[Elastigirl]

Great job at getting the dishes done. I like the idea of asking yourself what is the smallest thing I can get done?  Last night, I was super tired, and still needed to cook some veggies, so I could freeze them for later. I talked myself into cleaning and cutting them. Which means today I still need to cook them, but I did do at least half of the job. 

[Conquius]

Weekend Update!

 

(Generally, I let myself sleep in, but still tried to keep my pre-bed routines)

 

Saturday 9/17/22

✅ Friday was my night to cook, and the dish was slightly more involved, so I started right after work. Made a delicious Mattar Tofu from Plant Based India - a vegan cookbook I picked up recently. Dishes After Dinner complete.

✅ Fell asleep napping on the couch again, but I stopped using my phone at 10 and got to bed on time. Restrict App Hours successful.

 

Sunday 9/18/22

✅ Had the house to myself while my partner & roommate went to a baseball game. Took the time to do the dishes. We went out for dinner, so by the time we got back, all I had to do was start the dishwasher. Dishes After Dinner complete.

✅ Restrict App Hours - stopped using my phone around 10.

 

[Conquius]

Monday 9/19/22

✅ Dinner after Dishes. Sunday night was my partner's night to do the dishes, but they had to work a lot of Sunday. I, on the other hand, had a lot of free time, so I cleared out the dishwasher from when I ran it on Saturday, put those dishes away, and loaded some big ticket items into the dishwasher, so they'd only have to finish up some small top-rack items and hand-wash-only's. I also packed my backpack, and hung out my clothes for my commute into the office on Monday.

 

I'm learning more & more that this habit is mostly about looking ahead and doing chores early so I don't have to do them right before I go to bed. It lets me relax during the evenings.

 

✅ Restrict App Hours. Admittedly I was on my apps a little after 10 to finish an episode of Community, but I was in bed before 10:30 & asleep before 11.

 

✅ Smarter Alarm Clock. Set my alarm for 6 to be up at the same time as my partner. Got up, took a picture of my sink, started my morning routine, and didn't get back into bed.

 

✅ Get Up, Get Out. Threw on the clothes I hung out and got out of my bedroom. After breakfast, I got plenty of walking in on my way to the metro.

[MaeradCase]

2 hours ago, Conquius said:

Monday 9/19/22

✅ Dinner after Dishes. Sunday night was my partner's night to do the dishes, but they had to work a lot of Sunday. I, on the other hand, had a lot of free time, so I cleared out the dishwasher from when I ran it on Saturday, put those dishes away, and loaded some big ticket items into the dishwasher, so they'd only have to finish up some small top-rack items and hand-wash-only's. I also packed my backpack, and hung out my clothes for my commute into the office on Monday.

 

I'm learning more & more that this habit is mostly about looking ahead and doing chores early so I don't have to do them right before I go to bed. It lets me relax during the evenings.

Awesome work putting in the extra effort to make your partner's work easier!!

And that's an excellent lesson.

[Conquius]

Tuesday 9/20/22

 

✅ Dishes After Dinner. Not my night to cook or do dishes. Success by default. I also set out clothes for an early bike ride.

🔶 Restrict App Hours. Fell asleep on the couch not long after dinner, pulled myself upstairs, and ended up doing some scrolling while I could've been getting ready for bed.

🔶 Smarter Alarm Clock. Alarm went off at 7, I got up, took a picture of my sink....

❌ Get Up Get Out. And went straight back to sleep. I put on the cycling bib I had laid out, but didn't get fully dressed. Rolled out of bed at about 10 to 8, went on a short walk, and started my day.

 

Calling it a Miss ❌ for today.

 

A couple of things I noticed:

- Falling asleep on the couch after dinner feels bad, because then I have to peel myself off the couch to go to bed, and I have no energy for my nighttime routine. It will be worthwhile to break that habit.

- Waking up at the same time as my partner helps me get up on time. Unfortunately, my partner had to be up at 5:40 AM to go into work, and I didn't have to be up until 7.

