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Hi Friends! Things are starting to fall into rhythm again now that Dave is home and back to his usual work schedule. I am still adjusting to being on my feet all day at the coffeeshop, although that seems to be going much better since I bought myself very luxurious sneakers last week. Each day ends a little less painfully than the previous one and that's got me hopeful for days that end pain-free. The after work agony was a serious limiting factor in the success of my peripheral goals for my previous challenge: I would get home and head straight for the bath and soak until I was cold in hopes that my feet would be more liveable. This didn't leave a lot of time to do other things. The new shoes give me hope that my evenings can be reclaimed, but in the meantime, I want to focus on my mornings. My usual shift is 11-5:30ish. Dave typically leaves for work at 9 and comes back to pick me up around 10:40. I generally get up without an alarm between 7 and 7:30. This gives me ~3+ hours to work with in the mornings. Currently my mornings are very low key: coffee, Bujos, Tarot, and time with Dave, dog chores, getting ready for work, playing with Sax before I leave. This is a lovely way to start my day! I like not rushing! Huge perk!! But mornings are also my only pain-free time right now, so it seems it might be wise to be doing things like my dishes or other chores, some writing or reading, or maybe a short workout in there, too. Oh, and eat breakfast. I'm really struggling to do that again. So this challenge is to build a magnificent morning, balancing self-care and domestic responsibility, creativity and strength. I've been making my new tracking chart in my Bujo but it's not quite done yet. I'll get it sorted and snap a picture for you. In the meantime, today's update!! This morning I got up, did dog chores, coffee, Bujos, and Tarot while Dave listened to the news. After he left at 9 I did the dishes (unloaded/loaded/ran the dishwasher and washed the non-machine washable things), wiped the kitchen down, and took out the garbage. This felt very much like revisiting my Kitchen Witch challenge and I liked it very much. Plus I added a vessel of pinecones to my little kitchen altar space so that felt good, too. Then I went up to my office/studio, a room I have been severely neglecting, and spent ~30 minutes cleaning in there. It looks much better now. That left me with 30 minutes until pick up, ~15 of which needed to be playing with Sax so I could actually leave, so I had a super fast shower, dried my hair, and bolted on clothes before grabbing my coat and throwing a stick for my best boy. All in all a good morning! After work we went and got some groceries to help with the thorny breakfast problem. So hopefully that gets better! If you are resting during Zero Week I hope you're being deeply rejuvenated. If you're already on the Challenge Train, way to chase your goals!! As always, thanks for being here. 💜

This is Stronkey Kong here to tell you that I’ve got a real problem-- a set of problems really. And these are problems that you’ve all probably faced, and will face again. BUT! – Lucky for you... Lucky for me, lucky for us all, I’ve got a plan to combat these problems. And if you’ll stick with me, you can combat them too. Problem #1: I am too fat. Really. I weigh 300 lbs. It’s out of control. I have been fat all my life. Is it a slow metabolism? Is it because I’m lazy? Or just too busy to focus on eating right and exercising consistently? Problem #2: I am in too much debt. Student Loans. Credit Cards. Car Payment. Sure. I could work overtime like a dog at my job, but then I’d have no time left for me, for my friends and family, or for YOU! Scrimping and scraping pennies isn’t gonna get me that nice little piece of land. Now, it’s time for... REAL LASTING CHANGE. Problem #3: I want to work on my own terms, my own schedule, from wherever I want. If I had the freedom to set my own schedule, do what I love (writing), I’d have the extra time for more activities, spending time with friends and family, and traveling. Without a job tied to a desk, sapping my willpower, I’d have the energy and drive to work out more. And more time to focus on writing fiction and other creative hobbies that charge me up instead of draining the life from me. Can you relate? Have you, yourself, faced one or more of these problems in your life? Do you anticipate seeing them in the future? If so, at the beginning of this challenge, I’ll show you the ONE SIMPLE TRICK to making all of these problems go away. DON’T MISS OUT!!! Hit that “Like” button and SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Usually, my challenges tend to have a Lord of the Rings theme. But I thought I’d change it up this time. Contrary to the opinions of some (not here), I do actually have a few other interests! Right now, my Masters dissertation/thesis is taking up an extraordinary amount of my time and energy. That is on me. I didn’t plan my time properly, and when my mental health nose-dived in May and June, I lost a lot of ground. I also want to get better at prepping for D&D sessions (my players tend to be very understanding when I wing it, but I want to have all the fun little bits I used to have time to do). I’ve had to shoehorn important info in where I’ve forgotten to plan it in at times, and that’s not the DM I want to be. And I’d also quite like to have some semblance of not losing whatever hold I have on daily routine when things like this occur. I want my gym routine back, I want to have time to meal prep again because I eat like someone who doesn’t know what an oven or hob is when I don’t. And no, I don’t mean I eat a lot of salads, sadly. What this means, is I need one goal. One goal to bring them all and in the darkness… ahem. Sorry, couldn’t help myself. Old habits and all... One goal, and all of the above focuses on TIME. Time to do things, Time allocated, Time to breathe. Time to change. What do I need? I need a Time Lord. I am hanging up my Dunedain boots for a little bit (tbh, they could use a clean, might need to resole them too, poor things) and joining the Doctor on his travels for a little bit. The Goal: Travel in the Tardis, Explore Space and Time (Make a schedule, stick to it) I struggle with to-do lists yet gravitate towards them. I get fidgety if a task does not absorb my entire being. So, I am going to trial a schedule. Loose enough to provide an element of flexibility and move things that need moving, but I need to stick to it as faithfully as I can to succeed in this. I’ll post my schedule each week or day (ha, like I remember to post daily) and that will give me a clear indication of how I’m doing. I’m itching to add more, but I shall refrain.

