[athousandwords]

credit: MorJer on DeviantArt

 

CHAPTER 1: AThousandWords finds a Door

 

At the top of the hill.

At the back of the wardrobe.

At the end of the trail.

There is always a Door.

 

Today it is hidden in yellow siding, tucked away at the back of an unused train station, metres away from a bustling pedestrian highway. Hundreds of cyclists and joggers and families passing by daily, none the wiser. Finely painted, with a trompe-l'œil handle that you think you could reach out and turn. An ornate window made of clouded glass, just far enough out of reach that you'd have to get on tip-toes to see through. If there were anything to see. 

I must have run past it a hundred times myself - surely it's always been there? Tucked away by creeping vines and tall brown grass. I hesitate, torn between wanting to reach out and feel if the doorknob is real and warm from the sun, yet unwilling to let the illusion dissipate.

 

Happy New Year! I'm going to indulge myself this year in a long-running, immersive fantasy.  For me, 2022 is a work in peeling back layers of old habits and forging new ones that support the identity I want to embody. I'm unlearning some negative traits (particularly around diet and weight loss) and opening a door to more consistency, simplicity, and joy. My framework for this challenge is based on Atomic Habits: establishing micro-building blocks that feed into the habits I want to establish. It looks a little different from my previous challenges, but I'm giving it a whirl!

 

Habit 1: Schedule and Start 2 hours of Deep Work every weekday

• Use reclaim.ai to schedule 2 hours of focused work time on work days
• When the notification goes off, I will actually  get started with work - even if it's just 2 minutes

 

Habit 2: Fill up water cup every morning

• Every morning while I make coffee, I will fill up my big 24oz water cup

 

Habit 3: Spend 15 minutes every weekday adding recipes to Plan to Eat

• Use reclaim.ai to schedule 15 minutes of time every weekday
• Add at least one recipe that I'm actually willing to cook/eat to Plan to Eat during this time 

 

Habit 4: Practice yoga for 30 min a week

• I will complete a 30 min yoga class from the Peloton app for 30 min on Tuesdays, after daycare dropoff
• If, for some reason, I can't do Tuesday, Friday or Sunday are my back up days

 

Behind the scenes, there are lots of other things I'm working on: I'm still training for a half-marathon and running 3-4x a week. I'm trying to read more (that's a work in progress that will probably be its own challenge item down the road). I never finished those dollhouses, so that's definitely going to be happening this month. I'm also still parenting two small kids during a pandemic, with all the associated stress and joy that brings. 🤷‍♀️   But these four things feel like a good starting point toward establishing healthy habits this year, and casting a strong vote toward the person I want to be at the end of 2022.

[athousandwords]

Yesterday was a good start to the New Year! We had snow, like much of the mid-atlantic, but our area didn't accumulate much - about 1" or less. Enough to cancel daycare though, so the kids stayed home with my husband while I worked (also from home). In addition to setting up my new challenge, I also spent some time setting up reclaim.ai, which you'll see all over my habit goals this month. I'm trying it out as a way to beter "cue" myself during the work day. I've found that without having some structure, I end up falling into rabbit holes of lost time. Great when coding, terrible when Facebook. So now my days are structured so that I actually prioritize the things I want to get done. 🤞

 

 

My water habit worked out well – just by remembering to fill my cup in the morning, I drank the entire 24oz and then refilled it 2 more times. I'm sure my body doesn't know what to do with all that hydration. I'm weird with water: I don't mind drinking it, but I feel like if I don't remember to get started, I'll just go the full day without any. So here's hoping that a strong start will mean more water over the course of the day.

 

I was scheduled to do yoga today, but the kids are home again today so I decided to move it to Friday. Yesterday I did go for a run while they were out playing in the snow. It was too cold/snowy to run outside, so I did the 3mi on our treadmill. I really dislike treadmill running, so I gave myself a carrot of watching the new season of Queer Eye during my run and it made the whole thing much more enjoyable! I think I have a few more indoor runs in my future, so I'm going to restrict myself and only watch QE during my runs to incentivize them.

