My Journal - Alex

[AlexTheGrape]

Here are my posts for the past few days:

Post-Detox Day 163

Today I had an allotted exam time for computer science, which was dedicated to report writing as we don't have exams for that subject. I got a lot done, and I thank my touch typing skills for allowing me to get a lot of content out in a relatively short period of time. I've otherwise been studying for my calculus exam that'll be on Thursday, and it's been going pretty well!

Post-Detox Day 164

Today was a complete day dedicated to studying for Calculus. I completed and marked some 4 practice tests, and got teacher help for areas I wasn't sure about. Another solid day of studying.

Post-Detox Day 165

Today I sat the Calculus exam, and I think I did really well in two of the three tests. I had to study chemistry in the afternoon though, these exams aren’t over yet.

Post-Detox Day 165

Today I did my chemistry mock exam, and it went alright. It was my final mock exam, so now I’m free to relax… Until the end of the weekend. My work ethic won’t let me rest until the holidays, which are actually in just a week.

I previously mentioned a reflection system that I developed to help with improving studying productivity and motivation in an earlier post. This has been going very well, and my brother got on board more than a week ago. It involves us defining what tasks we want to complete for a certain period of time (e.g. an afternoon) to start with. After that time has elapsed, at a dedicated time we’ll then highlight the tasks we’ve written to do according to how much/if we complete them, and then providing feedback to each other in written form. This has been a very valuable process to get daily feedback on performance and areas to improve, much more time effective than posting here.

I've now got tons of writing to do as I need to respond to all my pen pals, so although exams are finished I’m still going to be busy!

I’ll be back to my daily habits tomorrow, so things should be going smoothly.

 

[AlexTheGrape]

My post for yesterday:

Post-Detox Day 166

Today has been a dedicated day off, since I haven’t had a proper day off for a couple weeks with mock exams and all. For most of the day I was replying to my penpals I’ve left hanging for a while, but I got in some proper relaxation time too. I got on with my daily habits like I said I would, but I didn’t do any proper exercise.

Post-Detox Day 167

Today has been an average day of studying, but I completed a 3.6km run this morning to start the day, and I felt refreshed after I completed it (also completely soaked in rain!). I also spent some time with my brother, although I feel I’m going to need to find new ways to spend time with him.

I made dinner tonight, it was my first roast I’ve made. If I practice making this meal, it’ll be much easier and quicker to reproduce in future.

I made a call to a friend’s family today, and they really appreciated it. It’s a good reminder that talking to people that have concern for you and are interested in what you do is actually a need.

Gratitude journal

I am grateful for highlighters.

I am grateful for getting cooking advice.

I am grateful for the amazing age I live in.

One amazing thing that happened/I did today

Having my run was a highlight today because it gave me the clearest sense of progress. Getting out to run in the pouring rain shows dedication, so I felt proud of getting the hard exercise done today.

Workout/run

Yup.

Meditation

Yup.

Visualisation

Yup.

Daily affirmations

Yup.

Reading + taking notes

Nope.

Getting to bed before 9pm

Nope.

100% Homework effort & minimal procrastination

I did fairly well with my effort today, but I started pretty late in the day.

Daily social challenge

I’m bringing back my daily social goal, but this time I’m going to make it more of a challenge. I know I feel best when I’ve pushed my limits and learned, so I’m going to put my skills to practice to cement them.

My goal for tomorrow is to contribute at least 30% (approx.) of group conversations I’m in.

Application of new self-development skills (New!)

I’m going to give this a try: making a daily challenge or daily goal regarding the self-development book I’m currently reading. I previously did this in the form of a social goal as I was reading a social skills book last, but I’m now back to more general topics.

Tomorrow I’ll take an assertive and proactive attitude to speaking up to anything I believe is wrong or to acting for the benefit of others and my education. This is a broader goal which I might apply to the whole week if needed.

 

I’m going to create the following goals to help set out a path of where I’m going in the long term, as my daily habits need to be directed towards achieving a certain goal. I don’t have time to make them tonight though, so I’ll leave the titles here.

Weekly Goal

Monthly Goal

3 – Month Goal

 

What went well today:

Creating a backlog of all the things I potentially wanted to do today was very helpful for prioritising a lot of activities within a short amount of time. I’ll try it again tomorrow if I end up with a lot of tasks I want to complete.

