Tag: Fitnesschallenges

Expanded Challenge: Now 150 goals to be completed in 2002 days

19
Jul
2020

100+ Goals to accomplish in 2002 Days

Start Date: July 19, 2020

End Date: January 10, 2026

Well I realized that since we’re over half way through July—that means there are less than six months left in 2020. I’ve come to the conclusion that trying to complete the 101 goals in 1001 days wasn’t going to work. For me it is due to the fact that I will only open the word document every so often—which makes it difficult to figure out which goal(s) I’m doing well on and which ones I’m not doing so well on meeting. Therefore, I am thinking of stretching out the time frame for this project and increasing the total number of goals to 150-200. There are numerous goals that are on hold (traveling), and will be at the bottom of the list. There are two reasons why the traveling goals are going to be at the bottom of the list: 1) we’re still in the middle of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. Cases aren’t going down really in the US (though there are some states, where they are decreasing—OK isn’t one of them) and 2) several countries (namely the EU) have banned travelers from the US—in other words if you try to fly into any EU country, you may be put right back on a plane for the US, since they’re flattening their curves—they don’t want potential virus carriers showing up and spiking cases.

So the world has been in the grasp of the SARS-CoV2 virus for seven months (probably a little longer than that for the countries that are neighboring China), and we’re still learning about the virus each day. While there are several vaccines that are being pushed into various clinical trial phases—a real contender may still not be ready for another 6 to 18 months. Vaccine development is a slow and tedious process that the world is currently rushing because everyone wants to get back to ‘normal’. Hate to break it to everyone but the ‘old normal’ needs to be left in the past and we all need to work together to develop a ‘new normal’.

Truthfully, even if there is a vaccine out by the end of the year—I will probably still continue to shelter in place and wait at least an additional 8 to 12 months before I’m willing to get the vaccine (just to see how efficient the vaccine(s) are). Though based on the current news, we could end up with needing seasonal shots, as it has been shown that with people who “recover” from SARS-CoV2 the antibodies against the virus slowly disappear over time.

So I’ve been self-reflecting over the past six months (though maybe not that much during April—I was too pissed at the world for how bad the pandemic was getting, and now that we’re into July, I can say I’m still pissed but trying to get back into a routine of doing other things that I can control the outcomes of)) and have decided a few things:

            Try to organize the challenge list into categories

            If needing to restart (and I am)—any day of the week can become day 1 again

            Balance is needed

            I want to balance using my strengths (learner, intellection, input, achiever, deliberative/ideation/arranger) with working on my weaknesses (communication, self-regulation, bravery, zest, love)

            The only person I should be competing with is who I was yesterday

            Always strive for progress over perfection

So below are my goals—but broken up into different categories (such as professional development/career, personal development, both personal/professional development, travel, health & fitness to name a few categories). I’m going to extend the time frame to 2002 days (which is not quite 5 ½ years—but considering 2020 has started the decade off with a global pandemic—this a good time frame).

I’ve also decided that since I’m basically restarting the challenge (instead of just extending it), that some of the things I’ve accomplished so far this year probably shouldn’t count towards it (such as reading 12 personal/professional development books, and the fact that I would be on day 42 of Morning Meltdown 100, tomorrow—the last 59 days of the workout would count towards my 2000 days of Beachbody workouts-just not the first 41 days).

More goals may be added over the years as I re-evaluate this list and see what may need to be removed, what has been finished, and where I think I could possibly push myself more.

