Life Reboot: Month 3
Ok, so apparently I suck at getting these check-ins done on time. I am late again. This time more than half a month! The only thing I can say is that I have been burning the candle at both ends trying to get a couple of projects done. Thankfully, today, I was able to turn the last major project into a client. That doesn’t mean I don’t have other major projects, just that the ones which were eating my life are currently over. So, now I have a little bit more time I can focus on other things, which is good.
Anyway, on to the actual point of this post…
Month 3 of my life reboot went a little off the rails due to those major projects, but I’ve made some changes that I am proud of.
Routines Are the Key.
As I discussed last month, routines really help to make sure that I’m accomplishing what I set out to do. I worked as hard as I could (when I didn’t feel completely overwhelmed) on maintaining those routines which support my goals. I managed to keep up with my night routine more than the month before. Now, I’m working on maintaining that and also working on my morning routine.
Don’t Let Overwhelm Run Your Life.
I don’t know what it is about being overwhelmed that seems to send my well-laid plans into a tailspin, but it is a big issue for me. Whenever it happens I always feel like I can’t focus on anything, but whatever is currently overwhelming me. I literally try to brute-force my way through the process instead of taking a step back to see if there’s another way through. This is something I have to work on.
This time, I caught myself in the middle doing the same things that I always do. This allowed me to actually take that step back and look around. It was still an overwhelming time, but it felt much less overwhelming once I took a breath and realized what was happening. Hopefully, I’ll get better at recognizing when overwhelm is happening and be able to change it quicker in the future.
The Check-In
So now for the actual check-in.
Exercise More Consistently. I tracked with about the same consistency as I did the month before. However, most of the days I did track I also exercised. This last cycle I also tried for exercise that was easier to maintain: 10 minute HIIT workouts, and walks, as opposed to trying to run or workout for longer periods of time. My goal here is to get into the rhythm of exercising consistently so when I ramp it up it won’t feel so crazy.
Grade: C
Eat better. According to my daily journals, I ate better overall than I did the month before. I consistently drank more water and ate more fruits and veggies. However, there was also way too much pop, ice cream, and beer in my diet. So, maybe it was better? I will try and focus on making even more good choices this next cycle and see where I end up.
Grade: C
Write more. I actually wrote for 7 more days than I did the month before. This is awesome! I only wrote half as many words, though. So more consistency, but less productivity. I’ll take it for now.
Grade: B
Read more nonfiction.This continues to be an area I need to improve on. I really need to try and change the time when I do this. Most of the time, my brain is not in a place to absorb nonfiction writing before bed. This is usually the time that I remember to do it. So, I’ll have to set a reminder on my phone to remind me during a different time. When I did consume nonfiction, it was mostly podcasts. Lately, that has been [“Stacking the Bricks” with Amy Hoy and Alex Hillman]. It’s a very good podcast about entrepreneurs who bootstrapped successful projects and what they found out by doing so. I know listening to podcasts is not “reading” nonfiction, but I’m still counting it as it is different from the normal content I consume.
Grade: C
Enjoy just being more. Being overwhelmed with projects made me think this area also didn’t get the attention it deserved. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the days I tracked showed that I also took some time for myself. A lot of it was just sitting out on the balcony for a while, enjoying the cooler weather. Still that’s progress.
Grade: B
Ship more. Woot! Every day I tracked I actually shipped something. It may have been something small, but it’s more “things” done in general. I am super-stoked about this! Since I didn’t track for that many days, though, I’ll give myself a middling grade. I could do better.
Grade: B
I still need to work on tracking things better, but I feel confident that I’m making progress overall. When I first started this, I thought by month 3 I would be well on my way to hitting a homerun with these goals. Like most things in my life, I was overly-optimistic about my results. Still, I am doing better. Not just better on these goals, but better overall with my life. Yes, there have still been really difficult days when I haven’t wanted to move from the bed or the couch, but they’ve been far fewer than they were before I started this journey. I know I won’t completely eliminate my depression. I’ve learned over the last several years that it’s apart of me. I could no more expect it to go away all of a sudden, than I could expect to suddenly be blonde.
Well, that’s all for my month 3 life reboot check-in. More to come later.
Hi, I’m Cassie. I love books and media and think that they have the power to change our lives. I also love to write, play games like Minecraft and ARK, cook, run, and dance. For a living, I provide Digital Marketing and Website Design services under the company I founded Team 3 Media. Currently, I’m working on writing more, learning to bake better bread, and staying consistent with my health and fitness goals.