 

 

Finally, here's 4 recipes I added yesterday and today:

Apples ‘n’ Onion Topped Chops
Paneer Butter Masala Recipe
Orange Honey and Soy Glazed Brussel Sprouts

Roast Chicken with Caramelized Shallots

 

I haven't cooked these yet, just trying to build up my stash of recipes for meal planning. I realized meal planning would go a lot faster if I didn't spend an hour+ trying to figure out recipes at the same time, so my goal is to get my recipe "book" stocked by adding a few recipes every day. Then I have lots of new meals that I'm excited to try and plenty to pick from so that I can just drag and drop into the planner.

[athousandwords]

OH! And fun fact: today is my 11 year NerdFitnessiversary! 🥳  And I'm still a recruit. Forever a recruit. 

 

[MezzotheLefty]

Happy NF anniversary!  And (a belated) Happy New Year! I love that mindset, working towards who you want to be at the end of2022. Cheering you on!

 

4 hours ago, athousandwords said:

 

My water habit worked out well – just by remembering to fill my cup in the morning, I drank the entire 24oz and then refilled it 2 more times. I'm sure my body doesn't know what to do with all that hydration. I'm weird with water: I don't mind drinking it, but I feel like if I don't remember to get started, I'll just go the full day without any. So here's hoping that a strong start will mean more water over the course of the day.

 

 

Are you me? Because I literally have the same problem. I can drink a ton of water IF I just get started. I fall into the trap of "I'm a little sluggish/cold/stressed/scattered, I need a second cup of coffee" then BAM it's 1 pm and I've had only coffee, no water. Great hack, may steal it.

 

PS. Atomic Habits just came to my Libby app. Will be reading soon.

PPS. I still haven't read Song of Achilles, but I did get to listen to Circe on audiobook and it was AMAZING. Looking forward to her other books now!

 

[athousandwords]

21 minutes ago, MezzotheLefty said:

Happy NF anniversary!  And (a belated) Happy New Year! I love that mindset, working towards who you want to be at the end of2022. Cheering you on!

 

Thank you! And where's your challenge? *pokes*

 

21 minutes ago, MezzotheLefty said:

PS. Atomic Habits just came to my Libby app. Will be reading soon.

PPS. I still haven't read Song of Achilles, but I did get to listen to Circe on audiobook and it was AMAZING. Looking forward to her other books now!

 

Yay, enjoy! And I loved Circe, but I think I loved Song of Achilles even more. Hope you like it!

[Chesire]

Happy Nerdiversary!  How did you get to recruit?!  I'm still  newbie! 

 

7 hours ago, athousandwords said:

I'm weird with water: I don't mind drinking it, but I feel like if I don't remember to get started, I'll just go the full day without any.

My water weirdness is that I will drink tons of water, but only if I'm not at home.  For some reason at home I forget. 

 

Good looking challenge.  Following

[Rookie]

Happy Nerdiversary indeed! I think Tank changed my 'title' when I became an ambassador lol. But my rank is still newbie 

[athousandwords]

17 hours ago, Chesire said:

Happy Nerdiversary!  How did you get to recruit?!  I'm still  newbie! 

Oh no that's worse! 😂 I think it used to be based on post count, but screwed up for a lot of people when the forums switched...? I just find it funny nowadays!

 

1 hour ago, Rookie said:

Happy Nerdiversary indeed! I think Tank changed my 'title' when I became an ambassador lol. But my rank is still newbie 

It looks like it only shows up on the profile now, so actually I'm probably the only person who even pays attention to it. 🙈

[MezzotheLefty]

20 hours ago, athousandwords said:

 

Thank you! And where's your challenge? *pokes*

 

Here it is! Better late than never!

 

 

 

[KB Girl]

Excellent challenge! I’m currently reading atomic habits, definitely very interesting and more than a little inspiring so far. Especially the way to think about your goals- looks like you really took that and ran with it  

[athousandwords]

My toddler has a book called Grumpy Monkey, where a chimpanzee just can't shake his bad mood and learns that it's okay to be grumpy sometimes.

 

 

And that's how I feel right now. Just... grumpy.

 

I'm annoyed at my husband and I don't know why or what to do about it. I feel slow and run down at work, which is making this "deep work" goal hard. Last night I drank beer and read fan fiction at an attempt at "self care", but I just felt cranky and crappy by the time I went to bed. The only thing that really feels good lately is running - I was pretty bummed about it being too cold and snowy to run outside, but I'm warming to my treadmill runs, and getting to watch Queer Eye makes me feel a little better. 

