This semester I'll be teaching an 8 a.m. class which means that I'll need to be up and out of the house early. That's not really a problem for me as I've found I really like the quiet of the early hours of the day. It's time I have to myself to warm up for the day and get focused.
As I went through my day yesterday, I noticed a few things that really need to be changed:
1) I can usually get what I need to do done without rushing -- unless I sit at the computer. That's when I get distracted by email, blogs, Facebook, etc.
Solution: Finish all my morning rituals before sitting at the computer. If that means no computer time in the morning, then that's the way it'll have to be.
2) I eat breakfast around 6 or 6:15 a.m. By the time 9:30 rolls around, I am hungry. I took an apple with me to work and that helped, but then by the time I got home yesterday at 12:30, I was crazy hungry. The type of hungry where pretty much anything will fly into my mouth.
Solution: I need to keep something to eat at the office to keep me from buying something completely unhealthy and off plan. I also need to have as much of lunch prepared as possible. That way I can come home, put whatever is for lunch in the oven or on the stove, and change etc. The key is to stay busy until lunch is ready. Otherwise, I know that I'll munch on something. Of course not having junk food in the house helps, but even grazing on almonds and raw cashews adds up!
3) I had a plan for the day, but then at some point, I strayed from my schedule -- resulting in some things not getting done.
Solution: Make a plan and stick to it. Streamline the plan to essentials for that day and then have a second list of things that need to get done but not necessarily on that day. Maybe a weekly plan. That way I don't feel too overwhelmed or disappointed when I don't get things done. [This could be applied to food too.]
4) I need more sleep. I didn't sleep well the night before and I think that affected my cough. Plus, it affected my energy level during the day. By 2 p.m. I felt totally wiped out. At that point I had already been up for 9 1/2 hours. I really want to try to sleep for 7 hours ...
Solution: I don't think I'll be able to get 7 hours of sleep a night. When I can't, I need to make time to take a nap in the afternoon to make up that 7 hours. This nap time shouldn't detract from my productivity during the day. After all, if I'm getting up early then I should be getting my work done. That would be true as long as I don't fall into the trap of getting distracted by the computer (see problem #1)!
With each day I hope that I get more comfortable with my routine without any/many setbacks. Right now I'm just focusing on implementing these solutions to make my days go by smoothly.
I did my final but of 'spring-summer' cleaning. My final shoe-giveaway count is 65 pairs. I didn't think I'd be able to get rid of so many, but I'm happy that I have. I'm still a shoe addict, but I'm going to try and be a bit more sensible with my spending. I'm going also try to implement a 1 in 1 out policy. No promises though.
I got rid of more clothes and am hoping that what I have left in my closet will be enough to get me through this semester. I'm going to try to resist shopping for clothes the rest of this month. Even though I've got a few skirts that need tops, I don't need anything urgently. I've got to work with what I've got.
Looking back at everything I've just written I guess it all boils down to staying focused and finishing each task that I set out to do.
That's definitely the attitude that I took into the CrossFit box today. I still wasn't feeling 100% myself. I have to admit that I felt lousy not participating in each one of the exercises that the other girls were doing -- but I had to shake it off.
I did have a good workout.
Incline chest presses - haven't done those in months! I forgot how much harder they were than regular chest presses. The maximum I managed to lift was 30kg.
Then I did a routine that has my shoulders totally sore at the moment -- military presses, push presses, and then, for the first time ever, split jerks. Military presses were so hard - I only managed 20 kg; push presses were better; I went up to 30 kg for my reps. I was a bit nervous trying the split jerks, but found that it was much easier than what I had imagined. It was all about focusing on the task at hand - not worrying about all the things that could go wrong but rather focusing on what I could do. I finished my last set of 3 reps at 35 kg. For my first try at the exercise, I was happy with that.
I also did 5 sets of 5 reps of dead lifts -- I did my last set at 80 kg (176 lbs). I was really happy with that :)
While the others were doing their WOD, I alternated between kettlebell swings and hammer/tire swings. I've always wanted to do them. Totally loved the feeling!
So even though I wasn't feeling 100%, I went to the box and did my workout. At least I know that I gave 100% of whatever I had in all the exercises today.
