Chanda: Making it Effortless II

[Chanda]

Chanda the Druid is standing in the middle of the forrest clearing. She arrived early and has been waiting for the right moment to enter the searching meditation. The owl perched on the great oak tree is watching her and Chanda is staring back into its eyes. Waiting. 

 

Its time. She closes her eyes. The words "Make it Effortless. Look for Results" come to her. Chanda was expecting this and knows what she has to do. 

 

In the past 2 challenges I focused on building solid routines. The focus was on doing the routines, not actually looking for results. This time around my goals are adjusted so I can start looking for results. My idea is to keep doing the challenge in this format until it becomes 2nd nature and effortless.

 

1. Fuel: food & drink (CON:+3)

GOAL: My body must have enough good fuel to perform.

HOW: 

1. Average calorie intake to be within 1750 to 1880. (+1 CON) The target calorie intake for my target weight at planned level of activity is 1990 - moderate level of activity. I am setting my range a bit below that but higher than what it was in the previous challenge (1700 to 1800). Goal is to continue to loose fat very slowly and keep loss of lean mass to a minimum. I reserve the right to adjust the target calorie intake during the challenge if one of 3 things happens: I find myself exercising much more than planned, lean mass starts dropping or fat mass starts increasing. 
2. Drink an additional liter of water per day (average to be 0.9l or higher). (+1 CON) I already drink at least 1 liter of fluids per day (with meals and tea) but I often forget to drink water between meals. 
3. & 4. NEW: Time to improve the quality of my food and drink. Eat no more than 225 calories per day on average of sweets. Drink no more than 1 coffee per day on average. (+1 CON, both sweets and coffee have to be within range to earn this point) Currently, I eat a lot of sweets: cake, cookies, candie, etc. I have no intention to stop enjoying them. However, I checked how many calories I am getting from sweets and for the past 3 weeks I average over 450 calories per day, thats 25% of my calorie intake. Shocking! In terms of drinking, I drink mostly water and tea. Over Christmas I started drinking a lot of coffee... so that I am now drinking 3 cups on average per day. Not a lot, but more than what I need.

Scoring: A: All 4 items within range, B: 3 items within range, C: 2 items within range , D: 1 item within range.  E & F: 0 items within range... to be awarded based on how close to range I was.

2. Mental Strength (CHA: +1, WIS: +2)

Goal: Sound Mind. The mind runs the show... and it needs to be fit!

HOW:

1. Get at least 7 hours sleep on average per day. (+1 CHA)
2. Meditate regularly adding up to an average of 8min per day (+1 WIS). In the previous challenge the goal was 7min, increase by 1 min.
3. Brain workout on average 3 times per week (+1 WIS). Games like sudoku, crosswords, memory, puzzles, etc. Memorize things counts too. In the previous challenge I was aiming for 2.5 times per week.

Scoring: A: All 3 items within range, B: 2 items within range, C: 1 item within range.  D to F: 0 items within range... to be awarded based on how close to range I was.


3. Strong Body (STR: +2, STA: +2, DEX: +1)

GOAL: Healthy and Strong Body. I am demanding more from myself. In order to get it done I need to make sure my body is a lean mean fighting machine.

HOW:

1. Exercise on average 20min per day. (+1 STR)
2. Look after my health or appearance on average 2 times per week  (+1 STA)
3. Walk/Run on average 4km per day.  (+1 STA) Up from 2km per day last challenge. This includes walking done throughout the day as well as distance covered in run/walk workouts.
4. Complete at least: 9 yoga workouts & 9 body weight workouts.  (+1 DEX) I signed up for a yoga class, so at least yoga should be easy to get done.
5. NEW: Complete at least: 9 walk/runs.  (+1 STR) Goal is to start training for a race in July. For the moment, I just want to build up distance and make getting out for a walk/run a habit.

Scoring: A: All 5 items within range, B: 4 items within range, C: 3 items within range , D: 2 items within range.  E: 1 item within range. F: 0 items within range. 

4. LIFE: Getting things done (CHA: +2, WIS: +2)

GOAL: Master the daily routines and start harvesting the fruits of my labour. 

