Applying discipline
So, in my quest to really get good health this year, I’m directly applying some of the learnings I have had from last year. Last year, 2009, was the year of “12 paradigm shifts and a stronger (emotional) core”.
Some serious catching up as required as some point, as I would like to go into what these 12 paradigm shifts ultimately were, and how it has affected me. In general it has really felt as if my primary objective: “a stronger core” really did come to be.
So, in my quest to really get good health this year, I’m directly applying some of the learnings I have had from last year. Last year, 2009, was the year of “12 paradigm shifts and a stronger (emotional) core”.
Some serious catching up as required as some point, as I would like to go into what these 12 paradigm shifts ultimately were, and how it has affected me. In general it has really felt as if my primary objective: “a stronger core” really did come to be.
Discipline was one of the final few lessons I did learn from last year, and I have been since toying with setting rules, but also rewards, and punishments, based on certain behavior [or lack thereof]. It’s an interesting approach, and I have been applying it to myself in different ways.
For example: these last few weeks I have ended up spending a vast amount of my free-time programming an expansion to an open source game [ http://www.wesnoth.org ] which was completely unplanned, distracting, fun, but also addictive.
It would be one think if I spent a few hours here and there, but what started as a casual amount of work, turned out to be many evenings of coding/testing time, and worst of all, I found myself working away on the computer far past times I should still be behind the computer — and all of this taxes my neck and back.
So, not only did I promise to myself at least 1-week of not working on this game again [but I do want to finish my expansion now, as it would be even worse to start it, work for weeks and never complete it], but I am now also going to place strict time limits on my day schedule.
Waking up at 8am, at the gym by 9am, working by 10:30am and stopping work at 6:30pm daily. With limited computer after 9pm, and strictly no computer use after 10pm.
All of this would be a lot easier if I was working at a job, but I work for myself, and interestingly, I see the value right now in creating such a strict routine — as it will help to compartmentalize [limit] my work time, and it will also control and direct my side-project time.
The challenge is of course that I do have a number of personal projects I want to work on — as I have about 3 websites that I want to get up in the next 4 months, not to mention presentations and materials, videos relating to my philosophy treatments of last year… so I’m still curious as to how I can fit this into the system.
There is also a lot of work suddenly coming my way, so hopefully I can find a way to limit my availability to actually be more like 6h/day instead of 8h/day, so that I still have some free time available to work on personal projects, during day-light hours when I am most effective.
All this: so that I can really heal my body, and still work on the things I love…