 

But when I run down the checklist of usual solutions I feel like I'm checking all the boxes: I'm drinking enough water, I'm eating fine, I'm exercising, I'm getting "me-time", I'm back at work and the kids are at daycare so there are no distractions.

 

I just feel... grumpy.

 

This too shall pass, but for now it's putting a damper on my usual challenge enthusiasm. But, I owe myself a quick update because I actually am doing just fine on goals so far:

 

Habit 1: Start 2 hours of Deep Work every weekday

🟩🟥🟩 

 

Habit 2: Fill up water cup every morning

🟩🟩🟩

 

Habit 3: Spend 15 minutes every weekday adding recipes to Plan to Eat

🟩🟩🟩

 

Habit 4: Practice yoga for 30 min a week

Rescheduled from Tuesday to tomorrow

 

Hope everyone else is having a less grumpy week!

[KB Girl]

Sometimes you're just feeling grumpy.. could be hormones at work

Hopefully you'll feel better tomorrow, fingers crossed!

[Rookie]

Oh a case of the grumpies. Hopefully they run their course! 

 

 

[athousandwords]

Today was a little better. I took work off because the kids' daycare was closed for snow and I really made an effort to be present. I left my phone on my nightstand so I wasn't tempted to jump on whenever the kids were distracted and wow did that make a real difference in my attention and patience. We had a great day: we made salt dough and the kids played with it for over an hour while I started taking down XMas decorations; we baked chocolate chip cookies; I got three loads of laundry done (and actually folded); we made a giant bounce-pad out of cushions; read a few books and cuddled; and made homemade pizza for dinner. ❤️ 

 

Habit 1: Start 2 hours of Deep Work every weekday

🟩🟥🟩🟩⬜ (neutral today since I didn't work)

 

 

Habit 2: Fill up water cup every morning

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

 

Habit 3: Spend 15 minutes every weekday adding recipes to Plan to Eat

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

 

Habit 4: Practice yoga for 30 min a week

🟩 (fit in during the kids' nap time!)

[KB Girl]

12 hours ago, athousandwords said:

Today was a little better. I took work off because the kids' daycare was closed for snow and I really made an effort to be present. I left my phone on my nightstand so I wasn't tempted to jump on whenever the kids were distracted and wow did that make a real difference in my attention and patience. We had a great day: we made salt dough and the kids played with it for over an hour while I started taking down XMas decorations; we baked chocolate chip cookies; I got three loads of laundry done (and actually folded); we made a giant bounce-pad out of cushions; read a few books and cuddled; and made homemade pizza for dinner. ❤️ 

 

That sounds like such a lovely day! Thanks for the inspiration

[athousandwords]

Week 1 Recap:

 

Habit 1: Start 2 hours of Deep Work every weekday

🟩🟥🟩🟩⬜ (I didn't work on Friday)

 

Habit 2: Fill up water cup every morning

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 💯

 

Habit 3: Spend 15 minutes every weekday adding recipes to Plan to Eat

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 💯

 

Habit 4: Practice yoga for 30 min a week

🟩 💯

 

Week 1 felt like a success! But kind of unchallenging? Who knows, maybe an unchallenging challenge is okay to launch the new year. We'll see how I feel mid-February.  

 

And not to be repetitive, but since it's already Tuesday, let's just go ahead and check in on the current week:

 

Habit 1: Start 2 hours of Deep Work every weekday

🟥🟩⬜⬜⬜

 

Habit 2: Fill up water cup every morning

🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜

 

Habit 3: Spend 15 minutes every weekday adding recipes to Plan to Eat

🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜

 

Habit 4: Practice yoga for 30 min a week

⬜

 

Yesterday was not really productive; I didn't get the one thing I meant to done, and I took off work early for a kid's dentist appt. But today's been great! I finished the thing and got a lot of progress in on the new feature I'm working on. Deep Work is like hyperfocusing - when you get going, it's easy. But some days it's just so hard to start. That's the point of this challenge goal; flexing that muscle and getting into the habit of starting. 

[Rebel Pilot Gar]

Oops found your thread! (Better late than never?)

 

Atomic habits is a great book. I think I’m due for a re-read soon.

Great job week one! How is the calendar app working out for you? I’m tempted to try it out but have not had success in the past with digital calendars.

