About a month ago I posted about how I was in a place where I was trading efficiency, rest and progress for 45 extra minutes on tumblr scrolling through nothing of consequence. And so I promised myself (and you, friends) that I'd do better in a measurable way.
So three things happened as a direct result of that decision.
1) I aquired a walking treadmill
2) I started tracking my sleep hours and movement at night
3) I changed my diet to one where I am guaranteed an increase in mental clarity
It's been three weeks now and I have some awesome results to show for it. All three changes were made in a way that didn't require much willpower. I'm not a master of doing the harder thing consistently. I just don't. Maybe it was my upbringing or just my genetics or how I choose to implement my free will but that's just the way it's been so far. So the approach to each of the improvements had to change. I needed to use my laziness to my advantage.
Exercise. Jeremy got me a treadmill desk. This instantly increased my activity level from a sedentary 2miles of walking a day to 10 + miles a day. I don't have to think about it. I don't have to try. Using the computer comes naturally. It's where I do my work, my entertainment, my finances, my news, my social interactions, my business. Now I do all those things while walking. It's NO effort now. I have to be on the treadmill to use the computer. I am never going to not use the computer. So that works.
Sleep. I am in bed by 12 and I sleep until at least 8. This too was more easily implemented after my treadmill desk became part of my life. When someone as out of shape as me suddenly walks nearly a half marathon a day they get tired. The kind of tired you should be to fall asleep really fast and sleep HARD. I sleep about 45 minutes more than I did before. I thought it was hilarious that it was cut by essentially my tumblr time. And guess what's been missing from my life for a few weeks? Tumblr. It's not a loss. I'm not in some weird fog at the end of the day where my body isn't tired enough to warrant a trip to bed. I always want to go to bed. The sleep when I do fall asleep? Deep. I can't remember the last time I had this many dreams. They're all good dreams and I move a lot less at night ( according to the iphone app that measures movement ). I wake up well rested. I can see the difference because my eyes dont turn red around 6pm.
Food. This is a big one. Jeremy and I have started the ketogenic diet together. It's essentially grain-less paleo the way we are doing it. It is nothing short of amazing. The first three days were rough. Just dropping grains and sugar is really freaking hard for someone who… loves sugar. I love sugar. But after the sugar cravings died, the hunger disappeared altogether. That's an amazing effect of the diet. There is also a significant increase in mental clarity and focus. We made this a no-brainer by cooking it all up front on one day and having every meal planned for days. They're all tasty, and laziness wins out everytime. No thinking + eating immediately > Thinking + Eating out.
You know what a fun side effect is? Weightloss. It's not much. Probably just less water but Im enjoying the slightly less tight pants. :p Still kinda tight though.
Thank you laziness for improving my life!
Also this is the image I got when I googled progress and change. I'm just going to go with it.
1 Comment
This is definitely inspiring! First thing on the list is the treadmill desk.