Search the Community

Hi Nerds! I’m back (again…can’t finish a challenge but can’t stay away either). This last month (and the preceding months to come extent) have been a real gut punch to my life, and I am really struggling to do even the most basic stuff a lot of days, so here I am. Spoiler below for people who would like more detail….TW: divorce, death, pet peril So, basically, I’m in survival mode, and with the school year coming out, I need to crawl my way out of that so I’m not totally overwhelmed come August. I am going to start very simple and just go from there and add things as I can. 1. Take meds 2. 7 hours of sleep every night 3. Choose 3 tasks every day and complete them (can be big or small depending on physical/emotional energy available) 4. Update here at least twice a week, even if it’s just a sentence That’s what I have for now. Happy Challenge Everyone!!

A Bullet Journal Accountability group you say... This group might be for you if you do any of the following. Do you enjoy writing down the things you accomplish? Do you track your exercise, sleep, or water? Do you need to write down dates and times in order to remember them? Do you feel that most planners are not flexible enough for your daily needs? Do you make thousands of to do lists? My plan is to post some resources I've found helpful and encourage others to share what's been successful for them. Let's create a place where bujo enthusiast can post pictures, ask questions, get help or just get ideas on what to do. So if this sounds like something you might enjoy or you already bujo and you have knowledge to share, please join in! If you want to join please post a short introduction, tell us how you use your journal and what you want to work on.

AHHH YOU GUYS. It was so hard to pick a challenge focus this time. Background: So next up is Challenge #7 - the tomato strikes back. I turn bright red when I exert myself, because I'm a tomato and cardio is just this endless battle. I've been struggling with running for years now. I can run a 5K distance but I struggle to run more than 1-2x/week or increase my weekly mileage above the 4-5 mile range without getting shin splints. I'm very consistent in my running, but I keep getting stuck. So last challenge, I started to shift towards running 3x/week by splitting up the mileage across runs and focusing on using a 180BPM cadence to see if that helps with shin splints. I want to keep working on 3x/week runs this challenge. Most running advice says you need at least 3x MINIMUM to improve, so I'll see if that's true. Here are the deets: Run/walk 3x/week for 20 minutes, getting used to the 180BPM cadence Continue to experiment with factors like running surface, shoe lacing, etc, to see how my shins do If my legs bother me or I can't run for other reasons, try to sub in another form of cardio to take its place so I maintain the habit of doing something 3x/week (biking outside or on a machine, jumping, burpees, etc.) Step 1 is to get used to the cadence so it feels less awkward. Step 2 is to be able to run 20 minutes 3x/week at that cadence without needing to walk. Step 3 is to increase one of those runs to 5K distance ASAP so that I don't lose my distance there. Step 4 is to start to experiment with total weekly distance, sprinting, hill work, and other types of running workouts once I have the base in place. Eventually, I'd like to be able to run a 10K distance for OCR purposes, run a 30-minute 5K, and run an 8 minute mile time for shorter runs. Mini-Challenge 1: Hiking As part of cardio-type activities, I'd like to do more hiking. Hiking is quite possibly one of my favorite physical activities, but I don't do it that often these days. It's crazy good for you and it's fun and low impact. It's also a good way to explore. So! I'd like to go on 1 hike/week during this challenge, both in my current area and in the new area. If I succeed at doing all 4 hikes, I can reward myself with a hiking backpack to encourage even more hiking. I have fantasies about doing cooler dayhikes and things, so this is a good place to start. Mini-Challenge 2: TO DO LIST EXTRAVAGANZA SEPARATELY I'm moving at either the end of Week 1 or Week 2 of this challenge, so there are a million things to do. I'll do a separate mass of to dos before and after the move. BEFORE: Cancel internet Cancel electricity Do the thing with the forwarding address?? List a bunch of furniture on sale via Craigslist and flyers at my apartment Get letter from Aikido sensei confirming my current number of practice hours Figure out what to do with my furniture if I can't sell it, and how the hell to get it out of my apartment anyway (I'm on the 3rd floor of an apartment and there are only stairs) Set up a lunch or something with local coworker-types Get in at least one bootcamp class so I can say bye to peeps there Contact my wrist doctor about anything I need in advance to be able to smoothly transfer info to a doc in the new location Donate other stuff I'm not keeping Continue with swimming lessons / make sure to inform instructor about move coming up Use my actual apartment pool at least once Hit up some of the items on my bucket list BBQ pub Italian place Local bargain store people love Cool burger place in nearby town Try running at a park that's supposed to have some soft trails Maaaaybe the racetrack? But also apparently there have been a lot of horse deaths there this year so I might just boycott. There are some other things but I don't have the list in front of me so I'll update it later AFTER: Find the local library and get set up with it Update address with work Find good places to run both right outside my front door and farther away Find a good place to ride my bike Find an asian market/grocery store Find a wrist doctor Find a place where I can practice swimming Find someone I can potentially trust to cut my hair Find a local farmer's market Find a good lunchtime/after work walking route Explore local fitness options...yoga, gyms, aikido, bootcampy classes, etc. I will not be able to do much until after my wrist is dealt with, but individual classes should be doable in the short term.) Mini Challenge 3: Minimalist Food Leading up to the move, I've got some pantry items to use up. I can get very overzealous about trying new recipes and foods, but I should focus on working my way through what I have and keeping it simple otherwise. I'll also end up going out a few times with coworkers/aikido peeps/to finish up my list of things to do locally, so I want to avoid overbuying food. After the move will be a big adjustment, because my boyfriend doesn't cook and eats out for all meals and we'll have to find some middle ground that does not involve the expansion of MY middle. So it makes sense to try to keep things simple and minimal while we adjust too. So, some guidelines: Only cook recipes I have successfully cooked before (or that are very simple - like I can try a new sauce on some chicken or something if it just involves mixing some things together and cooking it a normal way) One exception...I have a quiche recipe I've already planned to make this coming week to use up some canned green chiles. Finish as much as I can from the freezer/pantry before the move and plan meals off of those items, filling in foods only as needed to round out the meal Keep grocery shopping simple after the move (at least for the first 2 weeks) and try to avoid getting starry-eyed over the excitement of new grocery stores to explore ???

