Today is the quarter of the way mark for my challenge. I have successfully managed two full classes and one day of home exercise, failing grade. I have written a blog post everyday and gotten approximately four hours of extra writing in so still failing but slightly better. I have managed to avoid all of the things I gave up food wise completely and stayed within my daily allotment of calories for all but two days, pass but not perfect. I like having milestones so I can see how I am doing and make adjustments as time goes on.
When I do challenges like this the adjustments have nothing to do with modifying goals. I look back and say ok I need to make up eight full hours of exercise in the next round which means the majority of the time will be two hours of workouts, this is still possible if I alter the exercises that I do. Instead of a one class and leave I can add in swimming, weights or an additional class to get the extra time.
Writing works the same way. I need to figure out how much time I still need to make up, in this case six hours and then track time until I have reached that goal. Family time is important so on the weekends I try to limit doing much else so I can be with those important to me. My challenge is important but so is finding that balance. On the upside I have several projects to complete so I am not hurting for something to write.
One adjustment I am making is to have a written chart moving forward that shows me how much time I need to complete for each part of my challenge. I also cannot get ahead, meaning if I needed to make up three hours of writing but ended up in the office working for five hours, that is not two hours ahead. It would just be extra time I worked. Part of the reason for doing the challenge isn't just to get a certain amount of time and words in, that is Nanowrimo. The challenge is to help instill writing and working out as part of my daily routine so the habit stays with me after the challenge is done.
It doesn't work for everyone but for those that find having a deadline or a challenge helps push them, I highly recommend doing something like this. I know I am not on target at this point but I also know having those goals in the back of my mind keeps me going when I do fall behind. It helps me to overcome and push through the obstacles that caused me to fall back in the first place. Now I am off to create my chart so I can see how to make up for may current shortfall. Visuals can be a wonderful aide for goals. In the past they have been a major contributor to my success.
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