Let the Games Begin!

[Galaxy Gamer]

I've been waiting for this...

 

Main Quest:

 

My main quest is to get healthy and develop the habits to stay that way.

 

In the long run that includes blood pressure, blood glucose, liver function, blood lipids, and other markers of health. In the short term, I'm focused on weight and waist circumference in the hopes that all of the above will normalize on their own.

 

Main Side Quests:

 

M1. Track calories daily.

M2. Some kind of workout three days a week.

M3. Dermal health, including a mole check. Health within requires healthy skin!

M4. Dental health - Find a dentist, get a checkup, floss daily, get one of those germ-killing mouthwashes, and upgrade the toothbrush with new batteries and spinning head.

 

Life Quest:

 

I write books, but 2013 was year of setbacks on the creative front. 2014 will be a year for turning things around.

 

Life Side Quests:

 

L1. Whip my manuscript into shape.

L2. Find an agent.

L3. Streamline my online presence and social media activity.

L4. Set up school visits.

 

That's a lot for six weeks, but should give me a good jump start in the new year.

[Chimeric]

Ooh, this is a lot for six weeks - but best of luck to you! =)

[Galaxy Gamer]

Thanks, I'm going to try my best.

[Leithient]

You've said everything: this is a lot for six weeks. But it doesn't mean this is too much for six weeks, so good luck. I think that determination is the key of success, and you seem to have a lot of it.

[Galaxy Gamer]

I've already been tracking my calories most days, and getting more physical activity than I have for a while, so that part is just keeping up what I've already been doing until it really becomes habit. Seeing the dentist and dermatologist are two things I've been putting off for an embarrassingly long time, so I'm including them as part of the process of training myself to think of health as more than just one dimensional--related to weight--and to focus on all of the details.  By the end of six weeks, I would like to be down another ten pounds or so and to have my teeth and skin under professional consultation.

 

The book, Messenger of the Milky Way, is already written and was set to be the second book of my Galaxy Games trilogy--until the project was cancelled by my publisher. So my plan is just to make the tweaks necessary to make the book a proper Book #1 of a proposed new series, and to send the series proposal out to agents by the end of six weeks.

 

The social media plan--ugh. I have accounts in all the usual places (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest) as well as a group blog, but it's so much trouble to keep up with it all. So what I'm looking to do is automate, pre-plan, and organize a bit.

 

And the school visits are things that need to be set up as my schedule allows.

 

So maybe it's a bit ambitious, but I'm going to try my best.

[Galaxy Gamer]

M2. Some kind of workout three days a week.
 

I'm counting sessions on Wii Fit, sledding with my daughter, shoveling snow, and playing Just Dance 4. I'm not counting my feeble attempts at strength training, though I'm trying it out on off days. I'm not counting the stairs in the train station, which I take sometimes when I'm running early--that's got to be five or six flights and certainly feels like a workout. If I put on a YouTube cardio workout and ever make it through the whole thing, I would count that, but it hasn't happened yet.

M4. Dental health
 

With a new brush head and batteries, it's like I have a whole new toothbrush. It makes me wonder how effective it could have been without the upgrades. I've got a germ-killing, plaque-busting, breath freshening mouthwash that I used for the first time yesterday. I also flossed. I used to floss all the time until a dentist told me that for my particular mouth I was doing more harm than good, and no dentist since has told me that I should start up again. I'm doing it anyway though, and we'll see what happens.

L3. Streamline my online presence and social media activity.

 

I made a list of all the social media accounts I have collected over the years and it's ridiculous. I've got to put it into a planning document of some kind which I can make available if anyone really has an interest in seeing it.

[Leithient]

L3. Streamline my online presence and social media activity.

 

I made a list of all the social media accounts I have collected over the years and it's ridiculous. I've got to put it into a planning document of some kind which I can make available if anyone really has an interest in seeing it.

 

I understand you. I think I have an account in every forum it's possible, and most of the times I cannot remember the nick or the password or the e-mail I have associated it. And, of course, I have a ridiculous amount of number of e-mails.

 

[Galaxy Gamer]

Most of mine are dormant but I'd like to get something regular going in the lit community. No books scheduled for release this year (anymore), but it's always good to have the platform ready.

[Galaxy Gamer]

M4. Dental health

 

I flossed a filling out of one of my back teeth last night. This flossing thing really isn't for me!

 

L1. Whip my manuscript into shape.

 

Some nice revision work on the train this morning. Heightened tension and revealing more character from my characters. I'm happy with it.

 

L3. Streamline my online presence and social media activity.

