Tag: Progress

Planned Preoccupation PSA

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A new job, a new city, a new diet, meeting new people… I have to do lists, alarms, peer-accountability and tracking apps for days. I’m exhausted from living up to my own expectations. So I’ve decided to take a no-tracking-weekend. I’m taking off my Fitbit, silencing my phone, and enjoying myself.

This is going to cause me to break my Friday Friends and Metabolism Monday streaks, but these habits and my blog are supposed to help me reach my goals, not stress me out so much that my hard work becomes counterproductive.

Hopefully, on Monday I will be reenergized and can evaluate my goals with a fresh perspective. Until then, I will delight in my adventures first hand!

Workout Wednesday – The End

Cori Casner2 Comments

Yesterday I hit the 66-day mark of this habit. Now to take a look back:

Action Plan Progress:

  • DONE – 8/5 different rowing workouts attempted
  • DONE – 5/5 instructional videos watched
  • DONE – Created a Pinterest inspiration board
  • DONE – Researched the benefits of rowing for improved cardio health
  • DONE – Watched a documentary about rowing
  • DONE – 2/2 books read about rowing
  • Attend an indoor rowing class

Grade: B

Incentive: I plan to book my 3 private rowing lessons on the water with iRow Fitness after I take an indoor rowing class.

Lessons Learned: I hit a lot of obstacles in the last few weeks of this habit. Schedule-wise, we moved again before I started my new job. I was not very focused on my healthy habits during this time, but it was nice to use rowing as a way to deal with all the stress.

Also in the last 2 weeks, my hands have been going numb while rowing and when I am sleeping. I was obviously concerned, but when I looked up my symptoms in relation to rowing I found that I might be holding my erg too tightly and that I might have a lot of lactic-acid built up in my arms and shoulders. The best thing for me will be some rest and a massage!

This is the least pumped I have been about finishing a habit. I feel proud that I pushed through to the end, but I know this isn’t something I can keep up indefinitely. I will try to row at least 3 times a week, but I don’t need to do the same workout every day to meet my fitness goals. Adding some variety back into my workout routines will be a very good thing.

Have you ever had any funky side effects from exercise? Please share your experiences in the comments so I don’t feel like such a weirdo.

Workout Wednesday – The Middle

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I have been rowing for 39 days. The halfway mark is a great time to reflect on my progress so far.

Action Plan Progress:

  • DONE – 8/5 different rowing workouts attempted
  • DONE – 5/5 instructional videos watched
  • DONE – Created a Pinterest inspiration board
  • DONE – Researched the benefits of rowing for improved cardio health
  • DONE – Watched a documentary about rowing
  • 1/2 books read about rowing
  • Attend an indoor rowing class

Grade: C

Lessons Learned: I’ve been trying a lot of different rowing exercises, but every other day I do 10 minutes of interval rowing. This keeps me on track with my habit, but it also allows me recovery time. On days that I am especially sore, I will just do 10 minutes of easy rowing (20-24 strokes per minute). It is important to listen to your body when starting a new exercise regimen. 

 

Even with easy days built in, I have managed to lose 5 pounds since I started this habit. My heart rate is also trending down which is a great sign and a major reason for tackling this habit!

I’ve also found that when I focus on a healthy habit it helps kickstart the other healthy habits I have cultivated. When I get up early to row, it makes me want to eat a healthy breakfast. I’ve also gotten back into the habit of getting my 10,000 steps every day. Why would I bust my butt rowing and then loaf around all day and not get my steps? 

A support system to keep me accountable has also been very helpful. The Captivated by Curiosity Accountability Group on Facebook has helped me stay motivated for rowing and posting about my progress on this blog.

Rowing is challenging and fun. I haven’t dreaded a workout yet, but there have been a few late nights where I was not at all motivated just determined to get my rowing workout done. I want this habit to stick and I cannot wait to get out on the water are the end of my first 66 days!

If you have any suggestions to help me continue to improve my rowing skills please share them in the comments below!

Strummin’ Saturday – The End

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Thanks to some renewed inspiration I’m finally wrapping up this banjo series. I hit my 66-day goal back in November, but since this action plan deviated from the template I decided to keep going with my posts. On to the stats!

Action Plan Progress:

  • DONE – 3/3 TED Talks watched
  • DONE – Created a Pinterest inspiration board
  • DONE – Posted list of pro-tips for practicing
  • DONE – 15/5 banjo lessons
  • 8/11 weekly Saturday posts

Grade: B

Incentive: I already cashed in my incentive for this habit. I didn’t want to lose momentum by suspending my lessons until I hit the 66-day mark. I did scale back my lessons to biweekly but went well past the initial 5 lessons I purchased.

