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See? It's topical. Sorry I'm late. As I like to say, I think of challenges as things that we do first and foremost, and I started the challenge but I never posted it. So here are the big goals for the year: I want to get my freaking apartment cleaned up finally. I want to lose a significant amount of weight, because I have a significant amount to lose. I want to graduate to pain free movement. I want to complete a draft of the novel and get it before some beta readers. I want to go to therapy. I want to start dating again. A lot of these goals are... in progress already. After asking @The Most Loathed and thinking about it some, I decided to download the Renaissance Periodization diet app. Not because I need someone to tell me what to do but because I think it's useful to have something to help me track general trends in weight and tell me, "Hey, this is looking good," or "Hey, this is looking not so good and maybe you should change some things." I started up a weight loss phase for myself officially on the 17th and so far I'm looking good. You wouldn't think having a line chart trending the proper direction would make a big difference, and maybe it doesn't make a big difference for most people, but it sure does help me. My training, in the meantime, is helping my knee feel better, and work got off my back enough for me to start making mat time again, which is heckin' dope. So, looking back at my goals, I'm kind of vibing with the cleaning goal the most. It feels appropriate to the season, and a bunch of stuff kind of started to happen to convince me that it's just time: found some apartment repair opportunities that I don't want to haggle with my landlord about and I'd rather do myself I'm meditating more lately and it's cleaning out my headspace something nice I got another calcium score for my heart and it looks like there's more calcium in there despite our best efforts. This is an early warning of potential coronary artery disease, and given my family history of heart attacks, it's only a matter of time. After talking it over with my primary care provider, we're looking at starting up EDTA IV treatment, which is something that's normally used for things like lead poisoning and the detoxification of other heavy metals. It's not guaranteed to do anything about my heart, but it's not contraindicated either and there's a chance it could do me some good. I'll be paying out of pocket for it, I think, but that's what my HSA is for and I'm always under budget on that thing anyway, so it's not like I can't afford it. I think. I guess we'll see. So, just a lot going on to make me feel like it's time, and with the onset of spring, I figure, what the hell? The goal is a riff on my standard thing. Normally it's been clear up one piece of trash or properly store one thing. The riff is, I'm going to double that - two pieces of trash or 2 things properly stored, or a combination thereof. Each of these is going to be from the 2 spaces in my apartment: one from my job space, and one from my personal space. I'm also going to spice this up with some rewards, too: I picked up a book on home repair and it includes some tool lists for some of the jobs I want to get done. Every week that I do 80% or better, I will reward myself with a trip to the hardware store to pick up a tool. By the end of these 5 weeks, I should have the tools I need to start on the repairs I want to do. Whether that starts or not at the end of those weeks is gonna depend on where and how I find myself, but that'll be a problem for future Kishi to solve when he's collected enough data and changed his circumstances enough to make an intelligent decision. As I said, I've been at this now for a bit and the stats are as follows: Goal: 2.5/4 That is not 80%! So, I'm going to have to pick up (harrrr) my pace a bit if I want to get what I need to get my work done. The week's been decent so far. I've been missed at the academy, which warmed my heart some to realize, and so this week I've been pushing myself to get my "Strength At Length" work done in the morning. It's worked the past couple days, but it didn't happen today, so tonight is strength/rehab and rest. I've been recommitting to home drilling too to keep myself honest and sharpen up a little bit. Today's been kind of shit show, enough to derail my training but not more or worse than I've complained about before here. And hey, it's a short week on account of Good Friday, so a 3-day weekend will be nice. Only bad part is, they're gonna hold me to a full week's worth of productivity without a full week to do the work. That's never fun. But that's par for the course, and I did manage to solve some significant problems today. So that's good news. This is fine. Yup. Nothing to see here, folks. Just keep on moving. Fire cleanses, after all.

Follow along as I search for the true slayer among the crowd of promising potentials - the true slayer is a comedian who can excel at the the four marks of destiny - laughs per minute (LPM), story telling, presence, and X factor. I also shouldn't have to say this, but because of woke I'll be very clear, a comedian is a woman. I have no time for so called "male-comedians", those men who make a career of voice acting r/incel posts. I understand there are queer men, disabled men, BIPOC men, Jewish men, and men with hilariously exploitable trauma who can do a passable job as actual male-comedians; but the true slayer slays, without a hyphen.* To find the true slayer, I need to train like a slayer, and I'm focusing on the following areas for this challenge: Lore Head on pillow in bed reading fiction by 11pm - 5x/week Continued Duolingo streak by noon - 7x/week Meditation Ass on meditation pillow for 5 minutes or more - 7x/week Bodhrán meditation 3x/week Strength 3x8 65% work - 4x/week 15 mins HIIT - 4x/week Punching Empty the attic Attend one Stammtisch Attend one open mic Learn "the Ballad of Jed Clampett" Complete the book and workbook "Change Your Story Change Your Life" (CYSCYL) by Carl Greer Design and produce statuettes St Sebastian / Apollo The Norns The Black Madonna of Czestochowa / Erzulie Dantor St Rita of Cascia / Marsha P Johnson Produce pre-designed statuettes Eve-Asherah Gullveig-Freyja Redesign and produce statuettes Brigid Persephone Fro-ingvi Produce prayer beads Green agate and oak choker Unakite and rose quartz counting bracelet malas Obsidian and agate counting bracelet malas Jasper and copper counting bracelet malas Jasper "dude" bracelet Coffee-tone steel "dude" bracelet Get two tattoos *Expect lots of standup clips, and a decent amount of AI generated images of vampire slayers as comedians