What I could have done to make my day better:

I could have gone through my daily affirmations earlier in the day, and started studying earlier in the day to be more productive.

What I will do differently tomorrow:

I’m going to get on with the new challenges I’m setting myself!

Photo Stream

 I took the river photo on my run today, and the one of Rangitoto Island in the weekend.

[AlexTheGrape]

Post-Detox Day 168

There’s been a few ups and downs today, but thankfully I’ve gotten through everything fine. I got most of my mock exam results back, and have learned of a few silly mistakes I made which I can avoid in future.

I’ve been asked to start a video journal, so I’ll see how that goes.

Gratitude journal

I am grateful for having a delicious dinner tonight.

I am grateful for getting daily feedback from my brother.

One amazing thing that happened/I did today

I made sure to step up to my daily challenges, and it payed off. I felt more active and in control of my day.

Workout/run

Yup.

Meditation

Yup.

Visualisation

Nope.

Daily affirmations

Nope.

Reading + taking notes

Yup.

Getting to bed before 9pm

9:15

100% Homework effort & minimal procrastination

I’m going to phase this out, as I now do daily work reflections in written format.

Daily social goal

“contribute at least 30% (approx.) of group conversations I’m in. “ This has been a bit too specific, but I certainly contributed more than I normally would have.

Tomorrow I’m going to focus on strengthening relationships with aquiantences and friends I don’t talk to often.

Application of self-development skills

“I’ll take an assertive and proactive attitude to speaking up to anything I believe is wrong or to acting for the benefit of others and my education. This is a broader goal which I might apply to the whole week if needed.”

I applied this to class today to contribute more to class discussion, I actually contributed the most in several of them. I also applied this once outside of class to get some noisy people to be quiet whilst I was studying, and worked surprisingly well.

Weekly Goal

Have a work out or run every day of the week.

Monthly Goal

[will be decided at the start of next month]

3 – Month Goal

[will be decided at the start of next month]

What went well today:

Expressing my thoughts more openly was helpful in class discussion and in socialising today.

What I could have done to make my day better:

I could have gotten to start working faster to get more studying done.

What I will do differently tomorrow:

I’m going to get my exercise done in the morning, regardless if I feel up to it or not.

Photo Stream

Here's a photo of a stream I took whilst running last week.

[Mad Pharmacist]

Hello!

I see that you're so freakin' consistent in your journal and I really have to say, that it's a great inspiration for me!

One day I'll visit New Zealand, cause you encourage me to do that with every photo of the landscape in your journal.

Just give more of them!

Btw. have you tried cold showers? I strongly recommend that for you.

Greetings, Mad Pharmacist

[AlexTheGrape]

Post-Detox Day 169

Today has been a good one in general. I’ve felt a little down for various reasons in the first half of the day, but in the afternoon I’ve changed my attitude towards my academics which has made my day a lot better.

I had a strength workout this afternoon, but I posted yesterday that I was to do it in the morning. This isn’t good form, and I’ll need to step up to the challenge tomorrow.

Gratitude journal

I am grateful for having a workout schedule.

I am grateful for the attention I’ve received lately.

I am grateful for the limitless ways I have to spend my time.

One amazing thing that happened/I did today

I came to terms with my own academic ability and being happy at my progress, rather than comparing myself to others and getting upset that I’m not the best in that area. If I maintain this attitude I will be able to continue with my revision with confidence it’ll be worthwhile.

Workout/run

Yup.

Meditation

Yup.

Visualisation

Nope.

Daily affirmations

Nope.

Reading + taking notes

Yup.

Getting to bed before 9pm

9:05

Daily social goal

“Tomorrow I’m going to focus on strengthening relationships with acquaintances and friends I don’t talk to very often.”

I’ve managed to do this so some degree as I’ve had a good conversation with two of my friends I don’t spend much time with, but not to the level I’d have liked.

The social goal for tomorrow will be to ask 5 acquaintances/friends how they’re doing with X (relevant to them) and have a good conversation with them.

Application of self-development skills

“I’ll be assertive and show the courage to speaking up to anything I believe is wrong, and to act proactively for the benefit of others and my education.” – Applies to this week.

I offered to clean up after a presentation at lunch today, and although I wasn’t needed for long, the fact I offered to help with the arduous task was something I would likely not have done normally. I asked plenty of questions in class and contributed a lot to class discussion. So far this goal has been putting me in good stead this week.

