Pretzle eats her daily bread (4th challenge)

[Pretzle]

3 sentence intro (Hiya druids!): I’m Pretzle, 25, Dutch, of the female sort. I teach English at college, like reading, cooking, good coffee & tea. A former (and future) assassin who has been mostly primal for the past month or so, loves BW stuff but can be a little mentally unstable at times. (This will be 4 but: I’m also looking for some friends (of the online and/or real life versions).)

 

(Also, I write long posts. Just read the bold/underlined/italics and you'll get what I'm aiming for .)

 

Main goal: Become/Stay sane & healthy - whatever happens.

 

Ok, not really ‘whatever’,  because sometimes you simply don’t have a say. But whenever I do have a say, I want to do all I can to achieve my main goal.

 

 

Goal 1: Feed my mind and soul.

 

* Read and study scripture for 15 minutes a day, before bed.

 

I already have a solid habit of reading. I read about a book every week/10 days, so that’s absolutely fine (and fun) in a general sense. But I need sustenance, proper food. I’m a Christian, so I’d like to study the scriptures a bit more than I currently do.

 

Why time based? I’ve read through the Bible in a year before, with a schedule telling me which chapters to read for the day. This means I would sometimes just read as quickly as I could to get through the planned reading. Good for general Bible knowledge and ‘just having read it all at least once’, but not for actual studying purposes. By setting a time goal it doesn’t matter how much I read. I can decide to study a few verses and really think about them. Which would be a good idea, I think.

 

WIS 1

STA 2

 

Goal 2: Give them what they pay me for.

 

* No work e-mail after 8 pm, only check once on Saturdays.

 

I’m a teacher. It’s normal in my profession to work a few more hours than you’re actually paid for. I’m absolutely fine with that. The thing is, I’m addicted to checking my e-mail (both personal and work… I still checked my uni mail 2 months after graduating - until they closed my account!). I check my e-mail in the morning before work if I have time for it. I think that’s fine - it helps me anticipate some things which will happen (or suddenly won’t happen) during the day. But still mailing back and forth with a colleague after 9 pm? That’s just silly!

 

So to allow me to get ready for bed, and really enjoy my weekends… I won’t check my work e-mail after 8 pm (all days) or check more than once on a Saturday.

 

This will be difficult for me. … Ugh, habits

 

CON 2

WIS 1

 

Goal 3: Keep up the good work.

 

* Exercise 3 x a week

 

I feel a bit silly for including this, but I’m afraid I’ll slip back into old (ancient by now) habits if I allow myself to do so… I’ve exercised for about 3 times a week ever since I started running in December 2011. I’m busier now with work, though, and the autumn has started and winter is on its way. That’s why I will still include it as a goal, just to keep myself accountable on days I simply don’t feel like it.

 

Forms of exercise will likely consist of: Bodyweight circuits, balancing, Poi, jump rope, swimming, walking, sprinting… Basically bodyweight exercises (which I love) … and whatever else I feel like!

 

STR 2

STA 2

DEX 1

 

Lifequest: Try something new!

 

* During this challenge do two things I’ve never done before!

 

Tentative ideas:

 

- Go to KB girl’s KB workshop (I’m terrified, but really want to try )

- Go to a classical concert

- Send my grandparents a letter explaining what I’ve learnt from them over the past 25 years, saying thank you

- Go to a gym and get a PT to explain weights stuff to me

- Organise for a native speaker to visit my classroom (the organising part, not sure I could make this happen during the challenge)

- ...

 

I’ve actually been doing REALLY well with this particular goal. I’ve graduated, started a new job, tried in-door climbing, got myself a museumcard and visited a few of those (even went to one all by myself)... Still, I’d like to keep it up and expand my horizon even more.

CHA + 4

[I am Eve]

Welcome to the Druids Pretzle! Good to have you here. Nice with someone else who tends to write long posts :-)

I really like the way you formulated your goals, especially about checking your email. How will you go about that practically?

Oh - and KB for......kettlebells? Last question for now: what kind of grading system will you use?

Welcome here!

[Pretzle]

Thanks for your reply  

 

I practiced yesterday for the 'only check e-mail once on Saturdays' and only checked it... twice (hey, it's a start ). I won't go as far as blocking the website, because I'm afraid it'll end up exploding on me and not allowing me back in the next day. I think I'll set a reminder on my phone for the first week and see how it goes. It might involve sticky notes on my monitor. And... I'm glad I don't use my phone to check e-mail, makes it easier to avoid doing so!