 

14 hours ago, athousandwords said:

Week 1 felt like a success! But kind of unchallenging? Who knows, maybe an unchallenging challenge is okay to launch the new year. We'll see how I feel mid-February.  

I’m kind of feeling the same. Not sure if it’s ranger-brain getting bored and wanting me to overcommit, then crash and ghost from the forums. I’m trying to convince myself it’s good to ease in and focus on discipline first for the new year. 

[athousandwords]

On 1/12/2022 at 7:18 AM, Rebel Pilot Gar said:

Great job week one! How is the calendar app working out for you? I’m tempted to try it out but have not had success in the past with digital calendars.

 

I'm on the fence. I really, really like the benefit of scheduling my day, but I feel like the particular app I'm using (reclaim.ai) might not be the best fit. 

 

On 1/12/2022 at 7:18 AM, Rebel Pilot Gar said:

I’m kind of feeling the same. Not sure if it’s ranger-brain getting bored and wanting me to overcommit, then crash and ghost from the forums. I’m trying to convince myself it’s good to ease in and focus on discipline first for the new year. 

 

Such a good point! It's always possible to dial up the intensity later, for sure!

[athousandwords]

Week 2 (early) Recap

 

I know, I'm a day early, but I found time time to get on and update so I figured I should!

 

Habit 1: Start 2 hours of Deep Work every weekday

🟥🟩🟩🟩🟩

 

The focus on "Deep Work" this challenge is going well so far. Most days, I can just start and then I get so interested in what I'm working on that I end up getting a lot done. It's been great for my productivity at work and I feel like I'm really leaning into non-distracted working in a positive way. But then I get days like Monday where I just can't even get myself to start. It's like, too many good days and my brain just quits on me. Overall it's going well though, I like that scheduling out my day makes me really aware of the hours I have. Too often days sort of fly by in a blur and I can't seem to fit in everything that I want to. I like being more intentional with my time. Although it would be good to be intentional about checking in on this challenge, too... 🙈

 

Habit 2: Fill up water cup every morning

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜

 

The water habit is going surprisingly well! It seems so simple, but it's been really effective this week. And I don't beat myself up if I don't get 8 glasses of water a day, I just start over fresh and fill up my water cup first thing the next morning. And more often than not I do get 8-9+ glasses once I get going.

 

Habit 3: Spend 15 minutes every weekday adding recipes to Plan to Eat

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

 

I feel like I barely got this done this week, but I did it. I was struggling to find things I wanted to add though. I think I need some new recipe blogs or sites or something. Most of the recipes I added were things I saw Antoni make on QE while I was running!

 

A few of the recipes I added this week below. Again, I haven't tried these yet, but they looked good and I will be adding them to the meal plan at some point!

 

Antoni Porowski’s Cauliflower Steaks with Turmeric and Crunchy Almonds

Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo Recipe

Thai Basil Chicken (Easy Gai Pad Krapow)

Mince and Haloumi One Pot Meal

 

Habit 4: Practice yoga for 30 min a week

🟩

 

This got pushed back to Friday again because Tuesday didn't work out, but I did get it done. I'd like to start adding in a second practice (so Tues/Fri) because I really am seeing a lot of benefit from the stretches and the mindfulness.

 

---------------

 

Today I ran 8 FREAKING MILES on the treadmill, which I'm super impressed with. I'm still on track for my half marathon in March, and the mileage is really starting to climb now. This week I did all treadmill runs, and I miss running outside, but we've been having seasonably appropriate temperatures of around 25-35*F and I just don't have the gear to run when it's that cold out. Maybe next winter. But in the meanwhile, treadmill runs have been fine. I'm getting to watch some motivational TV which is kind of an indulgence, since normally I'm not much of a TV watcher.

 

Another mini-resolution I picked up this year, although I didn't include it in this challenge, is starting a new book every Monday. I love reading but I haven't been making the time for it in my life the last few years. I've gotten in the habit of just reading fanfiction at night because I don't want to get "involved" with anything too long. But it's an excuse and I miss reading long-form novels and challenging myself (I love fanfic and it can be great, but what I read tends to be heavy on romantic drama and little else). Anyway, this week I read The Other Black Girl and last week I finished Under the Whispering Door. I have a few holds at the library available so up next may be Gold-Digger, Kindred, or The Vanishing Half... we'll see what I'm in the mood for on Monday!

