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CoolBee · 01-04-2010, 08:35 AM

DAY 14 - A

It was good to start fresh yesterday without the catchups. I did start thinking - oh no how will I fit the mopping in as well as the vacuuming then "I don't have to because I just step right back on to the schedule" and just do the vacuuming scheduled for yesterday.
I was a very good girl and did everything except take supplements (conscious decision to stop taking right now - see thread in Healthy area) and didn't walk up stairs and skipped one of the beauty chores because I still get in a bit of a muddle about doing things before swimming which I would have done if I wasn't swimming and therein lies the key probably.

END OF WEEK 2 REVIEW

I have now done 14 days of the challenge (plus had 2 days off for social activities) so it's been 16 days since I started.

Summary:

In Week 2 I achieved 313 ticks out of a possible 344. ie 91%. Also so far in the whole challenge I achieved 637 ticks out of a possible 700 so I am consistent at the 91% level.

I totally failed in stair climbing doing it just once in the week. I find it totally knackering and I guess maybe I need to improve my overall health (and reduce a little more weight) for it to be less uncomfortable. For that reason for the remainder of the challenge I am "consciously removing it" (which means I take the ticks away). I will take this on as a separate challenge after this has ended.

Piano practice is torture - it is so hard pushing myself to do something like this - I highly recommend it to anyone who is in the habit of giving up easily! It is so easy for me just to relax back in to playing old repertoire which I know off by heart or generally doodling about. I had to give myself a stern talking to - my half hour practice must be scales + new piece + revision and extension of old piece, plus 3 old pieces which limber up the fingers. NOT dragging old unchallenging stuff out of the cupboard.

KPI Heads:

Appearance:

Dropped a further 2.25cm (0.9 inches) off the 4 critical areas chosen as the KPI - that is a total of 6.05cm (2.4 inches) since the start. I am looking leaner generally, especially the legs and there are little 0.5cm losses in a number of other areas that I wish I had put in the KPI now

Am keeping up the moisturizing very well only skipping 1 day. My feet are a marvel to behold and I treated myself to another big pot of scented unguent from the pharmacy (Fruttini Ginger and Passionfruit Body Butter) to match the lotion I got last week - it's so yummy I could nearly eat it

Also did 'earrings' every single day. This might seem like a silly item but it's important to me.

Health

I lost a further 1 kg this week (2.2lb) so that makes 2.5kg (5.5lb) since the challenge started. Not bad especially considering I ate almost 1kg of chocs given as a gift and had two big meals out during the week.

I have an issue with the dietary supplements which I have put in Health so took them daily until yesterday and will be doing a 'detecting' programme in the coming week to see what if anything is causing the terrible tiredness I have experienced for the past 2 weeks.

I went swimming twice - total 2 hours - clocking 46 lengths of the pool - I think it is probably a 33m pool - I'm going to have to do it the hard way and count tiles along the side I think to find out. I am increasing the lengths I do by 2 each time. I used to knock out the equivalent of 60 lengths of a pool this size in an hour so it's a bit galling that I can only do just over 20 in an hour right now!

I also walked 35km. Only 1 stair climb.

Home Routines

Kept up very well until day 12 and 13 when I was trying to play catchups round social engagements. I should remember what the dear FlyLady says - just jump in where you are and don't try to catch up. I do recall reading an article somewhere about the whole concept of catching up (in any sphere) and why you shouldn't do it. Will try and dig it out.

Decluttering

After not being so hot on it during week 1 I was far too hot on it this week. Got all my movies in one single list on both my external hard drives and OFF my laptop. Also all my music albums. I am not allowing myself to do computer decluttering this week as it gets too addictive - I will do that next time I hit computers decluttering in a couple of months time - and I need to start decluttering papers now.

Arabic

I kept this up daily which I'm quite impressed with myself over because that's 2 weeks on the trot now (after months of stopping and starting!). I do however have a major incentive which I shall NOT reveal

Over the course of the week I worked through the Michel Thomas Advanced Arabic course - 5 hours of CDs - 2 of the CDs I had to do twice as it gets a bit harder! In the coming week I am going to do the MT 'Vocabulary' course - another 4.5 hours of CDs (which will probably take me 7 hours to do with a bit of reviewing).

Piano

2 hours of practicing done. This is a struggle. I love playing piano but the discipline required to learn new pieces is a torment and it's too easy to stop trying and just get something old that I already know out. One of my friends said "why bother, why not just take the easy route" well that's just it isn't it! If I could do this stuff as a kid, I can surely do it now! And I guess I have some idea in the back of my head that it's good 'brain training'. And actually, I WANT to do it even though it hurts and I will be so pleased with myself WHEN I succeed.

Work

Did a bit more on friend's website and also mapped out the book further. Now I just need to start writing it!

I need to focus my work efforts more in the next week - it's too easy to procrastinate on the things I really want to do by doing what technically counts as work but is not focused in the right place.

I also find (what I knew anyway) that I am much more comfortable 'binge-working' (ie totally focussing on one area for several hours) than changing from one mode to the next.

This is something I mentioned a couple of posts ago, the difference between 'process mode' (things that don't have defined ends, that I want in my regular life for ever or a long time anyway) and 'project mode' (things with a defined end).

EG for me, piano should be a process mode albeit it may have small goals like learn this piece, arabic is definitely process mode because how can you ever say you have learnt a language - so again, a fixed daily amount of time to spend on it and a curriculum to follow is best. Book writing I will count as a project for now but maybe if it is a success (to me - not necessarily global acclaim!) then it should become a process? Anyway, things to ponder not now.

So overall I am pleased with my progress in a number of areas. This week's work focus is going to be 12 hours on the book + 4 hours on websites + 4 hours on coaching + 1 hour blogging.

