GTD: Biphasic Sleep Experiment – Day 9

Physical State/Tiredness

So, today was the day I was hell-bent on getting some exercise in (since I was meant to start yesterday but never got around to it). But, I ran in to a problem – but not with what you might think..

I awoke as normal, feeling fresh and alert after my 3 hour sleep. I go to work, do my full day (taking a small 30-minute nap at desk) and then return home with only one thing on my mind – grabbing them kettlebells and having my way with them!

Having returned home, I grab a drink, take 20 mins out (having a great chat with @peterlanoie about CI) and then get cracking. After about 30 minutes huffing and puffing I am pretty tired. I remember now why I thought kettlebells were hard – they are hard! This is the first time I have exerted myself in years! I felt pumped,so pumped in fact I happily made some chicken and vegetables for dinner, then got to working on the ToDo list.

I was so happy I didn’t notice that I had been working non-stop 2100 - a whole two hours overdue for my evening nap! Now as soon as I realised this, I knew I was in trouble. As I’ve covered before, the afternoon nap is critical and should not be messed with.

I immediately stopped working and got to bed, I then managed to sleep right through the alarm until 2330 (Added Task to get louder alarm). Crap. I’m not going to take the tame off of my long sleep tonight since I don’t want the problem to cascade. But  really need to keep this in check!

Mental State

While I am pretty pissed at myself for losing control of things temporarily – I am not actually beating myself up for it that much (very out of character for me)..

Why? My ToDo list is still in great shape – I screwed up but I am in a position where it isn’t going to really cost me. Less stress is less stress. Period. This actually makes me even more “pro” the whole experiment! Anything that causes me to let up on myself must be a good thing!

Diet

Same as normal, still focused on keep caffeine down to little/zero. I have now also ditched the sugar in cups of tea (me being British, it’s in my nature to drink gallons of the stuff).

Now that I am getting back on the training horse, I will be taking a lot more care on what I eat in the evenings as well. Supplements are also going to be getting worked back into the diet plan.

Productivity

Tomatoes Completed

Total number of Pomodori/Iterations from The Pomodoro Technique completed.

10 tomatoes down at work, by the end of the day I felt like I had completed a lot. Lots of tests and code written and a new feature almost completed :)

At home I’ve currently only logged only three since I was more focused on getting the training done as opposed to focused work. Obviously I will be aiming to strike a balance between the two in the coming days so I don’t screw up my sleep again!

ToDo List Zero

Are all items that were on the “ToDo” list at the start of the day/added and urgent completed?

Should be by the time I am done for the night.. Due to the hiccup I may end up carrying some non-critical(s).

Inbox Zero

All emails in the Inbox processed. (i.e. relevant tasks created/replies sent)

Yep!

Review

Due to the massive lack of “tracking” at home, it would appear that I have been very “unproductive” but I am cool with this – I got my core focus completed. Sure, while I had a hiccup with scheduling, it’s all teething problems and they will all be ironed out ASAP.

The funny thing is, one of the biggest changes I have gone through of late is simply the refusal to let time go by without getting stuff done. This might sound stupid, but I am being deadly serious about this being a fundamental attitude shift. This is not “oh I should really do this” it’s “I have to do this”. No “if’s”, no “but’s” – no compromise.

Once this starts to really set in, you take bumps in the road in your stride. I have complete faith that I and my “GTD” system will get it sorted. Chill, geek :)

Now that has taken some serious time to get to!

Exercise

I started with an adaptation of of Mike Mahler’s Beginners Kettlebell Workout (free eBook). In short:

  • One-Arm Clean to Military Press (2x10 L/R)
  • One-Arm Bent-Over Row (2x6 L/R)
  • One-Arm Windmill (1x3 L/R)
  • One-Arm Swing (2x10 L/R)

I also threw in these for some fun :D

  • Renegade Row (2x6 L/R)
  • Double Kettlebell Front Squat (2x10)
  • Figure 8’s (1x 10)

By the end of this I was pretty puffed out :D Good fun! I’ve really missed the kettlebells TBH! Looking forward to getting past this initial pain process and upping the routine/weight!

Update

I should also add, I got my blood pressure monitor today. Still waiting for my callipers, but once they have arrived I will also be tracking some basic stats and publishing those.

Summary

A bump in the road, a little annoying, but I am still all good. I am still getting a blinding amount of work done and a lot of this is a learning experience. It would be foolish of me to think that I could get away with pushing myself this hard and not having some bumps in the road!

That said, the core focus for “geek at home” today was really the exercise, and no matter what – I nailed that and had a great time!

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