement, and not in the wishy-washy-fru-fru way I saw in the bookshelf labled such at the library. I took a leave of absence from both my Masters in Business, and from my Mandarin while on honeymoon as I knew I wouldn't want to be studying when I was in a new country experiencing all the things, I don't want to lose the Mandarin skills I had gained, so I want to practice-the teacher said 1hr/day was required to really become proficient but I can't commit to that right off the bat - as such I'm committing to half of that- ie: 3.5hrs/week or half an hour a day. I will also check to see if there are any Summer session subjects either towards my Masters or the language, although neither will start within the timeframe of this challenge. Also in this focus is the fitness bit - I will do PT 1xweek, plus one class and at least one solo-sesh (gym 3xweek). TLDR GOALS: Practice Mandarin 3.5hrs/week. PT once a week plus other gym to a total of 3xweek. TLDR- TLDR GOALS: ~Track all spending. ~Pay back Dad $500. ~Minimum repayment or higher on loan. ~Fortnightly spending less than $500, updated daily. ~Dedicated cleaning 5mins/day minimum. ~Brush teeth daily. ~No electronics from 10pm. ~Chamomile tea in bed from 10.30 (concessions on game nights, but no phone). ~Homemade lunches/no spending at work. ~Meatless main (lunch/dinner) 1+ times a week. ~Eat out 1x ftn (+1 variance). ~Practice Mandarin 3.5hrs/week. ~PT once a week plus other gym to a total of 3xweek. Let's do dis!

I'm sticking with smaller and simpler, while still keeping my sights on the big goals. The Race to Reveal the Red Scorpion 1. Strength - Bodyweight or other strength training (With amounts and types TBD during Zero Week, then posted here) A - 3x/week B - 2x/week C - 1x/week F - 0x/week 2. Supple Leopard - Work with fitness evaluations and fitness routines from the book "Supple Leopard" for at least 20 minutes per session A - 5x/week B - 4x/week C - 3x/week D - 2x/week F - < 2x/week 3. Sleep - I usually wake naturally at between 7 - 7.5 hours of sleep. I also often short myself on sleep and my attention and energy suffer if I get less than 6 hours. I am aiming to train myself to regularly get around 7 hours per night. A - 7+ hrs/night B - 6.5+ hrs/night C - 6+ hrs/night D - 5.5+ hrs/night F - > 6 hrs/night 4. Study/Cyber/Data Visualization - These are for specific learning projects and portfolio pieces that are currently in progress A - All 3 Coursera courses currently enrolled in completed, on time on subsequent courses, AND 4 portfolio pieces finished B - All 3 Coursera courses currently enrolled in completed, on time on subsequent courses, AND 3 portfolio pieces finished C - All 3 Coursera courses currently enrolled in completed, on time on subsequent courses, AND 2 portfolio pieces finished D - All 3 Coursera courses currently enrolled in completed, on time on subsequent courses, AND 1 portfolio pieces finished F - < All 3 Coursera courses currently enrolled in completed, on time on subsequent courses, AND 1 portfolio pieces finished Simple. Focused. Steady as she goes...

I'm going smaller this challenge, but still keeping my sights on the big goals. 4S - Swim, Sleep, Study, Cyber Security (& Data Visualization) 1. Swim - Get the body in the pool and do as much as I safely can as my back continues to heal A - 3x/week B - 2x/week C - 1x/week F - 0x/week 2. Sleep - Keep with the early to bed, early to rise schedule. Maintain electronics curfew and use red light/screen dimming app. A - 7+ hrs/night B - 6+ hrs/night C - 5+ hrs/night F - > 5 hrs/night 3. Study - Weeks 1 and 2: Exam Prep and Conference, Coursera, and Khan Academy classes A - 6+ hrs/day (average for the week) B - 5+ hrs/day (average for the week) C - 4+ hrs/day (average for the week) D - < 3hrs/day (average for the week) F - < 2hrs/day (average for the week) Weeks 3 and 4: Coursera, Khan Academy, Cybrary, & Udemy classes A - 4+hrs/day (average for the week) B - 3+hrs/day (average for the week) C - 2+hrs/day (average for the week) D - < 1hrs/day (average for the week) F - 0hrs/day (average for the week) 4. Cyber Security and Data Visualization "portfolio" pieces A - 4 pieces/projects B - 3 pieces/projects C - 2 pieces/projects D - 1 piece/project F - 0 projects Simple. Focused. Steady as she goes...