 

I started a spreadsheet to organize information about my current internet presence. Turns out I'm all over the interwebs. There are sites and pages I'd completely forgotten about!  I'm also listing online communities I belong to and added NerdFitness to this list, which is really something to think more about. My book combines science fiction and sports. It's about a group of kids from all over the world who compete against aliens in a galactic tournament. And NerdFitness is a community of people from all over the world who are into physical activity, and many of whom are science-fiction fans. There's a lot of overlap there to work with. Do a lot of NF folks have kids? I know I'm always looking for ways to encourage my daughter to be more active and eat better--so can Galaxy Games be used as outreach to help young SF readers get in shape and develop healthy habits? Much to think about.

 

M3. Dermal health, including a mole check. 

 

I have a referral card that my doctor gave me. I keep forgetting to bring it to work with me.

[RandomEncounter]

Totally love the concept of a sci-fi / sports combo for a children's book. Wish something like that had been around when I was a kid!

[vibrantnotions]

This is an ambitious six weeks, but I think you can do it!

 

The worst that happens is you have more done than you had before.

 

Are you planning on using all the social media?  Or are you going to select just a few that fits the best for you?  There are so many options these days and I don't think every outlet is for everyone.

[Galaxy Gamer]

Totally love the concept of a sci-fi / sports combo for a children's book. Wish something like that had been around when I was a kid!

 

Me too. I'm basically writing to fill the holes in my childhood bookshelf.

 

This is an ambitious six weeks, but I think you can do it!

 

The worst that happens is you have more done than you had before.

 

Are you planning on using all the social media?  Or are you going to select just a few that fits the best for you?  There are so many options these days and I don't think every outlet is for everyone.

 

Once I take an inventory of where I am and who my audience is, I'll need to figure out what content I want to generate this year. I don't have a book coming out in 2014 (and probably not in 2015) but I still need to shore up my general presence among the literary community.  Not every outlet, but I do need to make some choices.

[Galaxy Gamer]

M1. Track calories daily.

 

After work today, I have a meeting of undetermined duration. In my past life, I would have picked up fast-food fried chicken and eaten it during my commute. Not sure what I'll do instead--eat early? Eat late? Try to grab something healthy somewhere? But I will stay within the daily calorie limits no matter what.

 

M3. Dermal health, including a mole check.

 

I keep forgetting to bring the referral card to work. It's like I have a mental block or something.

 

M4. Dental health

 

The left side of my mouth hurts when I bite down, due to the missing filling that my new flossing routine caused. I do have an appointment set up with a new dentist near my work, so a little more forward progress is being made.

 

L1. Whip my manuscript into shape.

 

There's not enough time to write on the train, but I'm continuing to tweak. Unfortunately, I have other writing deadlines that I must attend to this week, so probably won't make a whole lot of progress in the evenings, either.

 

L3. Streamline my online presence and social media activity.

 

Still working on the spreadsheet, adding new tabs as well as material. Today I added tabs for "tactics" and "analytics" so I can plan more effective techniques and then have some feedback on how they are working.

 

It's been a mixed week so far but I'm making progress in most of my goals.

[Roswenthe]

L1. Whip my manuscript into shape.

 

There's not enough time to write on the train, but I'm continuing to tweak. Unfortunately, I have other writing deadlines that I must attend to this week, so probably won't make a whole lot of progress in the evenings, either.

 

L3. Streamline my online presence and social media activity.

 

Still working on the spreadsheet, adding new tabs as well as material. Today I added tabs for "tactics" and "analytics" so I can plan more effective techniques and then have some feedback on how they are working.

 

It's been a mixed week so far but I'm making progress in most of my goals.

 

When I finish chapters, I put them on Google Drive so I can mess with them wherever I am, whether I'm on my phone or tablet. I often will work on bits during commercials of my favorite shows. I also do this with chapters I need to finish and put a transition in. I'm  bad about leaving chapters unfinished and moving on, but I get them done eventually.

 

I use New Statpress on my blog, if you have a Wordpress blog. It's got all sorts of analytic gadgets. Some I'm still trying to understand....

[Galaxy Gamer]

When I finish chapters, I put them on Google Drive so I can mess with them wherever I am, whether I'm on my phone or tablet. I often will work on bits during commercials of my favorite shows. I also do this with chapters I need to finish and put a transition in. I'm  bad about leaving chapters unfinished and moving on, but I get them done eventually.

 

I use New Statpress on my blog, if you have a Wordpress blog. It's got all sorts of analytic gadgets. Some I'm still trying to understand....