[MaeradCase]

May be a miss for not hitting your goals, but you've got a good outlook on what makes it easier to reach them.

[Conquius]

Wednesday 9/21/22

 

✅ Dishes After Dinner. Started dishes after work since the dishwasher wasn't run last night. Emptied it once it was done. Had other chores tonight since it's Tuesday, and whoever doesn't go grocery shopping (me this week) takes out the trash, recycling, etc. All of that happened on time & under budget. I prepped my bike commute stuff later than I would've wanted, but I'm overall happy w how I did.

❌ Restricted App Hours. Was up after 10 watching Community on my phone.

✅ Smarter Alarm Clock. Went off at 5:40, went into my bathroom, took a picture of my sink, and started my morning routine.

✅ Get Up, Get Out. Got dressed in my bike clothes and got out of my bedroom. I was on my bike for my commute around 6:30, and in the office around 7:40.

 

✅ SUCCESS. Conquius Rises With The Dawn.

 

[MaeradCase]

What a beautiful sight!

Good job!!

[Stronkey Kong]

What's your alarm app called?

 

Addit: Is it alarms? I just downloaded it. Shoulda called it Alarmy McAlarmface.

[Conquius]

1 hour ago, Stronkey Kong said:

What's your alarm app called?

 

Alarmy

[Conquius]

Thursday 9/22/22

 

✅ Dishes After Dinner. Rare occasion where I have dishes two nights in a row. Started after dinner. Almost got caught in the couch trap. I also unpacked my panniers from my bike commute so that I'd be better set up in the morning.

✅ Restricted App Hours. Yeah. This was not hard. I was very tired after my commute.

✅ Smarter Alarm Clock. Went off at 7. I really wanted to stay in bed, but I rolled out, took a picture of my sink, resisted the urge to get back in bed and go to sleep, and started my morning routine.

🔶 Get Up, Get Out. Set out my clothes the night before. Got up, did my morning routine, threw on my clothes, then laid on my bed & scrolled for about a half hour. Got up, did not exactly get out, but also didn't go back to sleep! Mixed Success.

 

Overall, ✅ Success.

 

It's low-stakes days like these where I'm not commuting into the office that I really think nailing down my sleep habits will help me have more time in the morning to do things I want to do. I pitched this challenge originally as using that time to do some kind of movement habit (walking, cycling), but I might try something more cerebral. For some future challenge, I want to see if I can use this time to learn stuff or work on creative projects.

 

[Snarkyfishguts]

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

I skipped doing a challenge last time so I missed out- How was RAGBRAI? Did you love it? 

 

You're making loads of progress on your goals this challenge! This Alarmy App sounds intriguing...It's harder to wake up now that the sun rises a little later. 

[Conquius]

43 minutes ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

How was RAGBRAI? Did you love it? 

Howdy! Absolutely loved it. Had a blast reconnecting with TransAm Trail friends, made some new friends, drank a ton of craft beer, and rode our bikes across the sweet state of Iowa.

I've got lots of pictures, some stories, including one about how I got stung by a wasp while hurdling down a hill into Lansing (and how as a result half my face swelled up like a water balloon), but I haven't quite found the right avenue to post those pics & tell those stories. Maybe it's time for me to start a new Battle Log.

 

Anyway, yeah! Had a blast! We were some of the only folks carrying our own gear. That often meant that we were relatively slower than a lot of the crowds, but we still had our strong Touring Legs. That also meant that when we got a tailwind, our panniers caught the wind like sails and let us fly by folks.

 

In spite of all the fun, I'm not sure if we'll do RAGBRAI again. We really enjoyed the riding and the camping, and the beer, and some of the people, but the huge crowds were kind of a turnoff. We talked about doing an another cross-state bike ride next year, though. Currently discussing crossing New York from NYC to Buffalo on the Empire State Trail.

[Elastigirl]

You could just post the pic's and tell the stories on your challenge log. It's fun to read and cheer people on when they post their adventures.

[KB Girl]

Your commute is an hour by bike?