1) Work out 2-3 times a week 20 points total - I have already scheduled my workouts (bodyweight level 3) for the next five weeks. 4 points for all scheduled workouts 2 points for half scheduled workouts 2) Walk 20 minutes 5 times a week. (Changes from Walk 15 minutes 5 times a week to fit the Walk to Mordor quests in the Academy) 20 points total 4 points for 5-7 walks 2 points for 3-4 walks 3) Log food on YouFood every day. 20 points total 4 points for all days logged 2 points for 5 out of 7 days logged 4) Commit 15 minutes a day to studying (Spanish, trigonometry, or data science) 20 points total - I'm going back to school next year, January 2018, for a bachelor's degree in mathematics, so a refresher course or five in math is necessary. Data science is because I'm planning on an applied statistics minor. 4 points for all days studied 2 points for 5 out of 7 days studied 5) Floss daily 20 points total 4 points for all days flossed (first week, Tues - Sat counts) 2 points for 5 out of 7 days flossed I will start the challenge this week, as I have workouts scheduled already anyways. This is my respawn, I've been out of it for at least 6 months. I'm hoping that joining a challenge thread will help me stay accountable. My Epic Quest page: https://www.nerdfitness.com/character/9619

In school? Studying for an exam? Super-huge thing coming up that you need to prepare for? Need support? Someone to hold you accountable? Then this is for you Trying to be healthy (work out, eat right, get enough sleep) juggle schoolwork, and work/family/social stress is tough...we can't promise to help you pass advanced accounting, but at least you're among others that understand what you're going through, and maybe pick up a few tips along the way

Our Valkyrie is getting somewhere! Last challenge was not all rosy due to a biz trip to China which threw me off course, but post biz-trip I was compensating for bad eating in China and working out extra and it was great!!! So happy happy Challenge!!! So let's continue on the same path! I can already see results - some on the scale, some in my energy level, some in letting go (thank you meditation). For this month, I want to have a more balanced approach to working out BUT with a Twist! And I'd like to focus on studying again - but in a realistic way, not the "go study for 10 hours now or die ok then I'll die" approach I took before. After all Valkyries too have to learn to crawl before walking and running to kill Giants!! Goals for this Challenge: 1- Get STRONGER 2- Get LEANER 3- Get RESTED 4- Get CALMER 5- Get SMARTER 6- Vainquish these obstacles which I never get to do even if they are small This challenge will have both tasks with points allocated and tasks which will be Pass/Fail (since they have been on my challenges for like 3 months now!!) DESTROY. OBSTACLES. ON. PATH. More details later! (Also I could never be skinny for the life of me...)

