On using Lights

I have been keeping a Google Sheet (their spreadsheet program) that Sebastian Marshall started to help his followers and himself to develop and track habits. It is called Lights. My second full month of lights has been kept and I have added a few new habits to the list. I have also had a 70% or better keeping of the habit since my start. Most of them were things I wasn't particularly good at keeping.

This is last weeks results. It uses a simple "yes/no/halfway" logic and gives a readout of the percentage of times you kept the habit (in the top left portion. . . this was a crazy and lower counted week for me.

Anyway, this has increased the number of times I brushed my teeth, stretched, and edged up slightly the taking of my medicine.

Here is Sebastian's link to the spreadsheet (http://ultraworking.acemlna.com/lt.php?s=dd9f93652172603345875726307ef417&i=108A126A15A1575) and a guide to Lights (http://ultraworking.acemlna.com/lt.php?s=dd9f93652172603345875726307ef417&i=108A126A15A1576).

Goals and targets

I picked up SUCCESS Magazine with the Jocko Willink cover today. I was excited about it. I know there are some errors, that Jocko has worked on fixing. I am looking forward to reading it. 

The primary thing is to stay disciplined. I am waiting on my dissertation, but during the meantime getting a lot of reading done. Reading is the primary way I stay on top of what is happening and generate ideas. 

I am having a little trouble with my prospectus and its approval. This is a subjective struggle, where I pleased the chairman of my committee while not pleasing my methodologist. I have to please the methodologist to get the chair in line. Approval will follow.

The secondary thing is to branch out into my self-quantification. I am counting ounces of water I drink. I am also counting calories right now. I want to start journaling a minimal amount every morning. 

So, if you are having trouble meeting your goals, set little goals that target all the others.

Pomodoro work

I have done a lot this morning, by working with the Pomodoro Technique. I have read about it, yet I find it motivating to practice. I find myself chomping at the bit to get back to work. I also find that I take more breaks than I normally do, while monitoring excess work.

I am also using RescueTime starting today to keep track of what type of sites I visit. I'll regulate them better after getting a good picture of what I'll use by setting up budgets for each type of productivity or distraction.

Thanks for reading. If you have a productivity tip for me, or an app I have not mentioned thus far, let me know in the comments.

Challenge accepted

I was recently challenged (via /r/KaizenBrotherhood to avoid candy and a vice of mine for three days. There were other challenges, such as tobacco and alcohol. I misinterpreted the challenge to believe all were in order. I was only actually challenged for one of them. Yet, I will avoid the two that I have the most trouble with for three days. Candy and my bad habit.

I am re-reading Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Workweek, and get more out of it every time I read it. I really should set up go to times for chekcing email (reminder to self).

Three days I changed the wordpress template to something. . . not so pink.

Expansive and Contractive feelings

I recently heard of expansive vs. contractive feelings. I heard this on James Altucher's interview of Jewel.

The way I understand it, expansive feelings cause on to think of others. Contractive feelings cause on to close in on oneself.

From the scant sources that weren't from wild New Age-y sites, Love is expansive. Jewel said that excitement, on the other hand, is contractive.

I have not bought into all the premises, but think that this is excellent way of gauging feelings. One may temper feelings with meditation, by letting feelings simply pass without a reaction.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, in mind own experience, is noting a feeling cycle (thought, mood, actions=> which all impact each other in turn). It differs from traditional meditation, which seeks to separate feelings from action, by attempting to keep certain feelings over others.

I think CBT/ DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy) and meditation both build upon each other. Yet meditation is better.

Possible accountability group

I have joined the KaizenBrotherhood subreddit. Mostly, it gives me someone to be accountable to because I said I would do it. Weekly, we do a bit of goal setting and comment it off to others on the subreddit.

We also use Slack to keep some of our conversations together. I am new to it, but it is a good start. I had no one to be accountable to before I found it that was also interested in productivity minded things.

Plans and goals, of course, need to be actionable where the can be met and measurable. This goes along with the SMART goal setting framework that I learned years ago. Obviously, if you cannot meet your goal, you'll get discouraged. If you cannot measure it, then how will you know if you've met it.

Feelings don't help to measure anything. Feelings are BS.

WoW raid yesterday

My brother-in-law led a raid in World of Warcraft yesterday. We did okay, considering the gear level of most of the raid. I think my healing numbers were greatly improved to normal.

I am working on school work when I am not spending time with family, such as the raid yesterday. It was mostly family at around 830 Average ilvl.

I am also trying to keep productive. I fell back on my tracking yesterday due to a terrible headache, which I still have.