Kind of inspired by @Red1263. And I like the vibe of this one. Even though it is a monastery, and a separated space, it doesn't feel as isolated as the other fantasy pieces do where the monastery is built in the mountains. That is, it doesn't feel as removed from day to day concerns as the other pieces tend to. I like it for that. Feels truer to life somehow. Also, I like the feeling that it mixes East and Southeast Asian aesthetics for a real fantasy vibe. But that's just me tho. Anyway, howdy, y'all! Welcome to another challenge. Peace and be welcome. Last challenge, things went really great. I stopped leaning so much on caffeine and got really sensitive to it as a result, and I ranked up to a blue belt in BJJ, which caught me by surprise, and I advanced in my writing to the point that I'm writing prose on my novel, and... I just feel good. Good enough that I feel like I can make some significant changes in my life this year, things that I want for myself. This was my wishlist as I was able to articulate it to myself: I want to get my freaking apartment cleaned up finally. I want to lose a significant amount of weight, because I have a significant amount to lose. I want to graduate to pain free movement. I want to complete a draft of the novel and get it before some beta readers. I want to go to therapy. I want to start dating again. But you might notice that my topic and my tags, along with my tendency to only do one goal for a challenge, kind of makes it sound like I'm not getting after any of these. I beg to differ. It's been my observation that nothing exists in isolation; rather, everything relates and exists within a context. Training exists in a context with sleep and nutrition, and these exist in relationship with job and income and privilege, and these exist in a social context within which I have to live and move and have my being. It sounds like highfalutin nonsense, but what it basically boils down to is I can't change one thing without changing a whole bunch of other things at the same time. In this case, a movement goal helps me get after the clean up goal, the weight loss goal, and the pain free goal, because my place is messy enough that it interferes with my movement I weigh enough that it impacts my joint health (although it also provides free resistance too, so it's not like it's all bad) moving pain free is dope So, big ol' wind up. What does it all mean? Well, those of you what know me or followed me for a while know I've got a tendency to mix and match stuff from a lot of different trainers/training philosophies, but it's only been in the past month or so that I've really come to internalize the concept of "Junk Volume," or Bruce Lee's maxim of "Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, and add what is specifically your own." I thought for a long that what I was doing giving myself an opportunity to express my body in a lot of different ways, and maybe that was true, but I wasn't being truthful with myself in terms of why I was doing what I was doing. Truth is, I was mad at myself for developing obesity, and I've been punishing myself for it, working beyond my ability to recover, and really failing to develop the attributes that I actually want for myself. That's not to say I don't want cool shit like front lever rows or heavy kettlebell snatches or long-distance heavy rucking or things like that, but I don't want them at the expense of pain free movement or the ability to do striking and grappling well into old age, and I suspect that that's what I've been doing. So after a lot of thought, I've elected to go with Ben Patrick/Knees Over Toes Guy's programs, specifically with the goal of building toward the BJJ strength program that he put together along with Nsima Inyang. As I mentioned to @The Most Loathed, I've been listening lately to Dr. Mike Israetel, a jiujiteiro/bodybuilder/Dr of Sports Physiology, and I eventually stumbled across one of his videos from some years ago where he talks about blending strength work and grappling, and he specifically recommends that there be as much separation between these as is possible so that they don't interfere with each other. And you might not think that a knee/body rehab program would count as bodybuilding/strength work, but Mr. Toes has personally said that he considers his work to be a mix of bodybuilding and yoga, specifically because he seeks to develop "strength at length." 7 weeks in, I think that claim is worth taking seriously, especially since I do have a feeling that my martial arts and my strength work have been in conflict with one another. So, what is my goal? My goal is to get myself to the point that I'm doing my strength work 4-6 hours before I go out to the mats. This will mean doing my strength work in the AM, and doing mat time at night. Night time mat time isn't going to be an option all the time, however, and my scoring for the challenge is going to account for that. Knees Over Toes (KOT) program presently runs Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday are rest days. Night training is only available Monday, Thursday, and Friday. Saturday and Sunday are noon and morning, respectively, but it doesn't matter, because those are rest days. Therefore, Monday, Thursday, and Friday training will each be worth half a point. So KOT is half a point, and mat time is half a point. Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday trainings are each worth a full point, because only one kind training is available to do on those days if I assume that the goal is for these to harmonize with one another rather than interfere with one another. Half points are still possible on days where I follow one program and not the other when I could have feasibly followed both. I will bias toward KOT because of its rehab benefits and its carryover to more of my life than mat time. If you followed me last challenge, you might recall that I could have a potential obstacle in that the building's washing machine busted, but I'm pleased to report that my landlord actually took care of this in a timely fashion and I have laundry facilities restored on the premises. So that's good news. Making this work is going to mean getting to bed earlier and getting up earlier, something that I've allowed to slip. It's also going to mean balancing my work-life balance a bit since I'm cleared for OT with the job right now and I need to work as much as I can/they'll let me before it cuts off at the end of the month again. Not sure how it's going to bear out since our legislators can't budget for shit these days, so I might get more next month and I might not. Just gotta be like water, I guess. But hey, here we are, on time for once. Cool. Looking forward to seeing how this one goes.

I tend to do a special Valentines themed February, to be hot and shallow and go to a lot of parties. (Mostly shallow, as I still largely aspire to either of the other two.) Some years it's a Casanunda challenge from Discworld, but I think I'm in Trek mood this year. So I'll do second edition of last year's Vulcan Valentine's challenge. 1. Strength training Dating on Vulcan requires a lot more combat than you might expect. So physical training is important. But what will not do is upsetting the delicate hormonal balance that keeps you from killing half a dozen people with sharpened hockey stick. To keep cortisol down, the goal is minimum effort, but lots of consistency. Low and slow. I'm still into isometrics. I haven't managed enough consistency to really know for sure if they're as efficient as the claims say, but they're Good Enough, and they're the workout I will do, so that's fine. I will count anything. The goal is consistency. But I do want giant muscles eventually, cuz I have people to beat with a lirpa. Also bonus points for my stupid daily walk for my stupid physical and mental health. It's boring, but it's a good daily vitamin of movement. Goal: be strong, do an exercise 2. Rest Dating on Vulcan requires quality sleep. I need to stick to a sensible bedtime. I also need to work hard to keep my chronic sleep deficit down. Under seven hours is the target zone. Under ten hours is pretty decent. Under 17 hours is sort of a yellow alert, not great. Anything over that, I am in red alert. I also need to baby the most annoying sinuses on the planet. I also need to do a yoga nidra meditation to practice sleep during the day. (I need remedial sleep lessons, guys.) Goal: 11pm bedtime. Keep sleep deficit under ten hours. Keep my sinuses happy. One yoga nidra session. 3. Emotional Management I've been reading a lot lately about emotions stored in the body, usually in the form of some kind of tightness or stiffness, and also in the form of different modes of nervous system activation that don't always respond to modern stressors correctly. (Emily Nagoski talks about both of these in some of her Burnout talks, and the yoga nidra-adjacent folks also talk about it, and various ADHD people have been touching on it from a different angle. It's just showing up everywhere I turn.) This is likely me, and probably a more effective approach than trying to out-reason various behaviors and emotions. Meditation has left me with a certain distrust of using the mind to master the mind, because it's just not that smart, and the only thing that's made a really noticeable difference in ADHD symptoms and so on is frequent rest breaks. There are various recommendations, but it's generally low intensity movement and rest aimed at helping stress responses shut off and undoing some of the physical symptoms they leave behind, so the body stops taking cues from them. Both my previous two goals count towards this, in part. But also, it turns out my fave yoga evening cooldowns are probably ideal. Also, there's mindfulness and metta meditation I'd like to get done; metta is definitely on point here, and mindfulness is just helpful in a foundational sort of way. I, uh, also need to remember to actually do the rest breaks I plan to do. If my day is going badly, I'm likely to start skipping them, but if my day is going badly, skipping them is probably the reason why. I have to treat them like a job. Goal: Get emotions out of the body. (By doing something extra that is not covered already, and, like, meditating and stuff.) 4. Vulcan Is a Hot Planet Vulcans play a darned good eyeshadow game. Also, it's easy to forget what sassy clothes horses Vulcan can be. Like, that bling, guys. They out-bling a lot of planets. The traditional Valentine's challenge includes various wardrobe, makeup, skincare, or bachelor pad modifications for increased hotness. (This is not totally shallowness, because I get stuck in utilitarian ruts and stop paying enough attention to that stuff. Caring appropriately for the aesthetics of one's body, clothes, and environment is purely logical, and not frivolity at all. Logic.) Goal: One style or hotness upgrade per day.

Happy New Year, everyone! "Kishi! What the hell, man, you disappeared last challenge!" Details. I had a meditation goal and I basically struggled with it until I found my way back to "Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Everyday Radicals," which imposes some external structures that I find useful for consistent meditation. As a result, I've been meditating more and it's been helping me. I feel good about that. So what am I talking about as far as slowing down? Well, in the course of my ongoing research about how to care for myself, I found out about this idea of caffeine cycling. Basic idea is to lay off the caffeine a bit - lots of low-caffeine days with some high days as needed. Highlights include cutting off mid-afternoon caffeine, instituting no-caffeine days, and regularly attempting to reset the sensitivity for it rather than coming to rely on it. Because I'm finding for myself that I don't really care for the degree to which I'm coming to rely on this stuff. I think my sleep is better when I'm not using or when I use less late in the day, and I worry that it's bad for my heart long term. So, my goal is to institute the "Green Tea Protocol" listed in the linked article - 2 days of coffee, 4 days of green tea, and 1 day of rest/decaf. The trackable for this goal is a 3 PM cutoff. Not sure how far the cutoff goes - might eventually go to 2 PM, then 1, but I want to take this challenge to watch myself and see how I'm doing. If my sleep improves to a satisfactory degree, then I see no reason to go any further, but that remains to be seen. The other hope in slowing down, ironically, is that I'll be better about being here and being present for y'all rather than focusing solely on myself and my problems. I find that the caffeine causes me to hyperfocus - very useful for work and training, but very difficult for transitioning over to being here. Here's to a New Year. I have a kind of Epic Challenge in mind for the course of the year which I'll write about once I can articulate to myself what the hell it is I'm trying to accomplish.

