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Train the brain

So, we have a couple of pooches, technically the DHH's, since I am not really a dog person myself. They are bird dogs, high energy, need a job, ect. They stay cooped up, A LOT. A lot more then any bird dog should. The younger dog is only about four, and the last year or two the lack of exercise and mental challenges has made her more then difficult to work with.

The DHH is making a concerted effort to improve this situation the last couple of months. His frustration levels were getting high with the younger dog Pearl (part of the past drivers that have caused the lack of exercise in the first place). I offered to help him, rather then 'tell' him what to do (as I am more then prone to do). Sort of a 'put my money where my mouth is' sort of situation.

I have started out working her on the treadmill, followed up with an intense clicker training situation. The treadmill is working well (done about 4 sessions now), I am gradually increasing her time, and at this point, a mile and a half at an 8 minute mile speed barely takes the edge off (serious energy stores, serious).

Today I did a 7 minute mile on the treadmill, at a 2-3% grade, and then attempted a walk around the block for the first time for me (husband has been walking her for awhile now).

All I can say is, if you ever want to work on some mental training and practice, walk an out of control super high energy very headstrong bird dog for 45 minutes. I feel like I just played a chess match, while blindfolded, and with someone yanking me out of my chair by my arm every 15 seconds. Phew.

We made progress, but the battles of wills was quite interesting. When you grasp the leash for the dog, immediately a tense energy starts to travel up the lead to your arm, overtaking your entire being if you are not careful. Its so palateble its very intersting to be able to study and analyze it when it happens.

From there, I usually have to take a few breaths and center myself. Relaxing the tension, and sending back a different signal while not allowing her energy to control the situation.

This is essentially what we did for almost an hour today. I mentally relax, take control, step forward, then Pearl flexes, focuses on something, dashes forward, and when restrained tries to manhandle the situation, I take a deep breath, relax, repeat.

I actually see this as a great personal challenge. To be able to keep my frustration out of the picture, remain calm, relaxed, and in control when I am dealing with what amounts to a tazmanian devil on the end of a short lead is very good practice. I am excited to take on this challenge actually. I may not have time to expend this level of time and energy every day, but I definitely will continue this several days a week to help my DHH out.

Day 29 & 30 - Balance

Well, I cannot believe I am on the end of my 30 day. I have been so busy lately, have not been able to tell which end is up, and definitely haven't been counting down the days. I forgot to post yesterday, and it I did not even know that until I sat down to post tonight.

Day 29 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (20 mins)
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Not Done (completely forgot)
Yoga - Not done
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

Day 30 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (20 mins)
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Not done
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

So, its been like 4 or 5 days since I did my last official yoga. I have stretched a bit, have been VERY active, but literally, I have been out of energy and tight on time. Could I have squeezed it in? Yes, I could have found a spare 20-30 minutes I am sure. It appears my motivation has faded, and I have been driven in other directions. I could get upset, but my drive has been very productive, and I have gotten quite a bit done the last 4-5 days, just not necessarily 100% for this challenge.

Starting tomorrow, I am technically off my challenge, but really, I don't see myself deviating much if at all. I might not be on a daily yoga schedule, but I am working on a plan to increase my exercise to a minimum of 4 days a week, and likely something that will step it up a notch (researching crossfit at the moment). I might join a gym for a month or two, and use that to step up my motivation. I am also looking at my schedule, since I am running out of time between getting off work and getting dinner cooked most evenings. Going to do some contemplation on that before proceeding, I need to find my energy again in this direction. We might go out of town in June, and if I finalize those plans it might help me find my drive again.

I will write up a post mortem on my last 30 days in the next 24-48 hours, would like to go over it a bit more before I weigh in. I have some ideas for my next challenge, but my energy is low at the moment, so I am going to hold off making any quick decisions. I would like to start another round within no more then a week, but I think I will meditate and write a bit more to find my drive and focus. If I go into the next challenge in my current state, it will fade quickly. Originally I thought I was going to focus on those around me, husband time, feline time, dog training, ect.....but I am finding my drive mostly in progressing my website and blogs. I might have to follow that trail more to get the energy to take on another strict 30 day. Need to check in with the crew to see how all that sits first I suspect. :)

Day 28 - Balance

Phew, office overhaul mostly complete. Still need to do some file organizing and cleaning out of the closet, but the bulk is complete.

I definitely slacked a bit this weekend on my checklist....got the bulk of items done, but the Yoga fell completely to the wayside, and this morning, I finally just had to succumb and sleep in. Sitting down now is the first time I have stopped all day. Almost the same yesterday, I blogged for about 20 minutes while my primer was drying in the office, but otherwise, I was out and about all day.

Plus side, I got massive amounts of work done on my office space goal. Downside, did not make any progress on the website development and slacked on a couple of my goals for the month. Because this is a huge step in my home career progress, going to stay on the positive sides.

Day 28 results
Wake 5 am - Note Done
Meditate - Not Done
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Not done
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

I really was going to get up this morning, I was fully awake with the alarm, but physically, my muscles were really tight and sore. With my past medical problems, I knew I was hitting my limit, so opted to provide more recovery time to them. I am hurting pretty bad tonight, so I am guessing that was the right choice. I cannot afford to miss work next week, so 2 hours of extra sleep is what I needed.

Two more days left in my challenge, and I think I am going to take several days off before starting the next one. Granted, I am going to do my best to carry on my minimal TV/Internet time, keep my exercise up, keep the 5 am morning and meditation up no matter what. Well, technically, thats almost all of my challenge..lol...but I will see if I can cut back A BIT just to recover and get my energy up to tackle new goals in about a week.

Day 27 - Balance

Woohoo! Finally getting a large item off my to do list of home career things. Granted, it definitely does not make a serious dent in my future workload, it is something off my list that will allow me additional focus on other items.

Specifically, I needed to overhaul my home office. Too cramped, no storage, no work room on my desk, and my husband and I were stumbling over each other constantly. He has been working on more projects as well, so between that and me trying to expand my career at home, it was getting frustrating. I realized that if I was going to continue to spend more time planning and growing my career in the home office, it needed some help.

My goal was to spend between $1000-1500, hopefully closer to a $1000 so I could take the remainder and invest in Dreamweaver. But alas, after several weeks of searching, I just couldn't do the desk configuration I needed for the tight room space without spending a bit more. So after finally finding a desk today, likely will be around 1300-1500, and dreamweaver will have to wait.

My to do list has been as follows: painting the room a new color, new blinds, general spring cleaning, new (used) desk, better lighting, wall shelves, storage cabinet, dry erase boards, and maybe a cork board if I can find a spot for it, and general organization. The room has to function for two people and two PCs, with both people having their own personal 'zones' so to speak. I am buying used furniture to keep costs down, and shopping craigslist as much as I can for other items.

Phew, so at the moment, I am waiting for primer to dry, so I can get the paint color on tonight before bed. I am sitting on the floor in a guestroom, hooked up the PC so I could make sure to blog tonight. Should be able to move all the purchased furniture in tomorrow, and after that will just need to work on wall shelves and a few accessories.

Day 27 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (30 minutes plus 60 of writing)
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Not done, but super work out today with furniture and office overhaul
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

I am excited that by the end of the weekend I will have a new workspace to organize all the items I have going on. The cats are not thrilled, they are going to be sacrificing a cat tree for more work area. I am going to build alternative 'nooks' for them, just not going to take up a ton of room like before. They spend as much time in the office as me, so if I do not plan 'cat zones', then I will find myself constantly butting them off the desk and keyboards. One learns how to keep balance with three felines in the house, and this includes planning appropriote places for them to hang out.

Off to continue painting and cleaning....

Day 25 & 26 - Balance

Well, I am not falling off the wagon, but I have definitely stressed the limits of this challenge. Few misses, much more then I have had in my challenge. I think the waking time, work, busy schedule is catching up to me a bit. I am trying to not fret over it too much, but still stay fired up to finish my challenge with high energy.

Day 25 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Not Done
Yoga - Done (30 mins, strained old injury, quit early)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Not done

Day 26 results
Wake 5 am - Not Done (6 am, fell asleep accidentally)
Meditate - Will be done later this evening
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Not Done (seriously dragging tonight)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

I do not know if I am getting ill, but tonight, super fatigue is hitting me. Overall, several times in this challenge I have found myself wearing down. I need to remember this while planning my next schedule, which is pretty busy as well. I am debating whether or not to take some of my workout times into 4 days a week instead of 7, and use the 3 non work out days as 'free time' to catch up. I don't know yet if that is the best tact. I am definitely finding my limits, not a bad thing, but need to balance pushing myself, and not overdoing it.

