Day 1 of 23 Day Trial

Last year I spent a lot of time researching personal development and organization.  I was a pretty unorganized person and had pretty much drifted by in life.  I always felt there was more potential for me and that I was wasting the various graces God had bestowed on me.  Still, years and years of undisciplined life seemed to have set me on course that I was comfortable (if not exactly content) following.  I needed to find a way to change my course.

In the past, I had learned through some rougher experiences that if I let him God will nudge me in the right direction.  I learned that I was way too dependent on my intelligence.  It is not nearly as great as I think it is and what I did have was certainly getting in the way of doing any real work.  When I was young, school came easy to me, and my ability to pass classes without working became a real source of pride.  One that stayed with me all the way into my thirties.   Last year, I learned that it was my biggest downfall.

 I learned that if I want to use what I’ve been given I’m going to have to work.  And so, I started reading up on motivation, discipline, organization, goal setting, etc… I tried a few things and saw some results…quite a few actually.  But, I wasn’t consistant with all of them.  The one that has stuck with me are a few organizational principals from Getting Things Done.  It has helped my organization at work out immensely.

I would say, that last year was one of my most productive and successful years in a long time.  I resolved that this year would be my most productive and successful year.  I got off to a slow start, but I am in full swing now.

I decided to start with something I learned from Steve Pavlina, it is called  a 30-day trial. The 30-day trial has proven successful for me and is one of the easiest and best ways I’ve found to change inertia.  This year, I’ve decide that each month I’m going to do some sort of a 30-day trial to try new habits.  If the prove successful I will continue with them. If they don’t I will abandon them and move on without feeling guilty for quiting.  Since I’m starting late, I’m only going to do a 23-day trial for the first one.  That way I can start the beginning of each month with something new.

The first trial is actually a revisit of an trial a did last year.  For the next 30 days I will get up at 5:00 a.m. and follow a scheduled morning routine that involves checking my weight and waist, prayer/mediation (saying the Rosary), doing a short strength training exercise, picking the three most important things I want to accomplish for the day, writing a quick blog update,  and then it is time to shower and get ready for work where I will get in my 30 minute walk and knockout one of my 3 most important things before I check my email.

 The blog updates (besides this one) will be brief.  They will mainly report my weight and waist loss/gain for the day.  A brief review of how well the previous day went and how I physically felt throughout the day will be recorded so that I might spot trends.

 So, a quick update.  I also extended an evening routine that I have with my son to help implement the early rising.  After we brush our teeth, read, say prayers, and I tell him a bedtime story I then do a quick little pickup of the house, set  out anything I need for the next day and then head to bed to read until I fall asleep.  Last night I was excited about beginning the early rising trial (it proved really successful last time and I should not have stopped it).  Because of the excitement I couldn’t get to sleep until around 12:30 in the morning.  I woke at 5:00 as planned.  The Rosary took twice as long as planned, but it was the first time saying it and I first read the passage of the Gospel I was supposed to reflect on during the reciting of the prayers and I also began learning the Hail Mary in Latin, so it took a bit longer.  When I become familiar with the Latin form of the prayers it should only take about 20 minutes. (I’m learning the Latin versions of the prayers mainly for curiosity and to help sharpen the mind)

I still did the exercises, but I had to shorten the time I had to get write this post and then get dressed.  My body is full of aches and pains this morning, most of my upper back and shoulder area hurts as well as my joints in my knees and hips.  I am 98% sure that the pains are a result of my obesity and that is why my main goal for the year is to get down to a waist size of 34 and my weight under 190 pounds.  When I accomplish this goal this year, I will be better able to accomplish any other goals I set before me.

 Before I go, here are the stats for the day.

 Starting weight 260 pounds exactly.  I am using a digital scale that reports to the nearest even tenth.

Starting waist size 39.5 inches.