I did not feel very Ranger-y for the end of last year (which is technically still this year, but never mind that). I had very little interest or motivation to do much of anything, and it wasn't a great feeling. Over the past two or three weeks, I've started to break out of that rut a little, mostly because I think I identified why I fell into the rut in the first place. As those of you who followed my threads last year now, I deliberately stepped away from a lot of what I was doing. Some of it was because covid cancelled things, and some of it was for other reasons, some because I just drifted away from them, but on the whole, I realized I was really busy doing things because I had always done them and decided to take a step back from all of that and re-evaluate what direction I was headed in. Which is all well and good, but many of those things I stepped away from had become a core part of my identity and stepping away from all of them at once left me feeling a bit lost. Some good came out of it, like I took a big step towards not basing my identity on activities or how much I could check off a to-do list, but some of it I miss and it's time to step back up to them. The three big things I want to return to in 2022: 1. Find a local church to commit to and become a member of the congregation. This has been an on-going goal and is taking much longer than I thought it would, but progress is being made. 2. Get back to writing and making music. Music was a big part of my last challenge, and I hadn't realized how much I missed it. And writing has always been very enjoyable and cathartic for me. 3. Return to a regular fitness routine. I started Darebee's Hero's Journey program last week, and it's amazing how much better I already feel. Not just physically, but mentally sharper and clearer as well. Bonus Goal: I should also be able to finish my new barn/apartment and move in this year!!!! This isn't really a return to anything, just something I'm very excited about. I plan to keep my garden theme running from last year's challenges, but just like with my actual garden, I find myself making long lists of everything I want to do without thinking about how much space it's going to take up in the garden or how much time and trouble it is to maintain. On one hand, I'm relieved that my Ranger-brain is waking back up, because I actually did miss it. On the other hand, I don't want to go back to making long lists of goals and not accomplishing any of them. So for my first challenge of the year, I'm taking Gandalf's advice (and also stealing back some inspiration from @juliebarkley's holiday challenge) and taking a look at what I do with my time. So my one big task this challenge is to track my time. I was going to start on January 1, but decided what the heck, more data is always better, right? So starting this morning, I'm writing down everything that I do in a day. The goal isn't really to make any big changes, just start noticing trends, seeing what triggers more or less productivity, what I might already be doing without realizing it, and where time is being used up when it might be better used elsewhere. Case in point, I already discovered this morning that after 15 minutes of folding laundry I really struggle to keep going and much prefer taking a break to do something else, like Day 4 of Hero's Journey. Or better yet, stay on top of my laundry so I don't have mountains of it to fold at once, but 15 minutes of cleaning is better than 0. Also, I'm really enjoying Hero's Journey. It's a 60 day program, but I'm okay with stretching it out some by adding in rest days as needed. It feels good to be excited about working out again and I'm already looking forward to checking out Spellcaster when it's time for a new program.

There is my scoring system. It is very simple, because what I can manage right now is a very simple challenge. My challenge will probably change as it goes on, because I'm starting out with a major logistical issue, and then, like, travel and holidays. My list from last year is still pretty good: Make a list and check it twice Hogswatch cheer Walking in a winter wonderland However, it might be a lot for the first couple weeks of this challenge, so, while we are assured THERE ARE RULES, this is more of what you might call a guideline. Right. Challenge. Here we go. Things need to get done.

That's right, I'm going waaaaay back to my childhood for this one. I saw the movie version of The Phantom Tollboth when it first came out and was enchanged. A few (?several) years later I read the book and was deeply disappointed. It wasn't like the movie at all! Life went on and got busier and busier. Work started spilling over into evenings and weekends. I was always tired at work so I didn't concentrate well so I didn't get much work done so I had to work evenings and weekends and didn't get enough sleep and was tired at work and.....In short, there is no Rhyme or Reason to how I am spending my time. Fast forward to the present when I recently reread the book and realized Holy cow this book was written about me how did he know so much about me??? (Also there are word and math games which are a hoot even if they are not related to this challenge.) And so begins my Quest to Rescue Rhyme and Reason. 1. Don't Dawdle in the Doldrums. As Tock tells us, if we don't pay attention to what we're doing we get further and further off the road and have more trouble doing what needs to be done. My goal is to develop a roadmap of how I will spend my time by scheduling the biggest, most time consuming activities. If I know something needs to be done by the end of the week and will take 3 hours to accomplish, I need to find those 3 hours somewhere in my schedule, put it on my calendar, and stick with it. 2. Track the Terrible Trivium. Those little things (like grains of sand and drops of water) can take up several lifetimes if I don't pay attention. I've been tracking how much time work takes me, now I'm going to start tracking how much time I waste online and on devices. I don't have Tock to bark at me when I'm wasting time, so I'll have to use my activity tracking app. That's is for this time. If I get my work done at work I'll have time at home for sleep, exercise, and other neglected goals while I'm at home.