Still liking my progress all the same. Still focusing on positive achievements and trying to stay off the negative mental trail I can take when I do not complete a goal. This is probably a big part of the challenge itself, just overcoming the abuse I might do to myself if I do not meet a goal.

Yawn.....I am going to bed early, and going to regroup for the weekend. Glad the work week is OVER, and I get my weekend time to prep, regroup, and progress my 'career' goals. :)

Day 24 - Balance

Oh sad sad day. 23 days.......and today, I just could not do it it. I woke at 4:30, and groaned. Head hurting, back tense and tight, I said 'fine, I will just wait until 5'. 5 am came and went, and I laid there wishing I did not have to go to work. Finally rolled out of bed at 6, feeling better, but upset.

I should not get so upset over failed items on my challenges, really, I should be entirely accepting of my failures, but alas, I was so proud of my 23 days up at 5 am. This was HUGE for me.

Ahhh well, I shall just have to work on that reaction, and get up tomorrow at 5 am with a little bit of fire under my bum after today.

Day 24 results
Wake 5 am - Not Done (6 am)
Meditate - Will be done later this evening
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (40 mins)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

Tomorrow is another day, and if I can make 29 out of 30 days up at 5 am, with only an hour mistake, I shall be super happy.

I have also decided that I will spend my next 30 day challenge continuing most if not all of everything I had in this challenge. I am going to add the couple of items that I had planned that require me to spend more time on my husband and felines, I will swap 3 days a week out from yoga to another task at the same time, but otherwise I will continue my current tasks. I think all of these tasks are a great benefit to me, but they are by no means 'solidified' habits as of yet, and that is what I would like.

Off to get some additional work done, I have a lot of tasks ahead of me, and need to go while I have high motivation :)

Day 23 - Balance

Better balanced day overall, still making progress on all fronts. Heading into the homestretch, so just need to remember to stay focused. I am already laying out plans for my next challenge, so I have to make sure I do not move forward yet with anything there other then planning.

Day 23 results
Wake 5 am - Done (4:30 am)
Meditate - Done (20 mins)
Work Goals - Done (slow start, ended day well)
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (25 mins, tight on time)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

Short post today, need to work on several website and blog items before I run out of time this evening.

Day 22 - Unplugged

Energized and super charged.....well, sorta :)

Got up on time, started a little slow today, but was pumped up as the afternoon approached, and have been busy cranking the rest of the day.

Woke at 5 am again on time, but I am going to bump it back to 4:30 starting tomorrow morning. I have the history of waking at 3:30, and with daylight savings time adjustment this weekend, I am waking up at 4:30 am on the dot. I need more time at work in the AM, so perfect time to bump it back.

Day 22 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (30 mins)
Work Goals - Done (improved, still a couple holes, but gained some ground)
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (60 mins, caught up with a vengeance)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Running short on time, but trying to squeeze it in before bed

I had hoped to do some changes to the blog tonight, adding a journal and splitting the 30 day updates out. Running short on time today. Spent about 45 minutes working with one of my husbands dogs, so it was productive time at least. Also stopped and ran an errand on the way home, which I know better, especially since it was not essential. Will have to remember to stick to the schedule; get home, workout, run errands on weekends.

Feel good to be back on track.

Day 20 & 21 - Balance

Another busy weekend, to a point. I tried to put some freetime in the schedule for myself to help recharge, but even so, feeling a bit drained tonight again. This seems to have happened every Sunday evening, but thus far, I have not had a problem getting going on Monday all the same.

Still slipping on my Yoga in the challenge, but have been doing extra meditation and a good deal of time on my home 'work' issues. I spent the weekend putting together a lot of content and design layout on paper for my website development. I then started getting that content typed up into dreamweaver. I was heading in the direction of building the site first, content second, but was getting too far ahead of myself. So I backed up, am building the content daily along with a very simple web design, and will work on the more complex aspects after I am up and running.

Day 20 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (30 mins, with 60 mins of writing followed)
Daily Blog Entry - Subbed with additional work
Yoga - Not done (did about 10 mins of stretching, but did not meet goal)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

Day 21 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (20 mins, with 90 minutes of writing followed)
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Not Done
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

So overall, happy with my progress on my planning and design of my website. Also, with the clocks set an hour ahead, I went to bed late (not thinking), and still managed to get up at 5 am with the clock set to the correct time. Less sleep, but huge accomplishment for me to get up 100% on time with no excuses.

I will likely be splitting these daily summary updates and a journal into two separate blogs shortly.

Day 19 - Balance

Its friday night, ENTIRELY happy about that :)

Long week, glad to be back on track (for the most part), and glad to have the weekend to do some re-focusing.

Day 19 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (30 mins)
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (50 mins)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

Today I struggled with some negative thoughts, both about my couple prior days where I missed a few of my goals, and also with my work struggles. I have decided my best bet at this point is to find a way to clear those frustrated thoughts and emotions out of my head.

This weekend I am going to focus on progress with my website development goals, and letting go of my negative feelings toward my faults. I read a bit about EFT from a post in the Steve Pavlina forum that someone mentioned, after walking through the instructions today trying it a couple times, and will keep that going as much as I can.

I truly believe these negative thoughts are more destructive to my will power and focus then anything else I do. The last 3-4 days, I have crashed physically and mentally. I could trace this to a couple small external factors, or I could even call it a healing crisis. Instead though, I am going to focus 100% on what I have control of, which is my emotional self, and use this hiccup as motivation.

So while I still feel slightly down and physically drained, my energy is growing to tackle this problem and blast through it.

Day 17 & 18 - Balance

Well, I had my slip up day....which is extending into a bit of today.....a bit.

Yesterday started off well, but right as I was going to leave work, a friend asked me if I wanted to go to a Hockey game for free with her. Hrmmm, twist my arm. Husband had plans that evening, so I jumped. It left me ZERO time between leaving work and 10 pm to do anything on my list. No yoga, no evening prep items, ect ect. Bummed.

On the flip side, I have been reaching my physical breaking point. Working out 16 days straight was taking its toll. I was trying to take it easy the couple days prior, but yesterday and today I have had some muscle tension issues that have lead to bad headaches. This is part of my medical history, and while my limits are much better then they used to, I still have limits.

So I took yesterday off from Yoga, and again today. I am going to meditate a second time this evening as a replacement, but I will say, I think I needed a break overall. Mentally I have been struggling with my work goals, the people at work around me have been super stressed, and while I was not losing motivation, I was running super low on energy. So last night I took to myself, tonight I am taking it easy, and tomorrow I will be back up to 100%.

Day 17 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (30 mins)
Work Goals - Not done (struggled)
Daily Blog Entry - Not done
Yoga - Not done
Evening Prep - Not done
Home work time - Not done
(it pains me to write out that day.....sigh)

Day 18 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (40 mins)
Work Goals - Done (better, still needs major work)
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Not Done (replacing with meditation later)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

I knew I was approaching my wall, but had hoped I could make it til the weekend where I could recharge without deviation from the schedule. My current state of exhaustion I have analyzed, and since it could be several reasons, I have decided I just need to take a deep breath, eat well and drink fluids, get plenty of sleep tonight, and move on. I don't need to focus on the downside, as I do not want to end up staying there.

Tomorrow is Friday, happy for that. Have some minor plans over the weekend, and otherwise will have additional time to catch up on my lost work time yesterday and today. :)

Day 16 - Balance

Phew....busy days. Busy days.

Day 16 results
Wake 5 am - Done (actually got up at 4:15)
Meditate - Done (60 mins, included writing time)
Work Goals - Done (working on my new schedule, better, but not 'good' yet)
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (35 minutes)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

Woke at 4 am this morning wide awake. One of the cats then started yowling, so at 4:15 I just opted to get up, put him in a room until breakfast, and just use the time for some extra writing. I have been meditating, usually visualizing my goals, but keeping a supply of paper and pens in front of me. I set a goal so that I make sure to finish my meditation for the morning (as best I can), such as visualizing what my plan for the day will be, positive outcomes, and then a lot of times I work on some areas of problems, and write out a plan of attack. I do need to make sure I balance my plans with my actions.....starting to get a bit ahead of myself. So my meditation time is usually a mix of clearing my mind, visualization, and some focused writing.

I have a mental picture coming together of my next 30 day challenge. A lot of it is going to revolve around maintaining some of the habits I have created in my prior two challenges. Keeping the internet and TV time low, yoga and meditation on a regular basis, and continue setting aside time for my projects. Would like to make more progress on my work goals and projects that I have laid out this month. I am going to add a couple items in there to focus a bit on my husband and my felines, who have both probably lost a little of my time as of late. I think solidifying my habits, and making sure to give time and energy to those I love is a good follow up. I will still be busy, but mentally, it will be less 'new' items to instill. I feel like I have made some drastic changes in the last couple months, I probably need a bit more practice to make sure my habits stay in place. I have my home and work projects to keep me super motivated heading into the next 30 days.

