Chapter 6: Master of Time

[SkyGirl]

Chapter 6: The Master of Time

 

 

 

In my last challenge of 2016, I focused on listening for the whispers of The Voice: my mortal enemy, the beautiful and deadly spirit who wants to seduce me, bind me, and keep me forever his unhealthy, sleepless, anxious, powerless slave. He is known by many names - in the land of my narrative character, Sky Elvenword, he is known as Caranthir Aranwas, the undead elf-king who can speak to her mind or attack her body ... in my world, he is known by a far more sinister name, and his potential for destruction is much greater.

 

One of The Voice's most successful methods of sabotaging my plans and ruining my goals is distraction and lack of disciplined time management. Watch a movie while you do your homework - you deserve it after such a long day. Check Facebook real quick before starting work - someone might have messaged you and need something. Stay up and knit just a little later tonight - an extra fifteen minutes won't hurt anything.

 

And thus minutes turn into hours, and important habits like getting enough sleep, exercising, and preparing nutritious meals fall by the wayside; and I am left tired, unprepared, scarfing down cheap white bread or spending my hard-earned money on convenience food.

 

***

 

I have been grabbing a few minutes here and there in the midst of frivolous vacationy activities back-to-school prep to use the new planning worksheets and map out my most important goals for the first part of 2017; and I have found that most of them involve an element of time management.

 

For example, I really want 2017 to be the year that I stop scraping by on 4 or 5 hours of sleep - I want a good, solid 7.5 hours of sleep every night so I am fresh and focused during the day. As I started creating my subgoals, I realized that small steps like preparing my lunch right after dinner or laying out the next day's outfit right after work could make getting ready for bed a shorter process, helping me get to sleep more quickly. This same thought process goes for my other goals too, like starting to go to the co-rec once a week or reading through my Bible in a year.

 

Each goal on my list is something that The Voice desperately wants me to give up on, because each of my goals will make me stronger and braver and bring me closer into fellowship with my King - but just like Gandalf said, "Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love." And that is how I plan to dodge and fight The Voice when he tries to derail me in 2017 - with small tweaks. Small prayers. Small moments taken to remember what is most important and what needs to be set aside.

 

***

 

I'm planning to give the new Rising Heroes program a try, so I won't list my goals in their final form until I see what that is all about. But here is the first set of my "big picture" goals that I would like to accomplish in 2017:

 

• Consistently get 7.5 hours of sleep every night.
• Consistently eat mainly whole foods for dinner 5-6 nights per week.
• Read through the Bible in one year.
• Walk 1,000 miles.
• Climb the rock wall at the university co-rec twice.
• Walk (or run?) one 5K.
• Get A's or better in every class.

 

They're all about time management. Make time to go to the co-rec. Make time to fix dinner. Make time to study. Make time to study the Bible and pray about what you read. And making time means weeding out the less important things like Facebook, television, and daydreaming that gobble up my time.

 

 

 

Let's do this.

[Rhovaniel]

4 hours ago, SkyGirl said:

 

 

Do I love this gif or what?  

 

Following to see you manage Time (and hopefully pick up on some tips. For me, my goals will succeed or fail based on organisation and how well I manage my time, too. And a pretty big helping of willpower as I battle an addiction... ) You got this, Sky!

[SkyGirl]

6 hours ago, Rhovaniel said:

Do I love this gif or what?  

 

Following to see you manage Time (and hopefully pick up on some tips. For me, my goals will succeed or fail based on organisation and how well I manage my time, too. And a pretty big helping of willpower as I battle an addiction... ) You got this, Sky!

 

Right??? At the risk of sounding like a young whippersnapper, Legolas is bae ... I have no idea what that even means, but if it's something good, he is it ...  :-D

 

And time management has always, always been my very weakest point, so this is definitely going to hurt - I'll be glad for your support and encouragement as I tackle this challenge, and I'll be there for you as you fight your monsters too! We can do this!!  *fistbump of awesomeness*

[Rhovaniel]

Lol... Legolas is safe, you can keep him. Not that he isn't hot, but next to Aragorn or Faramir...  