A recent re-boot of my interest in Stoicism inspired me to create a Roman Empire challenge. With the help of AI and some personal interests, I think this is going to be a lot of fun! First, my goals. These are long-term goals and may extend beyond the allotted challenge time period. I used the SMART Goals format: STRENGTH GOAL: I will increase my strength by 10% in 7 different kettlebell exercises (swings, goblet squats, kb push-ups, racked squats, deadlifts, rows, snatches, and overhead press) by training four times a week for 12 weeks with a 35 lb (16 kg) kettlebell. I will measure my strength by the number of repetitions I can perform with good form for each exercise and record my progress in a journal or an app starting January1st and follow up with weekly strength tests. I will follow a periodized kettlebell workout routine that also includes warm-up, cool-down, and recovery sessions. I will also eat a balanced diet, drink enough water, and get enough sleep to support my training. Achieving this goal will improve my overall health, performance, and physique. SPEED GOAL: I will run 5k in less than 30 minutes by following an 8 week training plan beginning January 1st that includes interval training, tempo runs, long runs, and recovery runs. I will measure my progress my timing my 5k runs and tracking my pace and distance with the Nike Run Club app. I will also do some cross-training and strength training (see above) to prevent injuries and improve my overall fitness. Achieving this goal will challenge me and boost my confidence, as well as help me prepare for longer races and improve my health and well-being. MEDITATION GOAL: I will meditate for 20 minutes every day using a guided meditation app. I will track my meditation sessions and duration on the app and on a calendar. I will start January 1st by adding 5 minutes to my current 10 minute meditation practice every week until I reach 20 minutes. I want to meditate more because it helps me reduce stress, improve focus, and feel happier. I will achieve my goal of meditating for 20 minutes daily by the end of next month. JOURNALING GOAL: I will write in my journal every day for at least 10 minutes, using prompts or free writing to express my thoughts and feelings. I will track my journaling habit on a calendar or an app and aim for a 100% completion rate each month. I will schedule a time for journaling that works for me and make it a priority in my daily routine. I will also prepare a comfortable and quiet space for journaling and have a notebook and pen ready. I will write in my journal to improve my mental health, creativity, and self-awareness. I will also use journaling as a way to reflect on my goals and progress and celebrate my achievements. I will write in my journal every day for the next six months starting January 1st and then evaluate the benefits and challenges of my journaling habit. READING/LEARNING GOAL: I want to read at least one book per month and learn one new skill or topic every week. I will track my reading time and progress using a reading app. I will also document what I learned each week in my journal. I will set aside 20 minutes every day to read a book of my choice (list to be shared later). I will also dedicate at least one our every week to learn something new, such as a language, a hobby, or a subject. Reading and learning will help me improve my vocabulary, knowledge, creativity, and curiosity. They will also enrich my personal and professional life. I will start this goal January 1st and review it every month to see if I need to adjust it. Accomplishing this goal will make me a more well-read and well-rounded person.

Hello fellow Rebels. A lot has been going on in life, most of it good, all of it overwhelming. I'm going to be a grandpa (it's a boy) My family and I were in the local newspaper because we adopted out fourth and fifth children on November 1st (the first day of National Adoption Month) I'm hosting a poetry recitation competition at the school where I teach, as well as sponsoring the Drama Club I've signed up for (and completed) several 5k races and have remained a middle-of-the-pack runner without injury I grew out my mustache So yeah, life has been pretty great lately, just busy. I'm sticking to my past goal since they haven't yet been achieved (although I'm getting closer and closer to the sub-30 5k time). And of course I will be channeling movies and characters that inspire and motivate me along the way. I recently re-watched "Bullet Train," which is still amazing. Tangerine remains my favorite character. So... STRONGER: GOAL: By the end of this challenge, I will have increased my physical strength by at least 25% as measured by an increase in number of reps to failure of kettlebell single-arm overhead press. HOW: I will pick "heavy things" up and put them back down for at least 20 minutes, three days a week; this will include mostly kettlebell training with some "greasing the groove" using resistance bands, random heavy objects, and my kids. Training will look like this: Sunday: Benchmark (single arm overhead press to failure, count reps; 30 minute run, note distance) Monday/Wednesday/Friday: Strength training Tuesday/Thursday: 30 minute run + "grease the groove" Saturday: Long trail run FASTER: GOAL: By the end of this challenge, I will be able to run a sub-30 minute 5k as measured by a 5k run. HOW: I will run for 30 minutes at least two days a week, with a distance/endurance run at least one day a week and sprint/speed intervals at least one day a week. SMARTER: GOALS: By the end of the challenge, I will increase my daily use of Duolingo; I will increase my daily reading habit by at least 5 minutes a day; I will learn at least one new thing daily. HOW: I will set a reminder to complete at least the daily requirements to achieve a 30 day streak on Duolingo I will set aside at least 30 minutes of reading time daily I will use apps such as Humane and Kinnu to learn new information, as well as the NPR app and podcasts. CALMER: GOAL: By the end of the challenge, I will improve my mental health by reducing my angry reactions to stress. HOW: I will use a meditation app to increase my meditation/contemplative prayer practice from 10 minutes to 15 minutes. I will write down what I am grateful for and create daily affirmations using the 5 Minute Journal app. In moments of stress and frustration, I will apply a relaxing breathing technique (short inhale through nose, long exhale through mouth). I will listen to music that elevates my mood.

Goal: 1/2 The name of the challenge gives away the whole thing, really. Basically, I've hit a point where I like myself more the more I meditate. I'm successfully carving out space for myself to make it happen - only 4 minutes at a time so far, but it helps. I want to stick to that amount for the rest of the challenge. As I've observed, small changes applied consistently without flash or fanfare create some truly substantive results. Also, between it being the end of the year and my own theological leanings, it just feels right. Beyond that, right now I'm just solving a bunch of optimization problems, mostly having to do with joint health and actively working to feel better. The writing's doing well; I've found myself adding organically to my cast of characters as I've needed to without having to bend or break the existing ones to Make The Plot Happen. That's something I wasn't sure I believed in myself enough to do but I'm really happy it's happening. One other thing is that I'm doing more to take care of my place these days - regular vacuuming and cleaning of even some spaces is actually really good for me, and it helps me feel accomplished in a way that doing my job does not. I've also been kind of crafty lately in that I made a cloth mallet out of a cast off chair leg and some scrapped sweat pants. A cloth mallet is a conditioning tool for the Iron Shirt stuff that I asked my brother about and finally getting that made was good. Also, I've finally learned how to step away from the job to go for short walks over the course of the day, including getting my errands done early, so when I get to the end of the day, I don't have all this extra stuff to do to get in my way for getting down early. I'm not saying that the meditation is doing all of that, because I don't think it is, but it's taking place in the context of all this extra stuff I'm doing right now and it's... helpful, I think. But, yeah, that's things for now. Happy to round out the year with y'all.

