Don't break the chain

[hacker]

Simple but great article...

Motivation: Jerry Seinfeld's Productivity Secret

It's similar to 30 days trial....

Here are my plans for the month of August(and beyond):

1. Getup Every day at 8:30 AM ( I get to sleep late between 1 to 2). No Excuses!

2. Plan day and work from the list ( 3 most important tasks). One item at a time and crossing it after it finishes.

3. Affirmations during morning commute to office(It's a 10-15 minutes ride). Here are the affirmations:

a) I can do all things through God who strengthens me! ( Got from Peale positive thinking book)
b) I am responsible!
c) Every day and Every Way I am getting STRONGER and STRONGER!
d) I am the best!
e) I am clear, confident and effective communicator
f) Just do it ! Do it NOW! ( Infact repeat it multiple times each day)


4. Go to GYM in the evening ( And listen to motivational mp3s : I am currently listening to "Accelerated Learning" by Brian Tracy)

5. No sugar! "SUGAR == POISON"

==============

As of today my weight is 176 lb. I have low energy. My day goes unproductive! I have tons of things pending which increases the anxiety!

Let's rock and bring control and passion back into life!
I'll update this thread every day. Wish me luck!

Thanks!

Hacker

[moriez]

Hope you can stick with it and let it shift you in the direction you want.

Good luck!

[hacker]

Thanks Moriez!

Day 1:

1. Wokeup at 7:00 AM automatically. Even though I planned to wake up at 8:30 AM.

2. Planned my day... night before. And kept my focus on the list whole day.

3. Had empowering affirmations on the way to office.

4. Didn't touch sugar whole day.

5. Good 2.5 miles of run in the gym. (3 minues walk + 7 minutes run ) * 3

Overall a great day!

Thanks!
Hacker

[hacker]

DAY 2:

1. Woke up at 9:00 AM. Late by 30 minutes. I slept at 2:30 last night so I think it's still ok.

2. Planned and worked from the list. Ate one big frog(task), which I had been putting off for months.

3. No affirmations.

4. No sugar!

5. No exercise.


I gotta do better tomorrow.

[hacker]

Howdy!

Today was not a good day. I will be back tomorrow! .. and restart my trial...

1. Get up at 8:30 AM ... NO! Wokeup at 9:30AM
2. Plan day and make to do list . NO! Lost focus of the day.
3. Exercise. YES. Took a long walk.
4. No Sugar! Yes!
5. Affirmations! No!

===================
Before I go to bed today... I'll plan:

1. My next week. Set MITs ( Most Important tasks) for the week.

2. Map and plan tomorrow's tasks and appointments.

3. Plan and prepare my diet for tomorrow.

Cheers!
Hacker

[hacker]

5 out of 5:

1. 8:30 AM : YES!
2. Affirmations: YES!
3. Plan day and work from list: YES!
4. No Sugar. YES!
5. Exercise: YES! Good 2.5 miles of run.
============

[hacker]

Day 5:

1. Getup at 8:30 AM..... YES
2. Affirmations..............YES
3. Plan Day...................YES
4. Exercise.....................YES (Yoga and Walk but no GYM)
5. No Sugar...................YES

[hacker]

I lost focus over the weekend. Except for "No Sugar" & "Affirmations" habit. I am not consistent with other three habits ( Getting up at 8:30AM is the most important one).

Today was perfect though. I completed all five goals.
I promise to stick with the habits for the remaining days of the month.

[ar81]

Oh, darn, It is 6 am... What the heck!!

[hacker]

Getting up at 8:30AM is a challenge for me because I can't sleep before 1:00-2:00 AM.

BTW today I woke up at 9:00AM. Missed by 30 minutes. I don't know what overtook my mind at 8:30. Any way I am on track for other goals of today.

[hacker]

Last two days have been great!

All five goals were accomplished ( Expect for 30 minutes delay in getting up yesterday)

[hacker]

This week was pretty good. I was regular with all the habits except : the GYM habit. But I did regular walk and yoga(Sun Salutation).


======
1. Getup at 8:30 AM..... YES
2. Affirmations..............YES
3. Plan Day...................YES
4. Exercise.....................YES (Yoga and Walk but no GYM)
5. No Sugar...................YES
======

Half way through:

Biggest gain in the last 15 days have been:

My urges to eat sugar has almost gone. Now I don't suffer if I don't eat candies in from of me. :-)

Lost around 3 pounds (Now I am 173 lb and was 176 on 31st July)

There is a big scope of improvement in my organizing and time management system. I'll start improving on that next month.