Weekly Goal

Have a work out or run every day of the week.

Monthly Goal

[will be decided at the start of next month]

3 – Month Goal

[will be decided at the start of next month]

What went well today:

Participating more in class certainly helped me engage more with the class work.

What I could have done to make my day better:

I could have gotten up to work out as soon as my alarm went off.

What I will do differently tomorrow:

I’m going to set a faster paced alarm (done) to help get me out of bed to turn it off sooner (it took me 10 minutes to get out of bed today!)

Photo Stream

I had a workout today so didn't have any new photos to show. Today's photo is one of my favourites I took a few years ago.

[AlexTheGrape]

Hello!

I see that you're so freakin' consistent in your journal and I really have to say, that it's a great inspiration for me!

One day I'll visit New Zealand, cause you encourage me to do that with every photo of the landscape in your journal.

Just give more of them!

Btw. have you tried cold showers? I strongly recommend that for you.

Greetings, Mad Pharmacist

Thank Tomasz for checking out my journal!

Consistency keeps me accountable and accountability keeps me consistent, so it's a cycle that works well for me. If you'd like a little more consistency in your journal, perhaps add some topics you could always write on?

Awesome man! I though I'd make today's picture a little more special, so I uploaded one of my favourites for you. Thanks for the encouragement, I'll keep it up!

I have tried having cold showers quite a few times actually, and I've gone through phases when I do or don't take them. They have been beneficial in the past, but the tradeoff is that it often eroded my willpower. I'll keep it in mind though, I might get back into it soon to try it again.

[Piotr]

It's great to read your journal, so much awesomeness! When can I expect more photo streaks?

[Cam Adair]

Great picture!

[AlexTheGrape]

My post for yesterday:

Post-Detox Day 170

Today has been a rather good one in general. I got a strength work out done in the morning, and completed a decent amount of work done. I had my final fencing session at school, and it was a strange feeling to know it would be the last time I’d be doing exercise in the hall, or wearing the uniform for its intended purpose. I’ll still be continuing fencing into my university years though, so I’m still going to retain those skills. I also received a ‘Player of the Year’ award which was wonderful.

Post-Detox Day 171

Today has been a relatively relaxed day. With my brother on a trip, I no longer have someone to keep me accountable with our new review system, and I didn’t post yesterday. These have contributed to me skipping exercise today, and as a result I’ve failed my weekly goal.

Gratitude journal

I am grateful for having pen pals on the other side of the world.

I am grateful for having a stapler on my desk.

I am grateful for bonding over shared lunches.

One amazing thing that happened/I did today

My shared lunch in biology class was nice today: it was relatively quiet and it gave me some time to reflect on the term. Although my mock exam results haven’t been what I had hoped for, I’m happy with the hard work I’ve been consistently putting in.

Workout/run

Nope. Ouch! That means I’ve failed my weekly goal.

Meditation

Yup.

Visualisation

Nope.

Daily affirmations

Nope.

Reading + taking notes

Yup, not self-development though.

Getting to bed before 9pm

Nope.

Daily social goal

Yesterday’s goal was: “ask 5 acquaintances/friends how they’re doing with X (relevant to them) and have a good conversation with them.”

I only managed to do this with 2 or 3 people, so I need to stick to my objective next time.

Tomorrow’s social goal will be to simply socialise a lot.

Application of self-development skills

“I’ll be assertive and show the courage to speaking up to anything I believe is wrong, and to act proactively for the benefit of others and my education.” – Applies to this week.

Not much noticeable progress on this one other than that I have been sticking around to help clean up more. I haven’t found many opportunities to practice standing up for what I think is right, but the time will come.

Weekly Goal

Have a work out or run every day of the week.

Monthly Goal

[will be decided at the start of next month]

3 – Month Goal

[will be decided at the start of next month]

 

I need to cut it short here, it’s far past 9pm so I need to get to sleep.

[Piotr]

Greetings for getting your award! You've earned it. 

[Cam Adair]

Really appreciate your consistency with your journals. It's not easy to be consistent over the long term! 

