Today is Day 5 of the 90-Day Challenge. I am a big believer in accountability, so I have decided to post a weekly status update to let everyone know where I stand in the 90-Day Challenge. My public announcements should help put pressure on me to keep my commitments. I also hope to encourage others to take up the challenge if they haven’t already and to stay accountable (feel free to post a comment to post your status update). It’s never too late to start.
I have set 4 goals that I want to accomplish in the next 90 days. Let’s see how I’m doing:
- Publish 2 e-books. In The Art of Habit Change, I said that I would develop a new habit of working on my first e-book from 6:15 AM to 6:45 AM, even on weekends. I have kept that commitment for the first 4 days. So far so good. I will also need to put in bigger blocks of time to work on this goal.
- Have a 34-inch waist. I need to begin exercising, but my lower back has been hurting pretty badly. I can’t use this as an excuse though. I need to strengthen my back, which has been an off-and-on issue for years. I had been eating chocolate-chip muffins from the office cafeteria for breakfast, but I changed to eating a banana, which is a huge improvement. I was already eating salad with a little bit of tuna salad, half of a hard boiled egg, and maybe a little pasta salad for lunch, so my lunch hasn’t been an issue. The 25-cent vending machine at work has been a downright evil temptation, but I have cut way back on that. I’m usually decent about dinner. Easter probably set me back to the drawing board because I had a huge Easter dinner with dessert, but it was delicious and worth it.
- Eliminate 100% of the clutter in my home. I cleared off my dining room table, which had been used as a storage area for lots of clutter, and I set up my laptop there as a work area. I had been keeping my laptop on my coffee table in front of the TV, but I would end up watching TV while I work, which is obviously a big distraction. I also prepared a whole bunch of recyclables to drive over to the recycling center in my condo complex. They have been accumulating in the dining room area for a few months. Cans and bottles were all over the place. I also did all the dishes, which had been accumulating for an embarrassingly long time, and I cleaned and decluttered the kitchen.
- Go on at least 1 date. I haven’t done much in this area yet, except for look at some of the dating websites. Some of the other goals will also contribute to this goal, especially the decluttering goal. I will feel much better about bringing a girl home to a nice, neat home.
So that’s it so far. Overall, I’m happy with the progress. Could I have done more? Absolutely. However, I am intentionally trying not to go all out in the beginning. It’s not a sprint. I’ve tried the all-out method, and I haven’t had much success. I want sustainable action. Also, it will take me a while for my body to adapt to waking up at 6 AM every day, even on weekends. On Saturday night, I started falling asleep at about 9 PM, and I went to bed at about 9:30 PM, which I pretty much never do. I have been burning the candle at both ends, and I have been exhausted. My body was trying to tell me something. I had much more energy on Sunday after getting a good night’s rest, so getting to bed earlier is definitely a habit that I need to condition.
I am looking forward to the coming week with excitement about making continued progress. I will see you tomorrow.
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