[Conquius]

2 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

You could just post the pic's and tell the stories on your challenge log.

True!

 

2 hours ago, KB Girl said:

Your commute is an hour by bike?

Yeah, each way. Right now I only do it once a week, and wfh most other days, but I'm hoping to build up to twice a week.

[Snarkyfishguts]

OMG you got stung by a wasp ON THE FACE?! That had to hurt so bad! I swell up really bad with stings too. Ow!

 

The crowds sound like a bummer, but your group sounds super cool! That takes a lot of strength to carry your own stuff around, and I bet it felt really cool when you could go FAST. 

 

What were your favorite beers? I'm always looking for a gift for my family!  

 

I've never heard of the Empire State Trail! I googled it and it looks gorgeous! Those views!

 

I'm so glad you had such a positive experience, minus the wasp sting and the crowds. It doesn't sound like either got you down though! 

[Conquius]

Friday 9/23/22

✅ Not my night to cook, not my night to do dishes, so success by default on Dishes After Dinner. I didn't really even have any setup I had to do for the next morning, except for laying out some clothes. Ended up taking a smoothie walk after work, and playing a lot of Forbidden West 😎

🔶 Didn't do so well Restricting App Hours. My partner didn't get home from work until very late (think after 10PM), I wanted to be there to greet them, make sure they ate dinner, etc, so I stayed up a bit later with them, scrolling & watching Community. Didn't hit the target, but honestly, target be damned. Hit the pillow around 11:30 and was asleep soon after.

✅ Smarter Alarm Clock got me up at 7 and into the bathroom. I took my momentum into my morning routine, and it kept me out of bed.

✅ Get Up, Get Out. Threw on my clothes after my morning routine, made my half of the bed, and headed downstairs to pour coffee. If I can make it downstairs to pour myself coffee, I consider the morning won. Spent the morning drinking coffee on the couch with my partner. They've been working crazy OT hours, and I've been traveling back to my hometown frequently to help my family out, so this time together was very nice.

 

Success ✅ 

[Conquius]

14 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

OMG you got stung by a wasp ON THE FACE?! That had to hurt so bad!

Hahaha it hurt pretty bad in the moment I got stung, and the half hour that followed. Thankfully I was in the final leg of the last day, and it was all just gorgeous descents into the end town. Once I got there, I got taken care of. They couldn't find the stinger, but they gave me some Benadryl and I rode it out on the ride home.

 

14 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

That takes a lot of strength to carry your own stuff around

Got a lot of practice last year 😎

 

14 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

What were your favorite beers?

I'm sorry to say I don't remember their names 😬 they were Iowa-local craft beers. In general, though, I like sours. If there were no sours, I'd go for a cider, a shandy, or a lager. All beer is good beer under the hot Iowa sun.

[MaeradCase]

1 hour ago, Conquius said:

🔶 Didn't do so well Restricting App Hours. My partner didn't get home from work until very late (think after 10PM), I wanted to be there to greet them, make sure they ate dinner, etc, so I stayed up a bit later with them, scrolling & watching Community. Didn't hit the target, but honestly, target be damned. Hit the pillow around 11:30 and was asleep soon after.

✅ Smarter Alarm Clock got me up at 7 and into the bathroom. I took my momentum into my morning routine, and it kept me out of bed.

✅ Get Up, Get Out. Threw on my clothes after my morning routine, made my half of the bed, and headed downstairs to pour coffee. If I can make it downstairs to pour myself coffee, I consider the morning won. Spent the morning drinking coffee on the couch with my partner. They've been working crazy OT hours, and I've been traveling back to my hometown frequently to help my family out, so this time together was very nice.

 

Success ✅ 

I think it's great that you stayed up for your partner. That's a good priority - to put significant others before goals if the two are in conflict.

[KB Girl]

On 9/23/2022 at 12:41 AM, Conquius said:

 

Yeah, each way. Right now I only do it once a week, and wfh most other days, but I'm hoping to build up to twice a week.