My challenges this year are improving and I am sure that this will get better the less time I spend being ill. However, this challenge is going to be slightly different. As I will be doing a lot of campaigning this challenge for upcoming local elections and trying to rest and take care of the rest of my life at the same time. I'm going for three simple but important challenges plus I am going to add my own mini-challenge per week. Goal: Reason: I created a goal to travel by foot more than I did in 2014. What a perfect time to put a focus on that part of the challenge than during an election. I will still be going to the gym and whatever else but there won't be the same focus on it as I may not be able to go as often. What: Track (via my phone and runkeeper app) 20km walking (about 5k a week) this should be do-able but may have to add in extra walks How: Track my walks while out delivering leaflets and any extra walking I do Bonus points: Extra walks, particularly in nature Motivation: I need to beat my 2014 self! Goal: Not to give in to temptation Reason: While I tend to eat quite well, my eating habits of late have tended towards junk food. This is not good for me or helping me stop being ill. What: Remove as much junk food (high calorie - low nutrition, generally just not good for you) as possible. No take-aways and when eating out choose something that at least has vegetables in it (as far as being vegetarian will allow me). I don't have enough fridge or freezer space for much meal-prep (though I still need to read that NF article) but I will keep making my healthy lunches. Evening meal I need to work on as I am mostly feeding myself at nights for now. How: Say no, plan ahead, buy fruit etc. for snacks. Tracked on myfitnesspal. Bonus points: Actually saying no to junk food. Making it through the whole month without junk food. Motivation: To feel better. To be better. Goal: Keep on top of life Reason: I'm going to be busy this month. I need to make sure I don't neglect other things in my life and includes me/ rest time as well. What: List! I love lists. I have done something similar to this in previous challenges but I have decided to bring it back as it feels appropriate. How: I will make a to-do list every Sunday for things I need to do that week including rest/me time each week. Keep track of what I need to do and not just leave it all for a day off. Bonus points: Bonus points for every day that I finish my to do list early. Motivation: It gets stuff done. I like lists. I will feel better. Mini-challenges Week 1 - Every morning get up 5 minutes earlier than normal and do as many push ups as possible. Week 2 - Update my challenge thread every day Week 3 - Week 4 -