Tom

Hey, think about the primordial soup! Many works start as a collection of random stuff. Also research is a fundamental part of the equation. Don't beat yourself up when you're actually making progress, pat yourself on the shoulder instead If you struggle with organizing your thoughts give mind mapping a try. I use XMind (free).

That means a lot. Thanks! I don't want to be an example of giving up when things are hard to my baby. I want her to know that adversity can just be a training ground for a successful life.. Yes! Being a good example to my children has been a major force for change. If we can teach them good methods, equip them with a "life how-to", we are doing them a great service. And the only way to do that is through showing them how it's done.

Great to read you are progressing so well with your novel!

Hi Alex! Good to see that you're proactive with your group of Civ friends. Risk is a great game. If time is an issue (well, maybe not since Civ is not exactly a quick game) you can try Settlers of Catan (and its many variations). Just like Risk it's great with many players. I'm intrigued by a co-op game called Pandemic, can't wait to give it a try! Earlier you were asking about advice on volunteering. I've been doing voluntary work all my life. Literally: I was so young when I started helping out at my parents's organization that I don't even know when that was. With time and experience I served as a coordinator and as a board member at several organizations. I love it because it can have a real impact on people's lives. My advice is: 1) pick your cause, 2) pick your community. 1) You will always find a chance to do voluntary work towards the goal you care about the most. For me it was education, human rights, and disability. I've been briefly involved with other causes but always came back to what resonated with me the most and where I could create the biggest change. This second item is where pick your community comes into play. 2) In volunteering you will find all kinds of organizations. I can't stress this enough: only commit your time to an organization that knows what it's doing. Goodwill without good direction wastes time, wastes private and public money, and potentially harms the cause it wants to support. It's fine to interview an organization, visit a few times, get to know the volunteers and (if applicable) the people they are trying to help before committing your time. Let me know how it goes!

I like your steps for writing. I've been doing a pre-draft and then combining writing and editing, with a final review at the end. Separating the two steps should work much better. I'll give it a try.

No worries man, you are not your job Fortunately you have so much more. Enjoy your weekend!

Day 45. O joy! The children let me sleep in! And then we had a quick breakfast and went all together to the swimming pool. It was great! We might have found the perfect weekend family activity. It's cheap, next to home, healthy, and fun for all of us. In the late afternoon we hosted dinner for two other families with little children. It was good! Excellent ethnic cuisine, good company, the children bonded and had a blast. It was over too fast! We are already planning the next dinner at another family's place. I'm so happy that we are finally making friends. Gratitude journal: Decaffeinated coffee making for a trouble-free, delicious evening drink.Sturdy boxes. The best toy ever.Obstinacy. The only way to make and keep friends in your thirties when you have a family.

Day 44. Woke up later than usual to get more recovery time. Throwing off my morning routine is not a terrible things as long as it's deliberate. Still managed to do everything in time in the morning, although rushing a bit. I tried to minimize stress during the working day and managed to do well. The highlight of the day was the evening. My wife and I had been asked to curate this month's TEDx. Our program has been a great success. Engagement from the public was stellar. Many attendees came to congratulate us and thank us for an evening well spent. Joining the TEDx community was the first action I planned when I quit gaming. And it was the perfect activity to do together with my wife. Never in my wildest dreams I would have thought that we'd get along so well with the organizing committee. Doors are opening so often when we take the courage to knock! Gratitude journal: Cam is truly involved and affectionate with this community. That means a lot.Meeting many interesting people at TEDx.Business is good.

Day 43. A day of rest. I worked in bed for a while (I know it's not a good thing to do - bite me ) and spent the rest of the day watching anime and playing with the children. Went to bed early as usual, feeling already much better. I'm still working on optimizing my energy levels as I tend to dedicate myself completely to what I do and to never let go until completion. But if there's something I learned from weightlifting is that rest is just as important as exercise. I was talking with my wife about how quitting gaming has made me more present and less distracted. There was also a component of shame in gaming that made me hide. No gaming, no shame, no need to hide, more husband and dad for my family. I still need solitude, although not as much as before, and I'm less cranky when I'm tired. Since everything else in my life remained constant, I can only credit not gaming for my increased happiness. Gratitude journal: Leiji Matsumoto for his incredible impact on Sci-Fi.Having invested in a great bed. We're spending at least 30% of our lives in bed after all Chocolate!

