Weekly Review and Planning 17th January 2010

January 18, 2010

The second full work week of 2010 is now behind us. It has been a somewhat interrupted week with regards to what I planned to do and what actually needed to be done. Early in the week I was put under a lot of pressure to produce some work for a website I’m working on, so a lot of my time in the evenings was dedicated toward that. Luckily the creative juices were flowing and I was able to come up with something that both I and the client are happy with. I’m rising early and training hard. I’m conscious of my complaints and negativity, and really appreciating all the little things in life. I’m finding time to enjoy meals with friends, quality time with Emma, and relaxation time by myself. Life is comparative to much of 2009, but my attitude, and my happiness as a direct result, is so much better.

What did I get done?

In last week’s review and planning I set myself a list of things I wanted to get done during the week. On the whole I did reasonably well considering the emergency web development tasks that arose which commanded most of my time and attention. I completed all but three of the set tasks, and the three incomplete items have been researched heavily and only need confirmation in order to be marked as done. The triathlons and marathon are dependent on other people who I want to be involved, so I will endeavour to speak with friends early this week and ‘lock them in.’

  • Apply for a joint credit card  (Lots of research but no application. This is something I will tick off the list first thing today)
  • Have accommodation for the Helly Hansen Adventure Challenge organised
  • Research and book in for a marathon in 2010 (I’ve done lots of research, been in touch with friends who want in, and have pretty much decided on the Athens Marathon; just have to lock it in)
  • Research and book in for 2 triathlons in 2010 (Also done lots of research, but just need to confirm fellow participants and events)
  • Finish the Tigers Club website images and request payment
  • Have a Photoshop mockup of new client’s website finished and delivered
  • Visit a cafe I haven’t been to before – Went and read a book and had a Caramel Macchiato from Coffee #1 on Wellfield Road in Cardiff

On the fitness front, and continuing on with my goal of exercising everyday in 2010, I completed the following sessions:

  • Sunday 10th Jan – 25 minutes of stretching before bed. Climbing up the sledding hill
  • Monday 11th Jan – Hard chest weights session + 5.5km interval running at 11.0km/hr and 16.5km/hr
  • Tuesday 12th Jan – Hard shoulder weights session
  • Wednesday 13th Jan – 12km run on treadmill at 12.5km/h
  • Thursday 14th Jan -
  • Friday 15th Jan – 6.5km run at 13.0km/h (aiming for 10km but stopped by ‘intestinal turbulence’
  • Saturday 16th Jan – Hard back weights session and 2.5km run, and a game of squash
  • Sunday 17th Jan – 30 minutes of stretching in front of the television

Although I didn’t exercise on Thursday, I did an extra session on Saturday afternoon (quite a hard squash game from which I am still aching now). Flexibility is needed with regard to my exercise everyday goal as there will be times throughout the year when I’m sick or unable to train. As long as I complete a make up session I will consider the skipped session done.

I was less active on Twitter this week, which means not only did I not complain as much but I also wasn’t as vocal about all the great things that happen on a daily basis. Here are all of my tweets (negative and positive) for the week:

There were  a few times throughout the week when, whilst driving, I might have called someone (under my breath) a moron or  a <insert expletive> idiot but didn’t tweet about it. This needs to change (I need to be more conscious of the habit) if I’m to worm this behaviour out of my life

What went well?

In last week’s review I said that I wanted to make getting up early a habit; I’m much happier with my effort this week. I was up on Sunday at 10:00, Monday 6:30, Tuesday 6:08, Wednesday 5:47, Thursday 6:00, Friday 8:00 (after going to bed at 2am) and Saturday 10:30. As a result I made it to the gym early on 4 occasions and felt fantastic throughout most days. Being able to wake up early frees up so much time and has a huge impact on my energy and positivity levels.

Late last year I read Cal Newport’s (Study Hacks) blog about Fixed-Schedule Productivity and I decided to implement a similar schedule in order to get on top, and stay on top, of all of my projects and tasks. My success at maintaining such a schedule was a bit hit-and-miss for the most part, as I would skip over daily planning and reviews so often I lost track of what I was doing, and how I was doing. This year I’ve maintained my daily schedule quite effectively, and it is having huge benefits not only on my productivity levels, but also my organisation and stress. Every day when I get up in the morning I know what tasks need to be completed before the gym and work. At the end of the day I know what I’ve done and what still needs to be planned for the rest of the week. Not having todos floating around in my head makes a big difference to how relaxed I am, and how much I enjoy my free time in the evening.

As a byproduct of my daily schedule, my productivity and enjoyment levels in work have gone through the roof. I’m working on a few interesting projects and feel like I’m really contributing, and it feels like my contributions and input are really being valued. My motivation and enjoyment at work this year and towards the end of last year are big pluses, because I really haven’t enjoyed what I’ve been doing for the last year or so.

What didn’t go so well?

One thing I’m quite disappointed with is my inability to get over my abdominal session mental block. For some reason, despite having ab workouts scheduled in, I skip over them. I finish a weights workout and decide that I’ve done enough. I convince myself that I’ll do abs at home later – yeah right! My fitness log highlights that in 2010 I’ve done a total of 17 workouts, but I’ve only completed 1 abdominal session. Some focus is required in order to turn this around.

As mentioned above, I became a bit lackadaisical with my complaint conscious twittering. There are times when, although I’m not out-and-out complaining or exuding negativity, I make minor habitual quips and swear under my breath at the stupidity, or stupid behaviour, of people around me. Mostly this occurs whilst I’m driving. This week I’ve let these little quips through to the keeper, but I’m vowing to be more conscious of the habit by ensuring I note each occurrence through a tweet.

One final thing that I’m finding difficult to manage on a weekly basis is preparing lunches for work. It’s not a huge downfall, as when I don’t get prepare lunch I can pick up a soup or salad for less than £2 at the supermarket. But I’m (pretty) sure that £2 per meal works out to more than prepared lunches does. Plus when I make my own I know exactly what’s going into them and they are generally a lot healthier than the bought meals.

My goals for the upcoming week

This week I’m going to focus on the things I wasn’t happy with last week, as well as finishing off a few items on my todo list that I didn’t manage to complete:

  • Complete three abdominal workouts
  • Tweet at least 20 times (hopefully the majority positive)
  • Ensure I have a prepared lunch every single day
  • Book into the London triathlon (sprint) and one west Wales triathlon (Olympic distance)
  • Book into the Athens Classic marathon
  • Apply for a joint credit card
  • Finish off and invoice Stow Park website
  • Complete remaining work for Tigers Club website (and invoice)

Bring on week 3 of 2010!

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