08 Thursday Aug 2019
Posted in Workout Routine
Today’s workout was a combination of exercise bands and pilates. Pilates is nice because it works the core and keeps my post-back surgery body stable.
Here are the exercises I did:
Exercise Bands:
Pilates:
See you at the finish line!
Dave
29 Monday Jul 2019
Posted in Motivation Monday
Tags
Consistency, Do Nothing Day, Follow your plan, motivation, Recurring Tasks, Take advantage of opportunities
Image by TeroVesalainen from Pixabay
It’s Monday!
One of the best hacks for productivity I have ever discovered was the recurring to-do list. I don’t care what tool you use (I use Google Tasks). Having all the things listed out on my computer every day is awesome!
I wake up, mix up my pre-workout, and get to work. I can be sick, mentally out of it, or just not in a good mood, and my to-do list is there, telling me what I need to do today. It is the daily doing of things that makes such a huge difference. You still have to be motivated to do these things.
From time-to-time, I’ll do an inventory of all the things I’m doing every day and revisit my motivation to do them. Some things become tiresome. This feeling passes once I see how close I am to a milestone or achieving a goal. For example, I tasked myself with reading 48 books this year. I’m at 45! This is just one goal I am talking about and this leads me to my second productivity hack—consistent, small efforts. If you want to read a lot of books, read one chapter a day. If you want to get into good shape, workout every day, even if it’s only a few pushups. It’s the little things we do consistently that contribute most to our accomplishments.
That being said, life will happen. We get sick. Family issues will crop up. We do something that will disrupt our programmed day. You run your schedule, your schedule does not run you. What if a childhood friend comes to town and wants to do something? Blow off your day and hang out with your friend. What if you’re not feeling well? Stay in bed and take care of yourself.
Another productivity hack I have found to be really helpful is the “do nothing day”. My do nothing day is on Sunday. Sunday is the day I do not follow a schedule or set any expectation for myself, other than sleeping in, getting in some good movies, playing some games, and enjoying myself. It is the one day I do what I want. This makes Monday so much easier to execute. I am totally rested and ready to attack the week.
What productivity hacks do you use to accomplish your goals? Reply in the comments below.
To summarize:
Hack 1: Use a recurring task list
Hack 2: Consistent small activities build into big achievements
Hack 3: Your schedule does not rule you
Hack 4: Take a “do nothing day” each week.
Until next time…
Dave
26 Friday Jul 2019
Posted in Workout Routine
Today’s workout was cardio-only, since I treat Friday as my one day off during the week. HIIT cardio is fast and easy and easy to do anywhere. Today, I did some stair-stepping in the house, 1 minute on, 1 minute rest, for 20 minutes.
Happy Friday!!
See you at the finish line.
Dave
20 Saturday Jul 2019
Posted in Workout Routine
Tags
Consistency, Exercise, Learning About Yourself, mini-habits, Saturday, spirituality, Weakening Neural Pathways, Wiring Your Brain
Happy Saturday!!
It is hot today in Michigan. The heat index is above 100 in most parts of southeastern Michigan. Today was an indoor day of reading, coding, writing, exercise, and spiritual study.
I was pondering consistency today. Why can we do certain things consistently and other things inconsistently? I have no problem reading, coding, writing, and my spiritual studies and exercises. I have always had trouble with consistent exercise. Why is it so hard?
I didn’t have any trouble with exercise in the Army. We exercised Monday – Friday without fail. Why do I have trouble now? I don’t have someone else telling me to do it every day. I have to tell myself to do it. That’s the part that is difficult.
Self-management is hard. It is hard because no one cares whether we do something, unless it is something we obligated ourselves to. Did you miss a workout? No problem. Did you miss a workout with your trainer or workout buddy? Big problem.
So how do you solve the problem? You solve it by making the self-management task so easy that your mind doesn’t fight it. You start with a mini-workout to get yourself into automatic mode. Once your mind expects to do something, the workout gets done because you trained your mind to expect the workout to occur. It has automated the workout task in its wiring. Once this rewiring occurs, the mind expects it to happen, and it solves the problem.
What I learned recently is we can undo this wiring. Fail to workout for a few days or weeks, and the wiring, which was strong initially, fades. You lost the habit, the neural pathway supporting this habit deteriorates, and BOOM—no more habit.
So now, I’m going back to the mini habit foundation phase. This requires doing something small every day so that your mind doesn’t resist it. One exercise for a few reps and that’s it.
