Who wants to join me for a May Challenge?

[Cath]

So far i haven't been doing to well on the 4hours of thesis work and on the waking up at 8pm. My finger just keeps on pushing the snooze button
Dit good on the rest though, and even finished my little jog in 14minutes and 30 seconds instead of the usual 15 minutes

[aabukar]

I didn't watch my show ... instead i took a shower and now i am getting ready to sleep so i decided to stay out of the forum for a while ... to help focus on my activities and work on them ... i will come back after a week i wish by that time i would accomplished something ...

Wish you all the best luck in your May challenges and hope to hear good news from you all when i return

Thanks for your support

[Freelancer]

Originally Posted by aabukar

nice goals freelancer, welcome on board

yesterday i did what i wanted to do that is good at work my performance was good we are back on track and it seems the release is out of door soon hopefully "In Gods well"

today is hard though ... after 2 hours one of my shows that i watch on TV will start ... i like it a lot but i know i should not watch it ... so i am writing my her to commit to myself that i will not watch the TV i have to work on the presentation ... it is about Time management how could i speak about that if i can not manage my time and can not stay focused.

i am supposed to influence students when i talk after two weeks this is my first public speech for over 1000 student ... i need to be up to the challenge and hopefully i will

Awesome good luck at your speech I'm sure it will go great and you'll rock there world !

I guess my public speaking example in our conversation wasn't the best one after all, I figured most people have a bit of fear for public speaking but clearly you don't have that problem.

Just keep up the positive focus and keep working than you'll do great haha.

I didn't watch my show ... instead i took a shower and now i am getting ready to sleep so i decided to stay out of the forum for a while ... to help focus on my activities and work on them ... i will come back after a week i wish by that time i would accomplished something ...

Wish you all the best luck in your May challenges and hope to hear good news from you all when i return

Thanks for your support

Well done with staying away from the show and these boards as well, damn thats something I need to do as well haha. I just enjoy giving any advice I can here so I'll stick with it for now. I'll just try not to be so compulsive about it hehe.

Something that helped me instantly remove myself from the tv was the following;
Your subconscious can not see the difference between a movie/series and reality. If you combine that with the fact that 5/6 of our brain capacity is subconscious its a pretty scary fact. Most of our actions are governed by our subconscious mind so if you keep feeding it this kind of junk food it'll get lazy. So by feeding it all this junkfood it gets both addicted to it, addiction has a couple of nasty qualities you really don't want in your life. In the case of tv its more subtle because your subconscious mind is very good in tricking your conscious one. You'll find yourself making excuses to watch it anyway with no logical basis, you'r best experiences are never infront of the tv (if they are get a life NOW ) so why are you so compulsive about it? Its because your addicted thats why !

Once I realized this I went cold turkey on the junk food unless its a short healthy and inspiring story which is kinda rare these days.

[Mayo]

May:

-put beta of my web service out

[beautyscientist]

I know I have missed the begining of May, but I would like to join the team. My goals are:-

1. Work 8 hours a day at my job - this probably doesn't sound very challenging but I work in research and it is very easy to spend a whole day doing nothing.

2. Get three more articles on my web page and get its page rank on Google up to 2. I don't know how to do this so I will need to get some research done on it.

3. Take £200 at a Spring Fair where I will be selling some of my skin products. This is due on the 19th of May which is also my 47th birthday.

I will report back often.

9.5.07 Only got about 4 hours work done today, but did get an article posted on my website.

[beautyscientist]

Hi Mayo, what web service are you planning to offer?

[Mayo]

Mostly adult dating, it will be extremely cut-throat but i am self confident that i can make it to the big-boy's level...

Contact me privately if you have any idea about JV or similar..

[aabukar]

I left a week ago to concentrate on my May Goals ... so here they are revisited and what i have done so far ... not good but i am trying

1. Working on my first public speech on Sunday 20/5 ( i thought it was on 22/5) at one of the local universities here ( Done ... i just have to practice it for awhile .... find a way to go there (transportation) and send some emails ..

2. Be MCTS for distributed applications ... done nothing yet .. waiting for the speech to be over so i can concentrate on that.

3. finish 50% of my first blog ---> i have done nothing ... i think i will move this to June.

4. Stop watching TV except on Saturday night ... I have done that ..although i feel soo pessed off because i can not watch TV and i do nothing to enterain myself all i do work for 9 hours then return home , sleep for a while and work on the presentation ... i am so tired

5. Deliver the release (work) on 16/5 --> last minute changes as usual are not scheduled and they forced us to delay the release (new requirements from our customers and new change requests ...however, we will deliver it on Saturday hopefully )

6. Excercise --> done 0 i got a bad flu and i am still feeling sick and i will work on that when i will start committing after the presentation

7. dress up better at work... working on it ... i am much better than i used to be.

