Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Rigid, Flexible, and Hybrid Scheduling

Tags

Daily Tasks, Flexible, Hybrid, motivation, Rigid, Schedule, Scheduling, Self-Awareness, To-do Lists

Well, it’s about 1:45 am and I am getting this post done early as I’ve changed my schedule to take advantage of the peace and quiet. One of my fellow bloggers mentioned she could do the same as I do, but has an “early bird” husband, so she has to keep a different schedule. I get that. I’m lucky to be retired as young as I did, and have a little more freedom than most.

What is the topic for today? Schedules. Some folks are very rigid in their schedule, while others are more flexible. I tend to be on the flexible side. I list out my tasks daily (recurring on Google Calendar) and knock them out. Sometimes, I do my writing early in the morning like today. Other times, I don’t begin my work until I get up around 2 or 3 pm (sometimes earlier). It literally depends on how well I sleep or what’s going on. As most of you know I retired early to help out my folks. My Dad suffers from Dementia, and needs someone around him all the time. If my Mom has an errand to run, I need to get up. Sometimes, earlier than I like, but it must be done. So, I get up, get some coffee, and hang out with Dad while he sleeps in his chair (most of the time). When Mom gets back, I take a nap. Subsequently, my flexible schedule of doing things everyday is just that–flexible. I get all of my stuff done, but not at a specific time each day.

I’m not locked into any type of writing schedule, learning schedule, or exercise schedule. I do my daily meditation at a fixed time (5 PM daily), but that is flexible too, particularly if something comes up, like an appointment, going out to dinner, or what have you. I do, however, get all of the things I have slotted for the day completed.

You may not be wired that way. Some of my writing friends, for example, have to write at a given time each day for a set amount of time. It’s their process. I have no problem with the rigid schedule or my flex schedule. The key to this is to identify if you are rigid, flexible, or a hybrid. Hybrids will be flexible sometimes, and rigid at other times. Once you identify which one of these categories you are most aligned with, you can plan out your days, tasks, and schedules as you see fit. For those hybrids out there, you may have periods of a few weeks or months where you have to have a rigid schedule, and then get the nudge to be more flexible. Self awareness is the trick here.

So pay attention to what’s going on internally. What is easiest to achieve? Are you resisting your schedule and missing start and end times, or are you missing some of your tasks because your schedule is too loose? Only you know the answer to those questions. Either way, follow your gut. You’re in charge of your schedule outside of work. What works? When you find that–stick to it. You’ll get more done, and you won’t feel hemmed in by your calendar and to-do list. Who wouldn’t be motivated by a schedule that aligns with the way they are?

Well, folks, have a great Monday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – I’m back…

Tags

Brother, Evaluating, family, Fun, Good times, Laughter, Monday, motivation, Planning, Scheduling, Sister

I’m back, after a great week with my brother and his girlfriend, We all had a great time, and we all got to celebrate my Mother’s 78th birthday. My sister came down, so all of the siblings were here, along with the gal.

How do you get back on track, after a long vacation? For me, it’s my to-do app, set up with recurring tasks. All my daily to-dos are recurring, so my to-do list literally tells me what I need to do. It’s great!

While my brother was here, I was surprised with an early birthday gift (My birthday is in October). The birthday gift was a 2TB storage drive for my Xbox. After installing it, which took about a minute, I now have 1.7TB of storage remaining. What a treat! I’ve also started playing Call of Duty, Mobile. It is Call of Duty’s way of allowing folks to play their game, who cannot afford an XBOX. I have to say it is quite a good game. I play it on my iPad, and use an Apple-specific controller. It’s great fun. I’ve also decided, since I enjoy so many games, that I’ll stick with Call of Duty Mon-Friday, and then play some new games on the weekend.

Today, I’m knocking out the cobwebs and getting back on track. I recently received an inner prompting to take stock of my life, look at what I am doing every day, and make some adjustments. I get this prompting from time-to-time, and it is a great way to evaluate, consolidate, and reorganize. A friend of mine recently retired and asked for some advice. I told her, find a hobby, list out the things she has always wanted to do, but never had time, and put together a list of daily things she could do to start getting all these things moving. She asked, “Why?” I replied, “Because, binge watching Netflix will get old real quick.”

The point I’m making here is that when you have a lot of time, it is easy to waste it. Retirement does not mean you quit life. It means you enjoy it more fully. If you have recently retired, take a look at your life. What works? What doesn’t work? Then, make a list of all the things you want to focus on for the rest of your life. It could be writing a book, going back to school, learning a musical instrument, taking up drawing, creating a reading list, or even join a book club. The possibilities are endless, and you’ll have fun deciding what you want to do with yourself.

For me, my focus is on learning, reading, writing, spirituality, staying in shape, and gaming. Gaming is my hobby, so I don’t do any gaming, until I’ve knocked out my daily tasks. Life is not without some form of self-discipline. My exercise habits waned during the pandemic, so this is something I will be revisiting for sure. The older I get, the more quickly I get out of shape. Whew!