If you are struggling with your exercise routine or need to establish one, here’s a great book for you to read, which tells the tale of Stephen Guise and how he started a healthy workout routine and diet by doing 1 pushup a day. The title of the book is Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results. Click on the link if you’re interested. I am not an affiliate. I enjoy recommending good books to my readers.
Well, that’s it for today, folks. I hope all of you have a terrific Saturday.
Until next time…
Dave
26 Wednesday Jun 2019
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
Image by Frank Winkler from Pixabay
“The man who moves a mountain begins carrying away small stones.” – Confucius
This is a great quote for anyone that is trying to do big things in their life and tries to do too much or is trying to do too many things at once. My wife and I had a quick chat yesterday, and she is focused on two things and nothing else. The first is a bodybuilding competition she’s headed to in 6 days; the second is a test she has to take for a teaching credential. The rest of her day is eating, maintenance, errands, and sleep. She knows that focus and consistency are important when accomplishing one’s goals. She also knows that you can’t do everything. You have to decide and execute.
Learning how to make a choice and sticking with something has always been a challenge for me. I like variety in my day. I like the spontaneity of the moment. Unfortunately, you can’t get anything meaningful done that way. So I began a search for information on how to get more focused, decisive, and consistent. During my search, I discovered a book called Mini Habits by Steven Guise. He suggests doing something very small each day will build a habit over time. The key is something small, but not too small. For example, Steven’s first Mini habit was doing 1 pushup every day.
I have used mini habits for a good 5 or 6 years now and it works. The trick is not to overwhelm yourself or expect yourself to do more than necessary. You really want to stick with small things until they become habitual. Each of us is unique. The time it takes for you to form a habit may be much shorter than it is for me or someone else. The key is to keep it small, so your mind doesn’t catch on that you are making a change. The mind gets overwhelmed very quickly, when taking on new things. If you try to start too many mini habits at once or your mini habit is too much (like I will write 1000 words today), the mini habit will not take hold.
I have had to learn this lesson more than once. Trust me. The mini habits work because they avoid overwhelming your brain, which will resist change if you hit it with too much. Start small. The key to the mini habit system is consistency. Reading for 10 minutes each day may not seem like a lot, but over a year that is 3650 minutes of reading. It may not seem like a lot, but if you are not reading at all right now, trust me, this is a lot of reading (60 hours).
You can apply mini habits for anything. You can use it for exercise like Steven did, you can use it for reading, writing, learning a language, learning to code, anything. You just have to use a little creativity, carve out a few minutes of your day to do the mini habit, and then track it. I use a repeating to-do list for mine using Google Tasks, but whatever you use, even a wall calendar and a marker will do. Try this out if you are having a hard time starting something you’d like to start working on. Resistance is psychological. It is your brain telling you this is too much. Some folks have very resistant brains, while others do not. It is very individual. Experiment until you find your own sweet spot.
I hope each of you is having a terrific Wednesday!
Until next time…
Dave
27 Monday May 2019
Posted in Workout Routine
Tags
Consistency, Life Happens, No excuses, Sticking with it, taking a break, Time off, Truth, vacation
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
You see the gym picture above? No one is in it, including me. I just wanted to touch base, since it’s obvious I’ve been out of the gym for a bit. I wanted to keep myself accountable by writing in this special section of Daily Ramblings because I like the added pressure of putting myself out there. Between dentist appointments, vacationing with my sister, and now returning for a day and getting ready for my brother to come out and visit for a week, I decided to take some time off. I’ll be starting my workout routine again on the 1st of June.
It’s so easy to beat yourself up when something you’ve committed to doesn’t happen. I figured it was a little rude to go to the gym when I’m at my sisters for a few days, rude to miss time with my brother when he’s here to help out with my Mom’s cataract surgery on the 3rd of June, and all the rest. Is this an excuse? Sure. I’m not going to give myself a break when I fail to meet my expectations. Is it life-ending? No. I’ll be back in the gym on the 1st of June and continue to push forward with my physical goals.
Taking a break is a personal decision, but one that does not need you to guilt trip yourself over. If you need a break—take one. Then pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back in there and pound on yourself again. Weightlifting is a marathon, not a race.
See you at the finish line…
Dave
20 Monday May 2019
Posted in Motivation Monday
Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
“There is no influence like the influence of habit.” Gilbert Parker
Read more at: Brainy Quote
Habit is a terrific thing, as long as the habit is good. Good habits like eating right, exercise, working on your goals, keeping your living space tidy, and all the rest. Habits are hard to break once they have been built, especially bad ones. You are capable of whittling these habits down, however. You stop feeding them little by little and they will fade away.
