To follow up on my prior post, I planned to create intermittent posts containing items I’d like to get done in order to keep some accountability for my actions. Even anonymously, knowing that someone is seeing whether I accomplish my little goals or not can be helpful.
I’m not expecting to complete 100% of items 100% of the time. However, I do aim to complete a large portion of items most of the time, and more importantly, maintain consistency and regularity. That is what will ensure that I am improving overall.
These accountability lists will generally contain self-help items, rather than stuff related to work or productivity, because that is something I’m more likely to overdo than underdo.
In order to limit my internet time and free myself of the obligation to write about my checklist while doing self-help items, I’ll generally write about my checklist the following day (but create the checklist the day of for myself).
Yesterday’s Accountability List:
- Exercise ✓
- Stretch ✓
- Meditate ✓
- Search for new glasses
- Walk outside
- Get off the internet by 9:30 p.m. ✓
- Go to sleep by 1:30 a.m. ✓
- Watch a TV show or movie with my family ✓
I managed to complete several important items on this list yesterday. My glasses are broken at the “temple tip” area (the portion that hangs over the back of the ear), hence I wanted to get new ones, but it’s not something I consider urgent because I have them sufficiently. However, a trip to a store would’ve given me the opportunity to also walk outside for a while, which I did not do.
What were the barriers to this occurring?
Well, I woke up much later than I had intended, and that threw off the rest of my day to some degree. There are a few tasks that I accomplish (work-related, etc.) that take some time, and I tend to get through them on the slower side. If I were efficient and awoke earlier, I could get them all done by early afternoon, leaving me sufficient time to do other things throughout the remainder of the day. This is a reason that I am purposefully cutting my time on the computer to earlier times and trying to go to sleep earlier (yes, 1:30 a.m. is early by my recent standards LOL!).
The accomplished tasks…
Exercise went well yesterday, although I noticed I struggled a bit on some exercises compared to my prior session. I’ve been exercising daily, hence I’ll likely take a rest day soon. I don’t have any residual pain in my muscles, but there is slight wrist pain which began prior to me resuming my exercise which… hasn’t improved much. Hence, I’m being careful with my exercise technique.
Stretching was brief and… always very slightly painful!
Meditation is generally improving; my concentration on breathing and sensations within my body, as well as the ability to relax progresses day by day, and intrusive thoughts flee my mind quicker.
I watched Genius: Picasso with my family. It’s a topic we both like, hence it’s a great way for us to bond. I’ve fortunately been watching more shows and movies with my family this past week, something I’ve barely been able to do over the last 4 years. And yes, I know that being in front of the “idiot box” isn’t necessarily the best thing, but I think we expose ourselves to good content which helps us bond, hence it’s still a good use of time. Ideally, we’ll also spend quality time in more active ways (walking, exercising) very soon.
With all this said, I established a new checklist in mind for today…
Today’s Accountability List:
- Exercise
- Stretch
- Meditate
- Search for new glasses
- Walk outside
- Get off the internet by 9:15 p.m.
- Go to sleep by 1:15 a.m.
- Watch a TV show or movie with my family
I can already cross of searching for new glasses because I again woke up quite late. Insomnia has been a bit of an issue for me, and I aim to correct it. A good start would be to not drink as much water before going to sleep lol! It’s best to drink water during the daytime.
Another intervention is that once I wake up earlier than intended, whatever time that may be… I’ll just stay awake and get going with my daily tasks. Hopefully this will help reset my biological clock to some degree, and I can sleep through the night and wake up naturally at a more reasonable hour.
The key here is that I identify what went wrong and actually work to fix it so that I can improve for the future.
That’s all then… until next time!