~jonashietala.se

Goals for Autumn 2016

Every once and a while I like to redo my priorities and set new goals for myself.

I recently read the book 59 seconds which among other things presented a way of structuring goals I will try out. In short you should divide your main goal into 5 subgoals with a date of completion, a reward upon completion and you should specify why and how you can accomplish it. You should describe the main goal and also list the benefits for completing the goal and for best effect you should also go public with your goals.

Exercise and Health

The goal is get stronger, get more energy and in general get a more healthy lifestyle.

  1. Eat more strict LCHF for 1 month

    I can achieve this because I’ve done it before. The problems are when there are unhealthy snacks available but focusing on how bad I feel after giving in. Focusing on better alternatives like dark chocolate, wine or various meet will help.

    This will be achieved by: Aug 28
    The reward will be: Massage

  2. Train BJJ or MMA for 1 month

    Me and my girlfriend are planning to try out BJJ together. If she likes it continuing with it should be easy for me to continue training. If not I will continue with either BJJ or MMA as I’m pretty hyped to explore some other martial arts styles which hopefully will offset the potential motivation problem.

    This will be achieved by: Oct 2
    The reward will be: Gi or training gear

  3. 2 months of lifting at the gym

    I will go to the gym 3 times a week during lunch and buy salad next door for lunch and I will train for ~45 min. It’s something I’ve done before and I felt good about it. The biggest problem here is to get in the habit and after that it should run smoothly.

    This will be achieved by: Oct 30
    The reward will be: New training shorts

  4. 100 kg deadlift 5x5, 75 kg bench 5x5, 85 kg squat 5x5

    I have reached comparable results before and with dedicated training I should be able to go beyond previous results. By getting in the habit of going to the gym reaching these weights and reps should be straightforward. One problem is that I might be planning to train too much but by not training to failure but for more energy and focusing more on consistency should alleviate that issue. Another one is that my grip is very weak after the injury but even before that. It can be combated with the grip trainer at work.

    This will be achieved by: Nov 27
    The reward will be: undecided

  5. Side split with both feet besides the yoga mat

    I’ve had a problem with my groin for who knows how many years and it’s time toget a routine to combat it. The theory I have now is that I’ve been far too eager and I’ve started training too hard too fast. By focusing less on the high kicks in Taekwon-do and training other styles more and by not pushing myself during the stretching sessions the pain should recede slowly. The plan is to use limbering or very light stretching every day and once a week focus solely on stretching. Here again the issue is to get in the habit but I would really love to be able to train fully without pain. The goal is just a slight increase in flexibility which I’m using to get a concrete goal to aim for.

    This will be achieved by: Dec 25
    The reward will be: undecided

Benefits

  1. Happier about myself.
  2. More energy in my life.
  3. Remove the dissatisfaction I’ve had the last years about not having exercised enough.

Hobby Projects

The goal is to get going with some hobby projects.

  1. Build a 3x3 LED cube.

    The goal is to get started with soldering. Should be a small project and an hour here or there should be enough to see it through.

    This will be achieved by: Aug 10
    The reward will be: Taekwon-do training camp

  2. Go through Programming Phoenix and Programming Elixir

    I think I want to learn more about web development and I’ve heard a ton of good stuff about Phoenix and Elixir. I’ve had a lot of problems completing sideprojects before but going through books hasn’t been that big of an issue.

    This will be achieved by: Sep 15
    The reward will be: New wallet

  3. Construct a custom keyboard

    Too long have I had two GH60 PCB and a bunch of keycaps lying around. I’m still missing a plate but with that (and possibly stabilizers) I have all that it takes to finalize it. The soldering and the assembly shouldn’t be too though and a custom keyboard is something I’ve wanted for a long time. I’ve had problems finishing side projects but if I get all parts I should be able to at least start the project. With it started and with all parts on my desk I should be forced to finish it.

    This will be achieved by: Nov 30
    The reward will be: Netrunner world championship decks

  4. Create a usable budgeting tool on par with my currently used system

    I’ve been using a fairly crap spreadsheet to track my expenses and loosely track my investments into cryptocurrencies and I had an idea to create a website to track them and to budget for the upcoming months. It serves a practical use but it’s also an excuse for me to learn Phoenix, Elixir and general web development. That’s a fairly powerful motivator but it may not be enough. By making it an explicit goal and a deadline hopefully I will finish this one. The danger here is that the deadline is too far away and that I don’t prioritize the project.

    This will be achieved by: Dec 20
    The reward wil be: Extra investment in cryptocurrencies

Benefits

  1. Expanded knowledge is good both for my profession and to satisfy my own curiosity.
  2. The satisfaction of completing projects and creating things is wonderful.
  3. I’ve been wanting a custom made keyboard for a long time.

Habits to start

I’ve been using Habitica (previously HabitRPG) to help establish habits and it’s been working wonderfully well for me when I’ve used it. For a couple of months I’ve had a break from it but I will try to use it again to try to establish a few habits.

Daily habits

  1. Exploratory limbering once a day
  2. Cold shower once a day
  3. Grip strength every day at work
  4. Read a book 15 min every day (before sleep)
  5. Anki flashcards every day (occassional refill)
  6. Take D-vitamin supplements

Weekly habits

  1. Gym 3x a week
  2. Martial arts (BJJ/MMA) 2x a week
  3. Isometric stretch once a week