progress report may 2010
Chop chop, busy busy, work work, bang bang. I have a feeling that I may have used that in a previous report sometime but May has been another busy month. More yoga classes and wheels and more website work, not to mention trying to study. I had a day off in April but not so in May. It was quite hard to have any downtime at all due to the pressure or the need to get stuff done. So I found myself getting into a cycle that most people do when faced with a similar situation. First of all facing the mountain of tasks and then wondering where the hell to start. Once I had started on something it was hard to focus because that huge mountain still looked big and I wondered more about how it would ever get done rather than focusing on the task at hand. And my moods shifted continually from sharp focus to no focus. What I would have preferred was a continuous and steady focus even if it was not so sharp. But it wasn’t like that, it went from one extreme to another. And because there was no scheduled downtime I found myself taking it nevertheless as an act of rebellion. I would start watching episodes of the Wire or Lost or spend time playing Evony. I would enjoy this for a while until the mountain presented itself again. It hadn’t gone away. And so it went on.
But toward the end of May things started to wind down and I found breathing space once again. I got final confirmation of the date of my house move and the number of wheel clients also dropped. Which left me with a chance to take stock and get on with my web design work. But I also realised that there is only a month till my house move and also till the end of my course. So my plan of action or main focus was quite clear: spend time on study and get ready for the move. But then the sun came out, which is such a rare occurrence in the UK that we need to down tools and worship. I’m generally feeling very good about my life and feel ready to step forward into the next chapter. It really is a good feeling and one that is quite deeply rooted. A sense of quiet (or not so quiet) confidence that things are going to be OK. So what about specifics?
120 miles
I’ve been riding well above my quota and I think that throughout May it was a consistent 150 mile week. At some points I did feel very tired indeed. But generally I’m feeling fit and healthy. Still no bike rides and now a slight worry about what will happen when I move. I will need to think ahead and establish some routines.
Meditation
Still my ten minutes after my morning pages and no thought of adding or subtracting to this in any way. Still quite happy with this for now. Perhaps once I’ve moved and have a dedicated yoga room I’ll get more into meditation too.
Yoga
I’m teaching more classes but as I’ve said before that doesn’t really count. So have I been practising this month? The answer is no. Maybe one or two sessions but that was it. And what about the idea of going early to classes to practice? Well the idea was a good one but the motivation has gone especially now that my classes have increased in number once more.
Friends
I have been socially quite active. Well, more so than I’ve been in previous months, but it’s been a funny one. Because they’re not old friends. You could call them new friends I guess. I’ve been hanging out with my clients. We get on just fine but because they’re clients I sort of need to keep my guard up and stop myself from letting it all hang out. But nonetheless it’s been good fun. Sort of work and play combined. And not a word from my old friends. Strange. I guess we all need to move on. I guess my old or longer standing friends were new friends at one time. I need to give these new friends a chance and see where it leads. A different model of friendship to my preconceived notion but friendship nonetheless.
De-clutter
Now that my house move is imminent I need to think about this as I don’t want old junk to follow me from home to home. I got red of an old printer which didn’t actually work too well and a set of pedals. But I have a sense that I won’t get rid of a lot more. But I need to be careful as my new home has more space.
Goalless
What can I say but as I explained in my opening paragraphs of this report that I’ve been stealing time from myself and taking downtime as I need it. I did have one walk along the canal and fish & chips from an old traditional fish & chip shop on Boston Road in Hanwell. I’ve been watching movies and playing evony but constantly with the feeling that I need to get on with stuff. That’s not really downtime. For the next month I think it’ll be much the same and I will plan some designated downtime after my move. Hanging with my daughter is sort of goalless but my wife is often around which isn’t relaxing and now that my daughter is two and a half she’s starting to run around so you need to keep an eye out.
Programming
I’m now halfway through the second part of my java programming course and I’m really enjoying it. It does take a bit more study as you need to know all the stuff from Part 1. But the main thing is that I haven’t got bored yet. In fact I’m wondering how to keep it up whe the course is over because I really do want to take this further and get good at it. I know it’s expensive but it does get me to do it and who knows, maybe I will work in the field at some point.
Health plan
There was a health plan wasn’t there. Yes there was. And it’s still there in the back of my mind. But my diet has turned into a junk food fest. Toast in the morning and sandwiches at night hardly a vegetable in sight. Oh dear, that isn’t good is it. Not at all. No. But rest assured it’s not forgotten and will be implemented in Part 2 of 2010.
What went well
My psychological health plan and attempt at a more free from blogging. But alas it felt like a chore. Still the feeling of what the hell to write about and the fun feeling wasn’t there. I’ll try again.