It's autumn. I need to do the things. And I need a bit of discipline and structure about it. But the supportive mentor variety. So I need to get the dojo mentality back into my life. This fire dude will do, cuz of all of them, he's the one who has his adulting game on point. Hopefully there will be autumnal moon cakes. (Of the inauthentic low-carb variety. This is Avatar, you're lucky they're not on fire.)

I decided to reset this challenge. It's Week 0 and I'm struggling. Not because the challenge itself was hard, and I plan on keeping on with those goals. But I think it put me in a negative mindset and you know, Week 0 was hard. I don't think the rest of the challenge will be as hard as week 0, but I'm already so very tired. So the previous goals are in the spoilers and are still relevant, but it's time to bring out a fresh piece of paper and make some new marks. Taking Charge of my Time: wrapping up each week on Friday mornings. Paying bills, answering emails, filing, and making notes of what I want to accomplish in the next week Silent time- I need time that is quiet. Living with a blind person, there is always noise in this house. Music, audiobooks, Mom and Dad talking, talking, talking. I need quiet time. That was the best part about working out in the yard. It was so quiet. I just need an hour of quiet for my brain to just rest from the constant stimulation. Time to work- I'd like to get all the exercise and chores done in the morning, and just focus on my illustration in the afternoons. I think that I'll work better if I have shorter days anyway. I got so much done in the yard and that was two hours a day. If I can do that with illustration for 4 hours a day, I think I can get a couple dummies done by the end of summer.

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

I decided to just start fresh on this challenge then carry over my "OODA Loop" one I created last week. The idea behind the OODA Loop is still in place but mentally, I'm trying to morph into something else entirely. I'm trying to shapeshift into a Renaissance Man of Lethality. So what exactly is a "Renaissance Man of Lethality? Ironically, he's basically what a Nerd Fitness Ranger is: A jack-of-all-trades but master of none, Rangers are well equipped for any situation....and so is the RMoL (Renaissance Man of Lethality). The video above breaks down a massive amount of things that a RMoL should have in his bag of tricks. Some of these "tricks" just are not obtainable at the moment, but I don't want to focus on the things I can't do. I want to focus on things I can. Things like: Fitness: Power Speed Agility Endurance Flexibility Every Day Carry (EDC) Verbal Judo Military History Now, on to things I would like to obtain at some point. (A lot of things are put on hold because of the COVID stuff😞 Martial Arts ground game standing game disarming improvised weapons Emergency Medical Firearms Pistol Concealed Carry Run-N-Gun Rifle Shotgun Precision Shooting Cyber Security/IT Criminal Psychology Bushcraft "Don't get tunnel visioned in to the sexy thing you saw on Instragram, in terms of 'THAT is self-defense and protection!'. Instead I want us to be really well balanced... so that if we were in a video game you would choose yourself as the avatar - as the good, well-rounded person of lethality." - John Lovell on "Be the Renaissance Man of Lethality" So! How does this translate to my challenge goals. I'm so glad you asked Goal #1: Learning A true Warrior Poet... a true Renaissance Man of Lethality is going to soak up as much knowledge as he possible can. He's going to read. He's going to research. He's going to be open to new ideas. He's going to be humble. He's going to be sensitive and vulnerable in the right situation. He's going to test theories, ideas and hypothesis. This goal will entail a few things. Reading is the first part. Instead of a goal to finish this book or that book, the goal is to read/listen for 7 hours a week. That's 1 hour a day. This can be reading a book on Military History. This could be reading a book on Verbal Judo. This could be meditating on the Bible... which is really something I should do every day anyways. But the goal is to read and learn and apply if applicable. The second part is teaching my kids what I know (and even what I don't know). If they ask me a question about WW2 Tanks. I want to do some research and watch documentaries with them that can help explain the various tanks in WW2 and how they functioned. If they want to know why the sky is blue or how big the sun is, I want to be able to tell them the correct answers and be involved with the development of their mind. We home school our kids and for the first time since they've been doing home school, I am able to be a teacher and a presence in their life that can help them find the answers to the questions they are seeking. The goal would be to find time, be it 10 min or 1 hour a day, in helping them answer life's most burning questions and expanding their minds. Stats Earned: +4 WIS, +1 CHA Goal #2: Lifting Due to the fact that one day is still just 24 hours long, I needed to scale back my training. I'm not scaling back the intensity, just the days of the week i'm at the gym because 5+ days a week is just too much. Maybe not for me, but adding in more training days takes away from time I could be spending with my family. Luckily for me, I paid for a program last year from Athlean-X. The problem with last year is the workouts were taking 90 min to complete when I only had 60 min to train. Now that I'm working from home on a more permanent basis, working out for 90 min is no big deal. So, I'm going back to the BeaXst Program and starting at day 1. The program itself is 3x a week lifting, utilizing a full-body split. The days I'll be lifting are M/W/F. Tu/Th will be active recovery days (like yoga or KB metcons) as well as days I can help my wife train and help her reach her fitness goals too. I always forget to take before/after pics but I'm doing my before pics today, 09/08, and will be taking after pics at the end of the challenge, 10/17. I will post them for accountability. I'm also going to do better at writing my workouts down and tracking them as I progress through the program. Stats Earned: +2 STR, +2 DEX, +1 END Goal #3: Loving If you've known me a while, you know I love my wife and kids. However, his is an area I want to improve. I want to be more purposeful about the time I spend with them. I want more date nights with my wife..even if our (almost) 18 mo old daughter has to tag along. I want to be more purposeful about doing things with my kids. I was listening to a podcast a while back called Dad Tired, which is a good podcast for all fathers out there, and he mentioned something he did with his two boys. Once a month, he would do something with them on they specific day they were born on. For example, Racer was born on May 4th, so, on the 4th of each month, I would do something special with him. And the same goes for the other boys. It doesn't have to be anything crazy. It could simply be playing with Lego's for an hour or drawing made up Pokemon. I've already missed Jamison's, Racer's and Declan's this month because they are the 1st, 4th and 5th respectively. Jamison's is tougher because we get him every other weekend so I won't always have him on the 1st of the month. I'll find time to make that up to them. And, as mentioned above, I want to find more time to have a "date night" with Heather. Trixie is still pretty clingy but she's recently started eating more solids the last month or so and she FINALLY sleeps in her own bed. It actually didn't take a lot of effort to get her used to that. It's been AMAZING to have our bed back to ourselves because you wouldn't believe the room that little girl can take up, lol. Anyways, because of the recent development's with Trixie, Heather and I should have more opportunities to get away with just the two of us for a couple hours. That's enough time to go have dinner or even see a movie! I want to make stuff like this a priority and continue to strengthen the relationship between my kids and my wife. Stats Earned: +1 WIS, +2 CHA, +2 CON As you can see, a Renaissance Man of Lethality is going to be a continued work-in-progress. I doubt I'll ever reach a pinnacle of excellence because I feel like there's always so much more to learn and skills to sharpen. We'll take it one step at a time and that starts with keeping my challenge afloat lol. Happy Challenging, Nerds! Wolf

