Reset on the Road

Monday is my day to reset for the week and get my ducks in a row - make some plans for health and home, and prepare for Grandson fun.

Agenda:

1. Read "The Sweet Spot"

2. My Exercise Script

3. Home projects

4. Bird School plans

1. Read "The Sweet Spot":

I'm reading this book by Christine Carter (2015), about "How to Find Your Groove". The thesis is that when we hit from our sweet spot we have optimum power and the greatest ease. 

Chapter 4 is Cracking the Habit Code, a "habit-crafting intensive." I've decided to work on the basic exercise plan I want to set in motion - some simple stretches and abs, a better than nothing daily routine that might build into something better.

Tip #1 is to sketch a draft of the whole routine I want to build - the steps to autopilot. It needs to be so detailed that I don't need to make any decisions at all, just going through the steps in order, so I don't need any self-control. And I'm supposed to have a built-in inherent reward...

Tip #2 is to identify the mini-habits within the larger routine: Each tiny part has its own trigger and inherent reward.

Tip #3 is to throw ambition out the window. Start really, really small. Maybe I just move my chair and do a rag doll stretch every day. The goal is to create a habit that doesn't depend on will power, so do something so small that the habit begins to initiated - start to form the groove - that's all. 

Tip #4 is look for keystone mini-habits, like the alarm that reminds me to let the ducks out, which triggers moving my chair and cuing up the video.

Tip #5 is play offense - think about the obstacles. The main one for me is that I just skip it: I say, I don't have time for that today, I delete it from my schedule, and don't cue up the video or move the chair. The only way to combat my own lack of discipline is to make it super easy and never delete it from my schedule, even when away from home.

2. My Exercise Script:

Night before: Leave my phone in my office. Since my phone flashing is a big part of my cue, I need to make sure it's in my office in the morning!

6:45 - The trigger is my alarm for the ducks which is on my phone and also on my computer. I then-

• cue up my chair yoga or exercise video (I have longer and shorter options), 
• get up and take my pills, 
• replace my office chair with my exercise chair, 
• THEN go to let the ducks out = 5 minutes.

6:50 - I come back to the office, and see the video cued up and start it rolling. It takes 7 - 15 minutes. An even easier option is to do the rag doll stretch (which I can do with no video) and stop with that.

7:05 - I look for new videos (because I get bored fast and need options)

3. Home projects:

We are trucking right along on our big renovation project. We had a dump run last Thursday, a shed sitting in a box, and a new window on order. My next steps, before we leave again in 10 days: 

• Clear and clean the shed site.
• Sand and seal the back porch.
• Build the shed, and move some things inside.
• Decide on which shelves to buy and order them.
• Choose a handrail for the back and order that.
• Continue to remove thimbleberry and dirt from the hot tub site.

4. Bird School plans:

Now that kindergarten has started, and we are on our fall schedule, I need a plan for filling two long days with our younger grandson. My idea is that it will be a two day pre-school, with coloring pages on a different theme each week, related outdoor projects, field trips, and art. I want to focus on nature awareness, process art and basic art skills (drawing, painting, cutting, glueing, etc.). 

This week the theme is Birds (which will carry on to the next week's one day before we leave).

1. Bird coloring pages and photos of birds - learning the names of birds.
2. Cleaning the bird feeders and refilling them.
3. Bird watching with binoculars and listening for bird songs.
4. Make birds with colorful clay and feathers.
5. Draw birds in the sky.