I also set up a bundle of subreddits on Reddit. I set it up for all the productivity and philosophy subreddits. I get tired of having to wade through standard subreddits that are always on the front page. This will cut down on time spent on reddit, since I mostly only read.

Health numbers falling

Went to the VA Hospital for a check-up today. My health, even though I have focused on doing the right things, has changed, at least in numbers.

My goals due to this:
1: After today, ditch sugary beverages again. I got into this habit when my sugars were better. I had been out of it, mostly drinking diet soda or water. I need to go back to the diet soda and water routine.
2: 1800 calorie diet starting now. I estimate using MyFitnessPal that I eat about 2000. I need to cut back to 1800. 1400 calories, which was my last recommendation, was too low.
3: Continue to lose weight. I lost ten pounds since my last visit six months ago. I need to keep the trend going. Keep up the same exercises or add more.

I won't go into too many numbers for fear of boring you all, but the care that had been my routine in the past needs to return, while keeping new good habits going.

Habits being added too fast

I discovered that my new productivity habit of tracking various things is moving along too fast. I am tapering back a bit. For example, I was putting too many habits in a day where I would be bringing my daughter out. This made it difficult to keep everything completed.

I am slowly adding things, but was not careful of what I was tracking. I'll keep tracking, but it was necessary to slow down in order to keep a completed list. I need to keep the progress going in order to feel pressure, but as habits pass incomplete I will need to be more careful for what I allocate for each day.

Right now, I am have been keeping about two weeks with a day skipped. I should get closer to a month before I add extra tasks, but change habits from day to day.

I am experimenting with my tasks of adding some of Sebastian Marshall's great tasks. I will look over his site in the next few days to prepare for the next couple of weeks, when I add more items to my tracking list.

Habits are daily items that need to be done, to me. By tasks, I mean things on the tracking list.

By habits, I will change daily. By tasks, I will add monthly things to be tracked.

I currently track health, wealth, relationships, fitness, and productivity, yet some of these items are dual-tracked as habits under the tasks.

Quantification project

I have read that "Real Artists Ship." Probably it came from Seth Godin.

I agree, but do not have an exceptionally interesting life. I teach my daughter, love my wife, and keep a quiet family life. Yet, I agree with Godin.

I am trying to write, due to this.

This week has gone great, with quantification of certain projects going great. I have managed to stretch or exercise every day this week. I have also taken my medicine when necessary and added more brushing and flossing. I have never been great at daily tasks like this, but keeping track has helped.

This week, I have a doctor's appointment and will go to the Gaslight Theater with my family. We are seeing Frankenstein, but most likely a comedic version of it.

I will try to write as soon as I have more to say.

Sleep interrupted

My daughter was up at 3AM. I got a little nap, but she never fell back to sleep. It was a rough night for me, because I was up to 10PM.

I have managed to keep a happy face on even though I am tired. She'll probably be awake until she passes out tonight.

Keeping awake has been hard most of the day, so I just keep doing what I am supposed to be doing. Parenting and school grading. I am up to date on that.

I have a little more than 3 more classes before I am ABD. I am excited to get on with the process by getting my prospectus looked at.

How do you stay motivated when you are just exhausted? I normally exercise and just keep busy. Sometimes, I will even nap.

More readers

Yesterday was a big day for the blog. I simply made the difference by scheduling a post telling people about my blog in the middle of the night.

I had not set up auto-tweets too much in the past due to people hacking my Twitters. I made my password super-secure by using all kinds of symbols. Through that, I'll try it again.

I hope this readership keeps on, but I don't have any followers or replies as of now. Not on this blog anyway.

I am sure that things are looking up.

Tomorrow is test day in class for my students. After that, we'll give a halfway point grade and be on our races for the end.

I am still walking regularly, even though the monsoon season is in Tucson. We had a big rainstorm from it yesterday. It is humid, but nothing compared to Georgia.

Have a good day.

Without a car for a bit

I have been very busy since work Tuesday. My car is having battery or alternator troubles. I worked on it a bit on Wednesday, but don't think I have all the tools. That means I will have to wait until I can pay someone.

I have been walking. In fact, the entire family has, but primarily me. I am getting great exercise and building a habit that isn't dependent on the car.

I am working on quizzes for my class and trying to get back to a sense of normal. I have been busy, and tired. I am a bit out of shape, but a brisk walk doesn't wear me down. Neither does carrying pretty heavy loads during the mile walk back.