 

We will battle the Time Management Demon together! Plus, you helped inspire me to get back into narrative again, so that's motivation. Not going to be an interesting story to tell if Rhovaniel sits around wasting the whole day... 

[Maggie-Miau]

Following your Very Epic Challenge, SkyGirl! Love the setup!

[SkyGirl]

4 hours ago, Rhovaniel said:

Lol... Legolas is safe, you can keep him. Not that he isn't hot, but next to Aragorn or Faramir...  

 

We will battle the Time Management Demon together! Plus, you helped inspire me to get back into narrative again, so that's motivation. Not going to be an interesting story to tell if Rhovaniel sits around wasting the whole day... 

 

I can't tell you how many times I have done extra walking or other adventures just because my narrative for the day was going to be boring ... with great imagination comes great responsibility!!  :-D

 

Faramir is an angel and Aragorn is literally the only human I would ever feel 100% comfortable making king ... but if I'm totally honest, My Guy in Middle Earth would be Lord Elrond. He's the perfect balance of maturity and wisdom with action and epicness. 

[SkyGirl]

2 hours ago, MiaulinTheCat said:

Following your Very Epic Challenge, SkyGirl! Love the setup!

 

Thanks Miaulin!! No journey would be complete without your sweet encouragement!  :-D

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following again. There are other voices out there. Build your own voice, create a new character. I did it in my life, and have coached others. It starts by writing out daily affirmations in a journal. I want to challenge you to write down the following each day of the challenge, perhaps in a journal or notebook:
I am a Ranger. I wield the bow of the king. I get enough sleep. I make the small choices every day that lead to success. I choose the voice to which I will listen. 

[SkyGirl]

Rising Heroes is very overwhelming so far! It took me two trips trekking through the snow and ice to get the money together and sign up today; and so far I'm finding the "onboarding missions" a bit complicated and confusing ... some of the steps seem to be out of order, or like you can't complete one mission in its entirety until you complete a later mission ... but it's still brand new, so I'm sure the bugs will get worked out.  :-)  I'm also still getting used to the idea of having my real name and picture attached to my profile - that's quite different from working under my alter-ego here on the forums, and I'm not sure I like it yet. But again, I'm giving it time.

 

I was recruited, unsurprisingly, by the Tyrus faction, which is all about pursuing a higher purpose and seeking to better the world through my health quests. No surprises there.  :-)  I'm still working through the initial missions, so I don't have my Week One goals put together yet. My next mission is to find a "wingman," basically my own acountabilibuddy who will partner up with me on my mission ... I have no idea how to go about that, so I asked in the Guildtent and will wait for further guidance.

 

The rest of my day was good ... I had dinner with some Lebanese friends who fixed a delicious dinner of chicken with wild rice, some kind of salsa with cilantro and tomatoes, and tiny wraps of beef and rice in grape leaves, with a massive piece of chocolate cake for dessert ... I probably ate four days' worth of food in just one meal, but they were so kind and kept asking me to please eat more, and I couldn't say no.  :-)  Depending on the weather, I might trek to the corec tomorrow and check out that stair-stepping machine again to make up for it.

 

And now it's time for Bible study and sleep! Tomorrow will hopefully be a Day for Wrapping Up Loose Ends and finally getting started on my trip to greatness in 2017!

[SkyGirl]

42 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Following again. There are other voices out there. Build your own voice, create a new character. I did it in my life, and have coached others. It starts by writing out daily affirmations in a journal. I want to challenge you to write down the following each day of the challenge, perhaps in a journal or notebook:
I am a Ranger. I wield the bow of the king. I get enough sleep. I make the small choices every day that lead to success. I choose the voice to which I will listen. 

 

I actually started keeping a notebook for my Bible reading, so I will write this in it before I start my study each night!  :-)  Thanks, Tank! I'm always glad to have you around!