Professional development and career:

            1. Transition into an industry position (probably remote/online or freelancing at this point to start); there will be several posts on this goal

            2. Learn a programming language (python or R—ties in with #6)

            3. Finish various e-courses that I’ve bought, but in particular:

                        4. Dream Job Hack

                        5. Medical Writers Organization

                        6. Data Scientist Syndicate

                        7. Project Management Consortium

                        8. Management Consulting Firm

                        9. All other courses—see additional lists in the journal.

            10. More interacting on Linkedin

                        11. Sharing articles from various biotech pages, and other science pages

                        12. Commenting on posts

                        13. Giving/Asking for recommendations

                        14. Start writing my own posts

            15. Creating monthly/weekly/daily calendars for above goals

            16. Renew professional memberships

Both Personal and Professional Development

            17. Become fluent in Spanish

            18. Become fluent in German

            19. Become proficient in French, Norwegian, or Swedish

20. Read at least 300 personal/professional development books

            21. Finish the books on scientific writing

            22. Start building up a portfolio of work (writing/data analysis/plus other ideas)

            23. Develop a daily writing habit (tied with several goals below)

            24. Write a letter to my future self

Personal development and hobbies

            25. Paint and frame at least one original painting

            26. More photography

                        27. 365-Day Challenge (aim for 365 different pictures)

                        28. Update photography pages on blog

            29. Make my own jewelry

            30. Learn to cross-stitch

            31. Get a new sewing machine

                        32. Make a new quilt (or this may wait until I move)

                        33. Make a set of drapes for the bedroom (for backdrop for any zoom calls)

            34. Start a new afghan (write a post on finishing the other)

            35. Show case crafts on blog (possibly a weekly update?)

            36. Start writing a book

            37. Learn Photoshop

            38. Write in journal daily (answer questions/prompts from journaling books and free thought)

            39. Create my own coffee-table photography book

            40. Learn basic sign language

            41. Start a virtual book club

Finances

            42. Create monthly budgets

            43. Credit card debts down and hopefully paid off monthly

            44. Declutter the house (way of earning extra cash)

            45. Savings account up another 20K (hopefully)

            46. Talk with financial person about short-term investment possibilities

            47. Continue doing the small surveys as a way of earning a little extra cash

            48. Finish the various financial e-courses, and decide when/how to start investing

Fitness & Health

            49. Get into the best shape of my life

            50. Multivitamin and supplements daily

            51. Manage at least 2000 days of Beachbody workouts

                        Finish the following programs (some will probably be more than 1 or 2 times)

                                    52. Morning Meltdown 100 (will probably do this 2-3 times, as I’m currently doing this program right now—07/19/2020)

                                    53. Yoga Booty Ballet—Abs & Butt

                                    54. 10 Rounds

                                    55. Barre Blend

                                    56. Insanity Max 30

                                    57. LIIFT4–all three phases (have already done this program once)

                                    58. 22 Minute Hard Corps

                                    59. T20

                                    60. Insanity

                                    61. Insanity: Asylum 1

                                    62. Insanity: Asylum 2

                                    63. 4 weeks of Prep

                                    64. 6 weeks of the work

                                    65. T25 (have already done this program once)

                                    66. Brazil Butt Lift

                                    67. 21-Day Fix (Already done this program once)

                                    68. 21-Day Fix Extreme (Already done this program once)

                                    69. Country Heat (already done this program once)

                                    70. CIZE

                                    71. Muscle Burns Fat

                                    72. Muscle Burns Fat Advanced

                                    73. 30-Day Breakaway (this is a maybe—it’s running based)

                                    74. 9-week control freak

                                    75. Shawn Week

            Plus any other possible Beachbody program that is coming out that I may want to add.