HOW:

1. Do my routines regularly. Expecting overall average of 85% for success. (+1 CHA) Maintenance, Progress and Me Time were tracked as their own items in the last challenge. I did OK with keeping up, so I am moving them back into the routines for tracking. 
2. NEW: Be Punctual on average 85% for success (+1 WIS) This includes meetings, appointments, deadlines, dropping of the girls in kindergarden, finishing daily activities before relaxing and bed time. 
3. NEW: Home is visitor ready on half the days (+1 CHA) This doesn't mean completely spotless (not possible with 2 toddlers and a dog), it means that if a friend was to knock on the door I wouldn't hesitate to invite them in. 
4. NEW: Harvest the Fruits of my Labour, at least 8 items done (+1 WIS): Possible items to get done (list may grow through the 6 weeks): Implement GTD at home, implement GTD at work, Release part 3 of chart, Release part 4 of chart, Read book from improvement reading list, Tidy Desk, Tidy Kitchen, enjoy the visit from a friend (10 days), business trip (possible 2 trips), update retirement plan/contributions. 

Scoring: A: All 4 items within range, B: 3 items within range, C: 2 items within range , D: 1 item within range.  E & F: 0 items within range... to be awarded based on how close to range I was.

 

The Challenge: Work deadlines, a 2-3 day business trip, a 10 day visit from a friend and her daughter, starting a training program for running and yoga classes are all things that could side-track me. Staying consistent with my routines and focused on results no matter what life throws my way is the challenge for the next 6 weeks. 

RESULTS: I am already defining what attributes get awarded for each item completed. I don’t like fractions. My scoring is set stricter than spezzy´s definition. There are no fractions of a point, its all or nothing! Also I only level up if I achieve an overall B or better.

I am weighing myself and taking measurements roughly every 2 weeks.

What do I expect to see from all of this? Things like: Reach my pre-pregnancies weight. (achieved last challenge!) Maintain or increase lean mass. Which should mean a reduction of body fat. Clothes fit better (or possibly worse if suddenly they are too large for me). I smile more. I have more energy. I am more relaxed. My girls are happier and more relaxed. Husband is happy too! I don’t feel isolated. I am more efficient at completing my tasks. I have more time to spend on other pursuits like reading/stitching/designing/learning. My home is visitor ready most of the time. My desk is less cluttered. I am not rushing around to get things done. I am not late to appointments or with finishing my tasks. I get a nice list of things done during the challenge.

 

Chanda is smiling confidently as she opens her eyes.  

 

Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way. - Abraham Lincoln

 

With her head held high she steps forward to accept the challenge. “I am ready.â€

 

DISCLAIMER: Don't try this at home. At least not all at once. I have been playing around and adjusting my routines on and off for many years, thats why I can set myself such a long list and not get overwhelmed and fail immediately (I did fail many times before I got to where I am now!). What I am doing now is becoming consistent and efficient in what I do. Start with something small and add to it once its become a habit.

[I am Eve]

Namaste!

[Jonesy]

I appreciate the disclaimer at the bottom. This challenge is all about building habits for me and the way you write out your challenge shows me that it can be done!

 

I'm a huge fan of planning and breaking things down, so your challenge is inspiring. Good Luck!

[Chanda]

Namaste!

 

Namaste, my friend!

 

I appreciate the disclaimer at the bottom. This challenge is all about building habits for me and the way you write out your challenge shows me that it can be done!

 

I'm a huge fan of planning and breaking things down, so your challenge is inspiring. Good Luck!

 

Thanks and it can be done! I learned there are 2 tricks to it: 1. Keep adjusting: life changes and you learn what works with practice... your habits/routines will keep evolving. 2. Keep trying No matter how often you fall off the wagon... don't look back, get up and start again.

 

Its that simple...

[Chanda]

I plan to report once a week, but I felt that my day 1 was so bad that it deserves a report.

 

1. Last night I went to bed late (midnight), didnt prepare for the next day, slept in, got into a battle of wills with my daughters in the morning... and all together that meant we were late for my very first "appointment" of the day. Thus derailing the "sleep 7 hours" and "punctuality" parts of my goals right on day one.

2. To add insult to injury, we had a meal from the golden-arches-company-who-shall-not-be-named on Saturday and went out to a festival for lunch on Sunday... lots of salt meant water retention meaning my weigh-in/measurements for the start of the challenge are off (by a kilo and a few centimeters!). So I need to wait till my body lets go of the salt and extra fluids to weigh in again. I could use those measurements... but they would make any high success feel like cheating.

3. Having had such a great start to the day on 2 fronts, meant that I was in a foul mood at work (most un-Druidy mood if I do say so myself), this was not helped by the announcement that the projects I work on have a half year delay, my quality department and customer are both requesting additional "redundant" tasks be performed (as in bring-no-value-whatsoever-to-the-projects) and they aren't even the same tasks... so I can't even put a positive spin on it by telling myself that completing the 1 task will make 2 different areas happy, these are completely different tasks. There were more great moments to my work day... but I'll spare you the pain.