[Rhovaniel]

I feel you on the pressures of social eating, especially when your host is the one that cooked! For some reason, when you only take tiny portions of things and wilfully limit yourself in the presence of a lot of delicious but unhealthy food, people either get offended and try to hide it, but the result is still massive guilt, or in my case, for some reason, assume I'm pregnant... like, seriously? I'm not eating much so you assume I'm busy growing another human inside me? (My family are the worst offenders, since I'm the only girl of the right age left that has yet to reproduce...)

 

Still, it sounded like a delicious meal (Do I need warning before I come here, like I always need to eat before I catch up on Tank's thread? )

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

9 hours ago, SkyGirl said:

I was recruited, unsurprisingly, by the Tyrus faction, which is all about pursuing a higher purpose and seeking to better the world through my health quests. No surprises there.  :-)  

Not in Rising heroes, but I went to camp where I was #Tyrustrue

Welcome to The Green.

[SkyGirl]

1 hour ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Not in Rising heroes, but I went to camp where I was #Tyrustrue

Welcome to The Green.

 

Not a bit surprised! I'd have definitely pegged you a Tyrus.  :-) 

[Elastigirl]

Great big picture and breaking it into small steps. My goal is to read through the Bible in a year too. Only it's easier for me since I don't have school. Do you know what plan you are using. I'm using the one from here The 5 day a week one http://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/ I thought if it was 5 days a week, then I could use the weekend to catch up.And yay to you for trying it, I'm much older than you, and this is my first time to have done it. I did do the 2 year reading program  though.

[SkyGirl]

2 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Great big picture and breaking it into small steps. My goal is to read through the Bible in a year too. Only it's easier for me since I don't have school. Do you know what plan you are using. I'm using the one from here The 5 day a week one http://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/ I thought if it was 5 days a week, then I could use the weekend to catch up.And yay to you for trying it, I'm much older than you, and this is my first time to have done it. I did do the 2 year reading program  though.

 

I'm using the M'Cheyne Plan:  http://www.mcheyne.info/calendar.pdf

 

This plan has you reading in four different places in the Bible at once (for example, right now I'm in Genesis, Ezra, Matthew, and Acts) and read one chapter in each place per day. So far I like it - it's a bit hard to "switch gears" from section to section, but I like having small bits from each section rather than 4 or 5 chapters from just one book.

 

Let me know how your reading goes!! This is definitely not my first time attempting to read through the Bible in a year, but I plan to make it the first time I complete it.  :-)  We can check in on each other if that would be helpful!

[SkyGirl]

Today was a bit of a weird day, but a good one ... it started last night, with the heart-wrenching movie I watched with my friends leaving me feeling a bit thoughtful, even after I woke up; and when I did wake up an hour later than planned, my Fitbit said that I apparently walked 5,243 steps in my sleep - without traveling any distance. The only explanation I could come up with was that it might have something to do with my new electric blanket ...

 

I met with my professor this afternoon to finalize my schedule for the semester, then I hiked through the bitter cold and wind to the co-rec, where I walked about a mile and a half, suffered through 14 minutes on the stair-climber, and ended with a few minutes of work on the resistance machines:

 

High pull machine: 500 lbs

     - 30 reps x 10 lbs (each arm)

     - 20 reps x 10 lbs (both arms together; core engaged)

 

Low pull machine: 525 lbs

     - 15 reps x 15 lbs (each arm)

     - 20 reps x 15 lbs (both arms together)

 

Press machine: 200 lbs

     - 10 reps x 10 lbs (each arm)

     - 10 reps x 10 lbs (both arms together)

 

I really liked this whole routine, and I think it's going to form the basis for my new twice-weekly workout schedule. The only problem was that I exerted myself so much that I upset my stomach very badly, forcing me to take annoyingly long rests in between segments ... I hope that goes away as I get used to it!!