Summer of Change - Back to the Academy Backstory: I've had a calling all my life, and at last with the help of Kyle Katarn I figured out what it was. The Force is strong (enough) in me, so I shall attend the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV. This isn't my first academy experience, I've been trained as a New Republic spy at the Dantoine Academy. While the content will be pretty different now, at least I how know the wind blows in those kind of institutions. But others bring even better advantages with them (already having their own lightsabers, for example), which means I need to prepare my arrival, to be the best possible Jedi student I can be. GOAL: Be ready for the start of the semester! In exactly 8 weeks my first semester as a undergrad student in Physical Activity & Health is going to start. It is my second time as a university student, but in a completely different field this time. I am 29 years old, while most of my co-students will certainly be under 20. And since this is a sports/exercise science programm (albeit one with a heavy focus on science and medicine and little on performing sports ourselves) it probably attracts a lot of really fit people. Therefore my goal for this and the following challenge is to be ready in body and mind to have a great start. Quest 1: Bodyweight workouts every second day I'm using the 7 weeks to getting ripped template for this quest, because it has a good mixture of different bodyweight stuff. I started the 3 week prep part two weeks ago, which means I'll finish in 8 weeks. BONUS QUEST: Get some kettlebell work done in between If I have the time and energy, I'll do some kettlebell work, but it is not the main focus right now. Quest 2: Endurance workouts (almost) every day Not important what I do, just keep moving for 20 minutes or so. I've biked mostly the last two weeks, but hiking, skating, running or anything else is fine, too. Quest 3: Eat consciously That mostly means discerning real hunger and lust and then eat accordingly: not in between meals and not too much during meals. Also, I've started the habbit to eat at least one protein-rich meal (usually breakfast), which I want to keep up. Quest 4: Hunt down an appartment and a job If I don't get those two, I'm gonna live under a bridge come october. This should be motivation enough... Quest 5: Prestudy I've got two online precourses to work through, math and chemistry. The latter is very unorganised, so I got a textbook in the public library for that and while I was there I picked up som others, too: -Precourse Chemistry for Dummies -Mathematics for Science for Dummies -Physics for Dummies -Anatomy & Physiology for Dummies The goal here is to study something each day (textbook or online course), so I have at least in these core subjects a comparable amount of knowledge as the other students, who just finished school.

Hello everyone! My name is Sora, and I'll be joining the Rangers this time around if you'll have me (previously a scout). The last challenge was my first in a very long time; I rejoined after a long hiatus, and semi-successfully completed my challenge with the scouts. I'm hoping to join the Rangers as I begin to explore different types of workouts. I have historically been a distance runner (cross country and track team in middle and high school). In about a month, I'll be a Freshman at the University of Michigan, and I'm hoping to try out something new. For this challenge, I want to explore different types of workouts and begin to find something I might like to do in the future. For this challenge, I will be centering around a theme from the Anime "Magi: Adventure of Sinbad" which recently finished airing. I'm currently studying abroad in Japan until August 12, so I appreciate the idea of adventure. Goal 1: Workout! Workout 5 days a week, including some mix of running and non-running exercises. One of the main ideas behind what I am trying to accomplish is based in working out. Like Sinbad, I want to try to live like other people do and experience different ways of life. Through this, I hope to find the best fit for me. I will continue running as it's what I know I am capable of. Otherwise, I will try to find new workouts to incorporate. I don't have access to a gym or anything, so body weight workouts will probably be in store. If you have any ideas for what I should try out, please let me know! Goal 2: Try Paleo! Have 6 paleo meals a week (try new recipes or make good choices out). I am currently living on my own and cooking for myself, so I would like to try to learn some new recipes and eat in a new way. I like the philosophy behind paleo, and I've wanted to give it a go for a while. This will be a little difficult due to being in a small apartment in Japan (limited kitchen and living in a country that eats a lot of rice). However, I will give it my best shot! Let me know if there is a recipe I must try! Goal 3: Smile! Brush teeth every morning and night (bonus points for mid day). Smile more. Over the past year I've become less consistent with my oral hygiene due to a wacky schedule. It's time for this to stop. Sinbad is known for his charm, and a big part of that comes from his smile, so I want to have a smile that I am confident in! Life Goal: Study the world around you! Study Japanese 7 days a week (at least 5 days of two hours a day [consisting of grammar, vocabulary, and kanji], and another 2 days of review and practice). I am in Japan, after all, so it's about time I become better at studying Japanese. I've taken a few years of classes, but I have a lot of review that I need to do. In the last challenge I improved, but now it's really time to step it up. Part of Sinbad's travels is him learning about new places and other ways of life, so what better way to do this? Overall Goal: Look Good Naked I'm hoping to cosplay Sinbad at Youmacon (the first week of November). In order to do this character justice, I want to improve my overall figure and become more confident in my appearance. Rather than having a goal like "lose X amount of weight/bf/etc", I'm simply trying to make habits that will result in that on their own. I don't want to worry about the numbers, only the work. I will have this as my overall goal for the next few challenges leading up to November! Thanks for having me, Rangers! I look forward to working among you.