Getting up at 8:30 AM is still a challenge. Gotta keep my focus. Today is Saturday bit I was still able to getup at 8:00 AM.


Cheers!
H

[lasti]

That's a cool trick. Maybe I'll try this out.

[openyourize]

hacker, AWESOME! looks like you have like an 80ish percent success rate or so, this is great! What is even greater is that even when sometimes you fail, you keep going! You don't just give up because you haven't done it perfectly so far. (thats always my problem in these things!) I'm genuinely happy for you, i got really excited reading about all your success days, keep it up! and yes, sugar is the devil! i agree!! only i still stuff like 5 candy bars and 25 cookies down my esophogus each day, such an energy drainer!

[dannielo]

You can keep track of your chains using Gtdagenda.com

You have 3 types of Checklists (daily, weekly and monthly), graphical representation of your progress in time, and they are also available on the mobile.

Hope you like it.

[hacker]

Thanks for suggesting gtdagenda.

I use free Joe's Goals - Free Online Habit Tracker to check my daily progress.

Last Sunday was a total waste. I didn't complete any of my goals except no sugar.

But, last four days have been pretty good. Not 100% though.

Most important I have been able to consistently wakeup at 8:00-8:30 for the last four days.
No gym though. but again I am consistently doing little bit of Yoga and walk.

Only unbroken chain so far this month is the habit of "NO SUGAR".

I'll try to achieve all of my goals tomorrow. And post it daily.

Cheers!
H

[uberinquisitive]

I also admire that you keep on going, even if it ain't perfect.

Even if you fall off the wagon, just get back up again. To me, that shows character much more than perfect habits.

Way to go!

[sunshinebabies]

I read this blog by Robin Sharma this morning. He is my guru! Hope this helps!

Robin Sharma's Blog
Do You Diet?
Posted: 21 Aug 2008 08:58 AM CDT
Provocative blog title? Perhaps. But here's my point: an elite athlete eats to win before the big event. She's thinking the best thoughts and eating the best food. She gets that champions are made in the preparation - not when it's showtime.

Yet most of us wake up in the morning and start our days feeding our minds negative/troubling information. We read about all that's wrong in the world rather than exposing ourselves to all that's good. That's no different - I suggest - than the Olympic athlete drinking beer and eating potato chips before the big race. Impairs your performance? No - destroys it.

And more than any previous time, this world of ours needs you to rise to your potential. Organizations/communities/nations needs those that populate them to show leadership without title. And to shine brightly as never before. We all need you. And the risk of playing big has now become outrageously less than the risk of staying small.

So start your day like someone devoted to winning would. Feed your mind/body/spirit an extraordinarily healthy diet. Surround yourself with only the finest and the best. And then prepare to win. That's my wish for you. On this glorious day.

[hacker]

Thanks for the inspiration, uberinquisitive.
Thanks for the Robin's article , Sunshine. I also visit Robin's blog pretty frequently. It's quite inspiring.


Today again was not perfect. Except for Gym I was on track for all the other habits. I generally get so tired by evening that I just skip the Gym. But this is just a bad habit.I gotta change the strategy and break the pattern. I know exercising will provide more energy but it's not happening.

But still I am happy because of other habits. Today I:

Woke up at 8:30 AM

Did Affirmations... Now it's just automatic . I speak loud my affirmation when I am on the way to office. Today I made a song using my affirmations. :-)

Planned my day and stick to the plan(50-80%) of it.I lost focus towards second half of the day.

No sugar....

Thanks!
H

[uberinquisitive]

Most people suggest going to the gym first thing in the morning. This keeps them from blowing off the workout later in the day.

Perhaps you can wake up an hour earlier?

[mcbrewster]

Great job! Keep up the good work. Look forward to hearing your progress!

[hacker]

Update for the last four days:

Getup at 8:30 AM... Missed on Sunday. But was up at 8:30 on other three days.

Plan Day: All four days. Didn't stick to the plan but still pretty productive and focused days.

Affirmations: Yes all four days.

No sugar. So far perfect chain this month.

GYM. None all four days. Work is so hectic that I just don't feel going to the gym in the evening.

Ideally I would like to exercise in the morning. But I can't sleep early so that I can getup early.
I'll try taking a nap in the evening/afternoon.

5 more days to go....

[Walls]

Hey Hacker, you're an inspiration!
Thank You

[hacker]

Thanks Walls!