Returning to my original goals with the hope of sticking to them this challenge: STRONGER: GOAL: By the end of this challenge, I will have increased my physical strength by at least 25% as measured by an increase in number of reps to failure of kettlebell single-arm overhead press. HOW: I will pick "heavy things" up and put them back down for at least 20 minutes, three days a week; this will include mostly kettlebell training with some "greasing the groove" using resistance bands, random heavy objects, and my kids. Training will look like this: Sunday -- Benchmark (single arm overhead press to failure, count reps; 30 minute run, note distance) Monday -- Five rounds of: 200 meter run kettlebell clean and press x 2 each side goblet squat x 5 two-handed kettlebell swing x 20 rest 2 minutes Tuesday -- 30 minute run; record time Wednesday -- 5-10 rounds of: 25 double-arm kettlebell swings 30 seconds rest 25 alternating kettlebell swings 30 seconds rest 25 single-arm kettlebell swings L 30 seconds rest 25 single-arm kettlebell swings R 2 minutes rest Alternating kettlebell clean & press x 30 (15 per side) 2 minutes rest Alternating kettlebell dead snatch x 14 (7 per side) Straight leg singe-arm kettlebell deadlift x 30 (15 per side) Overhead triceps extension x 15 Thursday -- 30 minute run; improve previous distance Friday -- 15-45 minutes of: clean with left hand press with left hand one arm front squat with left hand one handed swing with left hand park the kettlebell, recover, repeat with right hand Saturday -- Distance run on trails; mark distance and pace FASTER: GOAL: By the end of this challenge, I will be able to run a sub-30 minute 5k as measured by a 5k run. HOW: I will run for 30 minutes at least two days a week, with a distance/endurance run at least one day a week and sprint/speed intervals at least one day a week (see 200 m run above). SMARTER: GOALS: By the end of the challenge, I will increase my daily use of Duolingo; I will increase my daily reading habit by at least 5 minutes a day; I will learn at least one new thing daily. HOW: I will set a reminder to complete at least the daily requirements to achieve a 30 day streak on Duolingo I will set aside at least 30 minutes of reading time daily I will use apps such as Humane and Kinnu to learn new information, as well as the NPR app and podcasts. CALMER: GOAL: By the end of the challenge, I will improve my mental health by reducing my angry reactions to stress. HOW: I will use a meditation app to increase my meditation/contemplative prayer practice from 10 minutes to 15 minutes. I will take 30 minute mindful walks to help clear my mind. I will write down what I am grateful for and create daily affirmations using the 5 Minute Journal app. I will practice a relaxing breathing technique (short inhale through nose, long exhale through mouth) and apply this technique in moments of stress and frustration. I will listen to music that elevates my mood.

After some personal battles combined with the start of the school year requiring me to adjust my routine, I am ready to get back at it... for real this time. My goals for this challenge remain the same as the last, although some specifics have changes. I will be channeling great warriors, both mythical and real, as my guides, such as Kratos, King Leonidas, Geralt, Achilles, Beowulf, and more. STRONGER: GOAL: By the end of this challenge, I will have increased my physical strength by at least 10% as measured by an increase in number of reps to failure of kettlebell single-arm overhead press. HOW: I will pick "heavy things" up and put them back down for at least 20 minutes, three days a week; this will include mostly kettlebell training with some "greasing the groove" using resistance bands, random heavy objects, and my kids. Training will look like this: Sunday -- Benchmark (single arm overhead press to failure, count reps; 30 minute run, note distance) Monday -- Five rounds of: 200 meter run kettlebell clean and press x 2 each side goblet squat x 5 two-handed kettlebell swing x 20 rest 2 minutes Tuesday -- 30 minute run; record time Wednesday -- 5-10 rounds of: 30 seconds one-handed swing with left hand 30 seconds rest 30 seconds one-handed swing with right hand 30 seconds rest Turkish get-ups Thursday -- 30 minute run; improve previous distance Friday -- 15-45 minutes of: clean with left hand press with left hand one arm front squat with left hand one handed swing with left hand park the kettlebell, recover, repeat with right hand Saturday -- Distance run on trails; mark distance and pace FASTER: GOAL: By the end of this challenge, I will be able to run a sub-30 minute 5k as measured by a 5k run. HOW: I will run for 30 minutes at least two days a week, with a distance/endurance run at least one day a week and sprint/speed intervals at least one day a week (see 200 m run above). SMARTER: GOALS: By the end of the challenge, I will increase my daily use of Duolingo; I will increase my daily reading habit by at least 5 minutes a day; I will learn at least one new thing daily. HOW: I will set a reminder to complete at least the daily requirements to achieve a 30 day streak on Duolingo I will set aside at least 30 minutes of reading time daily I will use apps such as Humane and Kinnu to learn new information, as well as the NPR app and podcasts. CALMER: GOAL: By the end of the challenge, I will improve my mental health by reducing my angry reactions to stress. HOW: I will use a meditation app to increase my meditation/contemplative prayer practice from 10 minutes to 15 minutes. I will take 30 minute mindful walks to help clear my mind. I will write down what I am grateful for and create daily affirmations using the 5 Minute Journal app. I will practice a relaxing breathing technique (short inhale through nose, long exhale through mouth) and apply this technique in moments of stress and frustration. I will listen to music that elevates my mood.

Am I late, or are y'all early? Or did I start this precisely when I meant to? It's totally me, I'm late, you guys, I don't know how it happened I'll let you ponder that. I skipped out last challenge because I didn't know what I was doing and I didn't really know what I meant by saying I wanted to "Maintain." And truthfully, some of that is still at play now. My old workout routine has completely flown the coop. I don't really have a routine anymore so much as a series of touchstones that I try to touch every week. Instead of thinking about particular movements, I think these days in terms of patterns - press, pull, squat, hinge, lunge, invert - and do a little core work on the side as it relates to or enhances my martial arts. (At this point, that means hanging leg raise progressions, loaded carries, and side planks with the goal to develop a Copenhagen Plank for adductor strength). I walk more these days too. A lot more. I managed to get a pedometer app on my phone and it's been mindblowing to see how little I was moving beforehand. It's not perfectly accurate, but it's consistent, and I can work with that. I'll document that some in the logs this week to give you an idea of what this comes out looking like. I feel really good these days as a result. My busted shoulder is nice and quiet. I'm better-rested, and I feel like I'm moving better as a result. I've been going easier in the rolls out on the mats for BJJ these days and I've had to get technical since I'm not using strength so much. I think I'm better, and even when I'm tapped, I find that I don't care about the tap so much as getting tapped safely (ie don't be stubborn, tap early, tap often). I got a couple things coming up this challenge. One of these is a belt promotion this Sunday, 8/6, which I'll go to. I don't have any expectations; the job has consumed me and I'm not making the time that I want to for this, so, I'll go, but I'm not so certain that I'm going to be promoted. It's fine if not. I've been meaning to go to these things for a while anyway, and it'd be good to be a part of the community. The other thing is a GoRuck challenge out in Denver at the end of the month. This will be with my brother, who is apparently arranging the whole thing. I've bought the tickets and the weight, so now I just need to get a couple other pieces of safety gear and I should be good to go. Just need to get some training volume. This particular event is slated to just be a 12 mile hike in 5 hours with a 20 lb weight. I think that's too easy given how it went the last time I did one of these, but I think I'll be better-prepared this time. More prep time would have been better, but I couldn't accomplish that with the equipment I had, so, I'll just have to make the most of what I can do now. I have three goals for this challenge. Surprisingly, only one physical, but that one physical goal will cover, like, everything, so for the most part I'll just be logging that stuff here. The other two goals are to keep working at my writing and to meditate. I'm up to 5 minutes at this point, so I'd like to hit 6 minutes for the remainder of the challenge. And, uh, yeah. That's that. I'll be about. Good to see you all again.