 

Yup, kettlebells. Terrifies me but it sounds so awesome I want to try ^^ Especially because it's a single event workshop, so if I don't like it I've been epic in trying it and that would be ok, too. 

 

Grading system... Last challenge I wrote a list of 'if, I'll get this grade...'. Maybe I'm expecting too much of myself, but last challenge I completed all of my goals, so I'm sort of hoping that success will last... So I'll grade myself at the end of each week and at the end take a look at those grades to decide whether it's word an A, F or something in-between

[Eirlys]

Hey Pretzle

 

Nice to meet you

 

I totally empathise with your goals 2 & 3.  

 

On 3 - even though there's a lot of pop-articles saying "habits form after 21 days" it's my experience that even doing something for 6 weeks doesn't necessarily stick after the challenge has finished.  So I applaud you for keeping it top priority and making sure you stick with it

 

On 2 - it's definitely a good habit to make some space for yourself in the evenings/weekends - a flame cannot burn without oxygen  Is there anything in particular you are afraid of missing out on, that causes you to check?  Or is it in 95% of cases, the email could actually have waited?

 

Good luck with your challenge!

[Pretzle]

 

On 2 - it's definitely a good habit to make some space for yourself in the evenings/weekends - a flame cannot burn without oxygen  Is there anything in particular you are afraid of missing out on, that causes you to check?  Or is it in 95% of cases, the email could actually have waited?

 

Good luck with your challenge!

 

Thanks! Well, most of the time it can definitely wait... It's just a habit and I tend to get bored a lot. When I'm bored, I check my e-mail. If there's something I can reply to and solve right at the moment, I usually do. But I do think learning to be less bored and not doing work in the evenings is a good thing, so ... yeah

[Devyn]

I like how you included a little bit of everything: mind, spirit and body.  Good luck on your goals!

 

Levar approves.

 

[Pretzle]

I like how you included a little bit of everything: mind, spirit and body.  Good luck on your goals!

 

Levar approves.

 

 

Thanks  

 

Currently I'm kind of dreading tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll be fine. I hope I'll be able to get in 1/3 exercise sessions tomorrow... and well, the rest is pretty much daily stuff  

[Devyn]

You will be fine. Remember, your body is a temple. Show it the same devotion (for it is a temple of God) that you give to your Bible studies and you will find more motivation than you  thought you had.

[I am Eve]

 

I practiced yesterday for the 'only check e-mail once on Saturdays' and only checked it... twice (hey, it's a start ). I won't go as far as blocking the website, because I'm afraid it'll end up exploding on me and not allowing me back in the next day. I think I'll set a reminder on my phone for the first week and see how it goes. It might involve sticky notes on my monitor. And... I'm glad I don't use my phone to check e-mail, makes it easier to avoid doing so!

 

OMG, so funny. And - I hear you on doing things obsessively, or out of boredom, or habit.....

I'll check this space to learn from you

[Pretzle]

Did my first workout of this challenge!  

They're also always over at Dailymile, but because it's the first one... 

 

 

BW circuit 'level up' 

 

3 rounds of:

 

10 decline push-ups, 4 assisted one-legged squats (my knee makes a weird popping sound and my right leg seems weaker than my left which seems... weird - still, I can do a few now! Last round I only managed 2 good ones and 2 sloppy ones for my left leg, and did 10 bulgarian split squats instead for my right leg), 5 x inverted row, 45 sec plank and 10 sec side plank (/each side), 32 lunges (I tried jumping lunges, planned on doing 8 each round... wasn't happening today. Jumped once, upper leg hurt pretty badly, so normal ones for now!)

 

Round times: 

1 = 5:20 (figuring stuff out during)

2 = 5:03

3 = 5:25

 

So that's 1/3 exercise done for week 1. I'm looking forward to my first 15 minutes of Bible study tonight!  

[Pretzle]

I did well on the not-checking work e-mail after 8pm yesterday I actually thought about checking it at 8 exactly (go figure) but didn't ^^ 

 

Bible study was interesting, I jumped around a bit and read 3 psalms, a bit of John and a bit of Acts... 15 minutes felt like a long time (1 minute before time I checked my phone to see if the alarm was actually on...). I think setting an alarm is a good idea though - obviously I could do more than 15 minutes sometimes, but I don't want to glance at the clock during those 15 minutes, and setting an alarm allows me to (try to) focus.