[KB Girl]

I like romantic drama, any fanfic recommendations?

 

Great job on the running! whatever works for you right now. Honestly it sounds like an attractive way to do it, watching some tv. All the other habits look pretty green too

 

[athousandwords]

On 1/15/2022 at 4:32 PM, KB Girl said:

I like romantic drama, any fanfic recommendations?

 

Oh boy. Usually I just read in the fandoms I like (currently: Schitt's Creek, Merlin, and the Simon Snow series). I can't say any of the fics would be all that great if you don't know those characters well, but if you do, I'll send you some recs!

[athousandwords]

Wednesday Update

 

Habit 1: Start 2 hours of Deep Work every weekday

⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜

 

Habit 2: Fill up water cup every morning

🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜

 

Habit 3: Spend 15 minutes every weekday adding recipes to Plan to Eat

🟥🟩🟩⬜⬜

 

Habit 4: Practice yoga for 30 min a week

⬜

 

So on Friday, my parents came up for a visit which stretched through today because of the snow on Monday. We had a lovely time over the weekend and some much needed relief from child-care. DH and I got to sleep in and go watch the new Spiderman movie and generally breathe a little. Unfortunately, on Monday my dad started showing symptoms of Covid. We isolated him down in the basement guest room and he got a PCR done on Tuesday... today he got the positive result. We've kept the kids home from daycare all week, and with the snowstorm and precautions we took seeing the movie, we don't have to worry that we've spread it past our household. But we're all quarantining until we can start testing next Monday and playing the juggling game of full-time work and childcare.

 

I've kept up with my running so far - my family knows it's a priority and I'm making it happen. Other habits are going as well as can be - I took off Monday and today, so no deep work, and I forgot to spend time adding recipes on Monday since I wasn't around my computer.

 

Anyway. Here's hoping everyone else stays healthy and it doesn't spread through the household; and that the next two days are at least somewhat productive.

[KB Girl]

Ugh hope y'all don't get too sick.. and sorry about all the hassle it brings  

 

10 hours ago, athousandwords said:

I've kept up with my running so far - my family knows it's a priority and I'm making it happen.

This is great though! 

 

10 hours ago, athousandwords said:

 

Oh boy. Usually I just read in the fandoms I like (currently: Schitt's Creek, Merlin, and the Simon Snow series). I can't say any of the fics would be all that great if you don't know those characters well, but if you do, I'll send you some recs!

Ah unfortunately I am not familiar with any of those fandoms! Except Merlin? just the classic? 

[athousandwords]

Week 3 Update

 

Habit 1: Start 2 hours of Deep Work every weekday

⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩

 

Habit 2: Fill up water cup every morning

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

 

Habit 3: Spend 15 minutes every weekday adding recipes to Plan to Eat

🟥🟩🟩🟩🟥

 

Habit 4: Practice yoga for 30 min a week

🟩

 

So amazingly, our household all tested negative for Covid. We had the kids home all last week, and they got to go back to daycare yesterday with no symptoms and negative tests in hand. 🎉  ...Only to receive a call later that day that my son needed to be picked up because of a classmate testing positive, and while he wasn't directly exposed, his classroom is closed for the next 3 days.

 

Y'all. I just – I can't. 

 

Anyway. This is life with omicron, I guess, and we're doing what we can. Habits are still going fairly well. I'm not prioritizing adding recipes or updating NF because I'm so behind on work that I have to be hustling whenever I'm on my computer. It's a struggle to still run 3-4x a week, which makes squeezing in yoga hard too. Last week I didn't get it done until literally Sunday night, but I'm glad I got it in. Water intake has been good at least? I feel like that's a solid habit that's really sticking and helping increase my water during the day. Yay for that.

 

So if anyone is even reading this, sorry I'm a ghost and completely ignoring everyone. Hopefully I'll be more active next challenge instead of struggling just to keep up with it all.

[KB Girl]

13 hours ago, athousandwords said:

So if anyone is even reading this, sorry I'm a ghost and completely ignoring everyone. Hopefully I'll be more active next challenge instead of struggling just to keep up with it all.

Don't worry about it. Can't imagine the insanity of that situation 😕 You're a superstar for getting any work done and for getting those runs in at all!