 

Finally, I have a sneaking suspicion that I pretty much wiped out all my hard work with my sister's dinner - she made (food alert, @Rhovaniel!) an incredible meal of chicken tacos with refried beans, diced tomatoes, spinach, and peppers; cottage cheese; and white rice. I ate two huge tacos and was so full I could barely stand upright afterward. Oops!!  :-P  I'm just telling myself that I did a good job eating lots of healthy protein to replenish my hard work ... and I'll try again tomorrow.  :-)

 

Time to go jump in bed under that fabulous electric blanket!!

[SkyGirl]

Well, my schedule is finally all set for the semester, and I'm very happy with how it turned out: Monday and Tuesday will be dedicated to work and classes, and I'll get my walking in by going from class to class; and then I have open afternoons to go to the corec on Wednesday and Friday afternoons, with a rest day on Thursday. I'm very excited to get serious about working out!

 

My challenge doesn't officially start until tomorrow (and no, I haven't hammered out all the details yet, either - I've been lazy), and I can already tell that sleep is going to be the biggest challenge for me. Tonight we finished The Desolation of Smaug around midnight and I said I wanted to go to bed, but my brother protested that it was too early and asked to put on another movie; and since I was comfortable in my chair, I said yes. It is now 2:49AM and I have 15 minutes of bedtime prep and 30 minutes of Bible reading to do ... meaning that I'll be falling asleep long after 3AM again. In just one day more, that will be absolutely and completely unacceptable. I need to be more disciplined.

 

I ended up doing a bit of a workout today when I hadn't planned to, because I'm supposed to help earn points for my faction in Rising Heroes (although we're so far behind it didn't make much difference, but anyway) ... I tried to do two circuits of the Beginner Bodyweight Workout, but my quads were still tired from doing the stair-climber yesterday, so I didn't do too well. Thankfully tomorrow is a rest day.  :-)

 

I'd like to start going to church again soon ... the one I really want to attend is more than an hour's walk away and the buses don't run on Sunday, which is frustrating; but there is a church with good doctrine and a strong college ministry that's only about 15 minutes away, so even though I don't feel as comfortable there, I should probably suck it up and start going as soon as the temperatures climb above 2 degrees. My Christian friends do provide accountability and encouragement outside of church, but it's important to gather and set aside time for corporate worship.

 

Tomorrow, I need to get things ready for school to start on Monday, including cleaning my house a bit and getting my lunch packed ahead of time. I also need to keep myself off social media long enough to figure out what Sky's narrative is going to be this semester!  :-)  Rising Heroes has absolutely blown up my Facebook feed, and I'm getting notifications basically every 5 minutes around the clock that someone has posted or replied ... I spent a lot of time scrolling through the group's feed today that I wish I could take back. Time management, time management, time management. I knew this was going to be a tough battle.  :-)

 

Let's get some sleep and then sock it to tomorrow! I know I can do it, with commitment and God's help!!

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

When I was in college we used to call the Church across the street "I don't have a car" Baptist Church.

[Maggie-Miau]

35 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

When I was in college we used to call the Church across the street "I don't have a car" Baptist Church.

 

Bahaha, I love it!

 

Happy *almost* Day One, SkyGirl! Cheering hard for a great Week One!

[SkyGirl]

Week One has begun!!

 

 

 

And miracle of miracles, Sky the Eternally Lazy has written out her goals for this month's challenge! I will probably come back and amend this once I see what my homework load is going to be like, such as adding in homework-related goals or getting less ambitious on other goals, but for now, this is what we've got: 

 

Daily:

- Walk 2.8 miles daily

- Start getting ready for bed at 11:30PM every night

- Get 7 hours of sleep nightly

- Read 4-5 Bible chapters nightly

 

Weekly:

- Go to the corec twice per week (workout routine below)

- Cook dinner at least once

- Eat home-cooked dinners at least 5/7 days (focus on protein, since I'm trying to build a wee bit of muscle)

