My 30-Day Challenge

I have 5 goals that are systematically intertwined with each other. I'm taking 30 days to concentrate super-intense laser beams of will onto these 5 things so I can achieve all of them and essentially CHANGE MY DESTINY. Yes. I said it. My destiny.

I don't mean destiny in the fatalistic sense. I'm in control of my destiny. I even get to pick it out myself, and it's up to me to achieve it. Clearly I'm making the rules up as I go. Whatever works. Okay, shake it out. Moving on.

So here are the goals, and then I will tell you what they have to do with each other.
1. Finish revisions of the novel to include the beekeeper plot line.
2. Keep the apartment neat.
3. Stop consuming crap; stop consuming too much of anything.
4. Exercise every day.
5. No TV.

Basically, the last four goals are dependent on each other, plus they are all going to propel me towards completing goal number one, which is finishing the book once and for all so I can get an agent and be on my way to getting published. Here's what neatness, junk food, exercise and TV have to do with the book.

When the apartment is neat, then it's easier to relax, focus and sit down to write without distractions. Instead of looking at neatening like it's a time suck or a chore, I'm reframing it as doing myself a favor. And when I'm tempted to let things slide, I will threaten to ransack the place, which ought to make me think twice about being messy. Plus, it's easy to use a messy place as a distracting procrastinating tool if I let it, which takes more time away from writing.

When it comes to consuming junk, if I'm putting too much stuff or the wrong stuff in my mouth, then the output isn't going to be so great. I'm not going to feel energetic, I'm probably not going to sleep too well, and I'm certainly not going to feel good physically. And isn't that handy -- to indulge, feel lousy, and then use my cruddy physical state as an excuse not to do something, whether that something is to eat well at the next meal, exercise, neaten, write or avoid TV. I would call that LAME.

On the other hand, if I eat healthy food that serves as solid fuel, I'm more likely to feel good, make better decisions and accomplish more, which will perpetuate the happy feelings. Feeling high on life (and oatmeal) will help me avoid getting into that cycle of turning to extra food for comfort while I sit on the coach and enjoy some good old fashioned self loathing.

On exercising every day, that's a multi-headed monster. It's a sleep thing, and it's also an energy thing, plus it affects my mood and my motivation levels. If I'm working out, then I'm sleeping better at night. When I sleep better, I have more energy and I'm in a happier place. When I'm happy, I'm more likely to make decisions that will benefit me rather than punish me.

See consuming junk for an example of a punishing decision that can result in a bad mood, which perpetuates consuming more junk, and thus keeps the bad mood going when I look down and ask what the heck I've done to myself. Take in junk, output is junk. That can lead to more punishing, which leads to Jabba the Hutt-ness, which leads to not finishing the book. It's all one big set of dominoes.

Conversely, when I exercise regularly and eat the right things in the right portions, then I am already on the right track to continue making helpful decisions, like revising the book and keeping the apartment neat. If I have energy and I'm in the right frame of mind, I can accomplish an awful lot.

Why would I stop watching TV? First of all, I have to watch an awful lot of TV for my job. My quota is met by the time I come home at night. I realized lately that the only reason I watch it at home at night is because I like to sit close to Steve while he watches it, and it has nothing to do with what's actually on TV. That said, TV could ruin my life if I let it. Bold statement, I know. But if I'm watching TV in my spare time, then I'm not finishing the book. I have research and writing to do. I can just as easily sit next to Steve and enjoy his companionship while I do my reading and take my notes while he watches. I don't need to be tuned in as well.

TV also definitely affects the amount of food I'm eating and how messy the apartment is. If I don't clean up the kitchen and then have a book to pick up when we're through with dinner, then it's very easy to busy my hands with the activity of continuing to shovel food into my face. And as you know already, that leads to self loathing and the destruction of my destiny.

So that's it! Food, exercise, TV, neatness and the book. Piece of cake.

Comments

[Jess]

I would say that it sounds like you are taking on quite a bit at once, and maybe it would make more sense to set some smaller goals? But you have pointed out that these things are all interconnected, so... well, I have faith that you can do it!

[A]

I'm not getting cable in my new place for all these reasons. It will either work very well, or I will become homicidal.

[Katie Morton]

hi there Jess, you totally get my reasoning. Thanks for having faith. :) I'm realizing that if I don't do them all at once, then I'm not likely to do any of them. In fact, I'm finding it's actually easier to do them all since it keeps me accountable all the way around. If I'm watching TV, it becomes super easy to f*ck up everything else because I can ignore my future when I'm in escape mode. If I'm eating junk, it's super easy to avoid exercise because I don't feel good. And so forth. So I think this is going to be my winning formula. There's way more at stake this way too, which is a big motivator. We shall see how the experiment goes! Fingers crossed.

Amber, I've gone without cable for most of my adult life, and only have it since moving in with Steve. I've gone a few days now sitting with Steve while I read, and while I will glance up at the TV now and again, I don't miss full on having shows that I follow. I think you'll be fine. You can always pop in a DVD if you get a craving for it.