That’s hardcore  

[Conquius]

Weekend Update

I travelled to my hometown for the weekend to see my family and play a D&D session of our long-running campaign. Overall, the weekend was jam-packed, and I was not particularly diligent with my sleep rituals since I was out of my element. Not an excuse, but a reason to be cognizant of and adjust to.

 

Saturday 9/24/22

Rolled in to my parents' house after 11. Pretty swiftly went to bed, but I had to spend about an hour relaxing on my phone before I was ready to sleep. Got up on time for an early breakfast with a friend I was meeting in town. Out of my relevant new sleep habits:

❌ Restricted App Hours

✅ Smarter Alarm Clock - I still had it set up for my parents' house.

✅ Get Up, Get Out 

 

Sunday 9/25/22

After D&D on Saturday, some of us went to a friend's house to hang out & watch a movie. The movie was 3+ hours and we didn't start watching until 11. I made the conscious decision to pass tf out on their recliner. Woke up around 2:30, and we shuffled off to bed. Woke up the next morning around 7 to ride bikes. Somehow managed 7+ hours of sleep.

❌ Restricted App Hours

❌ Smarter Alarm Clock - I turned it off for sleeping over at a friend's house.

✅ Get Up, Get Out

 

Monday 9/26/22

Got back home Sunday afternoon, tried to mix relaxing with taking care of chores after a fun but tiring weekend.

❌ Dishes After Dinner - It was my night to do dishes. My partner, kindly, loaded the dishes from the daytime, leaving me only to load the nighttime dishes. I still decided to flop on the couch after dinner to watch Community before tackling dishes. Ended up getting them done around 11.

❌ Restricted App Hours - I'm counting watching Community on Netflix until 11 as Apps.

❌ Smarter Alarm Clock - I forgot to turn my alarm clock back on after I had it off Sunday morning.

🔶 Get Up, Get Out - Fell back asleep, rolled out around 7:40.

 

I'm a little disappointed, but not upset over how the weekend turned out habit-wise. Overall, I sacrificed sleep structure for time to travel and spend time with friends, which I don't regret! A lot of slips were matters of circumstance, and many times I responded to that circumstance responsibly, but there were places where I could've done better.

 

Now that I'm back home, I'm going to reestablish my habits, and the hope is that I'll fall back into them easily. I'm traveling again this weekend for a wedding, and spending the following week in my hometown house-sitting for my parents, which should afford me ample opportunities to stick to my sleep structure.

[Conquius]

Did my due diligence on Sunday and got my booster & flu shot. I was fine up until like 2 hours ago, and I am now flat on my ass.

 

It will not be hard to go to bed early tonight.

[Conquius]

On the bright side, tried my hand at a new mushroom stroganoff recipe and it came out wonderfully.

 

Original recipe:

https://makeitdairyfree.com/vegan-mushroom-stroganoff/#recipe

 

I added about a block of tofu, cut into rectangles & air fried, into the stroganoff right around when I added the mushrooms. I also got to marinate the mushrooms in soy sauce, liquid smoke, and maple syrup overnight.

 

This is it right before I added the vegan sour cream. Pasta is in an adjacent pot.

[Conquius]

Tuesday 9/27/22

🔶 Dishes After Dinner. My night to cook dinner. I had to meet up with someone right after work, but even after I got home, I spent a good deal of time messing around on my phone started dinner. Giving myself a Mixed Success because I was also dealing with body aches post-booster.

 

✅ Restricted App Hours. Headed up to bed a little after 10, put my phone on charge, and that was that.

 

✅ Smarter Alarm Clock. Woke up at 7, took a picture of my sink, took one long wistful look at my bed, then started my morning routine.

 

🔶 Get Up, Get Out. Got up, did my morning routine, then between my morning routine & getting dressed, I laid on the bed & scrolled for 20-odd minutes. Eventually got up, but it took a bit. The times I've had more success with this are the times I've hung up my clothes - the option to put on clothes and get out of my bedroom was easier than getting back into bed. From Atomic Habits, I think that's Make It Obvious.

 

I'm calling that a ✅ Success for the day.