Absolutely loving the 30 day....

[Peaceflmeadow]

Wow, never thought I would say that.....Loving the 30 day challenge. Motivated, excited, energized, having a blast even. They are just downright fun....lol.

I have spent years improving my discipline, not by choice, and not consciously. Food restrictions, health problems, I have changed many a habit the last 3-4 years......but each change occurred over months and months of frustration and battles to stay on track.

One thing I have realized, is that I have the discipline and drive, that isn't a problem, its truly the focus I struggle with. I am like a locomotive with a full head of steam, but about 1000 tracks laid out in front of me and I keep jumping from one to the next.

I have decided to do something about this dilemma, once and for all. I am tired of knowing the best path, but never being able to head down it.

I spent December and early January mapping out some long term goals, and then I started my first 30 day challenge on Jan 13th.

I became 'Unplugged', no TV, no internet, no games, no text, no messaging, no email (unless it was work related). Not even Steve Pavlina for a month . I went super unplugged, which is saying A LOT for me. I spend obscene amounts of time online. The funny thing, most of that online time is fairly 'productive', researching ideas, considering new thoughts, ect. BUT, I think it just feeds my lack of focus. I never head down any one path for long. There is great information out there, but I never stick around too long to fully process and implement.

I planned quite a bit, knowing that if I removed one habit, it was very possible for me to fall back on another (no internet, increase TV use, ect). I made my goals of the 30 day clear, for example, I wasn't trying to lose touch with friends, just had to communicate via phone calls instead of email/text. I have tested some 30 days in the past, but never this prepared or motivated. I think one of the biggest keys, is I followed what felt 'right' for the moment, what energized me. One other item I found key, is that each time I had a thought of adding something else, I analyzed to see if it was right for the goals of the challenge at hand, and if not, I pushed it aside to be worked on another day. That awareness is going to take some practice, but it is getting easier.

Result of my Unplugged Challenge....LOVED IT & Super Success. Yes, it was still a struggle breaking some seriously ingrained habits, yes I got frustrated a couple of times and made some very minor mistakes, but in the end, I truly enjoyed it. I am amazed at what I accomplished and how I felt. My head seriously cleared, and helped me lay out plans going forward to continue towards my long term goals. The mental clarity was probably the best result of those 30 days, and that is saying a lot considering how productive I was with no TV or PC.

So I am using multiple 30 day challenges geared towards gaining focus, and implementing ideas and knowledge I have had that I just haven't fully embraced. I am going ambitious on each one, because frankly, I really like surprising myself as to what I can accomplish. Essentially, if I can become unplugged, I can do anything at this point as I see it

I am recording my challenges here, not so much because I have a goal of starting a blog, but because I would like to get in the habit of writing more and learning about websites (which is an item built into my next challenge). I wrote 20 days out of the 30 during my unplugged time, and then posted them all when I got back online, and I intend to keep that rolling.

My next challenge, that started this morning: waking at 5 am 7 days a week (with no snooze), daily meditation, daily yoga, and a bunch of small daily habits that I am tired of doing 'now and again'. All are geared towards improving my Energy Balance, as I want to keep the focus on a single goal. I have to keep to some of my unplugged habits to make this work, which is a perfect follow up.

If anyone has ever considered doing a 30 day, I HIGHLY recommend it. I also recommend planning thoroughly, learning as you go, and finding what challenge truly motivates you. Did I make mistakes, yes, but I think each challenge will continue to improve as long as I learn from them.

Off I go, the train has found a single track for a change......

Erin
Castle Rock, CO

[electricglitter]

Well done on your successes and may you have many more.

[HlynurT]

Wow! Nice work!
Your post is very inspiring, when I come to think about it I agree with you, you think you are doing productive tasks while surfing the internet and reading forums etc. etc, but it really drains your focus and absorbs huge amounts of time!

[Peaceflmeadow]

Day 4, and so far, while dragging out of bed is still a serious chore, I have managed the 5 am wake up call with no snooze and no falling back asleep. Meditated every day and yoga as well. Kept to my full checklist of tasks, and have recorded my progress daily.

My biggest challenge is going to be this weekend, as I usually sleep in til about 8 am on the weekends easy, so getting up at 5 will be a super battle of the wills. I am going to keep up my alarm clock practice, and I think I will come up with some interesting and motivational subjects/tasks to meditate on so I can look forward to that after waking up, and not focus on the 5 am time.

Last months removal of internet and TV was a great prelude to this months challenge. While I have watched a very small amount of TV, and relaxed my internet usage (hence this post), the number of items I have in my schedule on this 30 day challenge is very time intensive and does not allow a ton of 'slacking' during the work week. Having the habits in place to just not turn to TV or PC very easily, has SERIOUSLY helped me stay on task for this round. It doesn't feel like I am missing anything which helps a huge amount. If I had tried this many items on a challenge first, the instant TV and internet reduction would have sent my head spinning. Glad I reduced my 'time eaters' before trying this level of a challenge for me.

[Eric Roosevelt]

30 day trials are awsome. I'm constantly testing something new. Lately all my trials have been health and exercise related. Good luck with what you're doing. Have patience with the getting up at 5 thing, by the way. Don't lose your vision when it starts getting difficult. Write your goals down on paper and try not to lose your "emotional fitness" along the way. Remind yourself intellectually why you're doing what you're doing. Again, good luck man.

[cacheborn]

great job Peaceflmeadow.
I am yet to try anything for a 30day challenge but reading your post makes me want to try.

[Peaceflmeadow]

Just a quick update on progress.....

8 days in
Wake at 5 am - 100%
Meditation Daily - 100%
Yoga Daily - Missed one day out of 8 so far
Work goals - Doing well (harder to define)
Writing daily - 100%
Other daily habits (evening routine, supplements, ect) - 100%

I had one afternoon where I crashed, no yoga, and slacked a bit on my work goals that day, but otherwise I have completed everything. I even woke up both days this weekend at 5 am, and found out what its like to have 6 extra hours on the weekend with no paticular place to go.

I have acheived my meditation goals outlined, but I need to work on my 'content' during my meditations. I didn't define what I will cover in my meditations, just that I would do it, and a minimum time frame.....and as usual, I have met ONLY the goals set. My actual meditations have been spotty, sometimes unfocused, and partly unproductive.

Part of me wants to say take it in 'steps', since I have never really 'officially' sat down and meditated on any regular basis. So first tackle the habit of doing it, then on the next challenge tackle the content. But part of me is also saying 'I am spending the time, why not make the best of that time right off the bat?'. Another part of me is jumping up and down in the background saying 'you have A LOT going on in this challenge, you have no time set aside to research additional meditation techniques yet, and if you struggle you may get frustrated and slack.....stick with the breathing techniques you do know about, the visualizations you are already doing......stay focused'.

I just haven't figured out which voice is correct thus far.....progressive or patience.......LOL.

[n_vizion]

Wow Erin.
I can really feel your excitement in your post. There is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment to get the juices flowing. From the sound of your determination and will, you'll be building websites in no time.
The fact that you are reflecting on the progress of your goals with such detail is a good sign. It means that you'll course correct whenever the need arises and head straight towards the finish line.