So what about you guys ... what have accomplished so far ... were there any obstacles in your way ... are you on track and if not why ? lets hear from you all

[Cath]

Originally Posted by aabukar

4. Stop watching TV except on Saturday night ... I have done that ..although i feel soo pessed off because i can not watch TV and i do nothing to enterain myself all i do work for 9 hours then return home , sleep for a while and work on the presentation ... i am so tired

How about reading a good book :P

So far

- wake up at 8 every morning : I have only managed to do this half the time. But I'm thinking positive

- State my intentions daily : doing great
- work on my thesis every day for at least 4 hours : Yeah, i gotta work on this. Some days I do absolutely nothing, on other days I can work more than 4 hours. It really depends on my mood.

- get my school stuff organised : Haven't done a thing. I think it's because I don't feel really need to do it.

- go for a jog 3 times a week : This week I screwed up. I haven't had the motivation to get outside and jog. I have been doing some strength training instead though.

[aabukar]

Originally Posted by Cath

How about reading a good book :P

well ... i have new books that i have not done reading yet ... but if i dont have time to study for my certificate how can i find time to read a book ... i didnt go out with my friends for over two weeks now ..

the good news is that my big presentation is tomorrow and when it finishes i can make up for the rest

well done for your goals it sounds you are doing good

[beautyscientist]

I can't help thinking that this thread petered out a bit as the month went on. What do other people think, is it just me?

[Iff]

Perhaps recording our success daily would be a bit much... however, I am sure, as the month is creeping closer to an end, people start showing up (with excuses ). They'd better, or we'll hunt them down.

I am planning to elaborate on my results late thursday evening.

[angie]

Hi,

Only just read this thread, been away for a while. Thought it was a brilliant idea & would love to join in if you do a June one.

Maybe weekly updates would help it not peter out, but my thinking would be some would not post if they onlt had failure to report. I would like to think I would own up to not making any achievements, but when it comes to it.... you'll find out next month if you do one.

It would be brilliant if you would all post your results, bad or good. You may get some encouragement/ideas for next month.

Let us know if there will be a June challenge.

[aabukar]

Originally Posted by angie

Hi,

Only just read this thread, been away for a while. Thought it was a brilliant idea & would love to join in if you do a June one.

Maybe weekly updates would help it not peter out, but my thinking would be some would not post if they onlt had failure to report. I would like to think I would own up to not making any achievements, but when it comes to it.... you'll find out next month if you do one.

It would be brilliant if you would all post your results, bad or good. You may get some encouragement/ideas for next month.

Let us know if there will be a June challenge.

Yup I agree that posting a weekly report will be very useful and yes there will be a June Challenge

So lets see what you have done I already posted mine
done nothing except TV gaol and get ready and prepared for my big presentation ... other than that i am still behind

What about you guys where are you ?

[Cath]

Well, i screwed up the rest of may. I find it hard to keep my motivation up.

[SamBeaven]

Originally Posted by SamBeaven

I'll bite

• Have all my Uni projects handed in for the semester (pretty much a given since they're all due mid-may)

Done! Yay!

• Have my next novel fully outlined

Not done I got a bit distracted since I actually started writing it once the first ten chapters were outlined. Need to get on to that.

• Have at least three chapters down for said novel

Done!

• Have all the rejiggings I'm planning for my websites done

I've planned them, but not finished them - the last thing I wanted to do is get a new layout for my main blog. Might do that today, while it's still technically may...

• Figure out domain forwarding for said websites

I didn't actually need to - I think there might be some nameserver stuff to do though. Still looking into it.

• Have an action plan for my dissertation (not due for a few months, but I might as well get ready and start it)

Not done. Need to start that.

• Have an autonomous backup system set up for my computer (gonna use scheduled Rsync backups and Carbon Copy Clones onto my MyBook)

Done! Just using Rsync scripts through a Mac program called RsyncX.

• Get up at 7 am every morning (Alas, I'm not quite as ambitious as Iksander )

Not quite done - I managed 7 some mornings, but most of the time I overslept. However, I've been plotting my wakeup times in Open Office, and looking at the chart my average wake up time is going down. So progress on, but no actually done.

So that's... 3 and a half out of 9. Not great, hopefully I'll do better next month!

[Iff]

Originally Posted by Iff

I am happy to participate. Here is my list.

• Get my "stuff" (documents, magazines, papers and other things) organised.
• Put down and organise what is still left for me to do in university this semester.
• Make a "game plan" for next semester (or better yet, the remainder of my Bachelor degree(s)).

I did get a bit more organised, not all the way through though. I also completed "game plans" for this and next semester.

Originally Posted by Iff

• Work three hours (at least) each and every day.
• Finish project (work) currently at hand and start the next.
• Make a business plan for a site I run.
• Create an outline for my personal website.

I did not manage to keep to that exact regularity (get sick the week before last didn't help either). The project I had currently at hand was expanded to continue in the beginning of June so there is still some work remaining to do on that. Unfortunately I did not get to non-work-related business.

Originally Posted by Iff

• Hit the gym three times a week.
• Exercise every morning.
• Go running three times a week.
• Go swimming at least once.