Due to family commitments, I didn't work on my last challenge at all. I did manage to keep up with the ranger minis but that was it. I have gained about three kilos and I am back up to 115kg. Not really happy, about that. So it is time to get back on track with this challenge and do what I need to do.Because of my absence, sailing the skies with the crew of the pirate airship Queen Lizzy's Cutlass, the troll has regained its full strength and hitpoints. I too am at full health. Now a couple of things are happening which I want to include here in my NF goals. I have recently started studying a Diploma of Nutrition, this is important to me for my family's health and also a possible new career direction. I also recently joined an Aussie support group on fb called SuperDads. The founder of the group is a personal trainer based in Queensland, He has just created an eight-week course designed to help Dads improve their lives across a broad range of areas, I am lucky enough to have gained a place as one of his test subjects for the course. So over the next 8 weeks [well seven and a half, we started Monday] I am participating in a course that will help [hopefully] boost my parenting skills, life skills, health skills, and become a better version of myself. In other words to become a Super Dad. I somehow want to be able to combine my heathenry, the Broadsword training, Nutrition course into a health and fitness programme/school/academy in some way, I am not sure quite how yet. But the idea is there. This is the start of that journey. Now to my goals. Goal One: Highland Broadsword This is still my focus for my fitness. I will also be adding the monthly SCA combat training to this goal. Attending that is equivalent to three training sessions at home. I want to do 2-4 cateran sessions plus 1-2 SCA combat training drills per week. I have found a youtube clip showing the basics of the SCA heavy combat training that I was shown last month and I will use that as my basis for the SCA drills. I need to become a qualified Broadswordsman in order to teach broadsword, That means regular dedicated training and updates on my Cateran training blog. The SCA is still my primary place to train with other people and a possible source of future students. Goal Two: Runic Meditation It is time to continue with the next four runes; Ing, Daeg, Oethel, Ac. I still need to bring this back up to five times per week to be benefiting the most from this practice. If I perform a monthly Blessing that counts as a critical hit for the week. I have noticed the difference in not doing these meditations over the past few weeks and I do not like the difference. I also plan to move to a meditation upon the Nine Noble Virtues and its derivatives/variations after I have finished with the runes. I think these virtues could be the part of Heathenry that could most easily be adapted to my idea, Goal Three: Workouts I really need to increase my strength to deal with fighting in heavy combat. Not to mention my endurance. I am also having lower back pain from tight muscles and poor posture, so I need to start stretching regularly as well. I plan to stretch as part of warming up/down before any strength workout. Thanks to the last challenge I have started doing push ups every day again, only one set of five but that is much better than none. I want to keep this up and add some stuff to do as a simple daily routine, that will gradually increase my fitness. I can see the old BBWW routine coming back into play again. Goal Four: Becoming a SuperDad I am changing this from a general doing stuff to becoming a SuperDad, as a tip of the hat to the programme I have started. I am going to list the various tasks that I want to be working on over the next few weeks and beyond. Build training shields and swords for the kids to play with and for me to actually train with. Work more on the Garden/House maintenance. Studying my nutrition course. Doing stuff with/for Bec, date nights are still an automatic critical hit. Doing her hair, watching a movie together, a coffee downtown, any shared activity that builds our relationship (excluding shopping and housework). Participating in the Superdad programme Spending more time crafting. Scoring It has dawned on me that the troll could actually wound me four times per week if I stuff up. So I am adapting the scoring and life points to allow for this. I now have 17 life points to allow me to survive if I lose every week of combat with the troll. I am doubling the points the trol has as well to compensate. I am also altering the amount of damage that I can do to the troll in order to be able to kill it in one challenge. 5+ sessions per week is a Critical Hit on the troll and is worth four points. 4 sessions per week is a Hit on the troll and is worth two points. 3 sessions per week is a weak hit on the troll as is worth one point. 2 sessions per week is a block/dodge or miss as the troll evades my attack and is worth no points. 1 session per week is a block/dodge or miss as I evade the troll's attack and is worth no points. 0 sessions per week is a hit by the troll on me and I lose one point.