4. I needed 2 coffees to make it though the meetings I had... coffee reduction part of the goals didn't go great either.

5. I got home still in a most un-Druidy mood and once I was done with "playing, feeding and getting the girls to sleep" (toddlers take no notice of mother's whose feathers have been ruffled)... I sat at the computer. Where I have been all night... which means I did nothing at all for the night (OK, thats a lie, I did post the mini-challenge for the Druids ahead of time, find 3 missing socks and visit my accountibilibuddies challenges). Doing routines, exercising and pretty much everything else neglected... that just about every part of my goals off to a pretty bad start. 

6. Its now almost 11:30PM. Which means I will get to bed late again... and I haven't prepared for tomorrow yet! Recognize a vicious cycle starting, anyone?

 

Right... now that I have had my self-pity-rant, I am getting of this chair. Going to do my "Prepare for next day routine". Tomorrow is a new day... and it will be a better day!

[Wandern]

Wow - so many changes since my last challenge, including a change in guild leadership. Go, Chanda! 

 

Congrats on getting back to pre-pregnancy weight! As always, I look forward to being inspired by following your challenge.

[Jonesy]

There are so many one bad [insert something] phrases out there, so I won't bore you with most of them but try to remember, Never let a bad day turn into two! Yes you had a bad day and yes it put you in a un-druidy mood but will you let it affect tomorrow? No it won't, because you are awesome and know what you want.

[magi192]

I second Jonesy's post and her pic. Also, it might help to have a phone/computer reminder that will ring/pop up at the hour you want to get all the stuff for the next day ready. 

Every day is a fresh start, so

GET UP AND JUMP ON IT!

 

[DaniRiekwel]

wow! that is a craaazy list. congrats on getting to your pre-pregnancy weight. I look forward to your updates!

[Chanda]

Wow - so many changes since my last challenge, including a change in guild leadership. Go, Chanda! 

 

Congrats on getting back to pre-pregnancy weight! As always, I look forward to being inspired by following your challenge.

 

Thanks! It came as a bit of a surprise to me as well... but the Druids is such a great guild that I am happy to put in a little bit of extra time. Its great working with Livingroovy and Dwarfthrower on this.

 

 

There are so many one bad [insert something] phrases out there, so I won't bore you with most of them but try to remember, Never let a bad day turn into two! Yes you had a bad day and yes it put you in a un-druidy mood but will you let it affect tomorrow? No it won't, because you are awesome and know what you want.

 

Today was a much better day.... Thank you for the pep talk and the inspiring image!

 

I second Jonesy's post and her pic. Also, it might help to have a phone/computer reminder that will ring/pop up at the hour you want to get all the stuff for the next day ready. 

Every day is a fresh start, so

GET UP AND JUMP ON IT!

 

 

OMG I laughed so much when I saw this image. Is it from an actual movie???

 

Thanks for the motivation. Today was a much better day.

 

wow! that is a craaazy list. congrats on getting to your pre-pregnancy weight. I look forward to your updates!

 

Thanks. Yes, you know you have a crazy goals list when you feel obliged to add a disclaimer.

[Chanda]

Quick update for day 2:

 

1. Last night I did do the "Prepare for next day" part of my routines.

2. This morning went much better... and the toddlers cooperated too (I really think their moods often reflect my own...)

3. Today before I left work I armed my boss with enough "ammunition" to go do battle on my behalf... and he won! So one set of redundant tasks has been crossed of the list. I rarely escalate things, preferring to fight my own battles... but this time it was totally worth it. Even better, my boss likes to do battle... so he is happy too! And we set a precedence case... so its good for the whole organization. Win-win-win.

4. I am not back on track with the challenge... but its only day 2 and today I made progress, instead of totally bombing out like with day 1.

 

I had a minor procedure today and am feeling rather sore and tired. No exercise today allowed... at the risk of starting to bleed again. So I am planning on an early night!

[Aqweei]

Quick update for day 2:

 

1. Last night I did do the "Prepare for next day" part of my routines.

2. This morning went much better... and the toddlers cooperated too (I really think their moods often reflect my own...)

3. Today before I left work I armed my boss with enough "ammunition" to go do battle on my behalf... and he won! So one set of redundant tasks has been crossed of the list. I rarely escalate things, preferring to fight my own battles... but this time it was totally worth it. Even better, my boss likes to do battle... so he is happy too! And we set a precedence case... so its good for the whole organization. Win-win-win.

4. I am not back on track with the challenge... but its only day 2 and today I made progress, instead of totally bombing out like with day 1.

 

I had a minor procedure today and am feeling rather sore and tired. No exercise today allowed... at the risk of starting to bleed again. So I am planning on an early night!