Lessons Learned: Getting a teacher was the best thing I did in building this habit. Ken has been very encouraging and the pacing of my lessons was great. He deserves every star on his Take Lessons profile.

I travel a lot for work, so I purchased a hard case and started taking my banjo with me on business trips. Traveling with an instrument is difficult, but I found I made a lot more time for practicing when I was on the road. There isn’t much for me to do in the Midwest in winter, so I was glad to have my banjo when I was stuck in a hotel room. These challenges taught me to add some flexibility to my process because not everything I want to accomplish is going to fit easily into my daily routine.

Putting on my own holiday recitals and making my family listen to all the songs I learned this year was also a lot of fun. I’m on my way to pleasing myself with my banjo skills! For your viewing pleasure here is my last progress video:

Stay tuned for my next habit kicking off this week!

Strummin’ Saturday – The Middle

Cori Casner2 Comments

This habit has been very challenging for me, so it’s a good time to stop and reflect.

Action Plan Progress:

  • DONE – 3/3 TED Talks watched
  • DONE – Created a Pinterest inspiration board
  • DONE – 6/5 banjo lessons
  • 36/66 days of playing the banjo
  • 3/11 weekly Saturday posts
  • Started a running list of pro-tips for practicing

Grade: C

Lessons Learned: The biggest challenge so far has been figuring out how to practice daily when I am traveling almost every week for work. This problem presented immediately, and I decided to modify my goal to 66 days of practice rather than 66 consecutive days of practice.

I’ve been struggling with the issues of traveling with my banjo.

  • The cost of a hard case
  • Checking the bag or carrying it around with multiple layovers
  • Where to practice when I’m in a hotel
  • The amount of time I will have to practice when onsite with a client

After weighing my options the choice came down to traveling with my banjo or stopping my banjo lessons. I enjoy playing way too much to give up now, so I decided to buy a hard case. I will be traveling every week for the next 2 months and I will use the rest of my time building this habit to find out if traveling with my banjo is sustainable.

I LOVE playing the banjo, and I’m glad to be taking steps to play more!

Take a look at the below video the see my progress!

Friday Finances – The End

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Well that was a quick jump from the “middle” to the end…

Action Plan Progress:

  • DONE – 66/66 days of tracking our daily spending
  • DONE – 3/3 TED Talks about personal finance watched
  • DONE – Created a Pinterest inspiration board
  • DONE – 2/2 books read on personal finance
  • DONE – Determined best investment tool to save money (Vanguard)
  • DONE – Analyzed online budgeting tools (we plan on using a spending plan)
  • 5/10 weekly posts on Fridays about my progress

Grade: B

Incentive: We have a meeting scheduled with a financial planner next week. Even though The Little Book of Common Sense Investing has convinced me we don’t need a financial planner for investing we still have some tax related questions that I am excited to get answered!

Lessons Learned: I missed a lot of posts, but I was still able to meet the other items on my action plan. You’ve got to focus on the wins. This habit has given us the wonderful opportunity of getting feedback from friends and family about the tools they use to keep their family budget. We’ve had some fantastic conversations about what works and what doesn’t.

Clayton and I are going to keep up with the tracking until we are settled after our move. Once we get into a new routine we’ll set up our new spending plan.

Our sabbatical year will be here before you know it. If you have any inspiring memes/pictures/charts that keep you motivated to make good financial decisions please share them in the comments!

Friday Finances – The Middle(ish)

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One way to improve your financial outlook is to find a new job that offers a higher salary. That has been my primary focus, and I started my new job this week. Things have finally started to settle down, but I am woefully behind on my weekly posts. The good news is even though I haven’t been posting we have been sticking to the plan, so lets look at the stats.

Action Plan Progress:

  • DONE – 3/3 TED Talks about personal finance watched
  • DONE – Created a Pinterest inspiration board
  • 51/66 days of tracking our daily spending
  • 1/2 books read on personal finance
  • 3/10 weekly posts on Fridays about my progress
  • Analyze online budgeting tools
  • Determine best investment tools to save money with

Grade: C

Lessons Learned: Not great, but we have stuck with the daily habit and that is the ultimate goal. It has been enlightening to see where we are spending all of our money. After the first month Clayton thought it was important to add a Travel category to our tracking sheet.

We have yet to analyze our spending, but at the end of the 66 days we will have two months of data to review. From there we will decide between a monthly budget or a spending plan.