Hello all! It's been quite some time since I was last part of the scouts or the NF community. You may remember me from my previous account, username "Sora". I made a post HERE yesterday detailing my absence and change of account. Regardless, I'm back, and that's what's important! Part of the reason I'm starting this challenge a few days late is my account troubles, but I figure better late than never. So Let's Go! This Summer, I'm completing an internship in Japan, near Kyoto. Some of you may remember my challenges from the past that led up to my first trip to Japan, and I'm really happy to be back in this amazing place. However, I have found that I haven't been living a very productive life while I have been here. It's been almost a month, and I'm sick of being unproductive and wasting this amazing opportunity to improve myself. So, for this challenge, I have decided to channel Saitama from One Punch Man and work towards a better me through aggressive repetition. Goal 1: Workout! Rather than taking Saitama's workout directly (100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats, and 10 k of running everyday for three years), I'll be adapting it so fit my my current fitness level and timetable: Run 5 days a week, and incorporate body weight exercises... week 1: 2 days / week 2: 3 days / week 3: 4 days / week 4: 5 days The idea is to get back into running consistently again, while adding in some other moves to make myself more well rounded. I'm hoping to try out some types of fitness in the next year, so the body weight work (primarily push ups, squats, and sit ups) should help me gain some strength outside of distance running and improve my overall fitness level. There is also a good chance that I'll be climbing Mr. Fuji in July during my trip to Tokyo, so I'll need all the strength I can get! Goal 2: Cook! Cook 1 meal a day at least six days a week. At least one recipe must be new each week. This is my first time living and cooking 100% on my own for an extended period of time, and I've been wasting a lot of money the last few weeks eating out. The food here is AMAZING, but I need to start eating a little healthier and economically. My Goal here is to expand my cooking ability through consistently cooking and trying new recipes. One of my ideas for the next four week challenge is to work towards a paleo diet, but I think the first step towards this goal should be simply cooking in general. Goal 3: Hydrate! Drink 100 Ounces of Water a day, and limit soft drinks to once a day. At home in Michigan, I'm usually much better about staying hydrated. However, since my lifestyle changed significantly when I moved here, I have found myself drinking less. It's also much hotter and humid here than I am used to (yay rainy season!), so it's even more important that I am intentional about my hydration. I also need to try to avoid the many options that the plethora of vending machines here have to offer (Japan has the highest ratio of vending machines to landmass of any nation worldwide). I have downloaded the "iHydrate" app to track my progress. Life Goal: Daily Routine Complete at least three of the following each day, and complete all of them at least: Week 1: 1 time Week 2: 2 times Week 3: 3 times Week 4: 4 times Tasks: Read (20 minutes), Vlog (Film one video OR Edit one video), Study Japanese ( 1.5 hours), Clean (including laundry, dishes, etc. Basically anything in my apartment), Adventure (go somewhere I have never been before), Draw (1 completed sketch of 30 minutes working on full drawing) I have a lot of things I want to accomplish while I'm here, and the only way I'm going to be able to do that is by consistently practicing all of them. I've been doing fine doing them individually, but the problem for me has been giving attention to all of these things at once and finding the proper balance. So, through this goal, I'm hoping to slowly add more on to my plate and adjust to the balance gradually. IN SUMMARY: I'm hoping to slowly add more onto my plate as the challenge progresses. Through repeating everything consistently, I'm hoping to become a hero like Saitama! I'm super excited to be back among the NF community, especially the scouts. I'd love to talk more with you all, and I hope we can all reach our goals together! Let's go!