I have written about this before, but it is worth mentioning again. It is the daily little things that build on one another. My goal this year is to read 48 books. Each year I participate in Goodreads’ reading challenge. I read every day to accomplish this goal. Some days I’ll read for a few hours. Other days I may only get in a chapter or so. I like reading multiple books at a time. I typically read a history book, self-help book, a religious or spiritual book, and a fiction book. I like the variety. On a typical day, I’ll read a chapter out of each book. If one of them catches my interest, I’ll put more time into that one, after I’ve knocked out my chapter requirement. This way, I am chiseling away at all the books I am slated to read for the month (4 books per month x 12 = 48). I read more than just books. I read articles on Flipboard. I read the news briefly. I also read my emails and any messages I receive in my Facebook feed.
One interesting thing I have discovered is that when you do one type of task, it is easier to clump these like-tasks together. For example, I tend to do my journaling and my blogging together because they both involve writing. Then I do all my reading together. Then I do my exercises. Then I do my meditation. Then I do some learning and finally some admin (paying bills, keeping track of my bank accounts, and tying up loose ends with anything else I have that is upcoming. These clusters of habits I call rituals. Each ritual involves certain key items before the ritual is completed. When I journal, I have a dream journal, a gratitude journal, and my diary (morning pages and daily review). My book writing I keep separate. This is in the evening when the house is quiet and I can sit in solitude and just write without interruptions by the family (who don’t mean anything by it). I also seem to be my most creative in the evening, so around 10 pm I do another stint of writing, first doing my daily review, followed by my book writing. The goal I set for myself is 500 words a day. I don’t set a time limit. Some days I knock out 500 words in a short amount of time. On nights where I am struggling with my words, it could take me a lot longer to hit the 500-word goal.
I have found with much trial and error the optimal times for me to do certain things during the day. I like to journal first thing. Then I like to read. Then I like to meditate and take a short nap if needed. Then it’s learning for the remainder of my first work session. Then it’s an evening of some shows and some video games, then at 10 PM I cut off the fun time and get back to writing, my daily review, and all of my relaxation techniques to hit the sack. I have found by putting these “like” habits together that I am more efficient and these rituals are in sync with my daily rhythm.
I took two days off from the gym this weekend. My sister was visiting, and we actually had our first tornado warning yesterday afternoon. It was a false alarm. The storm that hit us rained a lot with a little thunder, but moved through the area quickly. We did not see any report of a touchdown anywhere in our county.
I hope each of you has a great week! Continue to push forward on any goals or initiatives you have. You can’t lose if you don’t quit. You can’t fail if you don’t quit. You can win as long as you keep going.
Until next time…
Dave.
28 Monday Jan 2019
Posted in Motivation Monday
“Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.” – Peter Marshall
Read more at: Brainy Quotes
This quote explains the importance of consistent, small actions. Some people have these great plans set for themselves but rarely attain them because they fail to break these big things down into actionable steps. Let’s tackle a simple task like reading a certain number of books in a year.
Let’s say you want to read 24 books this year. You take the 24 books, divide by 12 and discover you only need to read 2 books a month to achieve your goal. You take a look at your books and discover you have 30 chapters to read (15 chapters in each book) in 30 days. Read 1 chapter a day and you’ll hit the 30 chapters (finishing both books) and you’re well on your way to reading your 24 books, provided you stick with reading 1 chapter a day.
How am I doing on my goals? I’m on track. I finished the rough draft of my book over the weekend. Now it’s time to begin the re-write. I’m looking at what I will do daily to complete my first draft in 6 months and will dig into this new process on Feb 4, 2019. I’ll figure out how much writing I need to do, what tools I need, and then dig in daily.
I’m shooting for 12 online courses by year’s end. I have completed two so far and taking another two currently. I am also goaled to read 48 books this year. I am on track with three books completed and one more to go this month to keep on track.
My exercise goals are always about gaining muscle and losing weight. It is hard to do both but keep this as a goal regardless. Right now, I am in a bulking phase, just to get some more muscle on my frame. Then, once I am at a certain point, I’ll cut for a few months, then back to bulk, and so on. I’m going to continue to bulk until April and then cut for a few months to get ready for the Summer. My exercise plan is literally going to the gym daily or, in case of inclement weather, I exercise at home. That’s it. Daily exercise involving both weights and some cardio.