Do you have any experience with a spending plan? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

Planned Preoccupation Check In

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Happy New Year!

The new year is always a time for reflection, so let’s have a check in. I started this blog in the summer of 2015 and have cultivated 6 new habits and achieved 2 specific goals.

Writing

I have not been as strict about daily writing as I was with my initial habit. There was a point where the weekly posts were starting to cause me some anxiety so I took a few breaks over the course of the year. I want my energy focused on the habits themselves, not on this blog which should support the habits.

Meditation

Even though I don’t sit and meditate intentionally everyday this habit has helped me to manage my stress more effectively. I often focus on my breathing and clear my mind before I go into a meeting, or respond to a contentious email.

I have also completed 2 Headspace packs since I started this habit, and have the Motivation pack teed up as we dive into 2017!

Smoothies

I’ve got a freezer full of smoothie packs. It’s difficult to start the morning with a frozen drink when it is below freezing outside, but it’s still our quickest breakfast option. I also learned that if I freeze my ingredients on a baking sheet before I put them in the freezer bags they don’t turn into a big hunk of ice and are much easier to blend. So I’ve got that going for me.

8WW Meals

I have not kept up with this habit very well at all. I am often reminded of the Sharma quote, “knowing what to do and not doing it is the same as not knowing what to do.” Here’s to better food choices in 2017!

Spanish

This was the only habit I failed at during the initial 66 days, but it is the one I have kept up with the best since then. My mom started using Duolingo to learn Italian, and it is fun to check in with each other on our progress. I also have so many friends who try to engage my new found Spanish skills that I feel compelled to keep going!

Random Acts of Kindness

A great thing that came from this habit was learning about the generosity of my friends and family. Once I started talking more about philanthropy more people started sharing their good deeds with me. It has been a wonderful learning experience.

The structure this blog provides also helped me to organize our move to Red Wing and to get my Project Management Professional certification. Action planning focused my efforts and I was able to achieve my goals.

The support, suggestions, and encouragement you have provided in the comments have been invaluable! I am excited to continue on this journey of personal development, and know that 2017 will bring great things.

Here is a sneak peak of my next habit…

guessagain

Care to hazard a guess?!

Good Will Wednesday – The End

Cori Casner2 Comments

I’ve made it through another 66 days. Here are the stats from my random acts of kindness habit.

Action Plan Progress:

  • DONE – Volunteered at the RW Food Shelf
  • DONE – 3 online volunteer opportunities found
  • DONE – 1/1 documentary watched on philanthropy
  • DONE – 3/3 TED Talks watched on philanthropy
  • DONE – 67/66 days of random acts of kindness
  • DONE – Read 2 books philanthropy
  • DONE – Volunteered at the pumpkin carving display set up by a Red Wing artist
  • DONE – Tracked my random acts of kindness on Twitter
  • DONE – Completed the Headspace Gratitude pack
  • Unable to find a volunteer opportunity with the Project Management Institute
  • Posted 7/10 weekly progress updates

Grade: B

Incentive: Clayton and I will attend the Warm Up in the Wild event at the MN Zoo.

Lessons Learned: My first philanthropy habit was a lot of fun. I found the random acts of kindness I performed for Clayton to be particularly enjoyable. It showed me that I should be sure to keep those closest to me in mind when I set out to change the world.

One change that needs to be made is planning my posts up front. Vacations and illness impacted my progress updates. It is hard to find motivation to write some days but if I outline my posts up front it would be easier to keep up.

I fully intend on keeping up with my random acts of kindness, but I don’t feel like this habit warrants a 6 month check in.

I’m wrapping up at the perfect time and I look forward to spreading the joy over the holiday season. Best wishes to you and your families!

Good Will Wednesday – The Middle

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The weeks have flown by since I started this habit! As always lets start with the stats.

Action Plan Progress:

  • DONE – Volunteered at the RW Food Shelf
  • DONE – 3 online volunteer opportunities found
  • DONE – 1/1 documentary watched on philanthropy
  • DONE – 3/3 TED Talks watched on philanthropy
  • 32/66 days of random acts of kindness
  • 0/2 books read on philanthropy
  • Find volunteer opportunities in the RW art community
  • Find a volunteer opportunity with the Project Management Institute
  • Complete the Headspace Gratitude pack
  • Tracking my random acts of kindness on Twitter
  • 5/10 weekly posts on my progress

Grade: A

Lessons Learned: I realized I was over complicating this habit. My friend reminded me that smiling at strangers is an act of kindness. Not everything needs to be a real production.

I look forward to spreading the joy. Please share your favorite random act of kindness in the comments!