But I am ahead of myself........still 14 more days to go here :)

Day 15 - Balance

Halfway....woohoo!!

All in all, I am thoroughly surprised at how well I have done on this challenge. My largest concerns, yoga daily and waking at 5 am, have been very consistent. The waking up has definitely gotten easier, and the yoga is now becoming very patterned for me in the evenings. I am a person that runs most of my daily schedule in a set routine. Come home, feed cats, change, start dinner, ect. Now I just inserted 'yoga' between change and cook dinner. At first, difficult, now, becoming more of the mindset that I cannot touch dinner even if I am super hungry UNTIL yoga is done.

I was struggling on my work goals and getting those wrapped up. Post unplugged challenge, I find myself slipping into old habits, but really only at work. Distractions distractions. Over the weekend though, I spent some time working through the problem, and decided, as seems to always be the case, I needed a more detailed plan. I needed to break the problem down into smaller pieces. Its not 'I need to avoid distractions', but more, what causes the distractions, how do I avoid those distractions through each part of the day, how do I keep motivation and productivity up, and so on. Today I worked on implementing those pieces, and I will continue through the week. First day in, my layout looks promising, but going to be some discipline work initially as I implement these changes. New habits, new routines, not worried though, I will figure it out.

Day 15 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (25 mins)
Work Goals - Done (still a couple holes, but implemented changes that felt promising)
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (40 minutes)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

Rarely do I get to say I am thoroughly happy with myself. Self confidence has always been a very tough item to come by in my head. The side effect of these challenges and their results, has been a large boost to my self esteem. Setting out goals and items that I need to achieve, and actually completing them for a change, is different for me. One thing that always frustrated me is that I was 'all talk'. I realize now that the act of setting a goal, laying out a plan, and finishing that goal is seriously a learned behavior, and that this was not something I was educated on growing up. I am now realizing I was angry at myself for something I truly did not know how to do. I was notorious for saying I was going to do this or that, in my life, at work, ect....but I never actually checked any of those items off my to do list. The progress I have made in just a few months, now I see that I can truly do ANYTHING.....seriously. Identify the area or problem or task, break it down into pieces, put a plan in place to tackle each piece. If I struggle, break it into smaller parts. Done.

Another side effect, is that I am also realizing that I have accomplished a lot prior to these challenges. It was not as obvious, but over time, I have truly made great strides. Maybe I was not as balanced or focused, but in the end, I can now see that I have done pretty well over time.

Suddenly I am in control, and my head is spinning with possibilities.

Day 13 & 14 - Balance

Weekend time again, decided again to post once for the whole weekend. I spent a lot of time working on my home 'work' goals, so I did not skip any productive time by any means.


Day 13 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (90 mins, included some writing time)
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Done (used it for work time)
Yoga - Done (30 minutes)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done


Day 14 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (90 mins, including some writing and planning time)
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (30 minutes)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

I am extremely ecstatic that I managed to get up at 5 am both mornings this weekend with NO delay. That's two weekends in a row, and is an absolute record for me.

I am very tired tonight, my weekends have been fairly busy lately. When I spent years sick, the weekends were my recovery time. I usually had to relax and recoup the whole weekend to try and make it through a whole work of week. This was an essential part of my survival, I seriously had to stop and recover often or pay the consequences.

Now that I have improved my health, while there are times I need to recover, my requirement has gone down quite a bit. All that said, I am still not 100% used to being super busy on the weekends. Waking up at 5 am 7 days a week, keeping up with my busy checklist and exercise regime, definitely have to keep my limits in check. An extreme level of fatigue hit me Sunday afternoon last week, and its hitting again tonight. Going to post this blog, relax a bit, and turn in early. Need to start the week fresh or run out of gas before the week is over. :)

Day 12 - Balance

Another Friday complete, thankful for the weekend. Work has been crazy, and is not helping me on my goals plan there. Sometimes, I can make a nice tidy to do list, put on some focus, and produce super large amounts of work in a single day. Then there are weeks like lately, by the time I have just written my to do list for the day, 3 urgent emails have hit my inbox, and I have to jump on them first, and this repeats all day long. I manage to stay afloat, but never progress forward. I leave work feeling like I accomplished nothing because my to do list sits untouched, even though I have been busy and working like crazy all day.

I could stay late, and probably make some additional progress, but my goals this month require me to leave work on time, so I am focusing on my primary challenge components first. Next month I might have to knock my wake up time back another 30 minutes or so, so I can meditate and still get to work early, AND get home on time still. I work best early and the first half of the day, so its better if I adjust my schedule that direction.

Day 12 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (25 mins)
Work Goals - Not done (frustrated)
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (40 minutes)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

So at this point, I am doing pretty good with almost everything except the following:
-Meditation consistency
-Making sure I don't have a 2-3 minute delay when the alarm goes off
-Finding a way to feel successful and less stressed or distracted at work

I will work on those above items over the weekend, I should have time to lay out some plans. Work is my main concern, I am struggling with distractions again as my stress levels are increasing. I definitely have a stress component that can drive me to lose focus.

Not bad, I am definitely happy with my progress and accomplishments so far. I am almost halfway through, and feeling very good. Energy about the challenge is still high, and any of my struggles seem minor and I have strong motivation to tackle them. So while this challenge is very busy and requires a lot of work, I do not think I overdid it at all. I am very happy that I found a balance to push myself hard, but not so much that I become too fatigued or frustrated.

Day 11 - Balance

Better day, not a ton to update.

Day 11 results
Wake 5 am - Done (small delay, 4 minutes)
Meditate - Done (25 mins)
Work Goals - Done (but could have been better)
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (25 minutes)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

Need to focus on my work productivity. The stress from the individuals around me is likely adding to my lack of focus, and its creating issues. I am finding my frustration and anger increasing, which is something I rarely have at work anymore. Need to stay focused and aware, and separate myself from any stress that pops up.

Did a second meditation yesterday, seemed to be something I needed. Had good focus, and worked on some writing as well.

Day 10 - Balance

One third complete. Tired. The need to sleep in is trying to overtake me in the mornings. I am just going to make sure I get to bed a bit earlier, and do my best to get a good nights sleep. Overall I am a bit fatigued, likely a combination effect due to the time of the month, busy at work, and the slight sleep changes. Just have to stay focused, remember to keep plugging through the hard points.

Day 10 results
Wake 5 am - Done (although had long delay between alarm and exit, about 7 minutes)
Meditate - Done (20 mins)
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (25 minutes, half pilates/half yoga)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

After debate as to whether I need to refine my meditation techniques now or after the challenge, I have decided it has to happen now. I am not finding progress at this point, if anything, I am struggling more to focus during my sessions. Spent time last night, and again this afternoon looking at some meditation techniques and tips. I downloaded some music, and I am going to try to mix it up a bit. Part of this is to improve my effectiveness/progress, but another aspect is after 10 days, I am going to need to keep my motivation high with some variety as best I can. Maybe in the future I will find a technique I like best and stick with it, but for now, I really probably need to experiment more and keep interest high. It will also help me drag bum out of bed with no delay each morning.

My husband is being very supportive of my challenge; positive comments, helping out, and accommodating my busy schedule. Need to remember to toss him a heartfelt thank you.

I am realizing a few of my long term goals are still fuzzy, along with the smaller goals I need to do in order to achieve them. I will try and work on that over the next few days during my home 'work' time. Still too scattered and undefined to make real headway on my future career and other goals, it needs some serious refinement, which I guess is just part of the process. I find that with each of these challenges, I am learning what works and does not for me.....and for me, I need super serious detail. I am looking around at some down-loadable programs. Topics like mind mapping, goal planning, and time management. Nothing strikes me yet, but some have created new ideas while I have looked at them.

"deep breath", yup, I am tired. Feeling drained just typing this. I am debating on meditating for a little while this evening or relaxing with a book. Maybe I will just do both, and be done with it. I refuse to feel disappointed in myself anymore, and I think that is what has brought me to the point I am at now.

Day 9 - Balance

Tired today, was not feeling very good, and had the smallest thread in my mind that considered calling in sick to work. It would not have been 100% because I was sick, I could have made it through the day, it was more of a combo of feeling bad and needing a day off.

BUT, when one has to get up at 5 am 100% of the time, meditate, do a few morning checklist items no matter what, suddenly just finishing up and going to work did not seem so bad after all. So I dragged my sorry bum into work, and was actually pretty productive...HA.