Yesterday:

Wakeup at 8:30 AM... YES.. It's becoming difficult to sleep beyond 8:30 now. :-)
Affirmations.... YES
No sugar. YES
Plan Day... YES

GYM. NO.

4 more days to go...

[hacker]

Woo Hoo!!! 30 days over.

Last four days:

Wakeup at 8:30 AM... YES for three days. But today , the last day was a failure woke up at 10:30, as I was not feeling well yesterday.

Affirmations.... YES.
No sugar. YES....
Plan Day... YES for three days. Today was unsuccessful.

GYM. NO....

=========
Summary of this month:

1. Lost 5 pounds. Just because of the habit of not eating sugar. Today I am at 171 lb. Still long way to go , I want my weight to be at 150lb. But again I wasn't focusing too much on losing weight.

2. Very productive month in the office.. Again a lot of scope of improvement but I am very satisfied with the results. Accomplished a lot.

3. I have a very sweet tooth. But now my cravings of sugar are almost gone.

4. I feel that I am in total control of my life! And I am all set to set and achieve goals/habits of September.

===========

New September habits/goals:

1. Getup at 8:00 AM sharp everyday. Jump out of bed! In total control of the day!

Strategy :
a) Visualize and plan your day and jumping up out of bed at 8:00 AM before going to bed.
b) Take nap in the afternoon.
c) Sleep by 1:00 AM



2. 165lb on 30th Sept through the following habits:
a) Gym in the evening every working day ( I have a gym at my work place). Long walks on Saturday and Sunday.
b) No Sugar. Already installed.
c) Eat 6 small meals.


3. Complete C primer plus book. I have been trying/wishing to finish this book "COMPLETELY from start to finish" for the last 2 years and have gone up to 3/4 way through couple of times. I resolve - promise to accomplish this in the month of Sept. It's not too difficult but my laziness and habit of procrastination has made it such a big deal.
One of my goal - passion is to become a master programmer, and this is one of the stepping stone towards that.
Plus mastering C will help greatly at my current job.

Strategy:
a) Spend at least 1 hour everyday on reading and practicing the book. And try to do first thing when I open my computer in the morning.
b) Go through first half of the book quickly, as I have already read that couple of times before.

I'll write these three goals on a 3x5 index card and read it at least three times a day. Also I'll update the forum every day with the progress.

Thanks for reading! Wish me luck!

H

[hacker]

Update for the last three days.

1st Day was utter failure. I woke up at 10:30AM. No Exercise. No C book.

2nd and 3rd day has been pretty good:

Woke up at 8:00 AM on both days.
Went to gym yesterday and had 30 minutes of good run. And leaving for gym after updating the forum.
Completed first two chapters of C book.

Cheers!
H

[hacker]

Things are not going according to plan. Except for getting up at 8:00 AM and having controller diet , I am not consistent with other goals for the month.

No progress on the C side, Did 2 chapter early last week then got stuck.

Not much exercise.

I'll take one day at a time... For tomorrow :

I'll getup at 7:00AM. Make tea . And work on the C book, first thing in the morning. While enjoying a great tea. Then I'll go for
Jogging and exercise. That way I will be able to attack my top goals first thing in the morning. Now the challenge is to get up at 7:00. :-)
I'll take 25 minutes nap in the afternoon to recover.


Thanks!
H

[dannielo]

Altough working on the book is higher priority than exercising, why don't you try to exercise and eat first, and then going to work? I find that taking care of my body first makes me more productive that day. It sets the context for a "winning day".

[hacker]

Plan to get up at 7:00 AM was not such a good idea. I ended getting up at 9:00AM when I planned to get up at 7:00. :-) The problem is I can't sleep before 1:30AM & I need at least 6 hours of sleep. So back to the 8:00 AM plan.

I need to optimize my day some other way , instead of reducing my sleep further.

I have been sick for the last 3-4 days. So I had to drop all of my plans. I need to take one more day of rest , hopefully I'll get back on track from Tuesday.

Half of the month has already gone and there is no progress made on my goals.


1. Weight is still 171. No reduction in weight. Goals for the month was 165.

2. I have completed just two chapters of the C book.

3. Getting up at 8:00 AM went just fine except for the last three days of sickness.


I am not giving up. I'll be back with vengeance from Tuesday.

Thanks!
H

[openyourize]

I have done this before. A 30 day challenge followed by another 30 day challenge of total failure, but i got all down about it. now whenever i do a 30 day challenge, i dont follow it with another. i just bask in the enjoyment of my accomplishment, reflect on what i learned and what habits i want to keep, persue even further, or just totally ditch.