Way to go man! I'm so happy for you!

Day 42. Today was sluggish. So many priorities competing for time. It took quite a while to get everything done. I did dedicate time to my family though, and had good fun playing with the children. Gratitude journal: Trello, my whiteboard, my notes. Having everything planned is the only way to get things done.Nice autumn days.Pictures to take the mind back in time.

Day 41. So I woke up to help the children get ready, saw my wife was up, and fell back into bed until right before the time to go out. No remorse: if I need rest I'm going to take it. Morning walk with the little one and then straight work. An idea I pitched was received much better than I thought: the guy wrote a whole plan around it and is working to make it happen. This got me thinking. I was never afraid to speak my mind and this brought me major trouble when I was growing up. I always wanted to do things my own way hoping that I would find a better system that could benefit everyone. This has been labeled as cocky, out of place, disrespectful, more times than I can count. I kept doing it though. Rather than changing myself, I changed my circumstances. And in turn those circumstances affected me greatly, in a virtuous circle, and changed me. Until the point where I'm the right person, I'm in the right place, at the right time. Luck sure takes a lot of work! Gratitude journal: My wife made me breakfast today. And it was really tasty!Guinness with a friend in an Irish pub.Customer service. A voice on the phone can make your day.

Day 40. Woke up early and, instead of writing my dream journal, I went straight to meditation. I'm starting to question the dream journal thing. As cool as it is, I'm starting to wonder whether I should just sleep longer. The fact is that I get so tired, especially at the end of the week, that my quality of life suffers. I'll try 9 hours and see what happens. Regular working day, which I tackled with a little less enthusiasm than usual because I'm still tired from the event. I did what I had to do and that's what matters. My workout was good. I struggled quite a bit but I met all my goals. Well, that was pretty much it since as soon as I was done with work and workout I went to lie down a bit... and it was lights off until the next morning Gratitude journal: Joe Satriani teaching humanity that there are so many sounds an instrument can make!Laptops that make me work where I want to.Lapsang Souchong making me mindful. The more I drink it the more I ask myself whether I like it or not Can't stop!

Thanks Cam! It's great to be back. If you read that book let me know what you think of it. So much food for thought!

Check out Are bodyweight exercises effective? to see if you want to go down that road. It really depends on your goals. If you do, Insanity is a popular choice. You can also follow this guide to craft a decent program. That said, I wouldn't exchange my strength training for anything else!

Hi Travis I couldn't wait to get back to your journal after my week off. I'm so happy to read about your progress and thankful that you take the time to expose the thinking behind it.

Day 39. I thought I'd sleep longer to recover from the week. I did but not as long as I thought. I woke up and stayed in bed, thinking some things over, until I felt good about getting up. Since then I spent all day with my family. Coming back from the park we met a family we'd like to get to know better. We invited them for the afternoon and they came. The children played together while us adults checked each other out. Yes, we get along, no major deal breakers So we are meeting again next week, most probably with another family all of us already know. The efforts in building a support network are finally starting to pay out. I noticed I'm putting in practice some advice from the book Superhuman Social Skills. Being more mindful of the way I communicate is having only positive effects. Gratitude journal: A Sunday of full, active relaxation.My family being so happy I'm back.Finland for giving me great music and friends lately

Days 33 to 38. Everything went as I anticipated, from getting way to little sleep (that was unavoidable) to having great discussions with colleagues and business partners. I'm tired but satisfied. The children were very sweet when I came back home yesterday and spent all the rest of the day with them. I noticed a dangerous side effect of my focus on self-improvement: I'm becoming judgmental of people who are close to me when I don't see a commitment in evolving (becoming) and progressing (achieving). Lack of ambition and addictive behaviors are particularly effective at pushing my buttons. I'm working further on compassion and considering carefully if, when, and how I should intervene. I finished The Power of Habit and loved it. Now I'm reading The Wisdom of Psychopaths and, although I'm only at 20%, I can only recommend it. It's mind-blowing. Gratitude journal: Being part of an awesome work community.Having the terrifying gift of introspection.The basket at the park next to home.