            76. Manage 5 push-ups on my toes

            77. Manage 10 push-ups on my toes

            78.  Hold a two-minute forearm plank

            79.  Hold a 90 second plank

            80.  Meditate nightly

            81.  Start jogging (as another way to try to keep my mental health up)—may tie this in with #73

            82.  60-80 oz of water a day

            83.  Stretch daily

            84. Go one weekend a month with no social media (no scrolling through social media pages; may still post on the sites)

            85. Get at least 10,010,000 steps (breaks down to 5K/day)

Blog and Social Media

            86.  Finish YouTube for bosses course

            87.  Finish YouTube course creation for bosses course

            88.  Finish blog to biz course

            89.  Launch a YouTube channel

            90. Launch an online course

            91. Get blog traffic to 500+ views a day

            92. Rebrand myself (?)

            93. Get Instagram followers to constant 800+

            94. Get pintrest followers to constant 400+

            95. Get twitter followers to constant 1000+

            96. Publish at least two blog series

            97.  Editorial calendars (monthly/weekly/daily)

                        98. Blog

                        99. Instagram

                        100. Facebook pages

                        101. Twitter

            102. Get Fit with Jessi to 1000+ likes/follows

            103. Get becomingJessi (or new name if I change) to 1000+ likes/follows

            104. Various top 10 author lists

            105. Various top 10 book series lists

            106. Launch a podcast

Spirituality

            107. Full/New Moon Goals

            108.  Create my own altar (wicca/pagan)

            109. Weekly (or daily) tarot/oracle card readings

            110. 15 minutes outdoors in the morning (coffee only) weather permitting

Others

            111. Keep at least 3 plants alive

            112. Design a science based board game

            113. Create and update digital vision board

            114. Reorganize my storage unit

            115. Put in at least one flower garden around the house (backyard, and/or front yard)

            116. Help put up partial privacy fence in backyard

            117. Start downsizing clothes and creating different “minimum” wardrobes (work/professional/casual; home/casual/working out)

            118. Develop at least 10 different 100-day challenges

            119. Start downsizing rest of my belongs as well—would like to probably be able to live comfortably in a smallish size apartment (or house) where ever I move for the next job.

TV shows to binge watch

            120. Hawaii 5-0 (latest remake)

            121. Grimm

            122. The Librarians

            123. Once Upon A Time

            124. Blacklist

            125. Numbers

Goals on hold due to the global coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak (either because they require traveling, going into a large store, and/or being around large groups of people):

            126. Re-pierce my ears

127. Go to at least 1 scientific conference

                        128. Present at a scientific conference

            129. Go to at least 2 professional networking events

            130. Move to a new (or maybe not new) city for job

            131. Visit at least 3 new countries

            132. Visit at least one new national and/or state park

            133. Visit at least one new national and/or state monument

            134. Visit at least one new zoo

            135. Visit at least one new aquarium

            136. Fly out and/or land at 3 new (to me) airports

            137. Visit at least one new city

            138. Visit at least one new state

            139. See the northern lights

            140. Attend at least one blogging conference

            141. Attend at least one author-reader conference

            142. Swim with whale sharks

            143. Parasailing

            144. Run a 5K (connects back to goals #73 & #81)

Once I move:

            145. Get fabric and foam and make new cushions for chairs

            146. New couch & chair for living room

            147. New dresser for bedroom

            148. New mattress & box spring for bed and/or a new bed set

            149. New TV & stand

            150. New desk/craft workstation

So I now have roughly 150 goals to accomplish in 2002 days. Some of the goals may be accomplished well before the 2002 days are up—others may be up to the end (namely the fitness workouts and steps). So how will I accomplish these 150 goals??? Well, there are 25 goals that are “on-hold” until the virus is under control (goals #126-150)—so these may not be looked at for the first 500+ days (though I will probably be checking the stats on the pandemic more often).

In terms of the other 125 goals—I already have some ‘habits’ in place—I have set up monthly calendar/check-ins for my steps, daily workouts, and spending, plus I do a monthly money check-in when I set up payments for various bills. So what I’m going to be doing is adding in additional trackers (e-courses, photography, tarot/oracle card readings) and seeing tracking that ways helps me move through things better. Also in terms of the e-courses, I’m going to be trying to take better notes so that I can post little recaps on the blog as well (all of this will also help me possibly finally design and keep up with editorial calendars as well).

But above else, I need to remember the following phrases: Aim for progress and not perfection, work hard in silence, let your success by your noise, and make it happen, shock everyone.

