9:53pm, Sunday

Just posted the new vid up on YT. As always, it's been a busy weekend to end a busy week.

Between day job, maintaining a household, doing stuff for and with my family, scraping together time in the evenings to study for a cert...it's a wonder I manage to post these weekly updates at all. I look forward to it since it helps me step outside and look into what I actually do in a week. It basically forces me to reflect.

What I missed:
Drawing
Journal entry

What I got done:
Meditation
Exercise
Eating healthy
Wrote blog post
Leisure time

Other things that received the reallocated time that is currently not part of my weekly to do list:
Studying for cert (I will bump this into my weekly to-do list since it's a priority)
Tutoring/helping out my niece with her school work
Birthday cookout for stepson
Other odds and ends in the home front

***

Going to end this now as I am about to eat a very late supper, chill out, and get ready for bed.

Be well
[R]

8:46pm, Monday
Memorial Day

Posting this on a Monday rather than a Saturday. Also uploading the video tonight rather than on a Sunday. I’m being a bit more forgiving in regards to timing this week since I’ve been working myself pretty hard with the day job, home stuff, as well as working towards professional and personal goals.

It’s the end of a 3-day weekend I was very much looking forward to last week and it pretty much turned out the way I had expected it to be give or take a couple of unexpected things. For the most part I got a hell of a lot accomplished the past week. At the same time it doesn’t feel like I have enough time for all of what I had planned.

There is never enough time for everything I want to do. That’s the rub. And I’m going to just have to be fine with that.

I fit in as much as I could within a day, a week, a month, and so on and so forth. That's all I can do.

My focus is getting narrower, which is what I am actually aiming for at this point in my life. I need to have the blinders on and just focus on my top goals and what I need to do to get those completed/accomplished.

Which brings me back to my weekly checklist that I have been doing since the beginning of the year.

What did I get done the past week?

Everything.

Yep. I got everything on my list checked off.

Not absolutely perfect, frequency-wise, BUT, I got to do every single aspect that I deemed is important in order to keep myself balanced.

So the past week, I wrote a blog post, journaled, worked out, kept my diet healthy, meditated, drew, and had a bit of leisure time to spare. Not too bad, considering I have been working longer hours, maintaining a very busy household, and doing additional tasks that I have not even mentioned here and on the video updates.

I didn’t realize I managed to get all of this done until today.

This is why I started to keep track of my weekly progress. It’s quite easy to forget about all the little things you do daily to advance your goals and just keep moving forward. It’s important to pause and acknowledge these things and give yourself credit in order to gain more confidence and build that momentum.

Because even when you think you’ve not done enough, it turns out you’ve done plenty.

Until next week.

Be Well,
{R]

10:36pm, Saturday,
A brief entry since this past week has been a bit sparse in terms of weekly milestones go.
Time has been occupied mostly with work and ordinary life stuff. In fact, I’ve just now gotten around to drawing this week. I managed to fit in about an hour of drawing tonight, half an hour of which I recorded so I’d have material for tomorrow’s vid.


What I got done from my usual weekly checklist:

• Journal entry (1X)
  
• Meditation (1X, end of day, longer session)
  
• Drawing (1X)
• Blog post

Things I’ve missed:

• Exercise
  
• Leisure time (pretty much non-existent this past week)

On the fence:
Healthy diet (mirrors my progress the previous week, food intake is well-balanced, less carbs, but coffee intake doubled during end of the week, plus I had diet caffeinated soda on Friday)


Some progress in the sleep front though. I work from home right now so I’ve been sleeping in about an extra half an hour to an hour in the morning for a couple of days. However, this past week my work calendar is busier than normal so I anticipated a busier work week especially during specific days. There were a couple of very long days that just about took every bit of extra energy I might have had for the evenings to work on projects or devote time towards some other goals I have.


Misc:
I might talk about this when I record my audio tomorrow for the vid but I watched a few videos that deal with the topic of artists having day jobs and trying to fit in their creative pursuits during their busy days.
***
I am looking forward to the upcoming 3 day weekend.

Anyway, this might be a good time to conclude this entry since my tired mind is starting to drift.


Till next week.


Be Well,


[R]

9:38pm, Saturday

Taking a brief break from drawing so i can type and post this blog. I didn’t record the drawing since I just wanted to get started. Setting up the webcam and the recording software would’ve just taken up more time I couldn't waste. Since I don’t have any drawing or gaming footage, I’ll at least place a still photo of the work in progress or something like that for the vid tomorrow. I’ll figure something out.

In the background, as I type this, I’m listening to a documentary on drawing. I just watched/listed to one on Escher.

This past week was quite productive so I’ll just get to the list.

What I got done:
Meditation (1x) during mid day break from work, later in the week.
Exercise (2X): Did this once on Sunday and the other time was after work.
Drawing (1X)
Write a blog post

What I missed:
Journaling

On the fence:
Healthy diet: I definitely consumed more than my usual 1 cup of coffee daily for a handful of days this week (Including today). I also had diet soda yesterday and some junk food which I usually try to steer clear from. Having said that, Everything else I ate was right on track as far as my dietary needs go. Not great but not terrible either.

Other activities unaccounted for that’s not on my original weekly productivity/wellness list:
I spent an hour of studying for an IT cert. for a couple of nights. This is the next goal on my list so I’m getting back in the habit of studying in a consistent manner.


***

For the forthcoming week:
I need improvement in the sleep department. I need to have a set bedtime to regulate my sleep patterns since it varies from one day to the next. This past week, I have been having difficulty waking up to a state of alertness and maintaining that state throughout the day. It became truly challenging during Thursday and Friday when the afternoon slump started earlier in the day and lingered around until I decided to drink some caffeinated soda.

***

Any progress is still progress. Moving forward as always.

I’ve too much swimming in my head right now but at the same time I am pretty much ready to get some sleep which means I should probably stop typing.

Have a great week and be well.

[R]

10:12pm, Saturday

Late-ish blog post being written as I take the second to last bite of a cheesecake slice.

It’s been another very busy Saturday here in my corner of the world. The usual Saturday chores that needed to be done since there’s no other time to do it other than today. I’m fortunate enough to still be working during these times, and remotely but it leaves me with very limited time for other activities.

As I stated in last week’s post, I was going to take it easy for the week. Much needed rest was in order, especially during the evenings after work. No pressure to get much of anything done but rest my mind and my body as I feel the very beginnings of a burnout sort to come through.

Having said that, I still got some things done on my weekly wellness and productivity list.


What I got done:
Draw
Leisure time (TV = Prodigal Son; Gaming - A bit of the new game I picked up since it was on sale)
Meditation (thrice this week - I did one of them during my lunch break)
Healthy diet (no diet soda this past week,  cup of coffee a day, no excessive sugary stuff or foods high in sodium)
Wrote blog post

What I missed:
Journaling
Exercise


***

Not too bad, really. The important thing is that I got the rest I needed while still getting a lot of things done in general.

So tomorrow morning, I’ll be recording the audio for this week’s vid. I have an art clip that’s ready to go but my gaming footage did not save properly. I’m about to spend a little bit of time tonight gaming after I post this so I’m going to capture a little footage from that.

I also plan on getting a workout in tomorrow as I don’t really have anything planned for tomorrow that’s absolutely pressing, so anything goes. I just don’t like to waste time since I rarely have any free time to do whatever.

Time to post this up so I can fire up the new game.

Be well,
{R}