 

I liked it  

 

Today so far has been ok, although I got a headache again (got a migraine at work last Tuesday... and almost-migraine this week (I took an asprin and it seemed to help a bit, but still have an annoying headache). I wonder if it's the aircon at work or 'stress'. I do go outside during my break time (to get some fresh air and sunlight) but I'm not sure it's enough...

[Sunmage]

Welcome here!

 

Kettlebells are awesome stuff. Until the day after your first real workout. Then you will hate them every time you sit down...

 

Please learn from my mistakes and never ever install work email on your smartphone... 

 

 

Good luck!

[Pretzle]

Welcome here!

 

Kettlebells are awesome stuff. Until the day after your first real workout. Then you will hate them every time you sit down...

 

Please learn from my mistakes and never ever install work email on your smartphone... 

 

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks!

 

Haha, 'luckily' my phone doesn't have enough internal RAM to install most apps (stupid apps not installing on memory cards), so that means that unless I'd want to use the browser work e-mail is out of the question

 

Day two: 

15 minute Bible study - Didn't feel quite as long as yesterday, still was all over the place (Proverbs, Psalms, John). Wonder if it's a focus problem on my part of that it's ok and I simply like some variety... Anyways Got some reading and thinking and praying done, which was nice. 

 

Did well on the not checking e-mail.

[Eirlys]

Well done on resisting the call of email!

 

Do you find you have something else to spend your time on instead?

 

I've just de-activated one of my facebook accounts so feel like a similar sort of detox is in order

[Pretzle]

Challenge is going very well so far  

 

Do you find you have something else to spend your time on instead?

 

I've just de-activated one of my facebook accounts so feel like a similar sort of detox is in order

 

Well for me it's not a lot of time I get instead of checking e-mail (as usual there aren't any new messages or at least nothing that takes more than a few minutes to read and, if possible, reply to/act on.). But... I should find something to do! I go to bed pretty early (as I try to get up at about 6.30 every day, with 3 days of having to get up at 6) but other than being online and the 15 minutes Bible study, brushing teeth and having a snack (decidedly NOT in that order ) I don't really do much in the evenings... 

I should find myself a new series to watch. But I dislike watching stuff by myself... Ah well. 

 

2/3 exercise done as I did 30 minutes of Stepmania yesterday. Shark week has started (thanks whoever the assassin was that came up with that name for it haha) so I didn't feel like an overly intense BW workout, so I did Stepmania instead. 

 

I didn't check e-mail after 8 (had a pretty bad urge which I ignored and countered by thinking 'I can check my mail tomorrow') and did another 15 minutes of Bible study. 

 

I think today might be a good day to do start writing a letter to my grandparents as part of my lifegoal...  

[Pretzle]

Kept up with the daily 15 minutes of Bible study. I think I really like it, sometimes it does make me feel a bit rushed ('I want/need to sleep but I need to do this first!' but 15 minutes of sleep isn't going to make the difference between a good and bad night anyway) but overall it's giving me a sense of calm and connectedness I didn't expect to gain from it  

 

Started the day with a 30-ish minute brisk walk in the wonderful park Veluwezoom (lots of heather and tiny hills ('hills' in Holland... yeah, not really, but definitely no flat environment over there). So that means 3/3 exercise done. 

 

Today is my first official 'only allowed to check work e-mail once during the day'-Saturday. I think I'll aim for not checking it, though  

 

Loving this challenge so far, although I still have to start on that letter to my grandparents...

[Pretzle]

Week 1 summary:

 

3/3 times exercise (actually, walked A LOT today too, so I could argue 4/3 )

7/7 (need to do one tonight but I'm sure I will) 15 minute Bible study. 

1/2 lifegoal  

 

I wrote my grandma a 'thank you and I hope we'll get to experience a lot more together' letter. I hope she won't cry (too much). It ended up being 3 pages.

 

 

As far as the Bible study goes, it's easier than I expected and definitely more benificial to my peace of mind than I expected. Yesterday was kind of difficult, because I only got to go to bed around 21.45 (which is quite late for me) so I really had to get over the 'I won't get enough sleep tonight!' before just doing it, enjoying it and having a wonderful night of sleep afterwards But I did it!

 

For the exercise - I did fine, but I'd like to do two BW workouts this coming week, because once a week doesn't feel like it's enough... 

[Pretzle]

Grandma liked the letter, a lot. Grandpa too She agreed with me that often people think about something like this but never do it, and it's so good to actually just say some thing and share memories. Very glad I did it (even though it did take some courage). 