Been gone for awhile. I’m going to write a bunch of stuff, but I’m planning on one main goal with supporting goals. These will be the basses for future goals as well. The main goal is to become a Christian Minimalist. I’m already a Christian and I believe Minimalism fits together well with Christianity. In Luke 12:15 Jesus says “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Sounds like minimalism to me. To me, minimalism is about simplifying my life and that’s what I want. I’m listing this goal first, because I feel it is necessary to support the following (more important) goal. 1 Time Management - Cut Out TV Monday thru Thursday(during work week) Keep moving till at least 6pm / Read Books. I’m sure on My death bed, I won’t say I wish I'd spent more time watching tv. 2 Spiritual - Meditate on God’s word before going to bed. Meditate on God’s promises. Believe his word over/instead of my circumstances. I’m OK at reading God’s word in the AM but not in the evening. 3 Space Management - Review possessions Declutter (At least 30 minutes a week) I believe by decreasing my possessions I can spend my energies on more important things. I realize I haven’t posted any exercise goals. That’s OK. I normally workout 6 days a week. I also either ride my bike 5 days a week (as weather allows) and/or go skating once or more a week. I’m doing pretty good on the exercise side. The thing that is preventing any further weight loss is my poor diet. I’m not ready to deal with that yet. My current height is 5’ 9” and my weight is 188 lbs. I’m almost 53 years old.