 

Wordpress is my go-to content management system, so I know what it can do but usually don't bother checking the analytics very much. But it can be useful to know where visitors are coming from. I'm also planning to include in that tab the number and categories of friends, followers, and likes on social media--at least as much as I can within the time I'm devoting to that.  Maybe there's some way to automate the spreadsheet?

 

I don't like writing on my phone, so I'm kind of stuck on my laptop. But I do save it to the cloud.

[Galaxy Gamer]

Weekly wrap-up time!

 

Main Side Quests

M1. Track calories daily. - I'm 7 for 7!

 

I tracked everything, but had to estimate sometimes. When you're at Trader Joe's and they offer you a little bit of brisket and a little bit of pickle on a little bit of roll, how many calories is that exactly?  Rating:

 

M2. Work out three days a week - If I work out tonight, that will make 3

 

Three workouts. Nothing special. Low intensity. Rating:

 

M3. Dermal health - Made an dermatology appointment for later this month

 

Primary care physician was worried about some spots. First available dermatologist isn't able to see me for a few weeks, and there's nothing more I can do with this one until then. Rating:

 

M4. Dental health - Made a dental appointment for later this month, but I also flossed a filling out and it hurts to bite down.

 

At the moment, I think I'm in worse shape than I was before I started the challenge, but it's very possible that filling was loose before. I'd noticed a strange taste in my mouth when biting down on that side with certain foods (like pears) but I haven't experienced that since the filling came out. Rating:

 

Life Side Quests

L1. Whip my manuscript into shape - It's better than it was last week but still needs work.

 

There are fans waiting for this book. I was stopped on the street just today by a fourth grade teacher who is reading the previous book to her class and has students dying to know what happens next. This is my strongest motivation. Rating:

 

L2. Find an agent - I've done nothing on this one yet.

 

Before the challenge, I did have a file with some preliminary research. Somewhere. Will look for it in the upcoming week. Rating:

 

L3. Streamline my online presence and social media activity - Started a spreadsheet

 

The spreadsheet is still rough but will serve nicely as the framework to add more and more detail. Rating:

 

L4. Set up school visits - I've done nothing, and actually turned down a school visit that didn't fit my schedule.

 

The visit I turned down was a virtual one for World Read Aloud Day, because I won't have access to Skype at that time. I'm bummed not to be able to participate this year, because I did two of these last year and they rocked. Will have to make it work in 2015. Rating:

[Galaxy Gamer]

M4. Dental health

 

I haven't been getting enough sleep lately, and my teeth have been suffering as a result. I was so exhausted last night that I closed my eyes for just a moment and woke up to the alarm--no chance to brush, floss, or rinse.

 

This morning I fell down a rabbithole of information about dental hygiene and will now have to make some changes. Did you know that daily use of tartar-control whitening toothpastes can damage your enamel? Or that using an acidic mouthwash can damage your enamel? Or that you're supposed to floss-then-brush rather than brush-then-floss?

 

So I now have a new toothpaste for everyday use, a fluoride rinse to fight cavities, and a toothbrush for work so I can brush after lunch.

[vibrantnotions]

Or that you're supposed to floss-then-brush rather than brush-then-floss?

 

I have actually always wondered that.  I might have to take some of your changes into consideration for my whole family.  My husband naturally has weak enamel, and I'm pretty sure we use a whitening toothpaste.  

[Galaxy Gamer]

What I ended up getting is Sensodyme Pronamel toothpaste and Sensodyme Pronamel fluoride rinse. I think the combination is best for enamel protection and filling in small carries. It even has titanium dioxide for whitening, though probably not as much whitening as scouring the teeth with abrasive silicates.

[Galaxy Gamer]

L1. Whip my manuscript into shape.

In 2012, I started a critique group for children's and young adult authors in my home town. We meet monthly, and our January meeting happened on Wednesday. Usually we only consider a couple chapters at a time, so the gang's only seen about half of MESSENGER so far--but they offered to take a look at the remaining chapters at once, since I plan to send the manuscript out. My crit group is the best!  I made sure it was presentable and sent it out yesterday, for discussion at February's meeting. Until then, I'll keep tweaking it.

L2. Find an agent.

 

I've located my speadsheet and the draft query letter! There aren't as many agents on the list as I'd thought, though. Actually, there are four. But I can work on that. My fabulous critique group has offered to critique my letter as well, so that's going to help a lot.

 
M2. Work out three days a week
 

I'm not really doing strength training yet, but I've started doing squats and push-ups 2-3 times per week, and I have some 15-pound dumbbells that I can wave around clumsily. I think the little handheld ones are called dumbbells and the bar you push off a bench is called a barbell, but I may have those reversed. That's how little I know about the subject.

