Day 1411 Record Keeping
Day 1383 Fixed Meditation (10 min, vipassana/gratitude)
Day 1258 Writing (3, 13-min pomodoros)
Day 797 Rowing (10 min/ 1700 m)
Day 538 Mobility/Stretching (10 min, hip stretch & back smash)
Day 188 Social Media (all tweets for week, 53 min)
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Bad sleep. Back from a long much needed break. I attempted to push my writing to finish my proposal before the new year. I failed. I found it incredibly difficult, but, just like my previous year's NaNoWriMo win in 5 days, I found shortening my Pomodoros to 13 minutes much more efficient. It's bizarre, but I would stress out all day about doing 20 or 30 min sessions, and fail to do anything through phenomenal procrastination.

Nevertheless, 13 minutes for some reason was low enough for me to get started and almost addicting. I continued to do more and more as I got into the rhythm of 13 minute sets, often not taking a break, as Pomodoros usually call for.

I wonder if this could be a potential method for easing into particularly difficult skill pushes...

I want to really spend more time focusing on writing, in what productivity blogger and author Cal Newport calls Deep Work. I'm now reading his book – Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World – which I find quite fascinating.

I'll be doing a 2017 year in review shortly, as well as sharing some thoughts in parallel skill pushes.

Day 309 Record Keeping
Day 278 Fixed Meditation
Day 224 Bodyweight Exercise (3 bridges, 3 dragon flags)
Day 151 Writing (edited and published blog)
Day 324 Eating = 62
Day 81 Work = 55
Great sleep, great wakeup.

Happy New Year!
It’s been a fantastic second year for this project. I feel like I’ve really gotten a grasp on what I’ve set out to do, so much more so than the first year. It’s hard to believe that when I started with daily SRHI recordings it was such a struggle to record…just recording.

Now I’ve established 4 superhabits - recording, working out, meditating and writing. I know it’s now possible for me to create something so ingrained that it’s hard for me not to do it.

Yesterday I didn’t have time to write, but at the end of the day, at about 1 am, I found myself writing over 200 words. I just couldn’t NOT do it!

The process of getting here was difficult. I tried and failed at dynamic meditation and attempted a walking habit which petered out. I struggled with dealing with travel. And I’m still working it all, but it’s getting there.

But I’ve also had some great highs:

-I used my writing habit to win National Novel Writing Month in record time. I edited and published it for my mom. And in doing so I’ve gotten rid of a lot of the fear that brought me down about writing.

-I managed to lose 7 notches off my belt through eating.

-I can do bridges. I’m starting on the dragon flag. I’m starting to do the one arm pushup progression. I never thought I’d get that far in less than a year!

-My emotional control is pretty rock solid, despite not integrating it with dynamic meditation. I’m shifting the balance in my mind noticeably. Bad moments and slumps are correctable. There’s a lot of work to do, but it’s worlds better than it was at the beginning of the year.

-Grit - the ability to do all of this is itself improving. Smaller setbacks just don’t bother me as much as they used to. I know I can start again the next day - the guilt and anger at myself doesn’t kick in as much because I know it’s long term success that’s key.

And this isn’t even a full year!

2015 is going to be even better.

Day 1411 & Happy New Year!

Day 309 & Happy New Year!