Tag Archives: healthy living

Beyond just keeping the streaks alive

One of the most influential books that I’ve read in a while is Atomic Habits by James Clear. I was already on my fitness path when I started listening to it, and ideas in this book cemented the patterns I needed to stick with. I’ve shared some tips before, and I’ll re-share them here after a few thoughts.

Usually I struggle during my busiest times. That’s when there is always an excuse not to work out or spend time writing, etc. However, recently I’ve struggled when I’ve had more time. It’s weird, when I’m busy, I make time… when I have time, I take too much time and wallow a bit. This has been hard with my workouts. I take my time between sets. I don’t push myself as hard as I should. I spend too much time on my phone and have to rush my workout. It seems that I’ve gotten into a rut where the workout doesn’t give me the satisfaction I usually get.

Part of the struggle is that when I push myself, I seem to stay sore for too long and my back tightens up. So, instead of going at 80%, and spending more time stretching, I just go at 60% and waste a lot of time. This isn’t as bad as not working out. And that’s an important point. I’m keeping my streaks going. Besides one ‘one dot day‘, I’ve been able to maintain an amazing record of workouts, I’m on track to meet my archery goal of 100 days of shooting this year. With a few lapses, I’ve almost done meditation every day this year, And I have a perfect record for writing every day. I’m keeping my streaks alive.

The part I’m struggling with now is that while I’m fitter than I was at 34, 20 years ago, I’m feeling like I need to inject something different into my routine. It has been a couple months now of going through the motions and while that’s better than not exercising, it’s also not very rewarding. I think I really need to re-evaluate what my targets are for 2022, knowing that I’m going to stick to my current targets until the calendar year is over. I need to think about what my fitness goals are going to be? I need to increase my meditation and do some in silent sessions rather than just guided ones, because I feel that I’m not getting a lot out of the 10 minutes that I try to meditate each day… and yes, I know meditation is about the process and the trying, but I’ve been doing this for a few years now and my monkey brain still treats each session like a contest to see how many things I can think about while trying not to think about so many things.

I know I’m always hard on myself. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. But right now it’s not enough to just keep the streaks going. I feel I need to do more. I need to inject a little enthusiasm into what I’m trying to achieve, and have some (realistic) targets to aim for. Keeping the streaks alive is extremely important, but the streak itself can’t be the reason I’m doing things. I can be both happy about my consistency, and wanting to focus more on my progress, and I guess that’s exactly where I am right now.

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My tips I shared a while back:

1. A year-long calendar poster. You get to see at-a-glance how you are doing and you can motivate yourself to meet your goals at the end of the week if you are not on target.

2. The best time to start a new streak is RIGHT NOW. I mentioned this in the video, don’t wallow in disappointment. There are only 3 weeks (starred) in the chart below that show weeks that I didn’t get at least 4 workouts in. I didn’t let those weeks define me.

3. Reduce friction. Here are 3 examples:

  • My stickers and sticker chart are right next to my treadmill. I make it easy to track and see this.
  • I have a pair of runners and a shoe horn in my exercise room. I never have to look for my shoes, and I don’t need to tie them, the shoehorn allows me to slide my feet in while still being tight enough to run in. Also, my headphones, and all equipment are where I need them… Always ready, and I never need to search for them.
  • Don’t exercise at your maximum every day. Some days I push really hard, and some days I go at 75%. A day when you are feeling low, give yourself an effort break, but don’t give yourself a break from actually doing exercise. If you end up doing 3 workouts at a lower effort, you’ll have the drive to push when you feel up to it. Make the friction about how hard you work out, rather than if you are going to work out or not.

4. Share your goals with others. You are more likely to hold yourself accountable if you have made your goals public. That’s partly why I did my original post in January, and promised in that post that I would do this update.

5. Be vigilant at your busiest times. It is really easy to say, “September is too crazy”, or “I’ll get started as soon as things calm down.” There will always be an upcoming busy time to deal with. Things won’t calm down (sorry, but you know this is true). If you want this to work, make it work when you are busiest and the rest of the year will be easy.

