I can never get enough of the colour of the sky and the water!
Since the beginning of January 2019, I have been keeping a diary. I update it every day. Every week covers two pages: on the left, I record the happenings of the day in two to three sentences. On the right, I have a weekly summary which summarises the following aspects:
- weight (every Sunday morning)
- physical activities (running and bike km, other fitness sessions)
- mental and spiritual health
- socialising (with whom? what did we discuss? positive encounter?)
- nutrition (good/bad? why? anything I want to change?)
- comfort zone (anything I did to leave my comfort zone?)
- financial feats (any mindless spending? money savings?)
- person I admired (someone I met/read about/heard about that impressed me. Why did they impress me? What is my take-away?)
- new skills/insights (anything new I learned? something I want to implement?)
- hit of the week (the best moment of the week and why)
- flop of the week (the worst moment of the week and why)
- 3 things I am grateful for (these have to be different things every week)
Also, I rate every day between -2 and +2, with “0” days being just normal “meh” days. I learned this from an Tim Ferriss interview with Jim Collins (transcript is here). Looking back, I can look at what made up a +2 day and what kind of pattern emerges. I can already tell that my +2 days usually have three components: hard, solid work-outs, some productive time at the desk and being around inspiring, energizing and fun people. On Sunday evening, Kai and I have a weekly review where we discuss our week and how we can further improve or change things.
Since we have arrived in Florida, all my days are “+” days. We exercise every day and enjoy the nature and wildlife here. One day when I was on the bike I saw a turtle, Kai saw an alligator and when we were swimming in the sea (feebly training for a sprint triathlon in July) we were overtaken by four manatees. Each weighs over 450kg – it’s amazing how fast they move in water!
On the Achilles tendon front, things are improving. While we were stand-up paddling I noticed that standing a long time is stressing the tendon. So I decided to reduce all stress for the leg – less standing and walking, but still doing resistance/stretching exercises several times a day. That meant that I had to break my 3-year streak of doing 10’000 steps a day. It nearly freaked me out and I was expecting the Garmin app to explode with warnings and alarms, but it kept ominously quiet. I am now down to 4’000 steps a day and it seems to help.
A good read also contributes a lot to a good day. Below a brief summary on the books I read while in Florida – thanks to a great library here:
- The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
A short and easy read. The idea is that humans generally express love in 5 different ways: by words of affirmation (“well done, darling”), acts of service (do the dishes without being asked), receiving gifts (husband brings a single rose home), quality time (going out for a walk together), physical touch (a hug, holding hands). I discovered that I am an acts-of-service person and Kai is a words-of-affirmation person. We both read the book and somehow it does make a difference! This would be a good one to give away to newly married couples.
- “Fates and Furies” by Lauren Groff
A fascinating fiction about a marriage. Incidentally, the two leading characters, Lotto and Mathilde, are the same age as us and got married in 1991, two years earlier than us. The first part tells the story from Lotto’s point of view (happy husband) and the second part from Mathilde’s angle (not as angelic as it seems). There’s a lot of passion and betrayal going on. Somehow, Mathilde manages to keep a lot of secrets and that is how she kept the marriage happy. Not my style, but it definitely worked well for her.
- “How full is your bucket?” by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton
A very easy, very short read on focusing on how to be more postive in life. It uses an easy to understand image of a bucket and a dipper. We can use our dipper to fill other people’s buckets by saying things that increase their positive emotions. By doing that, we fill our own bucket and we will feel great. An empty bucket poisons our outlook and saps our energy. Filling other people’s buckets has a positive influence our relationships, health and happiness. A happy read.
- “Waking up” by Sam Harris
This was a difficult read. Chapter 4 on meditation was interesting, where a study found that our minds wander 47% of the time. The study also found that people are consistently less happy when their minds are wandering, even when the thoughts are pleasant. Mindful meditation can reduce mind-wandering and leads to improved immune function, blood pressure and cortisol levels. Unsurprisingly, the practice is associated with increased subjective well-being.
- “The Incomplete Book of Running” by Peter Sagal
I had no clue who Peter Sagal was when I picked up this book (he hosts a radio show called “Wait, wait… don’t tell me”). If you’re looking for a light and hilarious read to do with running, this is the right book. I especially loved his bathroom stories – something every runner can relate to.
- “What to Eat When” by Michael Roizen and Michael Crupain
For the “What”: this book covers the basics of nutrition (non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, etc). The “When” was new to me: eat when the sun is out and eat 75% of your daily calories before 2pm to align with your circadian rhythm. Interesting concept! I have now stopped eating after 6pm, so let’s see what the effects are.
- You are a Badass Every Day by Jen Sincero
Mistake no. 1: in the library, I grabbed the book because I liked the title. At home, I opened it and realized that it what just a collection of Instagram-type motivational quotes. Mistake no. 2: I decided to read it all the same. So annoying!! “I deserve and expect good things”, etc. on every single page, 200 pages long. In the acknowledgements she thanks people for getting the book out a warp speed. Yep, that is exactly what it felt like. Fortunately, I also read it at warp speed, so I only wasted an hour of my life with it.
- As Long as We Both Shall Live by Joann Chaney
A crime story with husband and wife as the main characters. It is dark, mysterious and evil. Truly breathtaking from the first page to the last. Events keep on unfolding in a way the reader did not expect it. The only thing that bugged me a little is that I had a number of open questions at the end of the book that were never addressed. A great read nonetheless.
Not book-related and totally random: I got some flowers today from the sales person at Trader Joe’s! Really nice gesture.
A few more weeks for Florida and then it’s back to Zurich! And hopefully back to running!