"Tempered by the fires of Hell, his iron will remain steadfast through the passage that preys upon the weak. For he alone was the Hell Walker, the Unchained Predator, who sought retribution in all quarters, dark and light, fire and ice, in the beginning and the end, and he hunted the slaves of Doom with barbarous cruelty; for he passed through the divide as none but demon had before." - UAC Report File 9REIZDUR Hello fellow Warriors!! Some of you already know me, but for those that don't: my name is SheriffWolfpool or Wolfpool or Wolfie, lol. I've been around Nerd Fitness since 2012 and challenging pretty consistent since 2015. I've been a Ranger during the last 4 years because my focus was on being a jack-of-all-trades. I did a little bit of everything. I've ran Spartan races, dabbled in parkour, done lots of calisthenics and even played some Quidditch and Gaelic Football. My main focus was to be as active as possible and trying my best to be the most badass version of myself. Now, my focus has shifted a little. My focus is now on gaining size and strength and I thought there was no better place to achieve that than the Warriors Guild. There's still a level of badassness I want to achieve, but it involves gameifying my life and harnessing the "rage" of a video game character called, the Doom Slayer. Recently, I've become obsessed with the Doom Slayer. I played through and beat DOOM (2016), (the remake to the classic 1993 Doom), on the medium difficulty called "Hurt Me Plenty" and loved the game. Now, I'm streaming Saturday nights with a buddy of mine as we play through the next hardest difficulty called, "Ultra-Violence". I call it #SlayerStreamSaturday ;). Believe it or not, there are two more difficulties after that lol. One of them, the last one, being called Ultra-Nightmare is a permadeath play through. One death sends you back to the beginning...unless you beat the level you're on and save. No checkpoints. No respawns. Plus, the enemy A.I is just stupid hard. Anyways, DOOM Eternal, the sequel to the hit 2016 remake, comes out November 22nd of this year, a week after my birthday! I actually had the chance to go hands on with the demo this past weekend at QuakeCon and was just blown away by how awesome and gory it is! The game devs have redesigned the Praetor suit for the Doom Slayer in Eternal and this is the "bulk" of my inspiration... As you can see, the dude is JACKED! #curlsforthegirls Last challenge I started training harder in the gym than I have in over a year, hitting certain PR's I've yet to achieve in my short lifting career. I've always sucked at deadlifts but that's because my form sucked. I've since fixed that and have brought my 4RM up to 225#. It's the most I've ever deadlifted and that's without testing my 1RM, lol. I've been consistently kicking butt the last 2+ months, but really dialing in with nutrition and workout consistency the last 5 weeks. I want to continue that trend with an added dose of intensity as I start the journey of a brand new program from Athlean-X called: BeastX. It's a 12 week program focusing on hypertrophy, athleticism and strength gains, and I'm soooooo excited to start! I have a good baseline now and I'm ready to take my "Unchained Predator" mindset and completely unleash the beast within. There are also some other crazy changes happening in my life. I'm getting a second job at Costco. I'm pretty excited about it because I love Costco and I actually used to work for them about a decade ago. Being the father of 5 beautiful kids and having an amazing wife that watches after them is just one reason for needing this second income. I want to get us into a bigger place, possible a house in the next year or less. I also want to get debt free and have a little more cushion with our finances. Working 2 jobs and still wanting to maintain a training schedule is going to be physically and mentally demanding, so, I need to be on my A-game. The last 2 challenges, I have been focusing on 3 qualities: Relentlessness, Focus and Calm Under Pressure. Combined together, I have been able to set goals, achieve them and kick ass in the process. This challenge is no different. In other words, "Don't fix what aint broken!" Goal 1: A Predator's Mindset-Relentless It's no surprise that juggling the many things I have going in my life is going to be tough as hell. But, with the right mindset, I can (and will) be victorious. The nice thing about the BeastX program is the workouts are no more than 60 min long. Training at the gym is therapeutic for me and something that needs to continue even in the midst of working two jobs. Fueling my body and my mind is going to be just as important for all the "in-between" stuff. To have a Predatory Mindset, I need to: Keep up with weekly training on the new BeastX program. Get swole. Fuel my body and meal prep/plan better. Post pic. People like food porn . Have a good attitude about it all. Don't be a dick. Possible Points: +4 STR, +1 DEX Goal 2: A Predator's Restful Slumber-Focus Sleep. Ohhhhh, how sleep is going to be the most important goal of this whole challenge. Not just sleeping at night, but napping during the day and taking advantage of the opportunities to get some shut-eye. There may be nights where I don't get home from Costco during the week till almost 11pm...and then I want to get up by 4:30 AM to be at the gym so I can make it to my other job in time? Yeah, it's gonna be nuts. I'm salary at my day job which gives me a little leeway on sleeping during lunch, which, needs to be a daily thing. I always eat at my desk, so, I will continue doing that, but take the time to nap during my actual lunch break. Possible Points: +3 CON, +2 CHA Goal 3: A Predator's Might Roar-Calm Under Pressure I'm a member of the Toastmasters Club at my day job and I love it! Public Speaking has always been a big fear of mine since I was little but I am overcoming that fear and really enjoying giving these speeches. I am about to complete my level 1 pathway for my focus on Presentation Mastery with this weeks Toastmasters meeting when I evaluate one of the members on his speech. After that, I'll dive right into my 2nd level pathway and begin knocking out those speeches/goals as well. During this challenge, I want to "lean in" and make sure to fill a role for every meeting over the next 5 weeks. I also want to give at least one speech in that time frame. Being calm under pressure is crucial to the success of this goal. Possible Points: +2 CHA, +3 WIS And there you have it folks! Thanks for letting me hang here for the next challenge+!! I I look forward to kicking some ass and making the Warrior guild proud of all my gainzzzz Wolf

Sure one could slay dragons, but that seems so laden with tropes of farm boys with swords. I don't even own a pair of overalls, and the only sharp blades I keep are in my kitchen. Personally I'd rather make friends with a dragon or two. Then I have awesome dragon friends. Maybe one lets me ride on its back. Maybe we just make s'mores and talk about life. Anyway...let's meet the dragons I'll be befriending over the next 4 weeks. Budget the Mighty The most intimidating of all my dragons. This dragon can only be befriended through brutal honesty, a willingness to make tough choices, and continual tending. This pragmatic dragon will bring me peace of mind and help me plan for the future. To befriend him I must: Create a basic budget (week 1) Consolidate debt (week 1) Update any spending through YNAB (daily as needed) Prioritize goals (week 2) ?? Beatrice the Productive I've already begun making friends with this dragon. She appreciates a companion who gets their shit done. To continue growing my friendship with her I need to keep a steady, thoughtful pace with my school and work days. Beatrice prefers to hangout during daylight and generally doesn't like to see anyone after 5pm. Engage her without good reason after dark at your own peril! The Funinator The Funinator just wants to have a good time but will start setting things on fire if you tell it the night's plans are to camp out in front of the tv. She's okay with it every once in awhile, it's just that there are so many more interesting things she'd rather do like make art or music or even curl up with a good book. The Funinator is also a great encourager of getting out of the house now and again, even if it is very, very cold outside. Bro the Built Bro can be a little much sometimes, but his intentions are good. Deep down he wants his friends to be happy and healthy and knows that getting them off their asses is the best way to do that. He hasn't been super pleased watching me eat my stress the last few weeks and suggested I start writing down everything I eat for the next 4 weeks. He was also way too excited when I told him that I missed feeling strong. He is "totally pumped" for me to try his new bodyweight routine 3x per week and supplement it with 20 minute yoga sessions 2x per week.