[AlexTheGrape]

My post for yesterday:

Post-Detox Day 172

Today has been my last day of term, but still a busy one at that! It’s actually the final time I will have a proper ‘last day of term’ at school as I only have two weeks when I get back from holiday before study leave. I kept myself busy at morning tea and lunch helping out in the IT department and getting physics help. I had a run in the morning, albeit it was a shorter than usual.

In the afternoon I was at a friend’s party for a short while, and was a good opportunity to connect with friends I’d otherwise miss the opportunity to spend time with.

Post-Detox Day 173

Today I have been back at school for a whole-day internal exam, but thankfully it’s over now and I’m confident I did well. This afternoon I’ve been getting ready for a self-development packed holiday: I organised what I wanted to do these holidays onto a Trello board, hung my medals up, cleaned my room, strung up my guitar (a string was broken), had a short guitar practice, and had a long strength workout. If I keep up this level of activity, I’ll come out the other side of the holiday period almost another person!

Gratitude journal

I am grateful for having the skills to drive safely.

I am grateful for having a guitar of my own.

I am grateful for being recognised for my team fencing achievement yesterday.

One amazing thing that happened/I did today

After replacing my guitar string, tuning and playing it was strangely enjoyable. I felt motivated (for lack of a better word) to continue learning to play the guitar, I believe I’m excited to develop this skill I’ve left stagnant since earlier this year.

Workout/run

Yup.

Meditation

Not properly.

Visualisation

Nope.

Daily affirmations

Nope.

Reading + taking notes

Yup.

Getting to bed before 9pm

Nope.

Daily social goal

The goal for Friday was: “Tomorrow’s social goal will be to simply socialise a lot.” I managed to achieve this very well, I took plenty of time to greet and catch up with a lot of my old friends in the evening.

Application of self-development skills

“I’ll be assertive and show the courage to speaking up to anything I believe is wrong, and to act proactively for the benefit of others and my education.” – Applies to this week.

I’ve been making a much more active role to further my learning, characterised by getting help with particular areas I don’t properly understand and participating more in class discussion.

Weekly Goal

Have a work out or run every day of the week.

Monthly Goal

[will be decided at the start of next month]

3 – Month Goal

[will be decided at the start of next month]

What went well today:

Dishing out a list of things I wanted to get done today, prioritising, and then getting on with it was a big factor to my general activity success this afternoon.

What I could have done to make my day better:

I could have taken more time to connect with acquaintances. I decided to get on with report work but I think it would have been more worthwhile to spend some more time with friends as I will have plenty of time for homework over these holidays.

What I will do differently tomorrow:

I’m going to actually obey my alarm times tomorrow, as I tend to ignore them if I’m busy with something else.

Photo Stream

Here’s a photo from my run yesterday, and of a quote up on my wall, framed between two medals I’ve hung up today.

[AlexTheGrape]

Greetings for getting your award! You've earned it. 

Thanks man! It was a nice way to finish off the year.

[AlexTheGrape]

Really appreciate your consistency with your journals. It's not easy to be consistent over the long term! 

Thanks Cam, consistency with my posts hasn't been easy to do for so long, but I'm certainly glad I've made the effort. 

[AlexTheGrape]

Post-Detox Day 174

Today has been mostly dedicated to writing to my pen pals, and I had a great afternoon catching up with a close friend. I had a run, although there was the worst rain I’ve seen for a long time so I finished a little earlier. I’m glad I dedicated time solely to writing to pen pals, it got the obligation out of the way effectively and I can now look forward to hearing back from them.

Post-Detox Day 175

Today I’ve had a camera crew in my house… They’re producing a documentary (of sorts) on gaming, gaming addiction, and the implications of gaming today (to the best of my knowledge), my Dad was being interviewed for a few hours for this. I’ll also be interviewed tomorrow, with more filming going to be done in future, but I’m excited to see how this all turns out.

I did relatively well with my most important habits today, and I beat my record for running 2.4km in rough terrain (very hilly!). I’ve been busy throughout the day with writing a letter, a CV, and helping out the crew, and I’m glad with how I’ve spent the day.

 

I need to get to bed now, so I’ll cut it here for today. I haven’t been getting to bed on time the past week, so I now need to take action on setting that to rights.

[Cam Adair]

Really appreciate your consistency with your journals. It's not easy to be consistent over the long term! 

Thanks Cam, consistency with my posts hasn't been easy to do for so long, but I'm certainly glad I've made the effort. 

