Yet Another Lifestyle Experiment

Hundred Pushups, Day 2

Ta — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:09:39 +0000

I’m getting better

See here.

Hundred Pushups, Day 1

Ta — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:54:45 +0000

I just completed my first day for the Hundred Pushups challenge. I started with Week 3, Day 1. See my log.

The Essentials

Ta — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:39:30 +0000

The first thing when one starts a “new life” is setting a direction. I’m a Christian, so my direction is following God. This is the single non-negotiable thing in my life, and so it stays.

However, it’s still my job to figure out some of the details. Getting up is not something I should wait for God’s asking me every morning, yet some would think I act just as if I were. So, I start forming habits that help me get enough sleep and enough exercise and the like to stay healthy and feel physically well.

I’m not there yet, but I’ll have a wife. She’d come right after God. I just found Cory Huff’s article with some good advices for men. But then, the Bible speaks even clearer: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25)

As a Christian I have a wider family as well. Some members of this family are closer because we’re part of the same local church, and I have responsibilities toward them as well.

I noticed that I deeply care for those in need. The homeless, kids in Tanzania, and the like. It’s becoming clear that God is calling me to a ministry related to these people. The details aren’t clear yet, the direction is.

While I’m not going to be an evangelist, making God known and telling people about the Good News is still part of my calling, as it is every Christian’s.

So, my 4 essentials are:

Spending time with and getting closer to God.
Finding a wife, being with my family.
Being part of my church, serving my Christian family.
Helping people: the homeless, the poor, the needy.

Some important things supporting the above:

Getting and staying fit and healthy.
Making enough money to support myself and my family.
Maybe, getting more money to support other people as well.

Setting Limits

Ta — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:35:16 +0000

I just noticed how important it is.

Limits on the non-essentials make time for the essentials.

Let’s start with this one: 30 minutes per blog posts, one post a day.

I just broke it.

Zen To Done

Ta — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:22:44 +0000

I’ve always be interested in organizing things which, I’m starting to find out, is a natural consequence of having no organization in my life. When I found GTD, I thought “This is it!”

It took about two or three years to find out that (instead of a more organized life) all I have is a fairly good understanding of the tools I can find on the net. For long, I thought it was just a matter of time to find the right one. Now I know better.

Don’t get me wrong, I do know these are great software. They are just way to complicated for me. Not that I wouldn’t understand them. On the other hand: I would spend countless hours tweaking them and then, after knowing all the in’s and out’s, I would turn away, bored. Without actually using it even for a day.

Also, GTD has a very sophisticated workflow that looks fun summarized on a piece of paper, I just can’t see a chance I would ever stick to it. (Find more about it here.)

I figured I needed something stupid. Something I can’t tweak. I wanted just a notebook (old school, paper based) and a pen. Some basic lists. A simple process.

I was in the process of distilling GTD, 7 Habits, and whatever else I found here and there, when I found the Zen Habits blog, and in it, Zen To Done, which I could dub as “The Simple GTD.” Exactly the thing I was looking for.

Zen To Done (ZTD, in short) is focused around developing habits, 1-2 every month, 8-10 total.

The first habit is called “Collect.” In my case it’s an A6 notepad and a pen, and a couple lists. I’m doing fine for about three days, noting down everything that comes into my mind and has something to do with my future.

Actually, I’m doing so great I’m considering to start with the 2nd habit: “Process.”