=== Urgent message to the Rebellion! === For all who currently struggle to find time for posting and reading others' posts but still want NF accountability, here is a thread where we can do that in a minimal, Twitter-style way. I would love to do all the gifs and engage with every Ranger and then some - I just love it - but currently cannot afford it. Yet, I have grown very lazy without accountability. So, better something small than nothing. The plan: Just post very shortly what do you aim to do each week, and at its end (Saturday or Sunday), again very shortly share if you succeeded. If you want to write longer, that's great, but I encourage you to do it on the regular 4WC threads. Here, in order to easily keep each other accountable, let's keep it short and sweet. Ready, steady... Go!

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

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

New challenge. Starting Early. 1. Part-time Wasteland Walker Limiting my Fallout time. Fallout ends at noon. Even on weekends. Can't be babysitting settlements all day. 2. Quest Log part 2 Now that the whiteboard has been established, I'm incorporating Sunday chores in there, to include assignment list, meal prepping, training updates, and FB scheduled posts. 3. Atos I pretty much put the minimum in the Program Minimum (Simple & Sinister). Now I'll add another day, following Atos kettlebell complex from Hector's Kettlebell Workout Snacks. It's a total of 12 sessions for 4 weeks, and I'm giving myself a week of a buffer zone. Onward...

THE PRESSURE IS ON! Respawn, because I have been a slack lately. More nerdy references (and some kind of story line and D&D references) to come in the next few days. There is a Pole Sport competition I will be going to in about seven months, where I will need to be able to move, climb, flip and be awesome like a ninja. In order to not be a disappointment at this competition, I need to do multiple things. Increasing flexibility is the main priority, and getting my ass back into some kind of workout routine is a close second. 1 - Increasing flexibility MUST ABSOLUTELY HAPPEN AND IS NOT NEGOTIABLE (daily except Sundays) 2 - Following the Gymnastics Bodies program on a regular basis (5x/week) 3 - Going for 20-30 min walks at lunch now that the weather is less shitty (5x/week, unless there's a staff event at lunch or something) 4 - Doing the pole workout given to me by Coach (daily: full workout if at pole gym, partial workout if at home) 5 - Drinking more water daily--at least 72oz/day (72oz, because I have a 24oz cup and 3x24 is 72 and I didn't feel like doing any more math than that) 6 - Tracking food intake and rough calorie total (daily, also requested by Coach) 7 - 10 min meditation & journal on a daily basis (I already do this, but want to keep going) 8 - Eat less cheese (this will probably be the hardest item of the challenge) Implied goals: 9 - I will lose some pounds (fat) as a result of all of the above 10 - I will drink less alcohol because I'll be too fucking busy to do so 11 - I will check in to this thread on a regular basis to brag/whine as necessary ;P BONUS task: Working on my cosplay(s). PRE-CHALLENGE LIST, to remove the emotional/mental load: 1 - Cancel the expensive gym membership that I no longer use It's a good place and I've been there for years, but the schedule is no longer working for me. 2 - Booking appointments that I keep procrastinating on booking 3 - Contacting people that I keep procrastinating on contacting (0 of 2) 4 - CLEAN MY FUCKING ROOM so I have space to work out, work on cosplay, etc. 5 - Change my user name on NF, because using my RL name on the Internet is probably not a good idea May will be particularly difficult, because I will have the usual work hours (8AM to 4PM) and then coaching hours from like 6PM to 10PM from Monday to Thursday. This will result in VERY LITTLE FREE TIME and probably a lot of complaining. I want to have all my ducks in a row as well as some momentum before May so that I'll be less likely to fall off the wagon.

Ok guys, I know I'm late to this challenge. Once again I'm in a rut. I've been eating horribly. Yesterday I ate out for all three of my meals and went to the vending machine. This challenge is about small changes in the right direction. It's going to be simple and to the point. I feel like I keep doing well for a short period of time, then falling back into old habits over and over again. I know I'm gaining weight again, but I'm afraid to look at the scale. I need to be held accountable and have encouragement from my peeps. I seem to be most successful when I'm posting on these forums, so here I go again. I'm NOT giving up. My strategy is to pick on thing each week that I will do something better than I have been and build on that. It can be something as small as eating 1 piece of fruit each day. Let's do this! Week 1 Goal: Eat a healthy breakfast Recently I've been stopping by McDonald's on the way to work because I haven't been waking up early enough to cook breakfast. Well, I bought some instant hot cereal packets to keep at work for when I'm running late. I'm going to start by eating a healthy breakfast. That is my one goal for this first week. (first week that I'm starting, not week 1 of the challenge... as I'm late. lol.)