You are doing the training necessary to develop the discipline necessary to be successful in many other areas of your life. The way you do something, is the way you do everything. Proud of you dude!

[AlexTheGrape]

Post-Detox Day 176

Today has been an intense day of interviewing and filming, by the time the TV crew left I was exhausted! I was interviewed about my experiences with gaming addiction, gaming itself, and how I’ve changed/what I do now without gaming. It was a unique experience, but not one I’d like to be doing every day. I was also filmed doing photography and running in the bay area, which was different to what I expected – we needed to do a lot of repeats! I’m glad this is all coming together, and the program could be used as a resource for the community here.

Gratitude journal

I am grateful for the attention I’ve been receiving lately.

I am grateful for the opportunity to be on TV.

I am grateful for having come so far without gaming.

One amazing thing that happened/I did today

Being filmed was certainly the highlight of the day; I apparently did really well with the interview and it was a new experience being filmed doing various activities.

Workout/run

Yup.

Meditation

Yup.

Visualisation

Nope.

Daily affirmations

Nope.

Reading + taking notes

Yup.

Getting to bed before 9pm

Nope.

Daily social goal

(Didn’t set one the day before).

Application of self-development skills

I need to set a new goal for this one, as it’s now the holiday period.

Weekly Goal

Last week goal: Have a work out or run every day of the week.

This week: Follow my Forcefit 2 plan by the book.

Monthly Goal

[will be decided at the start of next month]

3 – Month Goal

[will be decided at the start of next month]

What went well today:

I finished a physical letter to a penpal today, so I’m glad I’ve gotten that out of the way. I’ll now be making sure to only write to pen pals in small amounts of time so that it doesn’t interfere with other things that need attention.

What I could have done to make my day better:

I could have gotten to bed earlier, as it may have contributed to me taking too long to get up in the morning.

What I will do differently tomorrow:

I’m going to actually obey my alarm times tomorrow, as I’ve been mostly ignoring them this week in favour of doing more activities.

Photo Stream

Here’s a photo with part of the TV crew whilst we were out to film me running.

­­­­­

[Piotr]

Can't wait for that video!!! 

[AlexTheGrape]

My post for yesterday:

Post-Detox Day 177

Today has been a relatively quiet one for me, as I was inside doing various queued tasks that I wanted to get done. I had a slow start to the day though, and so I need to work on that tomorrow.

I finished my CV preparations, and handed them out to a couple of shops.

Gratitude journal

I am grateful for now having Netflix.

I am grateful for only needing to cook dinner once a week.

I am grateful for having a clean room.

One amazing thing that happened/I did today

Finishing a written letter to a penpal was great to finish off, it means I’ve met my obligation and can look forward to a reply once I send it.

Workout/run

Attempted. I got partway through but developed a massive headache.

Meditation

Yup.

Visualisation

Nope.

Daily affirmations

Nope.

Reading + taking notes

Yup.

Getting to bed before 9pm

Nope.

Application of self-development skills

I will make sure to show leadership where possible this week.

Weekly Goal

This week: Follow my Forcefit 2 plan by the book.

Monthly Goal

[will be decided at the start of next month]

3 – Month Goal

[will be decided at the start of next month]

What went well today:

Setting time aside to finish my CV went well, but I certainly could have done more work if I got up earlier.

What I could have done to make my day better:

I could have gotten up earlier, and have a second attempt at a workout. I also ended up watching Netflix longer than I had anticipated which cut into my sleep time, so I’ll again need to sort out my alarms to give a little more warning.

What I will do differently tomorrow:

I’m going to do my own ‘simulated school’ method of going to the local library and working in a school day schedule to make sure I maximise the work I get done.

Photo Stream

Here's a picture of a stream I ran past yesterday.

[Cam Adair]

So stoked about the interview!

[AlexTheGrape]

Looks like last night's post didn't upload properly. I'll try again:

Post-Detox Day 178

I've been asked to keep a video journal for the time being, so I'll upload it here instead of a written journal for now.

 

iPhone photos and videos 037.MOV

[Rick Boon]

haha your voice was so different then i imagined

[AlexTheGrape]

haha your voice was so different then i imagined

Haha what were you expecting?

[Rick Boon]

a much younger voice! how old are you again?

[Cam Adair]

 Alex videos.