Day 9 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (25 mins)
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (20 minutes)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

Had a nice conversation with the DH tonight, well, more like evolving over the last few days. He has a strong focus at times, to a point that sometimes we struggle balancing other items in our relationship and life. He is happy to work on these issues, and I am happy to give him the freedom to partake in his 'hobbies'. I am careful though, I do not want him to think he needs 'permission' from me to do something he loves and enjoys. Conversely, I also do not want us to grow apart over time . I have talked to him about making this easier, how he can learn to balance our relationship, our home, our loved ones, and have him enjoy his favorite past times all the same.

Our discussions are becoming more relaxed, less defensive the last year or two. Its hard to move past the standard assumptions in relationships, the sort of over commercialized portrayal that the spouse is always out to get the other. That everything is always an attack, a nag, or an order. I prefer to think of us as partners, 100%. Suggestions, open discussions, and solutions are the best path. I love to observe, its true to my nature, and I love to share these observations. Its always hard to verbalize these as curious comments rather then an attack on someone's choices.

Actual definition of the above.....I got a free dinner out, AND got to talk a lot about my rambling brain and having my needs fulfilled.......what more can I ask for? :)

Off to do some planning on my meditations and my home 'work' time, both which are too unfocused right now and its driving me crazy.

Day 8 - Balance

Second Monday of the Challenge. After Friday at work and my slow down, felt I kicked it back up a notch today.

Day 8 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (25 mins)
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (30 minutes)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

The habits are coming easier, and in general, the challenge is flowing pretty smooth at this point. I still need my checklist, but I roll from one task to the next easily without usually realizing it.

Getting up is still my hardest job of the day, with every ounce of my sleeping mind wanting to stay under the covers and not move. I also woke at 3:20 again this morning, although was able to go to sleep again quickly.

There was a comment by Dr Wayne Dyer, that always....well...scares me...lol. He mentioned that when you wake automatically early in the morning, its your absolute best time to get up, its when you are most open to communication with 'yourself', your intuition, your spirit, ect. Best time to write, or meditate, or whatever comes naturally to you. This 3:30 in the morning stuff for me, its not amusing. If he is right, and 3:30 is my time.....BAH. Guess for now I will work on 5 am first, and if the 3:30 doesn't go away, I will incrementally back up my waking time to see what happens. Although I would like to talk to my 'spirit' or the universe or whomever happens to control this, about adjusting that time to a slightly better alternative if possible. I would like to avoid seeing 3:30 am outside of bed until maybe we have children if at all possible. :)

Contemplating my meditation tasks, may have to do some studying on how to tackle my time spent under contemplation in the mornings. Don't want to ask too much of myself in this challenge, but I want to keep it productive. There is a balance in the act of balancing it would appear.

Day 6 & 7 - Balance

Its currently the late evening of the 7th day, I am catching up the weekend. I did not blog both days, I was pretty productive on 'work' goals on Saturday, and decided to lump the weekend into one post.

Friday was my bad day, and I felt yesterday I did well to recover, and today even further.

Day 6 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (30 mins)
Work/Home Goals - Done (although kept it light today)
Daily Blog Entry - Done (although it was a retro post updated from friday)
Yoga - Done (50 minutes)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

Day 7 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (60 mins)
Work/Home Goals - Done (stayed VERY busy all day, extremely productive)
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (30 minutes)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

I managed to get out of bed without TOO much effort both mornings at 5 am. Both times when the alarm went off, I hovered in bed for about a minute, but quickly got up before I started to doze again. Would like to get rid of that delay, but I have to say, I did good.

One thing about being up at 5 am on the weekends when you don't have any particular place to be, you have A LOT of free time on your hands! I think this is a nice offset, since I am so busy with the schedule I have laid out, having those extra hours still gives me some level of free time to relax on the weekends. I remember Saturday, I trotted downstairs famished, thinking maybe it was after 1 pm based on my stomach, and the kitchen clock was just a few minutes after 11. I probably gained 6 hours alone on the weekends. Even if I did not sleep until 8 am most weekends, I usually was lounging in bed until at least then.

I will say though, its Sunday night a bit after 7, and I am toast. Went to bed a bit late Friday night, and a very busy weekend with no extended sleep, and I am exhausted. This is good, I will sleep well tonight, and it likely means I am making progress on regulating my sleep cycle better. The last couple mornings I have not had the 3:30 wake up time, and seem to be sleeping more solid. Although it helps that my 'bum' is finally healing after breaking my tailbone. Its not as uncomfortable to lie in bed, and getting better during meditations.

Meditations were fairly productive, Sunday more so then Saturday. Some moments of good focus, but still a lot of work on keeping track of where my thoughts are heading. I work with a couple breathing techniques, focus on my goals of the challange and long term, and usually will spend some time during each meditation visualizing completing all my goals for the day. I am not using a ton of structure around my meditations yet, still trying to see what works for me and push the daily habit and time spent over content at this point.

I am heading into week two feeling pretty pumped. After a productive and successful weekend, I am excited to see where this goes during the 30 days.

Day 5 - Balance

Well, yesterday started off with promise, but ended with a bit of a break from the challenge. Work was not as productive as I would have liked, and the rest of the day seemed to follow a similar trail from there. I had something on my mind, and it dominated work and again when I got home, breaking up my normal habits I had in place. In turn, I got very little done in the evening as I should have.

Was a bit upset about that, but decided to take that frustration, and use it as energy to get up this morning at 5 am on a Saturday, meditate, and start my day correctly (which I was worried about).

Day 5 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (20 mins)
Work Goals - Incomplete (poor day at work for the most part)
Daily Blog Entry - Incomplete
Yoga - Incomplete
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

It was not a total loss of a day by any means, just not up to the standards I would like in this challenge. Just need to remember that if I need a break from the busy schedule, I need to remember to wait until Saturday or Sunday. :)

One week post 30 days unplugged

I finished my 30 day unplugged trial a bit over a week ago (9 days to be exact), and today was pondering some significant shifts in my way of thinking as a result of this trial:

-Internet and TV news: I truly want nothing to do with them anymore. I will listen to the news updates that last for 30 seconds on the radio usually on the way to work in the morning, but outside of that, I have no desire to look up or watch ANY news. It was a SERIOUS habit previously, I probably went to the local news site and CNN.com countless times a day. It was a time waster, and a constant source of discussion and gossip at work and with friends. Now, I find myself popping on the internet, and where I would previously type in cnn.com immediately to start a 'surf time', I just stare at the screen. I cannot make myself go there. I immediately ask 'what is the purpose of going there', and when I can answer nothing but stress and a waste of time, I either leave the PC or find something more productive to do. Its not a battle or struggle at all, which frankly has me floored. When I say I was a news addict, it was pretty bad.

-PC games: I have done nothing since I have gone back online last week. I used to play an online game (World of warcraft), not obsessively, but I am sure I was on quite a few hours a week all the same. Its been 9 days, and I have not even considered going online at all. I need to actually cancel the account, but seriously, I think so little of the game now, I just keep forgetting. That will be $15.00 a month saved, and who knows how many hours.

-Blogs: I used to visit many blogs. I had a variety of haunts, covering topics from self help to just humorous. I would say the majority of them I visited more out of curiosity and entertainment, and a good percentage were not helpful or inspiring in any sense I can find. As a matter of fact, some of the people I read previously just were so not healthy or balanced at all, and I found myself 'worrying' about them when not reading their blogs. Far too much unhealthy attachment. Since going back online, I cannot bring myself to visit them, AT ALL. I am going to clean out all my bookmarks and RSS feeds this weekend, and purge the system. I have decided I really want nothing to do with folks that are a negative influence on me. It almost feels like cutting ties with some friends, but really, I cannot come up with any reasons to continue down that path. This applies to twitter as well, although that was a minor distraction.

This is a very refreshing outcome. I was worried when I came out of the 30 day challenge, I might go on an electronics binge so to speak. Quite the contrary, its been easy to continue to abstain to some degree. It helps that I rolled into another challenge shortly after that continues to use my free time in a productive manner, so I do have to remember that keeping 'busy' helps this out tremendously I am sure.

I might post again in the future, after a few weeks at least, and see how this holds up. I know some habits are likely to slip back, but many of the above items I mentioned seem far far away from coming back into my routines.

Day 4 - Balance

Stressful day, nice test of my focus and willpower.

Meditation this morning was more difficult then the prior three. I tried to vary much I think, and lost focus much earlier then prior mornings.

Work was busy and a ton of distractions. Went to lunch for a celebration, and totally messed up the flow of the day. Need to overcome those distractions.

The DH and I carpool to work, so there are times when he gets stuck in late meetings which I have pretty much prepared for in this challenge. Got home late today, but because I am cooking large meals with leftovers, just started yoga late, not a big deal since I did not have to cook. Although, I was very tired by the time I got home, so had to push to get the yoga mat out and get started. Initially, thought I was going to just do a short yoga session, but I decided I needed to push through, and ended up going much longer then intended.