In school? Studying for an exam? Super-huge thing coming up that you need to prepare for? Need support? Someone to hold you accountable? Then this is for you Trying to be healthy (work out, eat right, get enough sleep) juggle schoolwork, and work/family/social stress is tough...we can't promise to help you pass advanced accounting, but at least you're among others that understand what you're going through, and maybe pick up a few tips along the way

SENSES ARE TINGLING Quest One: Learn what you can... (+2 WIS, +1 CHA) So, you're going to a universe where we don't quite know what is happening. I know my evil me is doing something to the citizens, because there is an increase of mutants around the city. We need to study those mutants and see what we can find. In the mean time, we're going to study my "Evil-Me" moves. Because you're going to... Study time. Before being an Assassin, I'm a Scholar/Scientist. Therefore, I need to stop making studying such a bad bug in my life. I want to be able to sit down and completely focus. Also, this is my finals week so. I need to pass. Goal: Do AT LEAST a 25 minute Study/Work Session, completely focused. Quest Two: Got the Moves son! (+2 STA, +3 DEX, +1 STR) ... have to fight him as well. I can hold my ground but fighting against myself is hard, we're going to predict each other's moves. But if you fight him... that's better. The gloves you're wearing will give the ability to stick the walls like me. In the mean time, we're going to have to practice because you need to get a grasp of moving on the wall thing. This time, I want to try and go for Parkour Training 2 times a week. I'm going to mainly practice runs, and sometimes a few flips to make sure I can do them. Quest Three: Prepare yourselves! (+2 STR, + 2 CON) There will be a lot of fighting and running around, so when you're not studying or doing movement training we need to increase your power. Let's do some basic strength training. Get you the power. You do want to be more than a suit right? I mean you are a half-elf yes, you're not exactly a suit, but you catch my drift here right? Just some bodyweight training. I'm going to divide it in two parts, the lower half of the body, I'm going to do the maintenance of Air Alert, and the top half I'm going to do: -Pull ups -Core (Toes to Bar, probably) -Push ups -Decline Push ups -Kettlebell military push -other stuff that I still haven't decided. I need to work on this. Create the Workout. Maybe even use one of Madbarz's trainings. Quest Four: Guild... Leader? (+2CHA, +1 WIS) Listen, while we are trying to save everyone, going alone into the madness against thousands of Mutants is a bad Idea. At the same time we are studying the Mutants and see what's happening, you are going to make some of them come to our side. If we can make them become the good guys... that's a bonus for the Academy and The Multi-Verse Force. You're going to be the leader of any squadron you create in this universe. I also want you to become the best hero you can, and that goes a long way for leadership. Show us what you're made of, kid. I am currently trying to get an Organization/Association going (Still can't tell you the full details, until it's official) but I am not giving it enough time. Also, I am a bit of a scary cat, so I'm going to forcefully put me in a position to lead, going WAY out of my comfort zone. This time there's a lot going on, but I'll do my best as a leader to keep myself organized. Let's do this. Goal is to Once a Week plan out what needs to be done, and how I can achieve it.