No Comments 101 GoalsBookscareerfinancesfitnessFitness ChallengesHealthjob searchingLifestyle Challengesmoney saving challengesno spend challengesPandemic2020Personal DevelopmentPhotographyprofessional developmentRebootBreakReflectionsspiritualitytarot cardstravel

Book Review: The Big Book of 30-Day Challenges: 60 Habit Forming programs to live an infinitely better life by Rosanna Casper

25
Feb
2019

So the books that I’ve finished so far this month all have had one thing in common: they focus on creating new habits or breaking bad habits. I’ve recently reviewed the two volumes of the 30-Day Productivity Plan by Damon Zahariades. Here I’m going to focus on the one of the books that focused on creating new habits.

The first book is “The Big book of 30-Day Challenges: 60 Habit Forming Programs to live an Infinitely Better Life” by Rosanna Casper.

The book contained seven different chapters that basically had seven to ten different 30-day challenges within them. If someone really is ambitious they could do all sixty challenges—it would take at least five years to do the entire book.

The seven chapters include: Fitness, Food, Self-Care, Mindfulness, Organization & Productivity, Networking & Relationships, & finally Creativity and Learning.

Reading through the book, I’ve realized that there are some challenges that I’m already doing, for example the step challenge.  The American Heart Association has a recommendation that you try to get at least 10,000 steps a day, which depending on your stride length should be somewhere around 4 to 5 miles of walking a day. My current challenge for myself is trying to get to 14,000 steps a day. The reason for that number is that if I manage it all year—I would end up with a little over 5 million steps for the year. This year, I’ve already had several days where I’ve been below 10K. This is usually because I haven’t had the greatest night sleep, it’s the weekend/holiday/snow day and I just don’t feel like getting the steps in. I am trying to break myself of that bad habit this year.

But out of all the exercise challenges, there are two that I know I probably won’t be doing—the run every day (I have never enjoyed running, and while at times I picture myself running a 5K—I don’t actually see that happening any time soon), and the stairs workout. With the stair workout, the only time that I would have access to stairs would be at work currently, and I’m not going to go in even earlier just to make use of the stairs for this challenge. I do try to take the stairs when I remember (but I will admit that I’m lazy and I usually head towards the elevator).

But the three challenges that I am going to be putting on a list include: the 30 days of exercise, 30 days of yoga (for me this could mean actually doing the PiYo workouts from Beachbody which combine yoga & Pilates), and 10 minutes of stretching.

While I read through the different food challenges, the only two that I’m currently doing include: drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day, and eat a healthy breakfast every morning. There were other challenges that included fasting, eliminating sugar, and keeping a food journal. Since I’m trying to re-establish a good relationship with food, I’m only going to focus on the types of challenges that would work with that major goal. Those would be the two challenges I mention above, plus trying to eat more fruits and vegetables.

The third chapter dealt with self-care. I am trying to get better sleep (the fitbit alta does track sleep somewhat—it tells me how often I’m tossing and turning, or having to get up to go to the bathroom; but doesn’t tell me if I’ve reached REM sleep). I really don’t like cold showers (unless it’s a really hot and humid day or I’m slightly overheated & I need to cool off). Currently I don’t “dress up” daily—mainly because I work in the lab, and I don’t want to be having to put on a lab coat to ensure that nothing is spilt on my clothes (though technically I should be wearing a lab coat anyway—I just sweat way to much and therefore only put on the lab coat when it is absolutely necessary). I’m not sure how well I would do on a no complaining challenge (mainly because of the state of the world and everything in it)—though I do try to make it through the day without complaining, gossiping, or judging other people. I also try to spend some time outdoors (though it may not be a half hour, but I do try for at least a total of 20-30 minutes if not more a day). Also at times I find it difficult to think of things that make me laugh (so this is something that I could work on improving as well).

The fourth chapter dealt with mindfulness. This is something that I have been trying to get better at over the past year or so. When I was initially laid off from my job last fall, I realized that I really need to do a lot of self reflection, and I realized that one thing that I didn’t do nearly enough of was taking care of my mental health. So the goals that are included in this chapter include: meditating for 10 minutes, writing down affirmations, 10 minutes of visualization, seeking daily awe, higher power challenge, daily journaling, keeping a gratitude journal, keeping a dream journal, and practicing lucid dreaming.

