The Science of Self-Help

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Day 1018 & Great Progress Over Multiple Skills

Day 1018 Record Keeping
Day 990 Fixed Meditation (20 min - incredibly good)
Day 864 Writing (3/20 min - incredibly good rewrite and research)
Day 404 Rowing (8x10 kbell swings, finally nailed my form)
Day 145 Mobility/Stretching (back stretches)
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Eating
Day 242 Pantry Check 
Day 240 Food Recording

Early to Rise
Day 173 Water (Totally forgot!)
Day 173 Sleep Recording  (1|2:50|10:45|11:30)
Day 144 Bedtime Curfew 81 SUPERHABIT

Ok sleep, good wakeup.

Great Progress Over Multiple Skills
My meditation was incredible today. It was smooth, deep, and I’m getting what pragmatic meditation practitioners are talking about with respect to noting the self. 

I finally nailed my kettlebell form - or at least the back issue that I’ve been dealing with. I tend to use my back to pull more than my hips. When I properly hip load it’s a totally different workout. While standing I naturally over extend my lower back, and this problem is exacerbated by swings. As I hip loaded I also concentrated on tilting my hips to neutral by engaging my abs, which prevented over extension. This is really the first time that I’ve ever felt kbell swings as an ab exercise, which I’ve always been puzzled by. Now I know why - Thanks Dr. Kelly Starett! I don’t think I’d even know where to begin to try to fix it if it wasn’t for this guy’s material. I’d be endlessly cycling with swings and back pain.

And writing also went really well, in large part because of James Patterson’s special Master Class. I was able to see the rewrite process as a series of edits, rather mandating perfection from one rewrite. It’s seriously unclenched my writing constipation. I’m recording all of this, not only to send as an example to a fellow writer and friend that I’ve been discussing this technique with, but in order to hone the process.

My bedtime curfew isn’t perfect at all, but I’m ready to call the TinyHabit a superhabit now. It’s a weird one, so I’ll have to see how best to advance it now that I’m used to forcing myself to a bed time.

Over the weekend I’ll have to really ponder what to do next - start a new habit (flossing? making the bed? finance tracking? A general reading habit? Social media marketing?) or advancing skills (waking up and going to bed earlier? Adding another dinner meal to my Sunday Meal Prep? A 14 day mobilization overhaul?).

In any case I’m pretty satisfied with today’s progress.