One dot day

Last Friday was a one sticker day for me. It was my first this year. I have been keeping a sticker chart of daily goals since January 2019. This year I give myself stickers for:

• Meditation (10 min. minimum)

• Exercise (20 min. cardio & a little weights or stretching)

• Writing (this daily blog)

• Archery (with a goal of 100 days this year)

On Friday morning I wrote my post and then got distracted with work emails and didn’t exercise or meditate. I thought I’d come home and make it up. I didn’t. That was the fourth meditation I missed out on in three weeks, whereas I had an over 130 day streak going around this time last year. So I recorded my only one sticker day this year.

Remembering that the best time to start a new streak is right now… I had two four-dot days this weekend, and while I won’t be shooting arrows today, I’ll meditate and exercise right after setting this post to be published this morning. Letting my meditation slide a bit has been a bad habit, and I’ll work on changing that for the rest of the year.

The sticker chart has been life changing for me. It seems simple, but with it I don’t overestimate what I’ve done in a week. It keeps me honest, and it keeps me motivated. No more one dot days for me!

Before the sun rises

Today was the first day in a very long time that my alarm went off before sunrise. Part of this is getting back into a routine before work, part of it is that the days are a little shorter as we head into fall. It took me a while to actually get started this morning. I literally could have woken up 45 minutes later, because none of my usual routine got started until then. It’s amazing how slow I can be, how easily distracted, when I’m off of a routine. Put me on a routine and I get stuff done. Remove the routine and I lose focus.

This makes me think about a typical day at work. How much of it is me focusing on the next issue or concern that arises versus getting what I need done? Some days the answer to that is quite surprising. I had a vice principal tell me years ago, “You know, being a VP is really just a 3-4 hour a day job. The problem is that you usually can’t get most of that done between 8am and 4pm. That was a vice principal in a school that also had a principal. When you are the lone principal in a building this can be even more challenging with more duties and less time.

That’s why I get up so early. I write for this blog (usually by 6:00 even though I publish it a bit later). I meditate for 10 minutes. I do 20 minutes of cardio followed by 10-15 minutes of stretching and/or weights. I get stuff done for me, before the distractions of the day start… and as the days get shorter, before the sun rises.

It’s a wonderful feeling of accomplishment to do these things for myself before my work day begins; before the unexpected distractions of my typical day; before I get home exhausted and full of excuses as to why I should skip one of these activities. After a very routine-less holiday, it’s going to take me a while to get used to this. But eventually I’ll fall back into the routine of waking up in the dark and getting my mental and physical well-being taken care of before the sun comes up.

Summer stuffed

It doesn’t matter how much I try to take care of myself, I over-eat on holidays. Just had a whole pizza for lunch (my wife and daughter shared one), and now, a few hours later, I’ve bbq’d dinner and rather than eating, I just want to nap. But I will eat, and I probably won’t listen to my body and stop when I’m full.

I’ve bbq’d my wife’s awesome honey garlic chicken recipe, and I’ve cooked soaked corn in the husk on my grill. It’s all too good not to eat. To follow this up, my daughter and I are having steak for breakfast tomorrow. It was going to be for dinner, plans changed, and it would be a waste not to eat them.

Yes, I’m on holidays, but I’ve got to get off this gluttonous path that I’m on… after breakfast tomorrow… maybe.

The big thumbs up

Yesterday I went for a very short run, not quite 3km. It was enough. I’m currently in Nelson BC, which had one of the worst air quality indexes in the world due to nearby forest fires. My pace was slow to begin with, and after stopping mid way to do some abdominal work and chin-ups, my heart rate was up pretty high, and the run back was very slow. My breathing felt like I was jogging inside a plastic bag, and I could taste the smoke. I was struggling.

Running back along the water, about 3 minutes from where I started, I approached a park bench with an elderly man sitting on it. He had a huge smile and he was enthusiastically giving me the thumbs up. As I approached I slowed down and took one of my earbuds out. As I did so, the man began to speak, “Run while you can, man, run while you can.”