Heck yeah, MORE, gimme MORE MUAHAHAHAHA Will update with more concrete info here soonest. So life has me by the belt, and is flinging me about. I have no theme, per sé, but I was thinking about taking a photo of my stash yarn. Still not sure if maybe I'll do that. I have a few WIPs that need finishing, a tiny pi-shawlette that needs a border, a gift (old shale triangle shawl) for a friend that needs some love (stitches and beads), a second sock for my left foot, because unequal foot wear is not fun, first ever woolen sock pair I am knitting for myself (the one pair of cotton sneaker socks, 5-10 years ago don't count as knitting socks for myself). If I can knit size 49 (German sizes are weird, I'm on the phone and too lazy to translate that) for hubby, I can knit some socks for myself. I deserve amazing footwear. A few acrylic crochet toy things I am not looking at right now. I stress knit. But I also am finding the joy in fibres, textures, patterns, colours again. So it's not just my son's physical/mental health problems anymore. Not enough? More. I teach Luebecker Modell Bewegungswelten classes twice a week in an elderly home a half-hour walk from home. Good program, amazing people, good money. I am only training once a week myself right now. But that's way enough. Or it has to be for now. (Tuesday night 630-9pm) I should be focussing on all the things. But I am mostly sitting down at some point in the earliesk afternoon, for some knitting and some thinking. I rarely pull out my bujo, but I shall endeavor to do so more often, for it helps keep track of Schiff, if I don't have to carry it in my head, but have it written down instead. I weigh myself daily, for a nice pretty moving average, but I don't look at it too much. Sadly it's currently going in the wrong direction overall. But I have to breathe and go on. Giving up is not an option. I need to take the time and figure out a few breakfast and supper options that I can eat, do eat, and will eat so I don't have to log every ingredient separately every time. I need to make logging so easy I can't not. That's my plan for some of this month. I have someone coming to my class at the end of the month to give me coaching, which is exciting and scary. But I'll prevail. I have all the things on my plate. It'll be fine. Linkage and pics later today when there's natural light and such. Possibly. Did I mention that it's hubby's bday Wednesday and he's turning 40 and I love him and I actually finally have a gift for him? I am giving him a card, telling him of the weekend with no kids, got the car and day of hiking we'll both enjoy like crazy, may even book a room in advance and stay out and make it a weekend-thing instead of a Saturday thing. Never done that kinda stuff before. I pretty certain he'll love it. Nature, walking, no appointments, no obligations, just an easy 10k walk or something of the sort. Gift on Wednesday, actual walk on the 31.March/1.April-weekend. I'll keep you informed. So that's my challenge posted up. About time, isn't it?

I didn't do so well last challenge. I had such a good routine prior to the Christmas time off. Between the leg cramps and the time away from the routine I've fallen short. Must restore the rhythm. 1. Spritual Meditate, study and internalize the words and teachings of Jesus. 2. Time management No lazy boy before 7 (minimize TV and internet time) On my death bed, I will not say, I wish I'd watched more TV. Work in building 3 times a week 3. Diet No solid food except dinner after 4. Lot's of liquids. The physical aspects are on hold. That said, I plan to exercise enough to stretch, try to skate once a week and bike as soon as the weather allows. We've had 12 inches dumped on us this weekend, so it won't be for a while. Once I restore the rhythm, the exercise will fall into place. I'm 5' 9" and 194 lbs.

We're back to find our hero, Red wandering the swamps, trying to find that elusive crystal shard. "Man, I am lost! I thought I would've found it by now." Red sifts through heavy foliage, he keeps his wits sharp as he hears rustling in the trees. "OK, something is definitely following me, I better watch my back." He makes sure that he sets up camp by a large and heavy tree, so as to not be attacked from behind. As he rests by campfire, the rustling seemed to have stopped for a moment, looks like whatever was following him gave up. 'Whew!' Red thought, 'I hate having to fight something when I'm this deep into unknown territory.' But as Red looked up, he noticed that sitting right in front of him was a Mysidian Rabbit! This creature with a straw hat and black coat, sorta resembles a Black Mage, but... it's a Rabbit... "What the? Where did you come from lil guy?" Red offered the rabbit some food, but all it did was hesitantly hop closer and closer to him. "It's ok, lil guy. I won't hurt you. See?" Red places his sword at arm's length so that the Rabbit didn't feel threatened. The Rabbit moved closer until it was right next to Red. "Well hey there." Red said towards the Rabbit as it sniffs the air. It hops once more towards Red's pack then stares at Red with wide eyes. "Err... is everything ok?" Red asked, feeling a bit creeped out. "Mugu mugu!" The Rabbit chants. Those wide eyes flash with a blinding light, "GAAH!!" Red yelled out! Frantically searching for his sword, he hears the clamber of his things and when the light from his eyes cleared, he saw that the shard he had possessed was gone! "What the?! Why that no-good vermin! I'll kill 'im!" Red yelled! He heard rustling in the distance, "There you are!" And he took off after the Rabbit! OK So as you all know, I'll be starting school again. Which means that my time management skills will be put to the test because this is my new schedule. I can fit in some exercising in the mornings on M, Th, and the Weekends. I think that should be enough to keep me in the hang of things. In either case, I'll let you guys know, how my progress is going. If I have a short amount of time, I can always shadowbox, if I have longer than that I'm going to follow this routine Pull-ups - 5, 2 Chin-ups - 7, 2 Weighted Lunges - 15, 11, 15, 7 Push-ups - 15, 15, 11 Leg Raises - 11, 11, 9 Prone Cobra - 56 sec, 1 min, 56 sec In each set, aim for 15 max reps, rest for 1 min between each set, and rest for 2 mins between each exercise.