Day 4 results
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (15 mins)
Work Goals - Done (if a little less then I would have liked)
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (45 mins)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

I consider this just a challenge day, not a big deal. The last few nights I have worked through the evening on my home 'work' projects much longer then I had set aside, so tonight I will take it a bit easy and just meet the minimum. Do not want burnout early in the 30 day. My husband has been stressed at work, and I believe I am picking up too much on that vibe, will try and work on that in my meditations.

Even though it was not a 'great' day, I consider it a good results day, because I had several obstacles and pushed through. Nothing serious, but a nice test of my schedule and drive.

Tomorrow is Friday, happy for the weekend, and looking forward to seeing how I handle the morning hours without work :)

Day 2 & 3 - Balance

Another day done, I think days 1-4 are the hardest so far in my challenges (both 30 day challenges and other various changes I have done). Just sort of that jolt to the system of habits, a whole new day with all new things to think about. I think they all run something like this:

Day one I run on adrenaline and excitement for a new challenge.
Day two I am still pretty excited, but starting to wonder what I am getting into.
Day three I am seriously questioning why I was doing this again, and maybe pondering I was a bit overzealous in my goals.
Day four I am still wondering what I was thinking, but now more accepting, and taking a deep breath for the long haul.

Once the excitement wears off, I remind myself of my goals for the month, refresh the long term goals in my mind and how this challenge applies, and then turn my face into the wind and keep on trucking.

Kind of interesting to see the patterns. A few years prior, I would have been lucky to make it through day 2 or 3. If I did, usually it was because I modified the plan quite a bit...lol...which makes me chuckle.

The act of looking back and seeing how far I have come in just a few years is really something to see for me personally. It gives me such a sense, not really of accomplishment, but more of amazement. I do not see it as an ego filled achievement, but more something of wonder and fascination. If I could bottle that feeling and knowledge and give it to all my friends, family, everyone....I would be overjoyed. I cannot ever seem to put into words what it feels like to know that you can do TRULY whatever you want.....period. Its so hard to tell someone how this feels, without sounding like you are bragging, or worse, it ends up making them feel guilty about what they have not completed.

The bigger piece in all of this, is when I look back at the sea I have crossed, it makes the ocean in front of me seem all that more large and exciting, and I pick up my pace another notch.


Well, on a non philosophical note, here is how my last two days have gone. I have been unable to post as I would like during my lunch hour at work, just too busy. So I am going to switch my posts to the evening, and keep the updates 'same day'. So today covers day two and end of day three so I can catch up:

Day 2 -3
Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (20 mins)
Work Goals - Done
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (35 mins & 25 mins)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

Very very happy with my results. I have kept to my busy checklist to the letter, and I am rolling through my balance habits.

Meditation is flowing easily, and synchronicity has taken care of any planning on what I should cover in my quiet time. Although, now that I am meditating each morning, I wonder why I thought it would be very hard?

Work has been very busy, but today I finally started to feel like I was making a dent in the backlog. I am really trying to break the stagnant flow at work, where I always have so much work on the to do list, it seems too daunting. I am ready to be clear of that once and for all, not only for the clear head, but so I can continue to work more on my self created projects that motivate me (part of my reasons for this and future challenges). Another reason to not blog at lunch, is I will use that time to continue my progress forward on work tasks. I usually spend a small amount of time a day up from my desk, saying hi to a friend or chatting with my husband (who works 3 cubicles away ironically enough), so its not like I am chained to my desk for 9 hours. :)

I need to firm up some of the weekend schedule, so I don't forget anything (meal planning, shopping, errands, ect).

Day 1 End - Balance

My first day complete for my newest challenge. Very busy day, and constantly doing a mental check to make sure I was on track. All went very well.

Wake 5 am - Done
Meditate - Done (20 mins)
Work Goals - Done (although my definitions need some refining and more detail)
Daily Blog Entry - Done
Yoga - Done (20 mins)
Evening Prep - Done
Home work time - Done

My timing all worked out correctly, and so far I think I have laid out my schedule well. I need to spend some time better defining my work goals, I have quite a bit going on, and I feel that I may stray and feel disappointed if I do not clarify that a bit.

My energy for the challenge is quite high, and I am finding it very easy to still limit my TV and PC free time.

Telling people around me about my results of my 30 day unplugged challenge has had interesting results. I haven't had anyone come right out and say they would love to do a challenge, but I do get a lot of high energy positive comments, and for quite a few folks I think I got the gears turning. I would love to hear someone tell me in the near future that they were going to try something that was important to them.

I really hope to inspire people, especially those that have known me for many years. I want to change myself and show everyone what is possible. There have been a few that have had trouble understanding my purpose for growth, especially in the direction of eliminating items like TV and news. I am learning to not worry about this, as I am not going to connect with everyone.

My energy right now has to remain focused, which truly should revolve around completing my challenges so I can work towards my larger goals. It feels a bit 'selfish' so to speak, but since I have spent most of my life helping others, I have to learn to accept my energy 100% internally for a change I think. Hrmmm, interesting thought......

Day 1 complete, 29 days to go, and not feeling daunted at all.

Start of day 1 - Energy Balance I

Well, I am half way through day one, and so far, right on track. Yes, it’s a bit early to be updating (I will usually do a post day after), but part of this challenge is to consistently update/write, using my lunch hour as the set time. I used to use my lunch hour to surf the web, and I am trying to stay out of that habit post unplugged challenge.

Did not sleep well last night, I believe I was worried about jumping out of bed on time. I kept waking up, thinking 'its gotta be close to 5', and I would glance at the clock and it was only 12:30. I continued to wake up every hour after, and was even quite wide awake at 3:30 (as usual). Part of my hope in this is to get my sleep cycle corrected. I am not tired in general, and usually sleep fairly well, so just some new alarm clock and challenge excitement I would guess. :)

Meditated for a full 20 minutes, although did not mean to. I had set my phone timer to 10 minutes (or so I thought), but at some point I decided it best to check the time, and realized it was counting down 10 hours. I had already been meditating for 20 minutes on the dot! I thought it would be harder to go a full 20 minutes, guess I was wrong on that one.

Got to work 5 minutes early, and set in motion my plan for the day. Still plugging through my list, hoping to have a nice satisfying day.

Very happy with day one so far. Reading over my notes, I sound a bit obsessed with the schedule and flow of the day, but this challenge really is going to stress my ability to stay on track ALL day. I am liking that aspect, I usually don't organize my days quite so strict, but I think this will help clean up some minor areas. For example, we have 'flex' time at work, so its not imperative that I be in at a particular time, as long as I am pretty consistent, and work the required hours, no issues. But I would like to get in early and lock in a time every day, rather then let it fluctuate 10-20 minutes, usually based on my alarm clock arguments. So I am just refining a few things in my schedule into stronger habits, and I am motivated quite a bit on that angle.

rolling along.....

New Challenge Tomorrow - Energy Balance I

Tomorrow is the start of my next challenge. 30 days of energy balance, likely phase I. Not sure about the name, but nothing is striking me other then 'balance' at the moment.

My general goals are as follows:

• Wake at 5 am 7 days a week
• Meditate daily (final goal of 20 mins day)
• Yoga daily (final goal of 45 mins day)

In general, I am trying to improve my mental flow and discipline, especially my physical energy on several levels. In another challenge or two, I will likely incorporate some food changes to add more to the balance side. For now though, I do not feel the pull in that direction, I have a pretty strict diet as it is, its not in dire need of a shake up yet.

Overall, this seemed actually a bit too small of a challenge to me. Total time spent a day was going to be just 65 minutes max, plus I am getting up a bit earlier, so I felt this was actually a bit 'light' as compared to the requirements of my last 30 day. I would rather push these challenges to the limit, I want to be ambitious and surprise myself.

I added a few misc items that I do now, but only sporadically. Items like taking my supplements consistently that help balance my digestive track, dry brush daily, and some general flow with my day at work. Going to toss in a few 'habits' for working on my blog and my other All are items that help my energy and flow, so very relevant to the theme. So another item to my general goals:

• Improve daily habits
  

When I combine the few extra items along with my three main goals, suddenly I have a complex balance to work out every day. I determined a few items that were keys to my success:

• Getting up consistently, VERY key
  
• Prep as much as possible the evening prior, I cannot afford to run late in the morning
  
• Leave work no later then 4 every day, preferably earlier (tied to above)
  
• Pre-plan food for week and freeze extra meals so that timing flows in evening with exercise and I have emergency meals available if timing gets crunched
  
• Continue some limitations of electronic time from last month , will allow for consistent completion of to do list

I have laid out a detailed time line for each weekday, and an adjusted version for the weekends. I have shifted items like grocery shopping to sunday mornings, as I usually stop on the way home from work, which I will not have time for. I created a detailed checklist for every day, as so many things hinge on another being completed, I need to keep track of them all.