I could use the bus, but it would just be for a stop and the crossing (the dangerous part) remains even if I rode the bus. I should be able to get back to regular blogging soon, but for now I am trying to adjust to walking more.

Today (titles are hard)

Today, I have been a bit slow on Twitter.

I brought my daughter to the park for her twice-a-week "park day." She is homeschooled so we try to give her a chance out any time we can.

I am blogging and am not sure of the count this week. We may get another Saturday post.

The media attempts to both give Trump more publicity than ever and the left tries to throw everything at him that they can. He will only find more support unless he makes a major mistake. I can't wait to see him in a debate with Clinton.

I have not done much for school, but got a lot of non-school related reading done. I'll have to fix the school related reading.

Miscellany

I have turned in work for my doctoral residency. It is not for a couple of weeks.

I have got some work done on my notes for the class I'll be teaching.

What else? I have been doing well on Twitter. @jtarb1 is my handle.

It looks like the alt-right is finally making it somewhere. I don't exactly know where I fit in, but I have always been a right-leaning independent. I don't know how I feel about everything, but immigration privileges need to be slowed.

I don't feel that they are rights.

Mindset remains key. That must be done through proper habits, proper training and education, and reading good books. I have been reading a lot on burnout from academic journals later.

I'd like to get this doctorate finished as quickly as possible.

Feeling productive

I have a few projects coming up.

First is my doctoral residency: In the meantime, I am reading heavily into my dissertation topic (Burnout, if you wonder). So, I am reading anything and everything on burnout I can come by. I am paying attention to methodology in this social science topic.

Second, is my preparing for teaching a class (History of American Women). I have to stay on top of this topic in order to fill my classes up. I find it somewhat difficult to bring enough material for a 3.5 hour class. I'll be focusing on that.

Third, my mother is coming into town. That means that I cannot slack on chores, or I'll be considered a slob. My mother isn't the cleanest, but she'll appreciate a clean house.

Fourth, I am homeschooling my daughter and that is something that always weighs heavy on my mind.

Leave behind any tips that would include new projects. I need more to fill my time. Haha.

Falling behind

I am busy preparing for an upcoming doctoral residency. I'll still try to post, but it has been hard to keep up like I had before.

There is a lot of editing to do. It is harder to find time to cook, so I am at the point of quickly grabbing a meal and then back to work. Keeping on track has been difficult.

I am not sure what is different except for mindset. I need to think tougher.

One book that is relevant to that which I have not read in a while is Mike Cernovich's Gorilla Mindset.

I need to read it again. It is not Kindle Unlimited eligible.

What are some strategies you readers use to or books you read to get motivated?

I guess, besides diet, productivity is at an all time high for me.

Busy yesterday, blogging today

I committed to four blog posts a week when I made this blog active again. I have kept to that. I didn't post yesterday which makes me responsible for four solid days of blogging.

I had an interview yesterday. I am hoping to hear back today or tomorrow. That is one reason why I didn't post yesterday. On top of that, I finished the first draft of my Prospectus. It is only about six pages, but I pulled the data from a few places and it made the work arduous.

I cannot wait until I have worked out enough that I am not sore after every time. I took a weight training class in high school and never got sore after a point, but those were controlled conditions and I am getting older. #Yourenot16anymore.

How can I make myself more valuable to you readers? Let me know if you read regularly. More book reviews? Less?
I'd be glad to hear back from you.

End of week recap

So, I am not down to 255 from 269 a month ago. I am keeping a record in my fitbook lite.


Drinking eight glasses of water is easy. Just pick up some cheap flavor enhancers. I like the Kool-aid Brand.
Kool-Aid, Liquid Drink Mix, Grape, 1.62oz Container (Pack of 4)

I have had good improvements on the blog and posted 4x/week.

How are you improving?

I can keep adding on because of my willpower. Fourteen pounds is just a start.

Cheers.

Results arriving from habits

So, I started a program of ditching donuts, and using my Fitlosophy Fitbook Lite 6-Week Weight-Loss Journal on April 4th. Today is the 25th, and I am down 14 lbs.

It has been hard work. I even pushed down to 1400 calories a day. This was part of an effort to combat fatty liver. The GI doctor either hates me or loves me.

I am not sure, but I think I can get much lower. I will keep working towards 1400 calories a day. I have committed to it for three months. It has not been that hard.

I blame willpower. I have read many books on willpower, such as Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength and I think I've finally got to a point where I can beat my gut anytime.

Buy your  Fitlosophy Fitbook Lite 6-Week Weight-Loss Journal at Amazon. You won't regret it.