Day 32. It makes so much difference when the children wake up on their own, without an alarm clock! They are in a good mood and so the atmosphere at home is fun and relaxed. We had a slow morning and then decided we'd all go together to buy some stuff I needed. The two little ones are growing up, so what would have been a stressful experience some months ago turned out fine today. We even had lunch at a cafeteria. Another thing that helps keep the spirits up is that the weather is still awesome! Today was also the day I planned meeting with my Canadian friend. It was the first time we hung out outside of our work environment and I can say that our instincts were good: we had a blast! It's good that we have one more week to go before he leaves! Oh yes, about next week. I'll be busy from early mornings to late evenings with a business convention. I won't be active on this forum. No worries, I'll be fine Actually I'm very much looking forward to it. I don't often get to spend time with those amazing people that are my colleagues. It will be a tough week physically, but a joy nonetheless. Gratitude journal: My freshly-baked nephew is healthy and so is my sister.Dutch cuisine. I'd have never imagined it would be so tasty.Living in a country at peace.

I also found myself questioning my decision to quit gaming. And with your exact same thoughts! Last time? Yesterday afternoon. My trick is doing something that 1) feels like a distraction, 2) I like doing, and 3) has benefits in real life. So far it's been participating in this community, strength training, reading good books, studying on Duolingo, listening to great music. I can't yet say I completely reprogrammed my gaming cravings though. Today I came across this article: Find Out What to Focus on Next with This Motivation Matrix. It looks like you will find it useful too.

Day 31. This used to be a day of grief for me. For years the pain would bite hard and I'd just excuse myself and go be alone somewhere. Gaming was a given: it's always been a good anesthetic. Today I can finally say that I got over it. Anger made way to acceptance. I thought this day would never come. It even felt wrong to wish it would. And yet here I am, shaped by the experience but finally not burdened by it anymore. Gratitude journal: Bittersweet memories of a distant past. A cigarette, a ride home, a kind word.Life's sense of irony. This morning my nephew was born. A sweet little girl The warm feeling of friendship.

Day 30. Woke up too early on my own and went back to sleep grateful: more sleep and higher chances of good dream recall. And that's exactly what happened. Later in the day I reached the part in which The Power of Habit writes about Michael Phelps, and realized that I I'm literally starting every day with a win, which is better dream recall. That's inspiring. Gratitude journal: I can finally go to sleep after a long and productive day.Industrial ear muffs. Sometimes you just need some quiet and they work great.Distant friends.

Hi Jay. Welcome You already brought something to the table: your honesty and your will to change. They are worth gold! Read, post, get involved. You'll find yourself at home here. We've got your back.

Have you ever tried Trello? Quoting it's Wikipedia entry: "Projects are represented by boards, which contain lists (corresponding to task lists). Lists contain cards (corresponding to tasks). Cards are supposed to progress from one list to the next (via drag-and-drop), for instance mirroring the flow of a feature from idea to implementation." Consider my work board. WIP is the maximum amount of items I'm allowing myself to keep in a certain stage. Backlog captures all tasks and ideas. Done reminds me of my accomplishments and makes it easy to report to management. Lists: Backlog | Priority (WIP: 5) | Today (WIP: 4) | Doing (WIP: 1) | Done It quickly became an essential tool to manage my work and personal life. Give it a try!

I hear you! IGN, PC Gamer, Eurogamer, Kotaku. Tom's Hardware and Anandtech for news about hardware. Twitter feeds. I made it a point to reach out to a friend or family member whenever I feel the craving for gaming news. It works for me.