I still need to work on a plan to mix up my yoga and meditation over the 30 days. The first few days I have a basic outline to get me going, so I have a bit of time to work through that. My focus the last couple of days has been gathering a few items for the challenge I needed (new alarm clock, prepping my meditation area, ect), along with making sure I have planned thoroughly for this. I have also been running through alarm 'practice sessions', as mentioned in this article.

My energy is high to start another challenge. I relaxed a bit over the last few days after completing my unplugged events on Feb 12th, so I feel fully ready to start now. My husband is also going to work on some new habits as well which will help me along.

Here I go again....

Final Day - Unplugged

FINAL DAY

Woohoo. I am definitely ready for this one to be over. Its not so much that I am ready for the restrictions to be over, but more that I am ready to move on to the next challenge. I will say that there are a couple items on this challenge that were easier to uphold then I had expected, and going forward, I shouldn’t have a problem keeping to low level usage. Television being probably the easiest one. I did not really miss TV at all, and I will definitely keep that limited going forward since its not a healthy alternative, and its not something I seriously 'need' I guess you could say.

Results of this 30 day trial:
My goals of this trial was to clear my mind, and to try and increase production at work and at home. I think I succeeded in two of the three items I was trying to achieve.

My mind has definitely cleared. I feel much less scattered, and I have some clear outlines of what I would like to do this year, and in the next few. I have more 30 day trials planned, and have developed them to help me in achieving larger goals. On many levels I feel much much better mentally, and would like to continue this growth and maintain at minimum my current state.

In regards to productivity at work, this has been my greatest success during this challenge. I haven't probably achieved a full 100% of my abilities, but if before I was functioning at 50-60%, I am probably functioning closer to 95% at this point. I was spending WAY too much time on the internet and non work emails on any given day, and simply by eliminating that I instantly gained much more productivity. Conversely, I have still had to stay disciplined and not find other ways to waste time, which I believe I have succeeded fairly well there. I have set up some projects at work that I am now implementing, and keeping my motivation up on them as well. I may do a secondary 30 day work challenge to run congruently with my next challenge I start on the 16th. So I am very happy with my work results, and will continue with my restrictions of no internet and phone (text, ect) use at work, and limit my non work emails as much as possible.

In regards to productivity at home, I had spurts of greatness, but many days I probably spent too much time falling back on a book rather then a home project. I could feel disappointed at this, but as someone I look up to has mentioned before, failure to complete something is not a failure in your abilities for that actual project, but failure in your preparation and layout of that plan. I did not specifically outline what goals I wanted to achieve at home, more I had some vague ideas of always staying productive. I also did not plan for the level of incapacity I had in this challenge. The first 3-4 days of the challenge itself I was almost immobile by the time I got home from work. Then 11 days ago I injured my left hip dirt bike riding plus caught a stomach virus, and have since had a difficult time staying active. By the time I get home from work, I end up exhausted, and need to rest. Could I have pushed myself a bit more? Yes. But for now, I will focus on the two other very positive results I had, and focus on the things I still managed to get done at home. I did a lot more cooking and prepping in the kitchen. I cleaned out some issues in my office including tackling an older PC and getting it cleaned up. I cleaned out my office closet and started in on some filing issues. So I still managed to get some projects done, but maybe not to their full level I had hoped for.

Overall result in my opinion, SUCCESS.

Couple of lessons I have learned from this first 30 day challenge:

Always have a very clear and outlined plan, making sure it is a challenge, but achievable. I think my home productivity issues were a combination of over optimistic expectations combined with a gap in a plan. I expected to remove ALL extra curricular activities (internet, pc games, tv…ect), and use 100% of that time to work and be productive around the house. That was a mighty big leap based on the amount of time I previously spent not working, and I ended up feeling very fatigued and negative about doing more work. I fell back on reading in my free time, which wasn't a bad alternative, but ended up being more time then I expected. So maybe I should have outlined specific free time for reading, and very specific goals for day to day productivity after work and on the weekends.

Second, find ways to stay motivated for the full 30 days, possibly adding additional steps near the end or have a plan in place to keep interest high. I have found that this last week of the challenge my discipline has faded slightly. A couple emails to friends that I let go on longer then should have. Convincing myself that 2 minutes looking up a recipe on the internet is acceptable. Nothing serious, mere minutes of mistakes in a cumulative day, but all in all, definitely slipped near the end. I believe for my next challenge I will try and create variety especially near the end when motivation will be lower. Like maybe order new yoga dvds or a class that will happen in the last third of the month. I am going to try and keep spending to a minimum, but all in all, I hope to set up the meditation and yoga for the long term, so any money spent will be on items that I know I will use outside of the challenge. I am also trying to recruit a family member or two to join me in the challenge I start on the 16th, in their own way. My husband is looking to do his own plan, and I am working towards having my mother and maybe sister do their own as well. Nothing I do hinges on someone else's participation, I am 100% responsible for my challenge, but all the same, maybe having other folks to chat with and help motivate will also help me through the full 30 days with high energy.

Over the next day or two I am going to organize a going forward plan, that will limit my TV, game time, and internet use. I feel that a written plan would be in my best interest, and will keep me from sliding back 100% into old habits. Many things to ponder.

For now, I am going to relax and enjoy my last day of being unplugged.

Day 22-26 - Unplugged

Well, not a ton of updates this week. Between a very busy work week and not feeling 100%, I just haven't had the energy to update. Usually I update from work on a lunch break, but not even time to do that, and the husband has been working on a project at home so I have given him 100% free reign of the PC. But all the same, not a ton of changes.

Work was super busy this week, and after missing Monday due to illness, I spent all week double timing it to try and keep up. I will say this though, I was 10 times more productive this week without any side interruptions. I emailed shortly back and forth I believe once with a friend, but I killed it pretty quickly when I realized it. Otherwise, no slip ups on the internet, and no side tracks to TV at home.

One thing I am noticing though this weekend, is as I am winding down to the end of the trial, I feel my discipline slipping a bit. Sort of 'I have done so well, just a small look at this shouldn't matter'. I would like to finish strong, so just need to stay on top of everything. I think being worn out mentally from work, and physically from being sick, I want to 'reward' myself by easing up on my rules a bit. My ultimate goal though was to make it 30 days, and not 'almost' 30 days....so just need to remind myself of that.

There is also the fact that one person who sort of laughed and said I would never make it around day 4, will be at a function I am attending next Saturday. It would be great if I could show up and tell her thank you for the extra jolt of motivation that first week, it helped me greatly. I don't intend on saying that in a mean or sarcastic sense at all, I truly do want to thank her. I think a lot of folks do not believe in pushing their discipline, maybe because they do not see it as something one can truly improve. I would like to be able to offer her a new perspective on the matter, so she understands that anything is possible if you truly want it.

Even though I didn't know what exactly I would wanted from this year, outside of knowing I wanted to tackle quite a few 30 day challenges, I believe I have put the pieces together. One frustrating aspect I have brought up time and time again, both internally and in discussions with my husband, is that I KNOW all the right things to do, but I have lacked the ability to put them all into motion. I know what to eat that makes me feel better, I know what to do to help clear my mind up, I know how to stay in shape based on my bodies needs, I know what I am capable of at work, and I know what I am capable of if I put my mind to it at home and career wise. But I have always struggled to get everything firing at once. I have always pushed each piece forward, usually one pushing in front of the others, only to fall back later to a different focus at that time, and so forth. It seems sometimes that I am crawling forward, flopping back and forth, two steps forward, one and a half steps back.

The clarity I have felt in this 30 day challenge made me realize something. Its not that this year is my '30 day challenge' year, more so that it is the year of learning the discipline to put in place all the knowledge I have gathered the last few years. Using the 30 day challenges will just allow me to put 100% focus on one area of my life, and by the end of the 30 days, the habits and discipline formed will carry me forward towards the ultimate goal. The challenges will be my tool to feel more in control of what I want and know I can do.

Also, in consideration, I almost believe I need to go overboard on my goals in each 30 day trial, so that when it is complete, even if I back down a bit on whatever I was trying to accomplish, that level is still a large improvement and is easy to maintain. Example, this 30 day unplugged, I could have very easily allowed say an hour of TV now and again, or some internet time on the weekends, and probably would have been just as productive. But after going 100% unplugged like I have, it almost feels like a very minor allowance of internet and TV relaxation would be an indulgence, and that is what I want. It will be very easy for me to maintain a high level of control after this extreme version of being unplugged. I am excited for the year, this should be a lot of fun.