My spiritual goals are to read my Bible daily, meditate daily, journal daily, and continue with my book discussion once per month. All of these are on track. Simple things each day help me achieve big things by year’s end and build strong ritualized habits.
My social goals are slacking somewhat. I tend to interact a bit on social media, but it’s important to interact with other people face-to-face. The challenge currently is the big snow storms we are being hit with in the Midwest. It is not safe to drive if you do not need to, so for now, social media daily and Skyping with my friends will be the best alternative.
How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions? Are you still pushing forward or are you stalling? If you are stalling, look at what you want to do and minimize what you are doing daily to a point you can achieve little pushes each day. You’ll be amazed by what you can accomplish over time.
Little actions steps daily will build healthy habits, rewire your brain for these activities, and help you establish rituals of habits that you knock out each day. It is so easy if you take a chance and try this. I wish all of you well on this year’s goals.
Until next time…
Dave
14 Monday Jan 2019
Posted in Motivation Monday
Tags
Consistency, Exercise, Learning, motivation, Patience, perseverence, Persistence, Skills, spirituality
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” Walter Elliot
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/walter_elliot_190719?src=t_motivational
Want to learn a secret? Here’s a secret that will change your life.
You will accomplish whatever you set out to do if you do not quit trying to accomplish it.
I don’t care if you are trying to lose weight, stop smoking, read more, write more, learn more. Say you want to learn a new language. Learning a new language is hard. Quitting a bad habit is hard. Learning how to do something you’ve never done before is hard.
Learn incrementally and continuously. Take a little bit of new information, study it, read it, do something with it in little bite-size chunks on a daily basis and before you know it you’ll own that new knowledge. You’ll build the skill. The challenge with this type of learning is consistency. You have to keep doing it over and over and over and never stop. You must really want the new knowledge or skill.
If you keep pushing forward, keep digging in consistently, keep pushing the envelope, you’ll see some dramatic results over time. Stick with it and you’ll achieve your goal over time. It’s really that simple.
Here’s what I’m up to this week:
Well, that’s it for today, folks. I hope all of you are keep pushing forward with your goals.
Have a great week!
Until next time…
Dave
08 Thursday Nov 2018
Posted in Thinking Thursdays
Tags
Books, Consistency, improvement, Learning, Movies, Small wins, Success, Tamara Taylor
“As long as you keep going, you’ll keep getting better. And as you get better, you gain more confidence. That alone is success.” – Tamara Taylor
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/tamara_taylor_884736?src=t_success
All of us start out in different places. This is what makes us human. You may a great artist; I may be a great speaker. The key is to recognize where you are starting from, set your sights on getting beyond your current talents to improve them.
Some advocate that we concentrate on our strengths and forget our weaknesses. I’m old school. Why should I fix what isn’t broken? Why should I neglect the parts of my make up that are not as strong as the others? I know what my weaknesses are, and I want to bring them up a bit, so they are no longer weaknesses.
Deciding is the key. Decide what you want. Decide what you want to work on. Decide on where you want to go and be. Then, formulate a plan, break it down into easy steps, and start working on each step daily. You’ll get where you want to go in no time.
Here’s what I’ve done this week:
Exercise Program:
Jim Stoppani’s Shortcut to Size – (www.bodybuilding.com) – I’ve done this workout before and returning to it because it is just a good all-around weight routine. It’s 8 weeks in length, a 4-day split with 3 rest/cardio days mixed in.
Books:
Armor, Steakley – Recommended by an Army Buddy. A terrific book so far.
The Shariyat Ki Sugmad, Paul Twitchell – This is my bible. I finished it and will re-read again. This book is a permanent fixture on my reading list.
Classes:
De-mystifying Mindfulness Course – Coursera – I’ve completed all the coursework so far and waiting until Nov 4, 2018, for the course to continue. One drawback of Coursera is the scheduling. Udemy allows you to buy the whole course, complete the whole course on your schedule and provide a certificate at the end.
Documentaries:
Movies:
Fun:
Ozark – Netflix – Season 2!
House of Cards – Netflix – Final Season. This was ok, but they ran out of gas. There were a lot of loose ends in the series and well, that’s all I got. I’d stick with the first few seasons and bail after that. Kevin Spacey made the show. After his trouble in the media and the law, the show would not survive.
Interesting Apps:
I hope all of you are having a terrific week! See you tomorrow for Funny Friday!!
Until next time…
Dave