Two of those 15-pound weights together are pretty hefty--and that's almost as much weight as I've lost so far. Holding one in each hand and standing on the bathroom scale gives me a number just a couple pounds more than what I used to weigh just by myself. How was I carrying the equivalent of those weights around with me all day every day and not even realizing that something was wrong? And I'm aiming to lose the equivalent of another dumbbell plus a shotput or something by the time I'm done, which means I was carrying around three dumbbells and a shotput everywhere I went!

 

At some point, I should join a gym, but I've been burned in the past. I did discover yesterday that there is a crossfit place in the next town over from me.

 
M1. Track calories daily.
 

I'm using Livestrong.org's tracker because it tracks calories, fat, sugar, carbs, protein, etc. while the Weight Watchers tracker only tracks PointsPluses^TM. But as I lose weight, I get a smaller calorie allowance for the next week. I understand why this has to be the case--those two adipose dumbbells are no longer burning calories inside my gut--but it seems like a punishment instead of a reward.

[RandomEncounter]

I'm not really doing strength training yet, but I've started doing squats and push-ups 2-3 times per week, and I have some 15-pound dumbbells that I can wave around clumsily. I think the little handheld ones are called dumbbells and the bar you push off a bench is called a barbell, but I may have those reversed. That's how little I know about the subject.

 

Yep, you've got it right. Dumbbells are one-handed, barbells are two handed

 

At some point, I should join a gym, but I've been burned in the past.

 

Yeah, I've always been kind of wary of gyms. If your budget and home layout allow for it, I'd recommend getting a set of adjustable dumbbells, an exercise bike, and maybe a pull-up bar. Bam, instant home-gym. I've been rocking that setup for a while, and it works really well for me. I never have an excuse for not exercising, and I don't have to deal with my anxiety about gyms.

[Galaxy Gamer]

Yeah, I've always been kind of wary of gyms. If your budget and home layout allow for it, I'd recommend getting a set of adjustable dumbbells, an exercise bike, and maybe a pull-up bar. Bam, instant home-gym. I've been rocking that setup for a while, and it works really well for me. I never have an excuse for not exercising, and I don't have to deal with my anxiety about gyms.

 

I'd like to get a pull-up bar but I don't want to damage any of our door frames. They are 200 years old and can't easily be replaced.

[Galaxy Gamer]

Here's Week #2:
 
Main Side Quests

M1. Track calories daily. - Still trackin' and with some interesting results...
 

It seems I can safely have an off-day (within reason) and bounce back with decent averages for the week. I indulged in cake, cookies, and soda while watching my New England Patriots lose a playoff game at my parents' house (That is, the food and TV were at my parents' house. The game itself took place in Denver). According to my tracker, my body had over 100 grams of sugar to process that day, which is probably why I went into a carb-induced coma and slept for ten hours--but on average, I only ate 57 grams of sugar per day for the week, which is a more reasonable number (although under 50 would be better). Looking at my dietary goals for the week, I beat my maximums for calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium and my minimum for protein. I just didn't get enough fiber, which is something to think about for a future challenge.

M2. Work out three days a week - I'm counting snow shoveling, so that makes 3

 

I am succeeding because of my definition of what constitutes a workout. If I had the time and money to invest in a gym membership, things would be a lot different.

 
M3. Dermal health - Appointment next week.
 

Looking forward to this. The skin is an important organ but I haven't seen a dermatologist since high school.

M4. Dental health - Appointment this week, but have picked up better habits.

 

I especially need to floss out the stuff that's getting into the filling I lost by flossing too hard.

Life Side Quests

L1. Whip my manuscript into shape - I can see more areas that need to be polished.

Awaiting feedback from my critique group but revising more in the meantime.

L2. Find an agent - Spreadsheet on!

Spreadsheet exists.

L3. Streamline my online presence and social media activity - Spreadsheet stalled!
 

Spreadsheet exists and may or may not become useful.

L4. Set up school visits - This one might turn out to be a stretch.

No time for everything, so this one might have to fall to the wayside.

 
Status:
 
I'm down a total of 30 pounds from my starting point, about five of those coming in the past two challenge weeks. About 2.5 pounds seem to come off no matter what I eat in the week. This week, I'm looking to add on more calories but I've gotten into a habit of eating less so this is actually a challenge for me. I want to make sure I don't give up eating healthy foods in the process, and really I want to transition into a long-term sustainable diet that keeps my weight low while giving me all the nutrients I need.
 