Atreus: Father, when will I look like you? Kratos: In what way? Atreus: Like bigger... when do I get muscles like yours? Kratos: When you work for them. Atreus: But Baldur was really strong and he didn't have any muscles. Kratos: My strength does not come from my body but both are honed by discipline. Atreus: What does that mean? Mimir: Means you've got the strength of a god no matter what, lad. But if you want the physique of one, you better start picking heavy things up and puttin' em back down. Atreus: Ugh While I am, of course, not a child, this advice sets the tone for this challenge. If I want to become stronger, I need to work for it. While I do not expect (nor want) to be as big as Kratos, he will be inspiration and motivation during this challenge. I have broken this challenge into four categories: STRONGER, FASTER, SMARTER, CALMER. If you've been following me for a while, you might notice that I have tried something different this challenge by setting SMART(ish) goals that are a little more specific. However, expect that my usual morning routine and past habits will continue. STRONGER: GOAL: By the end of this challenge, I will have increased my physical strength by at least 10% as measured by an increase in number of reps to failure of kettlebell single-arm overhead press. HOW: I will pick "heavy things" up and put them back down for at least 20 minutes, three days a week; this can include standard equipment, such as kettlebells and dumbbells, but also includes logs, stones, cinderblocks, and my children. Workouts will be MWF, which is both manageable and sustainable. BONUS: On "off days," practice "greasing the groove" by doing a single set of a low rep exercise with a "heavy thing," stopping well short of failure. Training will look like this: Monday: Strength workout Tuesday: Grease the groove Wednesday: Strength HIIT Thursday: Grease the groove Friday: Strength workout Saturday: Trail run Sunday: Rest and recover FASTER: GOAL: By the end of this challenge, I will be able to run a sub-30 minute 5k as measured by a 5k run. HOW: I will run 5k at least two days a week, with an endurance run at least one day a week and sprint/speed intervals at least two days a week. Training will look something like this: Monday: Sprint intervals Tuesday: 5k run Wednesday: Rest Thursday: 5k run Friday: Rest Saturday: Trail run (for endurance) Sunday: Rest and recover SMARTER: GOALS: By the end of the challenge, I will increase my daily use of Duolingo; I will increase my daily reading habit by at least 5 minutes a day; I will learn at least one new thing daily. HOW: I will set a reminder to complete at least the daily requirements to achieve a 30 day streak on Duolingo I will set aside at least 30 minutes of reading time daily I will use apps such as Humane and Kinnu to learn new information, as well as the NPR app and podcasts. CALMER: GOAL: By the end of the challenge, I will improve my mental health by reducing my angry reactions to stress. HOW: I will use a meditation app to increase my meditation/contemplative prayer practice from 10 minutes to 15 minutes. I will take 30 minute mindful walks to help clear my mind. I will write down what I am grateful for and create daily affirmations using the 5 Minute Journal app. I will practice a relaxing breathing technique (short inhale through nose, long exhale through mouth) and apply this technique in moments of stress and frustration. I will listen to music that elevates my mood.

Harriet of War 2023 This challenge I turn 36. It’s a good moment for a new start. I am not satisfied with the direction I’ve taken over the last year. Pacing has not improved my fatigue, and has in fact simply reduced my activity levels and coincided with multiple long slug phases. I’m sick of the fearful, avoidant, pessimistic attitude promoted by CFS patient advocacy groups and online forums. I choose to believe in recovery and the possibility of a normal life, and that is what I am going to pursue this year. As Mr Harriet has pointed out, though, my focus cannot be exclusively on health, in case it doesn't come. So I will do. my. art. And I will develop the life I want with or without recovery. Having recently played and loved God of War 2018, I am taking Kratos, the incredibly tough Spartan warrior from said game, as a model for the next year. Erm, not because he kills things, but because he has the physical and character strength that I so badly need. Sometimes we choose idols because of similarities between us, and sometimes we choose them because they have precisely what we lack. I loved playing as Kratos because it made me feel powerful and capable of anything. I want to be Kratos when I grow up. Of course, life is both easier and harder than a game. But I hope to borrow some of Kratos’s attitudes and virtues. For each challenge over the next year, I want to make sure I am hitting each of four categories that I think will be important: Strength: I will work on my physical fitness, carefully increasing both strength and cardio fitness. Someone has already made an exercise programme specifically for POTS, so I’ll do that and just slow down the progression if needed. There is no bonus for going too hard; the only thing that matters is getting fitter over time, and that requires staying below my maximum recoverable volume, which is unfortunately very, very low. Wishing and heroically overdoing things won't change that, but consistent, appropriate workouts might. Stoicism: Okay so stoicism isn’t Spartan, exactly. But I think it’s the closest available approach to developing strength of character. I wish to cultivate a stoic practical philosophy as an antidote to the fragility and suffering that arise from focusing too much on my illness. I will develop my tolerance for effort and unpleasantness, reduce my fear and avoidance, and choose happiness wherever possible. The good thing about developing this mindset is that it will serve me well even if I don't achieve the desired recovery. If my fatigue doesn't change, then I will change to deal with the fatigue. This doesn't mean denying myself rest, where rest would increase my functionality or reduce suffering. It means not waiting for perfect health or energy before I do my work, my life. Spirit: perhaps this category seems too soft for a god of war, but attitude is an important part of strength, and every warrior needs a way of healing between fights. The effect of the mind on the body has been extensively documented, and everyone who reports recovering from CFS included some mind-body stress reduction practice. So, I will cultivate a belief in healing and bring about the parasympathetic state of repair through twice daily meditation or prayer to my own god of war (not Kratos, obviously; he's a video game character, not an actual deity. If someone happened to take one of my deities and put him in a video game, that would be completely different, if somewhat weird) and similar practices, as often as possible. Structure: presumably Kratos got his discipline from being raised in a Spartan society. Happily, I don’t have that, so I will need to support my efforts with various habit-helping structures, which might include designing routines, setting alarms and reminders, employing family to hold me accountable, journalling, programming, reflecting on identities and processes, and setting up my environment to lower or raise barriers to action. Oh, and internet blocks to limit the infinite doom scroll.

There's been a recurring theme in recent challenges: I have a good plan, tailored to my current circumstances. Two weeks into the challenge, circumstances change. I spend the last three weeks of the challenge attempting to stick to my original plan, which is of course, pure garbage given the set of circumstances in which I currently find myself. So I did a branch analysis on myself. What it tells me is that my plans are fragile. So for this challenge, I'm going to pursue the same plan but put more energy into addressing the presumptive root causes of the failures. Here's the plan, which is framed around elemental magic: Water Prime my personal energy by proper hydration — packing water, limiting caffeine intake, and minimizing alcohol and other diuretic fluids. Past Performance: 3 of 5 Fragility: Defaulting to coffee (rooted in preference for hot drinks) Trial: Pack a non-caffeinated, non-dehydrating, non-grody tea as an alternative to coffee #2,3,4,...,n. Fire Build energy by balancing macros and food intake for target BMR — packing lunch daily, sticking to the 7pm cutoff, and minimizing processed foods. Past Performance: 4 of 5 Fragility: Contact with food through kitchen cleanup, next-day prep, etc.. Trial: Say no to leftovers. You are not the family goat. Earth Build core strength and stability through Pilates and yoga. 4x weekly for 30 minutes is the goal. Past Performance: 2 of 5 Fragility: Incorrect scheduling (this should be the afternoon workout) Trial: Reschedule to afternoon workout. Air Increase aerobic fitness through running or alternative cardio, utilizing the maximum aerobic fitness framework of 80% work below threshold heart rate. 4x weekly = 3 slow easy runs and one intense interval or tempo run. Past Performance: 4 of 5 Fragility: Incorrect scheduling, as above. This is further rooted in a tendency to sleep through the morning workout window, so I scheduled this later to avoid missing it. But really, this should be the morning workout. Trial: Correct sleep hygiene. Ether Daily meditation and/or contemplative prayer. Two long opportunities: morning at work and evening before bed. Warrior’s meditation (Micro-meditations using vagal breathing) throughout the day. Past Performance: 5 of 5 Fragility: I've been doing consistently well here. Trial: Keep it up; monitor for second-order effects from other adjustments. Healing Be a healer in all domains of life: Sleep 8 hours. Eat restfully. Move fluidly. Listen attentively. Speak melodically. Return to kindness. Past Performance: 1 of 5 Fragility: A lot of failure here, but mostly rooted in sleep hygiene. Particularly: late bedtime, and using the phone in bed. This is exacerbated by late eating. Trial: Set the phone to require passwords to use apps after 9:00 and put the charger on the dresser. This is to force electronic shut down earlier, encourage actual reading, and make me get up to turn off the alarm. ] Good luck, everyone!