01-04-2010, 08:35 AM	#25 (permalink)
CoolBee Family Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 2,044	Day 14 + WEEK 2 REVIEW DAY 14 - A It was good to start fresh yesterday without the catchups. I did start thinking - oh no how will I fit the mopping in as well as the vacuuming then "I don't have to because I just step right back on to the schedule" and just do the vacuuming scheduled for yesterday. I was a very good girl and did everything except take supplements (conscious decision to stop taking right now - see thread in Healthy area) and didn't walk up stairs and skipped one of the beauty chores because I still get in a bit of a muddle about doing things before swimming which I would have done if I wasn't swimming and therein lies the key probably. END OF WEEK 2 REVIEW I have now done 14 days of the challenge (plus had 2 days off for social activities) so it's been 16 days since I started. Summary: In Week 2 I achieved 313 ticks out of a possible 344. ie 91%. Also so far in the whole challenge I achieved 637 ticks out of a possible 700 so I am consistent at the 91% level. I totally failed in stair climbing doing it just once in the week. I find it totally knackering and I guess maybe I need to improve my overall health (and reduce a little more weight) for it to be less uncomfortable. For that reason for the remainder of the challenge I am "consciously removing it" (which means I take the ticks away). I will take this on as a separate challenge after this has ended. Piano practice is torture - it is so hard pushing myself to do something like this - I highly recommend it to anyone who is in the habit of giving up easily! It is so easy for me just to relax back in to playing old repertoire which I know off by heart or generally doodling about. I had to give myself a stern talking to - my half hour practice must be scales + new piece + revision and extension of old piece, plus 3 old pieces which limber up the fingers. NOT dragging old unchallenging stuff out of the cupboard. KPI Heads: Appearance: Dropped a further 2.25cm (0.9 inches) off the 4 critical areas chosen as the KPI - that is a total of 6.05cm (2.4 inches) since the start. I am looking leaner generally, especially the legs and there are little 0.5cm losses in a number of other areas that I wish I had put in the KPI now Am keeping up the moisturizing very well only skipping 1 day. My feet are a marvel to behold and I treated myself to another big pot of scented unguent from the pharmacy (Fruttini Ginger and Passionfruit Body Butter) to match the lotion I got last week - it's so yummy I could nearly eat it Also did 'earrings' every single day. This might seem like a silly item but it's important to me. Health I lost a further 1 kg this week (2.2lb) so that makes 2.5kg (5.5lb) since the challenge started. Not bad especially considering I ate almost 1kg of chocs given as a gift and had two big meals out during the week. I have an issue with the dietary supplements which I have put in Health so took them daily until yesterday and will be doing a 'detecting' programme in the coming week to see what if anything is causing the terrible tiredness I have experienced for the past 2 weeks. I went swimming twice - total 2 hours - clocking 46 lengths of the pool - I think it is probably a 33m pool - I'm going to have to do it the hard way and count tiles along the side I think to find out. I am increasing the lengths I do by 2 each time. I used to knock out the equivalent of 60 lengths of a pool this size in an hour so it's a bit galling that I can only do just over 20 in an hour right now! I also walked 35km. Only 1 stair climb. Home Routines Kept up very well until day 12 and 13 when I was trying to play catchups round social engagements. I should remember what the dear FlyLady says - just jump in where you are and don't try to catch up. I do recall reading an article somewhere about the whole concept of catching up (in any sphere) and why you shouldn't do it. Will try and dig it out. Decluttering After not being so hot on it during week 1 I was far too hot on it this week. Got all my movies in one single list on both my external hard drives and OFF my laptop. Also all my music albums. I am not allowing myself to do computer decluttering this week as it gets too addictive - I will do that next time I hit computers decluttering in a couple of months time - and I need to start decluttering papers now. Arabic I kept this up daily which I'm quite impressed with myself over because that's 2 weeks on the trot now (after months of stopping and starting!). I do however have a major incentive which I shall NOT reveal Over the course of the week I worked through the Michel Thomas Advanced Arabic course - 5 hours of CDs - 2 of the CDs I had to do twice as it gets a bit harder! In the coming week I am going to do the MT 'Vocabulary' course - another 4.5 hours of CDs (which will probably take me 7 hours to do with a bit of reviewing). Piano 2 hours of practicing done. This is a struggle. I love playing piano but the discipline required to learn new pieces is a torment and it's too easy to stop trying and just get something old that I already know out. One of my friends said "why bother, why not just take the easy route" well that's just it isn't it! If I could do this stuff as a kid, I can surely do it now! And I guess I have some idea in the back of my head that it's good 'brain training'. And actually, I WANT to do it even though it hurts and I will be so pleased with myself WHEN I succeed. Work Did a bit more on friend's website and also mapped out the book further. Now I just need to start writing it! I need to focus my work efforts more in the next week - it's too easy to procrastinate on the things I really want to do by doing what technically counts as work but is not focused in the right place. I also find (what I knew anyway) that I am much more comfortable 'binge-working' (ie totally focussing on one area for several hours) than changing from one mode to the next. This is something I mentioned a couple of posts ago, the difference between 'process mode' (things that don't have defined ends, that I want in my regular life for ever or a long time anyway) and 'project mode' (things with a defined end). EG for me, piano should be a process mode albeit it may have small goals like learn this piece, arabic is definitely process mode because how can you ever say you have learnt a language - so again, a fixed daily amount of time to spend on it and a curriculum to follow is best. Book writing I will count as a project for now but maybe if it is a success (to me - not necessarily global acclaim!) then it should become a process? Anyway, things to ponder not now. So overall I am pleased with my progress in a number of areas. This week's work focus is going to be 12 hours on the book + 4 hours on websites + 4 hours on coaching + 1 hour blogging.