“I am”, I replied.

And the old man continued, pointing to his knee as he flexed and straightened his leg, “They told me 8 years ago that I had to replace this knee but I’m still kicking. So you run while you can, enjoy it!”

“I will, have a great day!” I said as I passed him, turning to keep eye contact.

“You too! Keep running.” He said returning to the thumbs up.

It was a simple exchange but it completely changed my jog from a laboured effort to an enjoyable experience. An energetic thumbs up and a brief, passing conversation were enough to fully alter my disposition, and my short workout felt much more like an accomplishment rather than an effort.

Routine-less holiday

It’s almost 11pm and I haven’t written my blog post or meditated yet. How strange that before I started my sticker chart tracking my habits two and a half years ago, my pattern was: Get busy and don’t do anything for myself, then go on holidays and work like mad to get fit and meet my other goals.

Now, my pattern is: When busy, start my day with writing, meditation, and exercise, and then on holidays I flounder. I used to struggle to take care of myself when I was in work mode, and thrive on holidays, and now it’s completely reversed. It’s so weird to me to see this switch. My two weeks away with my parents were my worst weeks all year for exercise, and I did my daily meditation several times after midnight.

I need to routine-ize my holidays and be more dedicated and consistent. My strategy will be to put tomorrow’s well-being schedule into my calendar for the next day. Tomorrow morning I will take my car in for servicing. Before leaving home I’ll do my exercises, and while waiting for my car I will write my post and meditate. Then I’ll schedule my next day’s activities so that this too becomes part of the routine. It has become obvious to me that I no longer thrive on holiday time, if I don’t have self-care planned into my day.

Breaking routines

The past few weeks have been challenging for me to maintain my healthy living goals. My exercise has been the bare minimum, I missed a meditation day, and I’ve only shot arrows twice in the last 2 weeks. Daily blogging is the only think I haven’t missed.

I can blame getting busy at the end of the year, but I know I could have done better. What’s worse is that I’m heading into a summer where my routines are going to be completely disrupted. For one thing, I’ll be out of town a lot without my bow, and so I’m going to get very little shooting time. Beyond that, I’ll be without my home gym.

I thrive on routine to keep my healthy living goals, and this summer is going to be a challenge and a test for me. I will need to figure out a routine that works, and stick with it, or I know my healthy living chart will be a disappointment. I have 2 months ahead that I need to show discipline… that I need to plan, such that my fitness is actually a priority and not just an afterthought.

This will especially be a challenge because my motivation has been low, and my workouts have been about maintenance and doing the minimum. I think I’ll have to find a new goal or two to work on. I should state those here because I know making my goals public pushes me, but the goals in my head right now aren’t ones that I think I’m actually ready to make and stick with. If I’m not honest with myself, I’m not ready to declare something I won’t stick to.

So I’m heading forward without a routine and without specific goals. This is not ideal. I’ll hit all 4 targets today, and I’ll do the same tomorrow, but if I don’t set up routines by my first trip at the end of this week, I know I’m going to disappoint myself. That’s not a great feeling, but it’s honest, and so this is a goal I need to set over the next few days. I don’t do well taking care of myself when I get off of my routines, and if I’m not careful, this is going to be a routine-less summer.

Early warning systems

I received word last night that a retired colleague and friend died yesterday. Cancer sucks. I know there will be a time in the future when we will be able to beat cancer consistently. Even before that, I think we will develop very early methods of detecting it. We might prick our fingers once a month and hundreds of health concerns might be detected early on, or maybe we just go to the bathroom and the toilet itself will detect concerns by doing a daily water test of our waste.

Essentially, early detection will help us detect the cancer early and we can knock it out before it kicks the hell out of us. This will likely happen before we actually beat cancer altogether… we just become really good at detecting it early. “Kill a snake when it is small,” my grandfather used to say.