"You must be proud, bold, pleasant, resolute, and now a then stab, as occasion serves." - Christopher Marlowe Train the Body: First and foremost, training is important to me. There is an aesthetic I like, a vainness that I enjoy. But, I like being strong. Not just inside the gym, but outside the gym. I thought a lot about it this past weekend with moving and knowing how the strength I've garnished over the years of lifting really helped me out. I think about being weaker and not being able to lift as much weight and how much more difficult the move would have been. I'm thankful for the time I've put in and how it's translated to real world application. I started a new training program through the middle of the last challenge and love it. The programming is great. The structure and ability to complete within an hour is even better, given that 60-65min is basically the max time I have to train before I have to get ready for work. I'm excited to get back into the program called "Comanche" later this week. The program calls for sprints 2x a week but I think with my busy schedule and two jobs that I'll just go for 1x a week for now. Train the Mind: I know that I am mentally strong. The key to me being successful in my every day life is to be strong mentally. I work 2 jobs. Sometimes my day extends around the 17-18hr mark from the time I wake up to the time I get off from Costco and get home. I have a BRAND NEW routine now that I've moved and this week is going to be an adjustment. Finish 2 audible books during this challenge. Utilize my longer commute. Train my Creative Mind™ Empire of Silence (Sun Eater Book #1) (16hrs left) Howling Dark (Sun Eater Book #2) Recover the Body: Foam roll, yoga, massage gun: USE ALL OF THESE THINGS. Work hard. Play hard. Recover hard. Recover the Mind: Nap. Eat at your desk to save time and use part of your hour lunch to catch some Zzz's. Meditation goes a long ways, I think. I definitely don't take the time to relax my mind in that regard and train it up to be stronger and more palpable. 5min a day is not long. I can do this. Wolf

I recently read a tweet where someone said the best era of Doctor Who was when the production team was young, angry, and reading Swamp Thing. Honestly, 100% agree. That was way pithier than the way I said it a month ago to @Jarric , and also that is a real mood. Then I realized that I was also better when I was young, angry, and reading Swamp Thing. I lost my way. I am not the adult version of that person. Why am I not the adult version of that person? I had one job, guys. One job. So I'm doing what any sane person would do in that situation. I'm sticking Swamp Thing, retrofuturist cyberpunk vibes, Doctor Who, and Japanese jazz cafés into a blender and coming up with a challenge. What I'm gonna do this challenge is work on a morning routine. It's gonna be painful and I'll hate it. Welcome to surviving the dystopian future with some dignity intact. It'll also be good for me, and the appropriately mellow use of cool early hours when everyone is asleep, which I need to use now that I'm a retrofuturist jazz hipster with a coffee habit in an scientific-magical eco-horror universe. One half hour of walking. One half hour of meditation. One half hour of making art. That should blast the brain cells with some anti-ADHD juice first thing, and help it chill a little about braining the to-do list later. Then work. And even if I'm too exhausted from lack of sleep to go on living after that, I'll have done the main things for good future decision-making, hopefully. Maybe I'll even get my evening routine back on track. I'll lose sleep at first, probably, but I'm losing sleep now, so I might as well lose sleep the way that involves getting some self-care knocked out early in the day. Yes, that is 90 minutes of new morning routine before work. Fuck moderation, we're doing the thing. No one in a 1980s graphic novel or cyberpunk book ever approached things by making ten-minute incremental changes. I have a reputation to uphold here. An ethos. I'll spend the rest of my time being angry and reading Swamp Thing.

Howdy, y'all! Getting in early on this one as I'm taking off to the beach in a couple hours and I don't know if I'm going to get the chance to post on time. In keeping with the last challenge, I made a point of redistributing my training tasks to win back some much needed time. I applied that the past week as follows: Monday: Simple and Sinister, Farmer's Walks Tuesday: Straddle Planche progression, Side Lever progression Wednesday: Rope Climb progression, Single Leg Squat progression, Manna progression Thursday: Hollow Back Press progression, Front Lever progression Friday: Simple and Sinister, Farmer's Walks Saturday: Handstand and Neck work Sunday: ??? It all sounds like a lot and very heavy until you realize that at this point it's just planks and push ups and inverted rows and super basic things at this point. But I tried it out and, uh, it worked like gangbusters! Everything's done really fast; nothing takes more than 20-30 minutes and I hit enough of my body to feel good for having done it. I've even been able to retain my qigong practice, although that too has changed some. Shi Yan Lei, whose work I'm following, wants like 5 different stances in addition to the qigong, as part of a combined program of qigong and kung fu. Well, I've already got enough leg work in my kung fu program as it is, and only 2 of the stances he provides show up in the qigong movements, so there's no real reason for me to faff about and waste more effort. And the thing is, the training workload as it was distributed last challenge had some substantial effects on my ability to get after the non-training portions - the meditation and the writing. So I want to attack those problems again, but this time with this new set up, just to see how it goes. For those who didn't follow along last time, it goes like this: Goal 1: Training Like it says on the tin. Qigong is going to happen as it does; I actually want to try to get to 3-4 times a week, which I think will be quite doable. This was another one of those things that suffered under the prior load, but really it's more a matter of being an opportunity than something I'm going to pursue aggressively. Goal 2: Meditation Gonna shift this goal a little bit and set a time of 2 minutes as my minimum. To be clear, even if I miss this goal, I'm still going to take my deep breaths at bed time and get some benefit. So it's not an either/or situation by any stretch. I just want to challenge myself to do more, and having a hard standard that I won't wiggle out of will help. Maybe. Or maybe I'll be lazy again. IDK. Goal 3: Writing I found a more detailed version of the Snowflake Method. I think I'm going to use this one, since it has a more integrated approach to character profiling and stuff like that. The old 6-step program on Reedsy that I referenced before was a good starting point, but it was also looser in a way that I had a hard time connecting with. I still think I can use their character profiler as a way to construct a dossier on my characters for reference, but it's hard to use for the planning stages, at least for me. My figuring at this point is, plan out -> write the damn thing -> fill out dossiers afterward with the information I develop. But we'll see. 1st step is to follow the plan. Those are my goals this time. It works out to being mostly a repeat of the last challenge. There is some stuff I want to do/get into, but I don't really have a realistic way of approaching that just yet, so that'll be something that hums along in the background. No worries. T-minus a couple days. See y'all when I do!