Out of those challenges, I do try to meditate nightly (though it may only be for two to five minutes; sometimes I can get closer to 10). In addition I do try to journal daily, though sometimes I’m so tired at the end of the day that I forget to do it—so this is something that I know that I need to work on. I haven’t tried keeping a gratitude journal or a dream journal, nor have I tried lucid dreaming. So if I were to pick two challenges, I think I’d stick with the ones that I’m currently trying to do: the daily meditation & journaling. At some point I will work in the gratitude & dream journaling and even writing down the daily affirmations—but baby steps first.

The fifth chapter dealt with organization and productivity. So these challenges have more to do with doing digital “detoxes”, cleaning out the email in-boxes (if you have more than one account), tracking your spending, and just general things to help make your life a little more streamlined.

I am in the slow process of trying to get rid of clutter in both my room and storage unit (this is slow because I don’t have a lot of time to focus on the storage unit right now & at the same time I’m not sure of what I would need that I have packed away in there). I have been trying to track my expenses and aiming for no spend days to expand into no spend weeks and then expand into a no spend month (so far I’ve managed to almost have a no spend week this year so far). Making my bed daily is something that I manage about 10% of the time, and getting up at 5am is difficult when you have a poor night sleep anyway. But there are challenges that I am working on.

Chapter six has to deal with networking & relationships. Challenges include: 30 minutes of family time, love through everyday interactions, reach out to friends, have lunch with someone new, create daily delight for others & the rejection challenge.

            I have been trying to reach out to friends that I haven’t talked to in years via social media. I also spend time with both my parents and younger brother (when he comes to town), in terms of spending time with other family members, that will require planning a trip out to visit people (since other than my parents & younger brother—no other relative lives in the state). Having lunch with someone new will probably be a challenge for me once I move—since I take my lunch to work daily, there is seldom a chance to sit down with someone new at lunch.

Chapter seven has to deal with creativity and learning. The challenges in this chapter include: learning or brushing up on a musical instrument, learning a foreign language, take a photo every day, learn a brand new skill, write down 10 ideas every day, cook one new recipe per day, read 20 pages a day, watch a TED talk every day, write a novel in 30 days, listen to audiobooks or podcasts, perfect your pitch: videotape yourself, and exercise your brain.

           At some point I may try to brush up on my skills in terms of playing the flute (that way I can banish the bad memories of playing it in school and build better memories of me learning for the fun of it). I am also going to be trying to refresh my memory of both my Spanish & German skills (I’ve figured that it would be a good thing to be able to speak at least one foreign language). I’m also in the middle of a photo challenge already. I’m also trying to keep up on my reading at least 10-20 pages of a non-fiction book (in addition to reading (or re-reading) fiction books as well). As much as I would love to cook more—this is something that I’ve fallen behind on and will pick up more on once I’m back on my own.

So there are literally five years worth of 30 day challenges presented in this book. I’ve realized that I’m currently working on a number of them already (trying to turn them into daily habits). But there are several others that I’m going to slowly start working in my daily routine as well:

Writing down 5 to 10 ideas a day (I know the original challenge was 10 ideas—but sometimes you need to work up to the challenge).

Watching a TED talk every day.

Listening to podcasts (I use to do this daily, but I’ve fallen out of the habit—so it’s something I’d like to get back into doing).

Working suduko puzzles (again this is something that I use to do daily, but have again fallen out habit on).

Getting better at keeping a daily journal (and start to incorporate gratitude & dream journaling as well).

Try to spend more time outdoors

Eat more fruits & veggies

Start practicing more yoga

Work on perfecting my plank

Spend more time stretching.

I do recommend this book if you’re looking for ideas on different 30 day challenges. It covers different areas of life, and with the number of challenges per area–you can pick and choose the ones that you think will be most beneficial to your life.

No Comments Book ReviewsPersonal DevelopmentPersonal Development Challenges