So, shit got out of hand the last week of the last challenge. I'm picking it back up. Zero week leeway, of course. Need to accelerate. SLEEP - wake up in the single digits (i.e. before 10). Instagram it, a la Jocko Willink. No excuses. AIR - Headspace. Finish Focus pack, and [maybe] move on to Rehab pack. Shieeeettt... FOOD - Whiteboard seems to work. I'll just have to set a Sunday schedule instead of lollygagging all day. Also started a new Battle Log, so I can compartmentalize my training and getting my shit together. Because training is easy; life is not.

Hello, nerds! I'm back. Was it more than a week since last challenge? Has the new challenge not even started? Who cares! I am IN IT. Let's cut to it, because time is money... or time... it's precious valuable life existence being wasted as I type meaningless banter, Morty! MEANINGLESS BANTER! That's who I have become. I am a productivity machine and Lady-Rick ala Rick and Morty. No, not really, I have been working on (slash chaneling) a Rick Sanchez puppet for Dragon Con (nerdy geek-fest coming up Labor Day weekend), and that is primary goal number one: GET IT DONE. Well, done is a bit strong of a word, but this guy involves facial mechs, just so I know that I can do it, since one of my dream life goals is building and working props and puppets in TV and film (technically I am already doing that on the side, but I mean full time, forever and one hundred years film and TV art department!) So goal one is just working on puppets, not even Rick constantly, just anything, I attended the National Puppetry Conference in June and it rocked my socks (I made a movie, some of you saw it! I can post a link later when I need a pick-me-up!) and reminded me what I can get done when I focus. 1) BUILD. CREATE. ART. Okay, now more health oriented goals, of which I have two. 2) DRINK UP. As is... I am trying Soylent. Yup, figured I'd toss some dollars to the genius nerds who made drinkable food with a clever name. But really, I have become unexpectedly fascinated with caloric intake numbers, and time management. (This is where we get into TIME TRAVEL, which is what we are all doing... only in a very linear un-exciting way.) We only get so much of it (time), so I am stream-lining some of it where I can: like breakfast! or lunch, which I am at work so... drink up. This stuff is portioned out pretty much exactly what I need, and I am using it for breakfast and lunch, but eating real food for dinner, I'm a vegetarian so lately I've been making peanut/sesame kale and whatnot and it's amazing and that's that. I also signed up for my friend's Blue Apron trial, so I'm curious about those... really this week there's a Vietnamese rice stick thing and I am fascinated by those, so time to learn how to make them. Then drop the trial methinks, because money is a thing, and I am a clever chef. Oh, the point of this goal is to keep track of caloric intake, but also to see how well a Soylent powered me works in the harsh environment of the real world. 3) RUN, MORTY! RUN Oh, am I still doing that? Like I said, I've been drinking energy cut with coffee, and I mocked up an eye mech last night that I get to expound upon once I leave the moneyjob. Also, I am trying to "run" (lots of start and stop 5K training, I am sure, but the point is 30-45 minutes a day of activity). It's hard to do sometimes, to motivate, but I do know that when I do, I feel awesome. And it's been raining on me lately, which somehow feels awesom-er. Hitting that step-goal would be great too, but I'm not going to say it's a necessity this go-round. Okay, health-aside, let's look at more sort of social emotional functional goals 4) GET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER and TIME IN CHECK Previous lurkers on my challenges may notice a theme. Funny, when you make art, your house seems to become a cluttered disaster area. I am trying to cull that, I've Konmari'ed pretty hard, but did not make the final adjustments of fixing my house to serve my needs. Hoping to make some strides there with this goal of batcave improvement. Studio-wise I need to build a work bench that's not my fold out cardtable, then affix my scroll saw, bandsaw, vice-I-am-buying-today, and any other hefty tools that are super dangerous on a card table (I've just been using them on the floor which isn't great, but safer for sure. Also want to cull my kitchen, I never quite did that when I Konmari'ed, so I need to. I make pretty darn awesome food, and I am starting to learn to simplify and organize my cabinets... so... I should. Time in check is more divvying up the hours alotted to me after work and on my days off, and making them productive, and relaxing, I know I need to rest too. This is me trying to make a chart, which I've not made yet (but it's July 5, and the challenge starts July 9, so I've got time) and stick to it. It will include time for art/building, running, house cleaning/ordering, and REST. I'm noticing a need or desire to sort of orient myself into a routine or schedule, that I can break out of as necessary, but also fall back on. We'll see how it goes. So, I've babbled on quite enough, now to get back to drinking energy and working at my money job! Any ideas? Suggestions? Running commentary? Requests? And awaaaaaaaaaay we go!