This challenge is all about fine-tuning habits, breaking up large blocks into smaller modules, and building in agility. Previous challenges have a common theme -- I get into a groove, and then get interrupted. I find a good time for my workout...someone else thinks that's a great time for their meeting. I find a good staple for my lunch kit...someone else decides not to stock that item any more. I find a spot for meditation...someone else decides I look lonely and could use some company. The world is dynamic, so I have to be more agile. Another common thread in those past challenges is that I have tended to program in large blocks: workout once per day, eat twice per day, sleep x to y, meditate z amount of time. I've wanted to nail it all down. But that's what blows up, and worse...that's what I also get bored with. This time, we're breaking it into smaller bites. BODY Fuel: work toward macro balance and calorie targets. I've set my calorie intake to target BMR + workout calories, with an understanding that every single monitor overestimates workout calories. Still, I'll keep packing my early meal, logging both meals, and cutting off snacks 2 hours before bed. Hydrate properly! Work: Here's where the smaller pieces start. This time we'll try morning Pilates, so that lunch only needs the run (continuing the heart rate focused MAF routine, so these are easy runs). This will also give me two chances at getting something in, so interruptions won't necessarily cost me a whole day's workout. Mon-Tues, rest on Wed, Thu-Fri, recover on weekends. HEART Play: Work through the fretboard course on bass (I dug out the guidebook, so just need that 10-minute minimum 5x weekly). Do something for self-care twice weekly. I have sucked at this...working on it. Love: Mindful listening practice continues: look at the talking face! The second piece: respond to the emotional need in the talking, and not necessarily the concrete one. There are already a thousand little pieces to this one. SOUL Grow: This is another small-pieces area. I need to use pomodoro much more frequently, and with more intention. So: identify the daily task, and work on it with gentle intentionality during the pomodoro sessions. Pray: Continue daily meditation, but add in grounding at key times. A short list of such keys: before driving, before a meeting or phone call, before eating, before exercising. Again, many opportunities so that missing one long sit doesn't derail the intention. REST: Down by 10:00, up by 5:30. Eat restfully. Walk between pomodoros at work.

Spring is near for those of us in the northern hemisphere, so I think a spring themed challenge is appropriate. The key word for this challenge is NOURISHMENT. An account I follow on Instagram, Noble King Wolf, posted a quote that has stuck with me: "I don't want satisfaction. I need nourishment." That is my overarching goal for this challenge: to be nourished. Goal 1: Nourish My Soul speak gratitude: say a brief prayer of gratitude upon waking re-instate a morning devotional practice (reading/listening, prayer/meditation) daily gratitude journaling: write down at least three things I am grateful for every day practice at least one act of random kindness every day spend at least 30 minutes outside in nature, preferably near trees and water Goal 2: Nourish My Heart spend quality time with wife and kids; include physical touch (hugs, high fives, snuggling, etc.) speak at least one compliment to my wife daily practice at least one romantic gesture for my wife daily spend time daily reflecting on things that I love listen to music that lifts my heart Goal 3: Nourish My Body move my body in fun, dynamic, and challenging ways that feel good eat foods that nourish rather than satisfy (i.e. nutritious whole foods with simple ingredients, no "empty calories") savor what I eat and drink; use all of my senses to truly enjoy it drink more water; no seriously, drink more water listen closely to my body's signals: eat when I feel hungry, rest when I feel tired, be alert when I feel stressed/overwhelmed/irritated/anxious Goal 4: Nourish My Mind read something for at least 20 minutes per day listen to informative and/or inspiring podcasts read at least one scholarly/educational article every day complete the daily requirements on Duolingo complete the daily requirements on Elevate

Hi! So this past Tuesday, I had something of an epiphany. I went home to help my dad out with some chores about the place. Nothing strenuous in particular, but it reminded me of an old guideline from Simple and Sinister about testing yourself against unusual and unorthodox demands every now and again. This has always worked out for me to being a matter of serving others somehow, because everyone needs help with moving their couch. I found that I missed the program a great deal. I've also been working on losing some body fat per the latest iteration of Berkhan's Leangains protocol, which is basically all protein all the time. He's suspicious of "fuckarounditis," or trying to train everything and ultimately training nothing. My latest measurements indicate that I'm actually gaining fat on this protocol right now, and that's a matter of compliance more than it's anything else. The past month has been remarkably social, and I've not had all that much opportunity to be compliant. I can't do anything about the social component beyond damage control, but I can do something about my training, and I think it's worth it. New plan is to hit S&S on as near to the daily as I can. GB training is going to be broken up some as a result - no more core movements and one upper-body movement per day, plus one leg movement and 1-2 days of handstand work. Reason being that GB's protocols call for integrated mobility, and in their core series they all ultimately work out to having a lumbar flexion component that Pavel warns against. S&S in its current iteration fortunately can make space for this - once I get back to lifting the 32, the recommended days drop off from daily to 3-4 days per week, and I can return to core training then. In the meantime, the work I'm doing will build me toward a Hollow Back Press, and a Straddle Planche, which are non-flexion core strengtheners which would be good to have a base in by the time I get to the point that it matters. Fortunately, everything should work just fine, I think. The past few days have felt pretty good in terms of me getting what I want. Now the trick is to work in qigong and stretching, which I think I can do as long as I'm focused properly on it. So here are the challenge goals: Goal 1: Train Bit of a gimme, but consistent logging is good for me when I make changes like this, so I can confront myself and be honest about what's happening and whether I like it or not. Goal 2: Meditate This fell off in the past week. Dedicate 10 minutes a day to relaxing my mind. This feels like something I can get after now, but I'm reserving the right to adjust if needed. Goal 3: Write This fell off in the past week too. No excuses, and the good news is that when I've done work, it's been good, deep, structural work. I've been figuring out what kind of cast of characters I need and who they are in relation to the structure of the story, which is good to do. Now I need to keep going. I don't really know how to quantify it at this point beyond "just sit down and do the thing," but I think I can do it. And, yeah. I've been writing down what I do on the mats afterward and that alone has been helpful, but I've had a hard time with actually doing the homework of reviewing videos and taking notes. This could be better. Just a matter of making time, really. Can do. Will do? That remains to be seen. But, uh, yeah. T-minus a couple days. Let's go.

While this is supposedly a Doctor Who themed year, I tend to do a special Valentines themed February, to be hot and shallow and slightly drunk. (Mostly shallow, as I still largely aspire to either of the other two.) So we will have a short diversion. After all, one can get into a rut. 1. Strength training Dating on Vulcan requires a lot more combat than you might expect. So physical training is important. But what will not do is upsetting the delicate hormonal balance that keeps you from killing half a dozen people with sharpened hockey stick. To keep cortisol down, the goal is one single strength exercise a day, from this list: plank, bridge, horse stance, superman, maybe some rowing if I'm feeling it. Also, my stupid daily walk for my stupid mental and physical health. I will count anything. The goal is consistency. But I do want giant muscles, cuz I have people to beat with a lirpa, so strength. Goal: be strong, do an exercise 2. Eat the plomik soup. Dating on Vulcan requires correct fueling of the body. We're aiming for closer to therapeutic keto this time around. Brain needs ketones. I don't know if we'll get to that macro split, but we can manage a stick of butter. Goal: eat a stick of butter (or equivalent fats) Goal: drink a gallon of water 3. Rest Dating on Vulcan requires quality sleep, or at least some quality meditation. Goal: 11pm bedtime with meditation. 4. Emotional Management This is me lately. Also, I recently heard someone say that time management these days is really emotion management, and I think that's very true. For me, this also hits some ADHD stuff, cuz ADHD tends to magnify strong emotions. I'm gonna practice spotting and reacting to emotions or emotional spirals (hopefully not too many of those). Treating the don't-wannas with rest counts. Goal: one emotional intervention Bonus: Vulcan eye makeup Vulcans play a good eyeshadow game, so this probably requires at least some eyeliner. Okay, wait, this challenge is entirely inappropriate for a February challenge. It involves actual stuff, and not, like, stocking my bar and upgrading my wardrobe. I may need to reconsider this. Sigh. Vulcans do not know how to have a good time.

