Blended Living

Sometimes we just get busy going through the motions and suddenly find ourselves transported ahead in time quickly.  Maybe its the 90 degree weather that’s hit NYC, or those crazy planes buzzing downtown, or that swine flu that wakes me up today.  I noted this weekend that the official start of Summer and beach going is only 5 weeks away.  That’s 35 days, and if anything I sure don’t feel like I’m beach fit quite yet- but I do enjoy a challenge.

Its time to lose that winter flab!  Jotting down my workout regimen now.  See you at the beach in a few.  If I devise some great workout in the process, I’ll share it here later on.

Uncategorized, health beach, fit, workout

Its a simple concept, list out your goals, give yourself a checkmark every time you achieve it.

This site might seem too simple at first, and may strike you as lacking some whiz bang feature, but in the end its simplicity is a bonus.  You get to spend more time on your new habits, than recording them.

There’s a simple logging feature to distinguish between, for instance, the type of exercise you did (weights, running, yoga, etc.) Or other notes you may want to track.  Maybe, if you are running, you could log your times and PBs (personal bests).

Also you can track negative habits you want to get rid of.  Smoking, over eating, etc.

Lastly there is a badge that you can activate and then paste into your blog, website, myspace, etc.

Joe’s Goals

Blended Living, Uncategorized, Useful sites, free sites, health goals, habits, logging, publish, success, tracking

• sleep – these darks days have contributed to me going off schedule
• its late, but a quick nap has me wide awake…again
• that computer book on powerpoint will likely do the insomniac trick
• middle east is at it again- that’s depressing if you let it get to you
• so much for trying to get in a library fine-less year
• made it 5 days, maybe next year
• all things seem to come in waves, and reserved books at NYPL is no exception
• trying to read more and faster, but can’t seem to cover all my interests
• should minimally scan all the books first, so I can better prioritize
• first attempts at a better reading/diversion/exercise rotation has been good
• this was first thought off during my trading as a living period
• chunking by setting routine breaks actually allows me to digest more information or get more done
• which may seem counterintuitive at first
• but yet it works
• and burns some extra calories during the day as a bonus
• combined with a steady water drinking habit
• it becomes a nice detox benefit too
• I like the buddhist concept of good and bad seeds in all of us
• just that we need to acknowledge the bad seeds
• and nurture the good ones more
• otherwise we find ourselves doing bad things for no good reasons
• like watching TV for hours and hours to dull our senses
• or eating all the Ice Cream
• or shopping for yet another thing we don’t have money or space for
• or worse…
• its OK and actually very healing to notice these trends in us, and actually smile when we catch ourselves and postpone that bad automatic desire or craving
• and take a deep breath in and let it out with a smile
• which is an addictive habit but in a good way
• as I notice I’m smiling more because random strangers are smiling back at me
• I came across a nice quote today
• Random Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty
• I helped someone carry groceries for a ways
• she was receptive to the help
• which is more rare than you’d think sometimes
• as the world conspires to cause people to be so suspicious sometimes
• but she thanked me with a smile
• you know recessions can be bad things, but they can be good things if you make it so
• like it causes you to focus on some more important things

Blended Living, Rants, SoC, health, personal chunking, goals, resolutions, SoC

Despite reaching a mature age and above average knowledge – in the form of books, people and in the ways of how the world works, I sometimes feel like a pup.  It might be the weather, or the lack of sunlight.  It shouldn’t be the lack of social contact, as the holidays provided me a full serving of that.  It could be the weight of many responsibilities heaped together into a dish I can’t quite chew all at once.

Still I feel like I’ve had a relatively good time lately.  Saw a couple movies, went out for meals with friends, had many long walks in parks and new neighborhoods.  Been keeping up with my running regimen – and that hasn’t been a small feat given the windy coldness.  Been blogging enough, keeping up with my coding ideas and learning.  What I haven’t been doing enough of is drawing, morning pages, taking photos, and the weekly remoteness appointments (times where you spend an hour or two alone at something you normally would not do- go to a museum, wander into new stores/ nabes, browse sections of bookstores/libraries you normally wouldn’t.  I like to think of that line from Monty Python’s Flying Circus when I embark on this journey, “And now for something completely different…” ).

Ritually, Sunday nights have always been my “Gap analysis”.  That moment when you focus on what you want and what you have and see how wide that gap is.  This is a term I borrowed from the MBA types, it was hot about a decade ago.  I like it because it describes what I naturally did most of my life.  You see what that gap is and you build a bridge, or think about the ingredients to build that bridge to connect the present with the intended future.  Lately I feel like that beagle pup looks- which could be a good thing- there is a metamorphosis going on, whilst being scary in its uncertainty.

In the last few years, when I developed the habit of an emotional laundry basket, that got me through some rough times.  I try to identify those sticky, stinky smelling, emotional to-do’s and I put them into the hamper.  Then when I have the time and energy I take out some laundry and wash and spin and dry so to speak.  I like it, since it allows me to put it ‘there’ and not worry about it for a while, and then I know to come back to it later.  Its somewhat like the basic tenet of GTD (Getting Things Done),  make reliable lists so that you can free your mind for more creative thought.

Sometimes, I guess the really dirty emotional laundry sinks down to the bottom of the hamper and you just have to make the time to flip it upside-down and take them all out and do some extra work/cleaning. Deep breath in, and set an alarm – emotional time doesn’t work the same.  Wouldn’t want to get stuck in an emotional wash cycle.   During might not be so special but afterwards is nice.  Its like that feeling when you get all the fresh smelling clothes folded and put away.  Then you have that cup of tea.  Exhale.

Blended Living, health, personal, run breath, emotional laundry, Gap analysis, GTD

Digesting all that Holiday food, my thoughts turn to some exercise and I did some research into some ways to keep that ol’ heart of ours healthy.  It seems a lot of what affects the heart are choices about what we do and what we eat.  Others are about how we react to things, the stresses in our lives.

The easiest among what I’ve read just now are drinking more water, getting 30 minutes of exercise daily (like walks, stairs, or running if you prefer), and watching what you eat (eat breakfast, more fruits and veggies, and take a low dose aspirin)

The Men’s health article lists 100 ways, and you can pick among them to get healthier.  Check with your Doctor first.  Which of these can you blend into your daily living?

American Heart Association

Men’s Health Article

Blended Living, health exercise, health, heart