Asuka going from Giant to Valkyrie! – Part 1: Establishing strong bases This is it. This is the time. I am in good health, I am committed, and since I am focusing on maintaining reasonable hours at work, I will have some time to dedicate to this challenge – to me. This will be a long path. This first challenge will probably put me a few steps closer to my goal, but obviously not all the way. For the next five weeks, the goal will be to focus on habits, creating good ones and making off with old, bad ones. So off towards my Valkyrie future I go – no more Mrs. Giant. What is a Giant? The Giant is strong, very strong. Nothing will stop him until he reaches his target. But he is rather stupid – will only target buildings, blindly going through other threats without stopping. He’s not even wearing shoes! What is a Valkyrie? A Valkyrie (“Valk”) is tough and smart. Targets all potential threats and destroys them, even behind her. And she’s all female, wearing makeup and heels, showing off the strong bod she built for herself. Isn’t she the best? So far, I am a pretty good Giant. I’m big, so I go the easy way - I see, I destroy. Be it a cake or a new project. But this is not good – neither in my personal, nor my professional life, especially since I became a Giant for the wrong reasons. It’s time for a change. Let’s go! Goal #1 – Get leaner This is the key difference between a Giant and a Valk. She is awesome, but doesn’t need to be extra bulky. So why should I? Plan: For that one, I’ll request the help of Weight Watchers, which did awesome work in the past. I will track what I eat and keep it below 26 points per day, with 49 additional points weekly, which is the level where I was last time I did the program. I have been tracking for two weeks already, although I have not counted, I just wrote it down. Grading: 1 point per day below or at 33 points (with weekly addition), 3 additional points for a full week below the total of 231. I will also get an additional point for days below 26 points. Extra point also for not snacking in the afternoon. [Max baseline 10 points] Goal #2 – Get stronger Valks are strong. In hordes in Clash of Clans, they are nearly unstoppable and will wipe out a base pretty fast. So it’s important that I keep exercising and keep getting stronger. Plan: Continue working out every day, the way I did it in the last mini. I’m hoping the new mini will also help me in that goal! The goal is to work out for an hour, including voluntary walks (not the walk to and from the office). All workouts are welcome, cycling, HIIT, dancing, walking, strength training. Grading: 0.5 point per half-hour when I work out, 3 additional points for working out all seven days of the week. Two additional point per BBWW since I’m still not happy with them. [Max baseline 10 points] Goal #3 – Get smarter Valks target all threats in their paths. So should I. Which is why I need to be smarter, and to spend more time studying to that effect. I need both to prepare more seriously for my Korean exam and focus on planning at work, rather than working tirelessly. Plan: Study five hours a week. Not complicated. Shout out to Fenyx for inspiring me to pick up studying again. Grading: 2 points per hour spent studying. 3 point for every hour beyond the five hours of the plan. [Max baseline 10 points]. Goal #4 – Take better care of myself I am not good at being a feminine girl. In fact, I sometimes don’t feel like a girl at all. I tried to shed the girly girl image to be seen as stronger. But the Giant act is not working. In fact, the single most successful person in our office is very girly. That will teach me. The Valk is strong, but in heels and makeup. So I need to focus on me and making myself feel good. Plan: I will have a list of potential ways to take care of myself, with different point rewards. - Doing a manicure (2 pts) - Going to the hairdresser (10 pts) - Moisturizing (1 pt) - Taking a long bath (3 pts) - Exfoliating (1 pt) - Doing a face mask (2 points) - Going to the dermatologist (10 pts) - Buying clothes fitting me (5 points) - Doing face treatment (e.g., scrub, night cream) (1 pt) - Stretching for 20 minutes (1 pt) Grading: I will set a goal of 10 points per week as well. If I cannot make it, I may readjust it. MAC makeup guarantees Valk will look good even after a long fight. Complementary goal: Be more open to people Valks are great at synergies with other troops. So I need to be more open to other people, and not shut myself in the house. Plan: I need to be more sociable, rather than spend so much time in the house. Also make the house more welcoming to other people. - Putting wallpaper in my room (20 points) - Making a new friend (attempting to is ok) (20 pts) - Going out of the house during the weekend (1 pt) - Going out to drinks or dinner or lunch with a friend (10 pts) Reward: I am expecting 40 points per week from the key four goals, and hopefully some 50 from the complimentary goal. Over five weeks that is a total of 250. I will set rewards per level – all rewards will add to each other. - 200 points reached: $20 to spend any way I want (most probably in Clash Royale!) - 250 points reached: Another $60 to spend (Total $80) - 300 points reached: The set of beautiful weights I really really want to buy (cost $130) - 350 points reached: Another $120 to spend!! (Total $200 + weights) I look forward to this new challenge. It starts with a day off, so I’ll put in some Taking Care points today on top of my work out. Valk power!

In school? Studying for an exam? Super-huge thing coming up that you need to prepare for? Need support? Someone to hold you accountable? Then this is for you Trying to be healthy (work out, eat right, get enough sleep) juggle schoolwork, and work/family/social stress is tough...we can't promise to help you pass advanced accounting, but at least you're among others that understand what you're going through, and maybe pick up a few tips along the way

In school? Studying for an exam? Super-huge thing coming up that you need to prepare for? Need support? Someone to hold you accountable? Then this is for you Trying to be healthy (work out, eat right, get enough sleep) juggle schoolwork, and work/family/social stress is tough...we can't promise to help you pass advanced accounting, but at least you're among others that understand what you're going through, and maybe pick up a few tips along the way