 

 

Glad today was a much better day! Keep it up and always strive to make today better then yesterday

[pr0ginoskes]

this is quite masterfully organized! it's fantastic that you have more energy and feel better, as well as inspiring to see that's someone's hard work is turning out so fruitfully. do feel better after your operation.

[Jonesy]

Woot for a much better day and for one task getting taken off your plate! 

 

I second Jonesy's post and her pic. Also, it might help to have a phone/computer reminder that will ring/pop up at the hour you want to get all the stuff for the next day ready. 

Every day is a fresh start, so

GET UP AND JUMP ON IT!

 

 

I love Fresh Prince! I started singing to this gif as soon as I saw it!

[I am Eve]

I plan to report once a week, but I felt that my day 1 was so bad that it deserves a report.

 

1. Last night I went to bed late (midnight), didnt prepare for the next day, slept in, got into a battle of wills with my daughters in the morning... and all together that meant we were late for my very first "appointment" of the day. Thus derailing the "sleep 7 hours" and "punctuality" parts of my goals right on day one.

2. To add insult to injury, we had a meal from the golden-arches-company-who-shall-not-be-named on Saturday and went out to a festival for lunch on Sunday... lots of salt meant water retention meaning my weigh-in/measurements for the start of the challenge are off (by a kilo and a few centimeters!). So I need to wait till my body lets go of the salt and extra fluids to weigh in again. I could use those measurements... but they would make any high success feel like cheating.

3. Having had such a great start to the day on 2 fronts, meant that I was in a foul mood at work (most un-Druidy mood if I do say so myself), this was not helped by the announcement that the projects I work on have a half year delay, my quality department and customer are both requesting additional "redundant" tasks be performed (as in bring-no-value-whatsoever-to-the-projects) and they aren't even the same tasks... so I can't even put a positive spin on it by telling myself that completing the 1 task will make 2 different areas happy, these are completely different tasks. There were more great moments to my work day... but I'll spare you the pain.

4. I needed 2 coffees to make it though the meetings I had... coffee reduction part of the goals didn't go great either.

5. I got home still in a most un-Druidy mood and once I was done with "playing, feeding and getting the girls to sleep" (toddlers take no notice of mother's whose feathers have been ruffled)... I sat at the computer. Where I have been all night... which means I did nothing at all for the night (OK, thats a lie, I did post the mini-challenge for the Druids ahead of time, find 3 missing socks and visit my accountibilibuddies challenges). Doing routines, exercising and pretty much everything else neglected... that just about every part of my goals off to a pretty bad start. 

6. Its now almost 11:30PM. Which means I will get to bed late again... and I haven't prepared for tomorrow yet! Recognize a vicious cycle starting, anyone?

 

Right... now that I have had my self-pity-rant, I am getting of this chair. Going to do my "Prepare for next day routine". Tomorrow is a new day... and it will be a better day!

 

Ooooh, I know the feeling!

My first day was the worst.....

One step at a time, eh?!

[Spider]

Maybe something in the air? My day was go-go-go!

[JessOfAllTrades]

Your list is so amazingly detailed. I'm in awe of it. It also sounds like you bounced back from Day 1, so that's fantastic. Hope the rest of your week continues to improve!

 

 

... I guess I need to expand my collection of fun .gifs for this accountability group, huh?

[Chanda]

this is quite masterfully organized! it's fantastic that you have more energy and feel better, as well as inspiring to see that's someone's hard work is turning out so fruitfully. do feel better after your operation.

 

Thanks... I've been build on it since my first challenge, so it didn't just happen instantly. Anyway, the effort is starting to pay off. I am still a bit sore but the cut is healing nicely so in a couple of days I should be as good as new!

 

Woot for a much better day and for one task getting taken off your plate! 

 

 

I love Fresh Prince! I started singing to this gif as soon as I saw it!

 

Oh thats where its from. Yes, I used to love watching that years ago. Don't know how I didnt recognise it.

 

Ooooh, I know the feeling!

My first day was the worst.....

One step at a time, eh?!

 

Hope you had a better 2nd and 3rd days. Will be stopping by to check on you sometime soon. Probably not tonight, very tired! 

 

Maybe something in the air? My day was go-go-go!

 

Who knows, I get the feeling we are expected to fit in more and more into one day. I signed up for a yoga class and just did the first class. The class is 90min and she explained stuff for most of it, so we only got 40min of doing poses. It took 40min to do what I normally do in 5. That was quite an experience in slowing down!

 

Your list is so amazingly detailed. I'm in awe of it. It also sounds like you bounced back from Day 1, so that's fantastic. Hope the rest of your week continues to improve!

 

 

... I guess I need to expand my collection of fun .gifs for this accountability group, huh?