 

We probably got our own appartment! It's not official yet, in that we haven't signed the contract yet... but that will probably happen on Thursday! I'm scared to be too happy just yet, but obviously I AM happy. It means we'll get to move out and live on our own after living with my in-laws for just over a year. Exciting times!

 

For exercise I figured my 'new normal' might be a bit too much today (my back has started to hurt a tiny little bit, after the injury seemed to have healed completely). So instead of decline push-ups and jumping lunges etc. I did a test of 'how many can I do within a minute' and 'how long can I hold a plank'. I did my first test a bit over a month ago (August 19th) and... improvements all around!

 

 

 

Test 23rd of September

 

 

Got up at 5.30, workday, got news of the appartment being ours (YEAH) and did test after coffee and piece of chocolate at 16.30

 

About 2 minutes between different exercises to catch my breath

 

How many... in a minute:

 

1 Squats … 37(.5) (Up from 31)

3 Push-ups … 28 (got interrupted by phonecall at about 10 on my first try – started over, got to 26 consecutively before doing 2 more, and calling it quits at 6 seconds left) (up from 27 of which 25 consecutively)

4 Lunges … 37 (up from 31)

5 Inverted rows … 11 (of which 4 about ¾ way) (up from 8 (of which 2 sloppily) 

 

How long can I hold...

 

2 Plank … 1:22 (up from 1:13)

 

 

 

I wonder how big (if any) the influence of eating mostly primal has been on the improvements. I didn't do BW work outs as often as I did before the summer, but maybe that actually helps with strength and recovering (I still do BW AT LEAST once a week, but average is down from 2-something to 1-something).

 

Anyways, enjoyed the test today. Will be sore tomorrow, probably. These things are intense.

[I am Eve]

Oh, a REAL letter, I remember those. How wonderful....

You are doing great, and I realize that it is actually possible to break (start breaking) an obsessive habit 

 

Congratulations on the apartment (I hope) !! 

[Eirlys]

Well done for writing your grandma a long, meaningful letter.  I'm glad to hear your grandparents liked it!

 

And how exciting about the new apartment!  I hope it ends up being yours

[Pretzle]

Thanks for the replies!

 

I've been doing so well on this challenge so far I'm actually quite proud of myself. It's funny - I start spending more time with God and reading the Bible and accepting that He's in charge and 'suddenly' after over a year of waiting (im)patiently... we get an appartment! I already signed on Thursday. The owner should have signed yesterday (didn't get a confirmation but I'm quite confident everything is alright) and sometime next week I'll get the keys! Already bought a bit of stuff at Ikea today I'm looking forward to moving into our first real home. 

 

So yes, Bible study has been a constant. I haven't missed a day. Sometimes it means I get to bed a bit later than I would have preferred - but I've not had a horrible night (waking up a lot during the night or not being able to sleep) since I started taking a bit more time to read before getting to sleep. Maybe it's just because I have more of a settling down-bedtime routine now than I did before? But it seems to be working, which is good!

 

I still need to do one bout of exercise this week, which will happen tomorrow. I'm not sure yet what it'll be. I did BW stuff on Thursday (and Monday) so it might be something else. I wanted to go swimming - probably won't happen though. Depending on how I feel I might count a long walk as exercise or do something more intensive. 

 

Not checking e-mail after 20.00 seems to be pretty much ingrained by now. I love it. Less obsessive about work in general, and I seem to be coping with the workload just fine. 

 

As for trying new things... (Besides moving into a new appartment )

I might just sign up for a boxing clinic/workshop with some colleagues. It's for everyone under 30 working at my school and while boxing isn't something I've been wanting to try for ages... you know, it's free, it's at work (= easy) and it's new. Who knows, I might enjoy it It will take 20 seconds of courage but that's ok - I know I'm capable of that by now  

 

Keep on rocking everyone!

[Eirlys]

How wonderful to hear your bedtime routine is working, and that you've defeated the email checking! I hope you are feeling more relaxed now

[liz1729]

Hey Pretzle! 

 

+follow!

 

Fellow teacher here. I'm so glad we don't use emails much where I work

 

Awesome work on your goals so far. 

[Pretzle]

Hey there Liz  

Thanks for your reply.

 

Teaching can be hectic but so far I think it's worth it  

[Devyn]

Reading, no matter what it is, right before bed will calm you down and let you get to sleep a lot better. It works especially well if you're reading something that gives you peace.