I’m also doing something different this year. My religious path, follows a different calendar than a traditional one. Our New Year starts on the 23rd of October each year. So, November will now be my January. So, plan on my yearly goals, aspirations, and plans in October instead of December. I’ll get this out to all of you, after I’ve done some thinking, planning, and scheduling.

Well, that’s it for now. We had a great time with family over the last week. It was so much fun, having family meals, playing board games, talking about our memories, and just laughing and laughing. Here’s to family.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday

Tags

Action Items, Bucket List, Dreams, Goals, Learning from Others, Organizing, Scheduling, Taking action, Visualization

Photo Credit: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/nelson_mandela_378967?src=t_motivational

Is there a task or goal you have that you are procrastinating on? You know you want to do it but you’re stuck. In the meantime, it keeps eating at you day after day. What do you do?

Like Nelson Mandela explains above, these tasks are not as big as we build up in our minds. The best way to handle a new task or undertaking is to learn how others have done it. Look for a tutorial on YouTube, post a question on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Ask your friends, your family members, your colleagues at work or church. It is highly likely that someone in your circle will know someone that can help or at least point you in the right direction.

I take a lot of online courses. I do this with a specific goal in mind. First, to learn something new. Second, to learn about something I want to know about that will help me achieve what I want. Recently, I took a non-fiction book writing course. It was terrific! It gave me a framework to work with. It provided key steps to take to write the book–the most important part being the creation of an outline. I discovered that once the brainstorming for things I wanted to talk about took shape, the writing of the book is actually pretty easy.

During this time I also had an epiphany. I took a look at my blog. In the last two years, I have easily written a book or two in content. So, I use my blog as the model. I write each section of my book and treat it like a daily blog post. Now, it’s a simple undertaking. Yeah, there are other unknowns out there like: How will I publish the book? Who will I get to edit the book? and other future questions, but the key, for now, is to get the content on paper. That’s what I’m focusing on now–content.

If you have any bucket list items, goals, or aspirations–don’t hesitate to begin searching for someone who has already done it. You’d be surprised. There are a lot of people in the world. There are a lot of people who post their achievements on YouTube and many other places. You’ll find out exactly what you need to find out.

The key to all of this is to act. You can talk about something, you can think about something, you can dream about something. If this is all you do, you’ll never get this thing done and you’ll be talking about it 6 months from now. Get off your butt and do something. You’ll be amazed how much you can get done if you just chop away a little a day.

This week is week 2 of the Kris Gethin 4-week to shred workout routine. I’m up to 40 minutes of cardio two times a day, along with a heavy-duty workout routine. I’m feeling pretty good and it feels even better when I’ve checked that second workout off of my daily to-do list.

I’m also reading some books, writing here and working on my book, and pursuing my spiritual interests. It’s going to be a great week!

Nothing is impossible folks. You just have to take a breath, visualize, come up with a plan, organize the action steps, set a basic timeline, and get to work. It’s that simple. I wish all of you a great week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Workout Log

Tags

Abs, chest, Personal Preference, Scheduling, Self-Knowledge

Hello, Readers!

One of the things I’d like to talk about today is incorporating your workout into your life. My life is pretty easy. I’m retired and my schedule is my own, so I can pretty much head to the gym at my leisure. That being said, I typically go to the gym first thing in the morning because I know myself. If I don’t head to the gym first thing, it is highly likely I won’t go.

When I was working I hit the gym in the morning before work or in the evening after work. There are advantages to both. You’ll have to figure out which one aligns with your schedule the best. I know some folks who used their lunchtime for a gym workout, but I found it to be too tough, particularly when you have to wash up when you’re done. The key is to find a time of the day, free of interruptions that you can live with for the long term. If your workout schedule is not sustainable you’ll end up quitting or putting it off.

Know yourself, know what you’re capable of, and start there. Consistently hitting the gym and knocking out your workout routine will get results.

Today’s Workout (Chest & Abs)

Incline Barbell Bench Press: warmup 115×10; 125×10

Working sets: 135×6; 145×6; 155×6

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 50×6; 55×6; 60×6

Flat Barbell Bench Press: 155×6; 165×6; 170

Face Pull: 52.5×10; 57.5×10; 62.5×10

Ab Circuit

Crunch Machine:120×10; 130×10; 140×10

Lying Leg Raise: x14; x14; x14

Decline Crunch: Elevation 4; x14; x14; x14

 

As you can see above, I’m still moving up in weight and will continue until I plateau. What I mean by plateau is when I cannot get up 6 reps. When I hit that weight, I’ll stick there until I can do all of my working sets at 6 reps with good form. Obviously, this is a judgment call. Be honest with yourself. If you progress too quickly, you’ll probably start cheating on form or range of motion. If you cheat by not progressing, you won’t get the results you are seeking. Increasing weight means you are gaining muscle even if you cannot see it in the mirror. Subsequently, the goal of your weight lifting routine is to continue to increase the weight!!

See you tomorrow!

Dave