Did not keep to the plan in its entirety; nevertheless I attended to my physical health much more than usual, so it can be named half a success. I did not get to the swimming part, however.

Originally Posted by Iff

• Learn salsa to an intermediate level (at least).
• Throw a party for friends.

Decided to drop salsa due to conflicting training times. I did throw that party, however.

Originally Posted by Iff

• See a doctor about some analyses.
• "Fix" my leg pains (do stretches, see a specialised physician etc).
• Get off caffeine (not coffee, but vitamins and energy drinks with added "spunk").
• Get up at 5 AM every morning (or 10 AM if I had partied the night before).

I will let you all know how it turns out at the end of the month.

Didn't get to the analyses (partly due to the illness, I am not supposed to get these done while heavily medicated). Leg pains pretty much gone though, only arise during heavy training, simple under-training issue. I am off energy drinks, Coca Cola and caffeine pills now. The getting up is still an issue, however.

That's about 45% success rate. I was aiming a little higher, but no worries. Things on that list not completed yet (well, except salsa) I will complete in June in addition to the new goals. I will post a complete list to the new thread on Monday.

I think I need to give weekly progress information from now on to raise my accountability.

[Julia.Ru]

As for me, I didn't intend to post in such threads during the period of a challenge at all as I thought writing here would prevent me from being concentrated on my goals. That's just how I feel.

So, my report.

1)Do exercises for my back every other day (this habit was to be established from April till June).
Done! This is the most important goal for me, I'm glad I managed to stick to it. And I'm glad that now I feel normal about these exercises (first 6 weeks it drove me on the walls!), I'm even close to derivivng pleasure from them. And, of course, my back muscles got much stronger - in the beginnig I could sit without backache for 25 minutes, now I felt well during 1,5 weeks every day sitting for 8 hours! Now I feel more certain that I will continue with the exercises till October (a training plan prescribed by the doctor).

2)Don't eat for 4 hours before going to bed (for losing weight).
I think it's done since I sticked to this habit for 22 days. I started on the 1st, gave up, started again on the 3rd and consciously ended all this rubbish on the 25th. I lost only 1 kg and it wasn't worth 22 days of bad mood. However, I don't regret taking up the challenge as I just wanted to try this method to lose weight.

3)Wake up at 8 every morning.
That's where I failed! I gave up on the fourth day. Well...let it be so.
(At least my consolation would be that I did all the 5 habits in April ). And I don't want to establish this habit any more.

So, all in all, my April and May challenges were worth trying. I wanted them to help me overcome my apathy/detachment I've been in for past 5-6 years. I wanted to feel the reality sharply again as it was when I was 15-18 and when I was all that self-disciplined, setting and achieving goals. Though I'm not going to take up challenges any more (just realized it isn't what I want - working on habits every day during 30 days), I've definitely become less apathetic and more interested in life and I already have some plans in my head!

Also, this May challenge seemed more cheerful and enthusiastic in comparison with the April one as much more people had joined it and discussed it every week. Good lick to all of you in June challenge if you want to do it!!!

[Julia.Ru]

As for me, I didn't intend to post in such threads during the period of a challenge at all as I thought writing here would prevent me from being concentrated on my goals. That's just how I feel.

So, my report.

1)Do exercises for my back every other day (this habit was to be established from April till June).
Done! This is the most important goal for me, I'm glad I managed to stick to it. And I'm glad that now I feel normal about these exercises (first 6 weeks it drove me on the walls!), I'm even close to derivivng pleasure from them. And, of course, my back muscles got much stronger - in the beginnig I could sit without backache for 25 minutes, now I felt well during 1,5 weeks every day sitting for 8 hours! Now I feel more certain that I will continue with the exercises till October (a training plan prescribed by the doctor).

2)Don't eat for 4 hours before going to bed (for losing weight).
I think it's done since I sticked to this habit for 22 days. I started on the 1st, gave up, started again on the 3rd and consciously ended all this rubbish on the 25th. I lost only 1 kg and it wasn't worth 22 days of bad mood. However, I don't regret taking up the challenge as I just wanted to try this method to lose weight.

3)Wake up at 8 every morning.
That's where I failed! I gave up on the fourth day. Well...let it be so.
(At least my consolation would be that I did all the 5 habits in April ). And I don't want to establish this habit any more.

So, all in all, my April and May challenges were worth trying. I wanted them to help me overcome my apathy/detachment I've been in for past 5-6 years. I wanted to feel the reality sharply again as it was when I was 15-18 and when I was all that self-disciplined, setting and achieving goals. Though I'm not going to take up challenges any more (just realized it isn't what I want - working on habits every day during 30 days), I've definitely become less apathetic and more interested in life and I already have some plans in my head!

Also, this May challenge seemed more cheerful and enthusiastic in comparison with the April one as much more people had joined it and discussed it every week. Good luck to all of you in June challenge if you want to do it!!!

[aabukar]

Thanks for all of you participated in May challenge yup some of our goals are not met but we will carry them to June challenge and start working on that there see u guys and thanks for ur posts