Creativity quests are still on track for submission of a polished manuscript to a number of appropriate agents by the end of the challenge. I would consider that a victory. I also have a number of other little things that need to get done that would be bonus victories.

[Galaxy Gamer]

M4. Dental health

 

My appointment yesterday was at a dental school where members of the public allow dental students to work them over. They had more advanced equipment than I'd ever seen in a private dentist's office, but x-ray techs who had never done dental x-rays before (although they swore they'd been studying really hard for an exam on the subject later in the day). Another appointment in two weeks to have those x-rays read and interpreted.

 

L3. Streamline my online presence and social media activity

 

Since email is a major part of my digital presence, I've been organizing my inbox. I've gone from having thousands of unread emails to having about 30, and working my way down to zero inbox and new filters and folders to help keep it that way. 

[Galaxy Gamer]

I'm late on this, but Week #3 of the challenge was actually a pretty good week for me and Week #4 is going to have some interesting wrinkles.

 

Main Side Quests

M1. Track calories daily. - I continued to do this and was able to track a few high-calorie days.

 

I broke my calorie budget on three separate days, so I wasn't surprised to see my string of strong weigh-ins come to an end. I still lost weight, but not nearly as much as I'd become accustomed to. The Quick Start phase of the operation is officially over. I wasn't at all able to track a Chinese buffet, because it would have been so much work to record "a little of this and a little of that" when I was away from my computer, and then enter it all accurately at home. Instead, I estimated 800 calories and probably wasn't off by more than a couple hundred. It was definitely the biggest meal I've had during my 11-week stint, and I felt very much overfull at the end. I went up for seconds and then had green tea ice cream but I otherwise tried to be as good as I could--no rice, no lo mein, no sauces, and I piled on the steamed vegetables and tofu. Honest!

 

M2. Work out three days a week - I did this, including a couple strength-trainingish things with push-ups and dumbbells.

 

I'm not happy with my workout regimen. It feels like I'm doing the bare minimum but at least I am moving around a whole lot more than I used to. I'm also taking stairs during my commute--and if you've been to Porter Square station on the MBTA Red Line, you know those stairs are easily five or six stories tall.

 

M3. Dermal health - More on this next week.

 

I had my appointment on Wednesday, but that's part of Week #4 so... Shhh, spoilers...

 

M4. Dental health - More on this next week.

 

Another appointment coming up and it's going to be a big one. I will get a consult on the bite impression and x-rays that were done last time and put together a treatment plan. Even just typing that made me wince. I have a dental bridge in my mouth for a tooth that never came in. It was supposed to last five years but it's been about twenty.

 

Life Side Quests

L1. Whip my manuscript into shape - Stretch goal: working on a new book!

 

Outside the scope of this challenge, I have a New Year's resolution to do one awesome thing each month. In January, I hosted my First Annual Bonfire of Inspiration Afterparty for area authors and illustrators. Attendance was small but inspiration was huge, and I have been compelled by the muses to write a picture book based on the event. I've learned not to question the muses when they make demands and just go along to get along. Normally I write for older kids, but I have read a whole lot of picture books to my daughter, I've seen quite a few picture books run through my local critique group, and know a bunch of well-published picture book authors and illustrators personally. As a result, I've always known exactly how challenging it is to write a picture book, and have been suitably cowed and daunted by the hidden complexities of the genre. Stringing together a thousand perfectly placed words for a preschooler is much harder than typing out forty-thousand for a middle grader. Easiest of all would be pounding out a couple hundred thousand words for adults, but I'm not that much of a slouch.

 

L2. Find an agent - Progress!

 

The spreadsheet is filling up nicely. The only problem is that now I have to narrow down the list to agents who can help manage my impending picture book career.

 

L3. Streamline my online presence and social media activity - New ideas are forming.

 

Back to that whole "doing one awesome thing every month" deal... I didn't plan these out in advance, and awesome moments rarely just happen, or at least not to me. At the end of Week #3, I was starting to get a little antsy at the approach of February with no inklng of awesomeness in sight. The idea struck early in Week #4 but again... Shhh... spoilers!

 

L4. Set up school visits - Haven't worked this into my schedule yet.

 

I need to do send out some emails to local PTA groups. At the very least, I want to do a school event around Earth Day in April. Higher priority in my life has been getting my schedule and email inbox under control. This started as an offshoot of a side task in the Renaissance Rebels group because I had a bunch of tasks that needed to get done ASAP and lacked the organization to do it all. So now I'm building up my organization and getting things done.