Hello Friends,
October has been an interesting month. It started with a leak under the sink that turned into a whole kitchen remodel. We were without a sink for close to three weeks and have had the kitchen blocked off many times. To say that it has been an inconvenience would be an understatement and it has definitely thrown a wrench into my routines.
Now, all of that is to say, I have not been good with my habits this past month. While having a kitchen removed and inaccessible has complicated things, if I put more effort into sticking with my habits I could have made it work.
As I have noticed in the past while traveling, when my environment changes I am less likely to stick with my habits. I imagine that is due to the fact that there is now a roadblock in my routine.
Let’s see how my habits went…
October Habits / Goals
Let me sum this up in one word, mediocre.
Like I mentioned, I did not do well with my habits, but looking back at my logs, I did better than I would have thought.
I mediated roughly half of the days last month, with periods of doing it every day for four to six days and then gaps of not doing it for two to four days in a row.
This was the same with my morning yoga and journaling, as I often do these habits together.
The best thing to come from October was creating a routine of going to the gym, especially towards the end of the month.
My writing suffered heavily however. I have not written a single post since my September monthly review and missed three consecutive Fridays for my weekly post.
I would like to blame this on the kitchen situation that brought a lot of stress and disruption into the home. While that may be the case, I should have done better.
My biking also suffered. I had a goal to ride over 100 miles in October and I was easily on pace to do it having done 42 miles within the first week of the month. Unfortunately, I went to go for a ride just a few days after and both tires were flat, the back tire having a large two-inch gash.
I thought about ordering replacements but with everything going on it felt like a lot of work and I would soon be moving my setup indoors anyways. So I opted to wait until spring to order new tires and will be setting up for indoor riding soon.
The thing I am most disappointed in myself about during the month of October was the amount of time I spent watching YouTube.
It is so addictive and drains my energy to do anything else. Social media as a whole has the effect of numbing the brain, which helps keep you on the apps and not notice how much time has gone by.
Ever since high school, YouTube has been my drug of choice to “deal” with (more like to not deal with) stressful situations.
When I had bad days in high school I would come home and watch YouTube and more recently, when I had stressful days at work at a job I didn’t like, I wanted nothing more than to sit on the couch and do nothing but watch mindless videos.
Not to say that anything in October has been nearly as bad as those situations, but it has been more stressful than the past few months.
In addition, I often feel guilty about missing my habits and not being productive enough, which then leads me back to YouTube, and then watching YouTube makes me feel more guilty.
It’s not a great cycle to be in.
The good news is that it only takes one good day or one moment of strength to break out of it.
Goals For November
My goals for November are as follows:
- Miss no more than one day of mediation in a row
- Miss no more than one day of yoga in a row
- Miss no more than one day of journaling in a row
- Miss no more than two day of exercise in a row (depending on rest and recovery)
- Post a weekly blog on every Friday
- Spend more time reading and writing than watching YouTube
My main goal for November is to get back on track with my habits. Tomorrow is a fresh start and I want to make it count.
Goals Tor The Rest of 2024:
- Gain five pounds (putting me back at my heaviest around 150 lbs.)
- Enjoy time outside especially in the snow
- Research and scheme about long distance trails for next year and/or 2026
- Figure out a way to not get bogged down by the cold and lack of light
See you tomorrow! Peace