I have put some consideration into my upcoming challenge that will start on the 16th. It includes daily meditation, getting up at a set time 7 days a week, and daily yoga/exercise. Going over this challenge, the meditation and yoga will take up about 90 minutes of my daily routine. With me waking earlier each day, truly only 45-60 minutes of my current schedule will be devoted to this challenge. It almost seems like too easy of a challenge, if I consider how many hours a day I gave up of average internet and TV time this month. This concerns me from several angles, one being I do not want to default back to too much plugged in time, I need to keep myself busy. So I am weighing an addition to this program, but haven't decided what my strategy is yet. I still want to stay very focused, and would like to keep my goal very clear and not spread out with too many tasks. The meditation and waking time tie together because my best time to meditate is in the early morning, and in order to do that, I need to wake up at a regular hour so I have time to complete meditation before work. The yoga and exercise tie to the meditation for me, because especially the yoga, helps to clear my mind greatly and get my energies flowing freely which will help my meditation.

I am having some food issues at the moment, after being ill earlier this week my entire digestive track has crashed. So maybe I can tie some food cleansing with the meditation and yoga and still stay focused on an achievable goal. If I tackle food intake, it will have to be 100% laid out so I do not deviate or spend more hours researching a subject I already have confidence in. Another angle I may take is tying in a work goal at the same time. It will require me to maintain my no personal internet or email at work which is a good follow up to the 30 day currently, but on the flip side, does not necessarily tie into the yoga/meditation theme very well.

I have another week to decide, next weekend I will be preparing and laying out my plans in detail for a start on Monday, so many things to consider in the meantime. Note to self, need to get another alarm clock this week.

Day 22-26 Results:

• Work Productivity -High (very happy with my productivity)
• Home Productivity - Med/Low (sick and sore have taken there toll)
• Energy about challenge - High
• Physical Energy - low
• Mental clarity - High

Day 18-21 - Unplugged

Well, I am now officially in the homestretch as I see it. Only 8 days left.

While I don't have day to day details, I know that over the last 4 days, I have done VERY well. No little checks here and there, nada. It does help when I am active on the weekend, but considering I was home all day sick monday, and didn't check the PC or TV all day, that’s a pretty good test. Granted, it wasn't a productive day by any means, I still held to my rules.

Friday was a normal work day, Saturday we went riding and then I came home to recover from that ride. Sunday, I cooked a bit, relaxed from previous day of riding/injuries, and then went to my brothers for the Superbowl. I had already outlined that I could watch the Superbowl in my rules of this challenge, so I relaxed, enjoyed time with my brother and his friends, and in general had a good time. Was sick in the evening, and home all day Monday….and while sometimes I would say it is hard to avoid TV when home sick, I felt bad enough I pretty much was laid out and dozing or reading all day. Not much else I could manage.

Not missing TV, not missing shows, not missing the news, not missing hours spent surfing for various this or that on the internet. There are times when it would be 'nice' for something….but all in all, I don't feel like I am truly missing out. Financial woes pasted across every headline on the news, tragic deaths and accidents, people hurting other people in some way, some actor getting drunk and doing something dumb, not missing that AT ALL. Yes, I cannot have an intelligent conversation about current world affairs at the moment, but how often do those come up? Usually its more of a gossip type conversation, with someone saying 'did you hear what so and so did', 'OMG, I did not, I need to check that out'…..and so on. Not really a high intelligence level conversation. So I am not missing much at the moment, sort of peaceful about it all really.

The result of this, I am putting a lot of thought into what limits I will set on my internet and TV time going forward. My head feels fairly clear at the moment, and that is pleasant. So I want to keep it that way as much as possible, but while still balancing a particular amount of free time. I have some fuzzy plans drawn up in my head, still have 8 days to hammer them out, but probably not going to spend a ton of energy on those. Feeling relaxed, and not going to force any issues going forward unless I know I am comfortable with them. I don't want to fight any 'rules', I want to be in balance with them, in agreement so that it is easy to follow the path I put forward. Example, if I have trouble coming up with positive reasons to read the news and such, then its obvious I need to seriously limit that behavior. If I understand why, then I can build limits around it that I can accept. If there are other pastimes that give me similar pleasure, but have more positive outcomes, I can direct time that way, and be happy with that compromise and in turn easily follow the path I have set forward.

Day 18-21 Results:

• Work Productivity - Med/High (a lot coming at me, hard to stay on path at times)
• Home Productivity - Med/Low (being sick and injured put a serious dent in production)
• Energy about challenge - High
• Physical Energy - low (again, sick and injured and recovering)
• Mental clarity - High

Day 17 - Unplugged

Better day….improvement over the prior day. I did break down and spent about 15 minutes researching something I just couldn't take anymore. I needed a mental reprieve from the constant battle, and the subject was driving me nuts. I got home early from work, was fried after a stressful day, and decided I needed a 15 minute break from it all. Once I was done, I felt better, and was productive the rest of the evening.

Stress seems to be a contributor to my 'internet need' so to speak. Seems that when I become stressed, where some resort to food or alcohol for comfort, I must use internet and mindless games to escape. Not a terrible terrible vice, but definitely something I need to keep in check. Too much internet/TV = more stress because I don't get things done. So just need to stay in control of the time when I come out of this challenge. I have considered several options….likely I will limit access to after a particular point in the evening (say after 7 pm), or limit it to a particular amount of time each week. As I get closer to the end of the 30 days I will hammer out the details a bit more.

Other then my 15 minute break, was a good day. I didn't have any mistakes, felt better about the challenge, and later in the evening again did some mild meditation and worked through some thoughts about my career. I seem to be 'finding' myself so to speak, and I find that to be very odd. I seem to be putting some pieces of a puzzle together about me and my strengths in my career, and how to make those positives work for me in making my job more satisfying. I also seem to be developing more confidence in my ideas, which I am starting to attribute them to a lack of access to internet research (it’s a stretch, but continue reading).

Previously, if I had an idea, my first response would almost be to see if someone else is already running with that idea…or to look up additional info on my thoughts. In the end, I believe that stopped my own personal thought process on the subject, and I would incorporate my idea with someone else's thoughts, and progressively that thought process would fade as my own, and belong more to someone else. By breaking that cycle, I can ponder my thoughts longer, put into action some of these ideas, and work them as they fit into my personality. In turn, I think my confidence is growing because of this. Very interesting turn. I am not saying this is a 100% rule and the only cause of confidence increase, but its definitely looking like a large part of the package. Possibly avoiding google and research on personal ideas until after I have put more time and action into them would not be a bad idea.

I am repeating almost every evening some of the thoughts I have had, trying to remember to stay on track with those work action plans, and I believe I am making some progress. I have also come up with many ideas of how to work for myself instead of my current employer….but still be paid by my current employer. In essence, doing the job I am paid to do, but doing it in a way where I am working for myself and not them. The manner in which I complete the job definition is open to interpretation, where I believe I can benefit from greatly in my career satisfaction.

Day 17 Results:

• Work Productivity - High
• Home Productivity - Med/High
• Energy about challenge - Medium but high by evening
• Physical Energy - Medium/low (some back pain)
• Mental clarity - High

Day 16 - Unplugged

I had one minor slip up today, looked up a map and a quick vacation price, about 3-4 minutes online. It was outside of my rules, and I knew it. Staying off the PC games, staying away from TV, all seem to be REAL easy at this point. But those 5 minute pops online to quickly look at something seems to be my hardest obstacle at current.

I had less of these mistakes near the beginning of the challenge, and find that now I am fighting even stronger urges to do this or that. My husband is shopping for a new dirt bike for me, and I desperately want to look up info on it, shop around for prices, look at accessory costs. We were talking about going out of town in the summer, and I want to research that. People are chatting on Facebook, and I did not turn off all email notices, and so I am tempted to go make a comment or two (namely because they are from long lost friends I haven't chatted with in years….who I want to at least tell I am 'unplugged' and will chat later….but don't know if I should do that…grrrr).

So I think I am at just another bump in the challenge, and I just need to take a deep breath, and plunge forward with my rules and goals still firmly in place, unchanged, unwavering. I managed just fine the first 10-12 days with rarely even a teeny mistake, so I just need to hunker down and stick to my guns at this point.

Starting to get a little frustrated with my lack of ability to 'look up' info, and even have asked my husband to look up several things for me because I HAD to know, as I knew a small look up could turn into an hour of browsing if I wasn't careful. Must say this is really the first time in this challenge my energy about it has faded a bit, but I am determined to do a full 30 days. Keep reminding myself of those who said I could NOT complete this challenge, because sometimes the 'goals' get fuzzy, but sometimes I can get additional energy from the competitive aspect of completing this challenge.

Day 16 Results:

• Work Productivity - High
• Home Productivity - medium
• Energy about challenge - Low (seems to be a large crash from the day before)
• Physical Energy - Medium
• Mental clarity - Medium

Day 15 - Unplugged

HALF WAY THROUGH!