As I went through my day yesterday, I noticed a few things that really need to be changed:
1) I can usually get what I need to do done without rushing -- unless I sit at the computer. That's when I get distracted by email, blogs, Facebook, etc.
Solution: Finish all my morning rituals before sitting at the computer. If that means no computer time in the morning, then that's the way it'll have to be.
2) I eat breakfast around 6 or 6:15 a.m. By the time 9:30 rolls around, I am hungry. I took an apple with me to work and that helped, but then by the time I got home yesterday at 12:30, I was crazy hungry. The type of hungry where pretty much anything will fly into my mouth.
Solution: I need to keep something to eat at the office to keep me from buying something completely unhealthy and off plan. I also need to have as much of lunch prepared as possible. That way I can come home, put whatever is for lunch in the oven or on the stove, and change etc. The key is to stay busy until lunch is ready. Otherwise, I know that I'll munch on something. Of course not having junk food in the house helps, but even grazing on almonds and raw cashews adds up!
3) I had a plan for the day, but then at some point, I strayed from my schedule -- resulting in some things not getting done.
Solution: Make a plan and stick to it. Streamline the plan to essentials for that day and then have a second list of things that need to get done but not necessarily on that day. Maybe a weekly plan. That way I don't feel too overwhelmed or disappointed when I don't get things done. [This could be applied to food too.]
4) I need more sleep. I didn't sleep well the night before and I think that affected my cough. Plus, it affected my energy level during the day. By 2 p.m. I felt totally wiped out. At that point I had already been up for 9 1/2 hours. I really want to try to sleep for 7 hours ...
Solution: I don't think I'll be able to get 7 hours of sleep a night. When I can't, I need to make time to take a nap in the afternoon to make up that 7 hours. This nap time shouldn't detract from my productivity during the day. After all, if I'm getting up early then I should be getting my work done. That would be true as long as I don't fall into the trap of getting distracted by the computer (see problem #1)!
With each day I hope that I get more comfortable with my routine without any/many setbacks. Right now I'm just focusing on implementing these solutions to make my days go by smoothly.
I did my final but of 'spring-summer' cleaning. My final shoe-giveaway count is 65 pairs. I didn't think I'd be able to get rid of so many, but I'm happy that I have. I'm still a shoe addict, but I'm going to try and be a bit more sensible with my spending. I'm going also try to implement a 1 in 1 out policy. No promises though.
I got rid of more clothes and am hoping that what I have left in my closet will be enough to get me through this semester. I'm going to try to resist shopping for clothes the rest of this month. Even though I've got a few skirts that need tops, I don't need anything urgently. I've got to work with what I've got.
Looking back at everything I've just written I guess it all boils down to staying focused and finishing each task that I set out to do.
That's definitely the attitude that I took into the CrossFit box today. I still wasn't feeling 100% myself. I have to admit that I felt lousy not participating in each one of the exercises that the other girls were doing -- but I had to shake it off.
I did have a good workout.
Incline chest presses - haven't done those in months! I forgot how much harder they were than regular chest presses. The maximum I managed to lift was 30kg.
Then I did a routine that has my shoulders totally sore at the moment -- military presses, push presses, and then, for the first time ever, split jerks. Military presses were so hard - I only managed 20 kg; push presses were better; I went up to 30 kg for my reps. I was a bit nervous trying the split jerks, but found that it was much easier than what I had imagined. It was all about focusing on the task at hand - not worrying about all the things that could go wrong but rather focusing on what I could do. I finished my last set of 3 reps at 35 kg. For my first try at the exercise, I was happy with that.
I also did 5 sets of 5 reps of dead lifts -- I did my last set at 80 kg (176 lbs). I was really happy with that :)
While the others were doing their WOD, I alternated between kettlebell swings and hammer/tire swings. I've always wanted to do them. Totally loved the feeling!
So even though I wasn't feeling 100%, I went to the box and did my workout. At least I know that I gave 100% of whatever I had in all the exercises today.
I love all your solutions - having a plan is so important! I fail at planning, all the time. I set goals, but I don't have a plan to reach my goals, so I'm working on planning better. Good luck with your new routine!
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