My wife has an Apple Watch. In a decade or so, most of us will have a device like this that will monitor our health and do daily diagnostics for us. It will monitor our heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, sleep patterns, and a whole series of other biometrics that will create a baseline for us, and let us know when things aren’t at homeostasis. We will get medical feedback that will become an early warning system for us when our readings are off.

Imagine getting a little warning from a wearable device that tells us that our heart is doing something that has been detected in thousands of people a month or so before they got a heart attack, and suggesting you go for a checkup… and sharing this data with your doctor. Imagine learning that you have the flu before feeling the symptoms, and this device tells you to stay home and not spread your contagion.

We aren’t there yet, but I look forward to the day when we can count on an early detection device saving our lives, and extending the lives of those we love and care for.

Aches and pains

I do a lot to take care of myself and for the most part, I feel good about my progress. But today I feel old.

I usually take in the attitude that age is just a number. I’m as young as I believe that I am. Today my age wins.

Saturday on my 5km walk with my wife, she decided to jog for some of it. I enjoy jogging at my wife’s pace and thought nothing of it. I will run on my treadmill faster than this, and for longer than the two sections we jogged for. Sunday after my archery I did an 8 minute leg workout that I usually do, and added about 4 reps of an assisted pistol squat, because I’m very slowly trying to get myself to the point that I can do these.

But by Sunday night my knee was hurting. I don’t know why, but think it might be running on uneven terrain rather than on the treadmill, or trying the pistol squat after my 8 minute workout, when my legs are fatigued. Then I got a hip cramp that night.

After this my shoulders and back tightened up and for the first time in several months I felt shoulder pain. I only did one exercise with my arms that was slightly different than my usual routine, and I intentionally did it with light weights since it was new. Besides, it was a bicep exercise, not a shoulder one.

This ache caused me to tense up my upper back and the tension between my shoulder blades was so tight, I had to push my back into doorway jams to work the kinks out several times during the day… basically using the corners of the doorway to massage the knots out of my upper back.

Old. That’s the feeling this morning. I feel like the rust has formed on my joints, and the whole machine is seizing up. This morning I’ll ride my stationary bike for 20 leisurely minutes, do some stretching, and that will be my workout. Tomorrow I have a massage booked and it will be a painful one. A lot of deep tissue work on my upper back, and hamstring work because my tight hamstrings tend to be the root of my leg and hip issues.

Maybe after that I can remember why I work so hard to take care of myself, remember to spend more time stretching, and start to feel young again. Maybe I need reminders like this to refocus me. When I don’t exercise, my back pain becomes chronic. But I have to say that it’s not fun to ache in several places at once, and while exercise usually keeps the rust away, right now this machine feels old and rusty.

This morning my age is getting the best of me… but I’m not done feeling young. I’ll work my way back to healthy, and oil these joints back to fully operational again. The alternative to this is being lazy and letting myself fall back into a life of daily pain, and feeling even older than I do today. No, I’d rather keep active and find my way back to feeling young again.

Goals unmet

This is an observation, not me beating myself up. I’ve been on a good healthy living kick and in the best shape I’ve been in years. However today I looked at my healthy living calendar and I had a target weight written on it… I’m not close to it. I haven’t made any gains that I hoped to.

I’ve already realized that I need to reset goals, but now I think I need to just stop making goals beyond my calendar chart. That chart has been something that keeps me ‘on target’, while other goals leave me disappointed when I don’t meet them. There is a lot going on these days, with the school year ending and a visit home planned, and camping holidays booked… and yet I’m exercising 5-6 timed a week; I’m shooting arrows regularly; I’m enjoying writing every day; and I’ve only missed a couple meditations this year. These are mini celebrations that I don’t need to cloud with unmet goals that push me beyond what I’m prepared to do.

I’m getting stronger, I’m looking and feeling good, I’m meeting my targets I’ve places on myself. I don’t need to push, push, push, and add goals that are too much for me… I just needed to say that ‘out loud’ to convince myself.