My August Challenge [Update] & September Challenge
August Challenge Update
So, I failed on my August challenge which is to create a new blog post every week for 3 months because I went on a cruise with my family to Scandinavia and Russia since 23rd August to September 8. Internet was scarce on the cruise and honestly, I just chose to spend time with my family as much as I can. However, I promise myself that I will catch up to the quota by posting more often.
September Challenge
For my September Challenges, I decided to go with 2 challenges and a cheat code* since they relate to each other
I. Go to Sleep by 11 PM
I have always been a night person and I am more active at night, but recently as I grow older, I found waking up getting harder to do and my brain gets foggier in the day time when I do not get enough sleep. Gone were the days when I could maintain the almost same level of optimal work on 4 hours sleep. So I decided for this month I will try to sleep by 11 pm every weekdays night*
II. No More Working when I am at Home after 8:30 PM
This challenge works in conjunction with my first challenge because now that I have to try to go to sleep by 11 pm, I want to be done with my work by 8:30 pm so I have more time to spend with my son, Mason.
He is at that age where he knows I am the source of play and entertainment and when he hasn’t seen me for the whole day, he gets really excited when I come out of my home office. This excitement in turns actually makes him harder to fall asleep.
My plan is to eventually stop working altogether when I am at home.
*Cheat Code: Implement 2 Days Rule
I learnt about the 2 days rule from watching Matt D’Avella’s Video (Great YouTuber with Great Contents).
Essentially, the 2 days rule is that when you want to create a habit for yourself, the hardest thing is not in doing the habit itself, but rather the maintenance of the habit.
The 2 days rule simply means that when you want to start doing something, you do not go 2 days without doing whatever it is you want to make your habit, and so you guarantee that you will at least do the action every other day in a week.
But, Am I Cheating if I Use the 2 Days Rule?
In the beginning of September when I found out about the 2 Days Rule, I was contemplating whether I am cheating myself by creating challenges for myself but allowing myself a crutch at the same time.
I decided that in giving myself challenges, I am hoping these will become sustainable habits and there is no point in forcing myself to do these challenges cold turkey if in the end I relapsed to my old habits.
I. Going to Sleep at 11 PM is not always Feasible for my Work and Family Life
There are days when I actually have to stay up past 11 pm because I am waiting for phone calls from overseas and there is no way for me to change the time of the calls
At the same time, the city where I live is congested almost throughout the day (sometimes up to midnight). I like to try to take my family out at least once a week and usually that falls on Friday or Saturday. Since I don’t live close to the city, sometimes this means that I will reach home by 11 pm (my son would be asleep in the car by then).
II. My Company is still a Long Way from Automation, which means Working Past 8:30 PM is a Must
I have a dream for my company where I do not have to be there for it to run (or even thrive). But until then, there will be days where I just have to work past 8:30 pm, like the beginning of the month (Payroll), middle of the month (Inventory checking) and end of the month (Closing the book), not to mention other various projects that we are handling.
If you decide you want to challenge yourselves like me, I will be very interested in hearing what your challenges are and how you are approaching it; feel free to shoot me an email.