(Video of the 1930s Movie Scene of Christmas Present) Here in MN we are fully in Christmas Spirit, especially as the snow has come down and the cold is settling in. As the nights are getting longer. I'm far from being a Scrooge. However, I have some scars from Past years and worries of the future. I am being urged to do one thing. Sit in the present time. I have been urged to do this for a very long time, I however have a new understanding. To choose the discipline to sit with myself. I thought a nice Christmas spin, is sitting with the Ghost of Christmas Present. The happy and scary of seeing what i have setup for myself. The goal of this challenge is to take some time to be in the moment. Not just sit and meditate but to work on quieting the inner noise and allow room for something deeper. Ways I am going to focus this on this challenge: 🎄Continue a Morning Meditation Practice. 🎄Silence the noise in my home and be present in my life. I'm planning on keeping my phone and computer off unless to have intentional time on the computer. To allow for more intentional time. 🎄Take time to be thankful for what I have. I'm going to try to setup a practice to create a trigger to stop be thank 3-5 times a day 🎄Have a smoothie every morning. This for me has caused such an intentional practice, and also has been a helpful plan in my eating plan. 🎄Show up to my NF Coach goals daily. Stop worrying about the Future and the Pass and focus on what the plan is daily. 🎄Make room for Christmas Spirit in my home. Cleaning and decluttering for the new year. I also realize this is a perfect time to add some holiday cheer in my own apartment. This Challenge's Sidequest: Host a Christmas Feast. Due to being intentional with my time, I am putting the focus away from the computer. My goal is to check in at least weekly!

When the stockings are hung by the fireplace, and the snow is falling, and the mince pies and sherry have been left out for the Hogfather, and everyone is settled in for the end of the year, there is only one question left: have you been naughty or nice? That's it. That's the challenge. Along the way, I'm going to lean into hibernation. A week of meditation retreat, a week of extra sleep, a week of intermittent fasting (and feasting). I'm going to lean into all the martial arts/meditation "soft is better than hard" and "do less" mottos, and treat every under-performance or attention failure as a reason to rest more. I'm going to try to solidify my evening workout and metta meditation before bed. What I'd like to add is consistency with a daily walk, preferably first thing in the morning, and for mindfulness meditation. And I'm going to aim for a lot of holiday cheer. As close to a fatal dose of winter hygge as I can manage. Mandatory hot cocoa. table { --palette-red: #7b0a0a; --palette-cream: #e5d5bb; --palette-tan: #b2a288; --palette-lgreen: #668c6f; --palette-dgreen: #213c18;} table.plan { border: 2px var(--palette-dgreen); Border-top: 50px; Border-bottpm: 50px; background-color: var(--palette-lgreen); Width: 100%; Color: var(--palette-dgreen); } .plan tr:nth-child(even) { Background-color: var(--palette-cream); } .plan tr:nth-child(8n+1) { background: var(--palette-dgreen); color: var(--palette-cream); font-weight: bold; text-align: center; } .plan td:nth-child(4n+1) { Background-color: var(--palette-dgreen); color: var(--palette-cream); font-weight: bold; text-align: right; } .plan td:nth-child(4n-0) { font-weight: bold; text-align: center;background:var(--palette-dgreen); } table.tally { border: 1px solid var(--palette-red); Background-color: var(--palette-tan); Width: 100%; Color: var(--palette-dgreen); } .tally tr:nth-child(even) { Background-color: var(--palette-cream); } .tally tr:nth-child(9n+0) { background: var(--palette-red); color: var(--palette-cream); font-weight: bold; text-align: center; } .tally tr:nth-child(9n+1) { background: var(--palette-red); color: var(--palette-cream); font-weight: bold; text-align: center; } .tally td { } .tally td:nth-child(4n+1) { Background-color: var(--palette-red); color: var(--palette-lgreen); font-weight: bold; text-align: right; } .tally td:nth-child(4n-0) { font-weight: bold; text-align: center;background:#7b0a0a; } Day Plans Hogswatch Cheer 🎄 M28 Winter clothes Digital job Fix Christmas lights Xmas movie Warm socks next to the bed T29 Wrap early gifts Schedule Doctor Who Xmas specials Xmas movie W30 Online zendo hours Get dates for events Redo work schedule Xmas movie Th1 Winter clothes Start all the yule logs Xmas movie F2 Find winter boots Get out lights Xmas movie S3 Garden task 12/5 prep Xmas movie Su4 Seasonal baking Find a timer Restock the hot cocoa stash Xmas movie Plans Hogswatch Cheer 🎁 M5 Date to watch Xmas movie Batch of eggnog week T6 Start meditation week Time scarcity week Xmas movie W7 Th8 F9 Finish project A S10 Su11 Seasonal baking Plans Hogswatch Cheer ⛄ M12 IF week Test morning routines T13 W14 Th15 Date to watch F16 S17 Su18 Seasonal baking Plans Hogswatch Cheer 🎄 M19 T20 W21 Th22 F23 S24 Su25 Hogswatch #1 Plans Hogswatch Cheer 🕯️ M26 Day off T27 Annual review Annual plan W28 Th29 F30 S31 Hogswatch #2 Su1 Tracking template:

This challenge is a little different, although I am still working on attaining a healthy weight (152 by the end of November ....). My major goal is to manage my mental health and to be calm, rational, and adulting by the end of the year. With the approaching holidays, I am feeling dread and stress. Not at levels that would send me to a health professional or counselor, but enough that I know I need to institute self care routines to head off problems. For the most part, I think that small changes will have a big impact. I have been noticing that I am spending too much time online with social media and news sources, and it is definitely stressing me out. In addition, some nasty graffiti has been appearing on campus. This wouldn't stress me out, but the campus reaction and blame-game is definitely pushing me over the edge. Especially since, there is little to nothing that I can do about any of it. My first sensei, may he rest in peace, always told me that I should remain relaxed until an opponent came into the "red-zone" --- the point at which they could strike me. To be calm and relaxed in the center of the my circle was the goal then. And I think it needs to be the major goal for the next challenge. How?? Working on it ..... but here are a few ideas: A social media and online news fast. Other than Nerd Fitness forums. Meditate Hang with my peeps: Pound class, pottery class, CrossFit sessions, etc. Be with people off-campus. In fact, be off campus unless I am in class or holding office hours. Improve 5K time. My last attempt was 48 minutes. I can beat that if I just keep working on it gradually. I like the Zombies, Run! app. Lat pulldown max of 100 pounds. I already dropped a bunch of Discord server memberships. Not that I am on Discord very often .... Facebook is more of a problem. I turned off "news" notifications on my cell phone. I am not going to log!! That can also become a point of stress. I will come and describe what I am doing and how I am feeling. Time to ....

"In the Beginning" by David Whyte Sometimes simplicity rises like a blossom of fire from the white silk of your own skin. You were there in the beginning you heard the story, you heard the merciless and tender words telling you where you had to go. Exile is never easy and the journey itself leaves a bitter taste. But then, when you heard that voice, you had to go. You couldn't sit by the fire, you couldn't live so close to the live flame of that compassion you had to go out in the world and make it your own so you could come back with that flame in your voice, saying listen... this warmth, this unbearable light, this fearful love... It is all here, it is all here. For this challenge, I will be recovering, both from an impact injury to my back after running a 15 mile race and to my heart after some changes to the dynamic of our family (no, I'm not getting divorced). I decided to follow the advice I've been given several times when I have felt overwhelmed. Keep it simple... Simple Morning Routine: 0445 wakeup read (scripture, poetry, philosophy, etc.) meditate/pray get grounded (bare feet on the earth) Simple Workout: 20 minutes a day of any activity my body can handle without pain (yoga, walking, stretching, etc.) Simple Nutrition: eat real foods with simple ingredients drink simply: water, tea, coffee, juice (no energy drinks, sodas, store-bought protein drinks, etc.) And that's it. No pressure to "get it right," just the basics. I really need low-stress right now (or is low-impact a better word?). (edited to add the "drink simply" goal)