 

Thanks. Its only that detailed because I have been adding to it from one challenge to the other. Eventually when I reach the point when routines become effortless, I plan to have extremely simple a short goals!

 

I don't normally use .gifs, but seeing that everyone else seems to enjoy it, I am joining in... whatever works to make it fun and motivating!

[Spider]

I had another full, go-go-go day, but it was a good one, at least. I have a regular 25 minute yoga DVD for when Wai Lana isn't on. I wish I had a 90 minute class. That sounds fabulous!

[Jonesy]

When you slow down the poses, does your body feel them more or does it make you work harder?

[amandolin]

Yay for yoga!! I used to love going to yoga classes at my gym soooo much nicer than doing it at home.

 

Good for you for get right back on track after a rough first day!

[Chanda]

I had another full, go-go-go day, but it was a good one, at least. I have a regular 25 minute yoga DVD for when Wai Lana isn't on. I wish I had a 90 minute class. That sounds fabulous!

 

Good go-go-go days are awesome! 

 

I have to confess I wasn't all that impressed with this 90 minute class. I was expecting a slow start, then a solid 40-50min of poses that challenge me physically, followed by a nice 20min or so shavasana. Instead its 65min of painfully slow poses and 25min shavasana. The entire class we are supposed to have our eyes closed. I am going to stick with it, because I probably need the extra relaxation, but I have to confess I didnt feel bliss... Hopefully with a week to adjust my expectations I will be able to properly enjoy the next class.

 

When you slow down the poses, does your body feel them more or does it make you work harder?

 

I expect with some poses the body would feel them more. In the case of this class, it was slow because it is supposed to be focused more on the meditative side of things, so the poses are very easy and there is a lot of time between poses and a lot of affirmations. It wasn't what I was expecting... but I'll adjust and make the most of it. 

 

Yay for yoga!! I used to love going to yoga classes at my gym soooo much nicer than doing it at home.

 

Good for you for get right back on track after a rough first day!

 

Yes, I used to love the yoga classes at my gym too! These classes are very different than what I am used to... so big adjustment, its more about the mind than the body. I supposed it will change my practice significantly.

[Chanda]

Came in quickly to report: Week is going OK, not great but OK and thats fine. I am looking for consistency, so OK is actually awesome. Better than Great this week, bad the next. 

 

Just came home from my first official run/walk workout. I am planning to sign up for a 5.3km run in July. So I figure I better start getting my body used to running again. I previously trained for and run a half marathon (back in 2007), so I know all about training for long distance. This time around, I am training to increase my speed slightly... So this first outing is my starting point. Which is why I am reporting on it.

 

Time: 16:16 Distance: 1.85km, done as 600m x 3 (run/walk/run). That puts me at a 8:49 / km pace. 

 

Also had a warm up and cool down of:

 

Time: 11:54 Distance: 0.91km, warmup and cool down walk

 

 

I am not joking when I say most people can walk faster than I run. The 8:49 /km pace would mean a 44min 5km, or 46.7min 5.3km (the actual distance of the race I plan to sign up for in July). Ultimately I hope to be able to do the 5.3km in under 35min (secretly I would like to come in under 30min... but I have never been that fast). I expect my pace to be much better as I increase the time spend running and reduce the walking... also this first pace was taken with 0 training. So it should be possible to see significant improvement on this pace.

 

I have 4 months to increase my distance and pace. I plan to keep things fun, so no rigid training plan (this is what I plan to do for my run/walk workouts, which are part of my 6 week challenge and will continue to be in my 6 week challenges at least until July!):

 

Phase 1: Increase the distance. Go out 1-3 times a week and slowly increase the distance until I can do 6km comfortably. Avoid injury by increasing distance slowly and alternating run/walk intervals. Keeping a strong focus on posture/form during the run parts.

 

Phase 2: Increase the pace. Go out 2-3 times a week. Alternating intervals/tempo/fartleks/hills/long runs and whatever else hits my fancy... all in various distances. I will continue using run/walk as appropriate to avoid injury. Every 2 to 3 weeks I will run the same circuit I run today to judge my actual pace (eventually I should be able to do 10 full laps running = 6km).

 

Cross Training: Walking, yoga and the secret weapon: body strength exercises. A stronger core should enable me to increase my pace while maintaining good form. 

 

Ultimate goal is to remain injury free... I will not jeopardize my health for performance!

[I am Eve]

Way to go, I sooo believe in taking it slow, and having fun. Solid planning there my friend. 

[JessOfAllTrades]

Good luck on the running training. I'm currently working on distance and am a bit worried when it comes time to focus on increasing speed. Glad to hear your week is going well!