 

And my workout routine consists of:

 

- Walking: 2 miles

- Stair-climber: 15 minutes (that will increase as I get stronger)

- Resistance machines: High pull, low pull, press (weights and reps TBD)

 

My points system will be as follows:

 

Walking (monthly):

- 80+ miles = +1 STA

- 90+ miles = +1 STA, +1 STR, +1 CON

- 100+ miles = +1 STA, +1 STR, +1 CON

- Total points possible: +3 STA, +2 STR, +2 CON

 

Sleep (monthly):

- 12 of 31 nights (3 nights/week) x 7 hrs = +1 CON

- 16 of 31 nights (4 nights/week) x 7 hrs = +1 CON

- 20+ of 31 nights (5 nights/week) x 7 hrs = +2 CON

- Total points possible: +4 CON

 

Bible study (monthly):

- 3 of 4 weeks with all daily readings completed = +2 WIS

- 4 of 4 weeks with all daily readings completed = +2 WIS

- Total points possible: +4 WIS

 

Working out (monthly):

- 2 of 4 weeks with 2 workouts = +1 STR, +1 CON

- 3 of 4 weeks with 2 workouts = +1 STR, +1 CON, +1 STA

- 4 of 4 weeks with 2 workouts = +1 STR, +1 CON, +1 STA

- Total points possible: +3 STR, +3 CON, +2 STA

 

Total possible points: +5 STR, +5 STA, +9 CON, +4 WIS

 

And finally, calorie counting will continue to be the foundation of my eating, but I'm not assigning points to food yet until I see how realistic my whole-food-cooking goal is. I did make the switch from "lose" to "maintain" in my calorie goals on MFP - I got on the scale this morning and weighed in at 113.2 pounds, which is a drop of 2 pounds since I last weighed myself and much lighter than I ever planned to be. (I am only 5 feet tall, so that's not as low a number as it seems - the NIH says I could weigh as little as 95 pounds and still be healthy, though I wouldn't attempt that.) Since I'm at a very healthy weight right now, I'd like to shift my food focus onto what I eat instead of "just make sure it's less than 1260 calories". 

 

***

 

So today it begins ... early bedtime, preparing in advance; Bible study without putting off any chapters until tomorrow morning; figuring out a way to walk 2.8 miles in my last 1.2 hours of sunlight; and eating something simple and wholesome for dinner. And, if possible, figuring out what on earth Sky Elvenword is up to.  :-)

 

Here we go on our first adventure of 2017!!

 

 

[Elastigirl]

Well, I don't really like the title Sky the Eternally Lazy, as it is not true. But the rest of the challenge looks great!

[Rhovaniel]

Like the challenge set-up, and I agree with Elastigirl, you should give yourself some slack with the name thing. 

 

Gifs on point as usual!  

[Moros]

Following for great narrative, and good self-honesty.  I agree with everyone else that negative-naming is not ideal - for me at least, that's a tool of what you call The Voice.

 

[RhiaWolfe]

Following. I love how you've taken your challenge and turned it into chapters and expand on the story. I'm kinda doing something similar on my challenge, but I'm still developing it. Mine takes the form of a video game. I like your medieval narrative. 

 

Time management is definitely a good goal to aim for. I have difficulty with it sometimes. Especially trying to make time for working out and meal prep/cooking. Looking good!

[RhiaWolfe]

19 hours ago, SkyGirl said:

 

 

And miracle of miracles, Sky the Eternally Lazy has written out her goals for this month's challenge! I will probably come back and amend this once I see what my homework load is going to be like, such as adding in homework-related goals or getting less ambitious on other goals...

 

 

Here we go on our first adventure of 2017!!

 

 

I agree that I don't like Sky the Eternally Lazy... lol. 

 

Badass gif! Love it. 

 

It's good to update your goals as you go. You never know what might come up. Just do your best. You got this! Crush it! 

 

And... I have to add a little Aragorn hotness...