I can say that the last two weeks have flown by. Cruising right along at this point.

Yesterday was pretty productive. Work seemed less productive, but later in the day, I realized I had gotten quite a bit accomplished, just nothing I had originally planned, so it felt less 'successful'. Oh well, keeping up well, and now progressing to some great work ideas that I am extremely excited to implement.

At home in the evening, I worked on dinner and clean up, but can't say I did much after that. Probably could have been more productive, but on the flip side, had a nice evening with the husband. So will focus on that positive aspect.

I had two minor hiccups in the day. Well, technically three. I emailed back a friend whom I rarely talk to, and it was several emails back and forth…which I probably could have ended much sooner if I had stuck to my guns better (and still wouldn't have been rude…). I popped on a menu website for local restaurants as I thought a special event I needed info on was this week. I found out it is not until next month, but found myself exploring the menus. When I reminded myself that the event wasn't until after my challenge, I realized I needed to get off and wait to research it until later. Then at home, I had about half a dozen facebook friend invites building up in my email inbox. I finally broke down and accepted the invites. Almost started exploring the facebook website, but realized my folly, and logged out.

So all in all, I would say my 'errors' were equivalent to about 15-20 minutes of time. Not bad in the course of an entire day. Although I have had many many days out of the 15 with 0 minutes of slip ups, so must remember to stick to the 30 day rules.

I will say though, my mind is working so much better and progressing forward with ideas quickly. If this is the effect after just two weeks, cannot wait to see where I am at in another two. I am also seeing that I am not NEARLY as much in need of the electronic entertainment and access as I was previously. I plan on keeping some limits after these 30 days, just to make sure I don't go overboard again. I don’t' think this will be hard, because many of these unplugged habits are just becoming second nature at this point. Husband and I are spending more time eating dinner at the table together for example, and this is something I see carrying forward easily into the future. Also, with me not turning on the TV, even the husband is watching less.

Day 15 Results:

• Work Productivity - medium/High (still had some verbal conversations I could curb)
• Home Productivity - medium/low
• Energy about challenge - Very high
• Physical Energy - High
• Mental clarity - High

Day 14 - Unplugged

Much better day today after an up and down weekend.

Got caught up on a lot of tasks at work, which is good, because I have some upcoming projects I will need to focus on that will need more of my attention. Still have quite a bit on my to do list, but I am making good progress all the same. I still have those moments where I want to go on the internet, and I question what I should be able to do or not. I tried to check a menu for a lunch later this week, this because of my food restrictions, and I felt that I again was distracted into doing more research then was necessary for the task. Had another incident where someone really wanted to know something non work related, and I succumbed to a quick look up on google. Both of these probably should be counted as mistakes, but when I realized what I was doing, I quickly exited the internet and reminded myself to stay aware.

Home wise, did a few small tasks last night, but wasn't home much. I read a bit in my downtime, and still feel comfortable doing that. I am accepting that I cannot expect myself to work 100% during waking hours, that is just not possible at this stage in my challenge and discipline (and not necessarily aligned with the goals I set forth in this 30 day). Maybe I am cutting myself short, but I do have to realize when I am biting off more then I can handle right now. Maybe in the future I can try that if I feel it’s a good direction for me, possibly in a shorter challenge period to start and see how it goes. Depends on my future goals.

Still nay-sayers who laugh at my challenge of the month, stating they have tried it for a day and failed…..or that its silly to give up internet, why would I ever want to do that. I chuckle, give them encouragement to do something that helps them grow in whatever way works best for them, tell them that with each challenge like this your discipline and skills grow. I will say that my discipline has definitely improved over the last several years, and that I am finding my failures are less about discipline, and more about my focus and direction. I tend to take on this or that will nilly, with no set plan in place to accomplish the task. I think doing 30 days will be the next step in my growth, teaching me how to focus, how to set forth a plan that has the chance to succeed. I am excited for what I might be able to accomplish now heading down this path. I am also excited to see if maybe I can apply these 30 day challenges to my career in some way, and grow by leaps and bounds.

But first I am going to focus on the challenges I am driven towards, the ones I can seriously get behind and stay motivated to complete. One thing I am having to do, is not jump the gun on future tasks. I already have lined up my next 30 day, but find I am trying to implement parts of it into this month already. I don't want to get overwhelmed, and run out of steam, so trying to remember to FOCUS on the task at hand first, and continue from there.

Day 14 Results:

• Work Productivity - medium/High (had some conversational distractions early in the day)
• Home Productivity - medium (was not home much, but got a few things accomplished)
• Energy about challenge - Very high
• Physical Energy - High
• Mental clarity - High

Day 11-13 - Unplugged

Long weekend……lots of ups and downs as this challenge goes.

Day 11 was Friday, it was a good day, no issues that I can recall. Productive at work, came home, and was quite productive through the evening before we had company join us later on.

Day 12/13 was Sat/Sunday, and things got a bit tougher. I finished some books I had from the library, and with nothing else to read, found I was drifting to old habits when I needed a break. I was quite productive both days, got a lot of small projects done, cleaning, ect. Overall, I was feeling very happy with my accomplishments over the last couple weeks. Problem being, when I wanted a bit of downtime from the constant work, I defaulted to my old standbys. It wasn't much, but enough to remind me of my challenge, why I am doing it, and how I can avoid mistakes in the future.

On Saturday, I worked a lot on the two PC's we have, cleaning up files, installing my new back up hard drive, getting an old PC back up and running (had some CPU issues), ect ect. Because a lot of the time was spent waiting while things installed, I ended up goofing off with pc solitaire in the downtime. Bad idea……found I was drifting to that more then work. I also was getting very frustrated with some problems on one of the PC's, and really needed to walk away to clear my head, which seemed to drive me to more bad habits then not in my stressed state. Later that night, after working most of the day, I really just wanted to sit down and relax for an hour before bed. With no book, the TV was already on, next thing I knew, I was vegging in front of the TV again. Grrrr.

Sunday, same issues. Was very very productive all day, but when I wanted to take a break, I didn't know what to do. Accidentally watched another hour of TV at one point. Later in the evening, I dug around in my closet, and found a handful of books I hadn't read that a friend loaned me in the past. Not a perfect choice, but helps me stay unplugged.

I think my open definition of a goal of being more productive while being unplugged has led me to some conflicts. Just HOW productive do I want to be, and how much downtime can I have? I have resorted to things like yoga, meditation, and some more productive options in my downtime, but is it too much to ask me to not have any 'free' time to do what I want during this challenge. I have decided there are just too many hours in the day for me to say that I am supposed to be on my feet and 100% driven all 16-17 hours of awake time. Granted, I need to keep my reading to a limit, I do need something for myself each day at this point in my abilities.

So my mistakes over the weekend were not that bad, in the sense they gave me some reminders of what I was doing, why I was doing it, and how to stay on track going forward. So two hours of TV, and a small amount of PC solitaire I am not going to slate as a complete failure, but more of a hiccup. I will focus on my accomplishments of the weekend, and back on track we go.

On the flip side, I did some have very clear moments in all that time. I made some decisions on the timing of some large issues over the next couple of years. I decided on the items I need to focus on at the moment, and what direction I want those to take me. I also put together a nice visual reminding me of my goals, focus, and how I can stay true to myself and my nature. I had some nice discussions with the husband, and even though we didn't see much of each other, what time we did have, was very pleasant and good.

Day 11-13 results:

• Work Productivity - High
• Home Productivity - High
• Energy about challenge - Medium (had some good and bad times, energy faded, but rebounded after some regrouping Sun afternoon)
• Physical Energy - High
• Mental clarity - High (had a great weekend of working on some big issues with resolutions and outlines for the future)

Day 10 - Unplugged

One third of the way through!! But really, I am SOOO not counting down the days. The only time I seem to be aware is just in these posts, and maybe if someone asks.

Did much better then the prior day of a few slip ups. Still a little light on productivity at home, but no mistakes in general, and happy with that. When I finish up my latest book, think I will be taking a break from books as well, help prevent any avoidance of some items around the house I continue to put off.

Feeling super emotional the last couple days, and not entirely sure where its coming from. If I was doing some type of serious food change, fast, cleanse, ect…I would seriously call this a detox type reaction, because that is what it feels like. I am not ready to chalk this up to a TV/Internet detox reaction, but its an amusing thought. I would research it…but of course, that is not allowed. So I will just chuckle and speculate for now :)

Day 10 results:

• Work Productivity - Medium/high
• Home Productivity - Low (crashed when I got home, but later couldn't sleep)
• Energy about challenge - High
• Physical Energy - Medium
• Mental clarity - Medium/low (still overly emotional, though not as 'lost' as the prior day)