My Journal - Alex

[Mettermrck]

I guess after a while, things that used to help, like meditation, are no longer useful for where you're at? I'm still developing my meditation practice. I think it's useful since I'm still very wired into.technology.

[BigPete247]

@AlexTheGrape, What's up?, Good starting out man. 

@Mettermrck I've tried it a few times, no dice.

[AlexTheGrape]

My post for yesterday:

Today has been a very busy day of university work, despite me technically being on holiday. I was at university to do a group report and stayed until 5:30, I'm glad with the work I've done. I also stood up for my values on multiple occassions today. Firstly I saw a man litter whilst I was walking to university, so I picked it up and asked him to put it in a bin. He got quite aggressive and threatened me, but getting out of my comfort zone in any way helps me. Secondly I got feedback from a lecturer after my group had left and I realised that the report still needed a lot of editing for top marks. I stuck to my values of success and convinced the team to help me put in the extra work, even though everyone else was in disagreement at first.

In the weekend I went on a leadership course to develop my skills, and I'm really glad I went. Despite being one of the youngest there, I was glad to find out that I was one of the best leaders. I also spent time with people from backgrounds, cultures and ages that I normally would not have contact with, which made the experience all the more rewarding. What I found interesting is that meditation and mindfulness came up as a necessary strategy to cope with the stresses of leadership and life in general, which has reminded me to get back into it. I did a weekly reflection on Sunday afternoon which is the first I've done for a long while. Funnily enough the camp was called Camp Adair.

I didn't get much sleep and my diet hasn't been the best recently, but I look to improve that. I've decided this week to focus on mindfulness and consistency. I need to make the good small choices to make the most of my day.

 

Gratitude journal

I'm grateful for Spring.

I'm grateful for having a lunch box.

I'm grateful for the wonderful leadership opportunities I had this weekend.

 

What went well today:

I was able to work abnormally long because I had someone working hard next to me too. I stuck to my guts, which served me well for the most part.

What didn't go well today:

I let my desire to improve the report get out of hand a little, as I was making changes after we agreed to stop. I need to be more aware of the time.

What I'll do differently tomorrow:

I'll set alarms to make sure I do all the little tasks I normally put off, and make sure I'm timing myself when I do my work.

[AlexTheGrape]

@AlexTheGrape, What's up?, Good starting out man. 

@Mettermrck I've tried it a few times, no dice.

Hey Big Pete! I'm doing well thanks. It appears I'm nowhere near as consistent with journalling as I should be, so sorry for the late reply.

How's your journey going?

[BigPete247]

@AlexTheGrape, What's up?, Good starting out man. 

@Mettermrck I've tried it a few times, no dice.

Hey Big Pete! I'm doing well thanks. It appears I'm nowhere near as consistent with journalling as I should be, so sorry for the late reply.

How's your journey going?

It's going pretty good, i like how my life has really turned around, i gained more sociability and respect from a lot of people, even my dad. I'm glad i took a step back from gaming

[AlexTheGrape]

Today has been a relatively unsuccessful day. I was up late, and didn’t get much sleep. I didn’t sleep in, but spent almost an hour just scrolling through Facebook. I went to university to study, but procrastinated a little too much. The result was that I got a little bit of panicked work done when I realised how much time I had left. I then went to robotics in the evening which went well. In terms of productivity I’ve performed very poorly today, I even managed to waste all my time on the bus into uni by staring out the window. Although this would be acceptable in other circumstances, I have an assignment due tomorrow and I need to make the most of my time.

Gratitude journal

I'm grateful for developing self-control a lot more since I'm in university.

I'm grateful for the help I received from my dad to cook dinner tonight.

I'm grateful for the minimal corruption in New Zealand.

 

What went well today:

I went to the gym and made good use of my time there. I socialised plenty at robotics. Otherwise nothing.

What didn’t go well today:

I didn’t get enough sleep, I didn’t do enough work, I procrastinated and listened to music too much. I also didn’t write in a schedule of what I wanted to do, which undermined my organisation.

What I’ll do differently tomorrow:

I’ll make sure to get enough sleep first of all. I’m then going to not bring my headphones to uni so that I don’t have that distraction available. I’m then going to plan out my day by the minute when I’m on the bus.

[AlexTheGrape]

On Wednesday I went to uni to do some studying. It was a very successful day and I even got some feedback from a lecturer.

Yesterday I went to a shopping mall with friends and spent time ice-skating and doing other things. I didn't have as much conversation with them as I'd have thought, but maybe I don't fit in with a group of people who constantly talk over one another. I didn't get many chores done or anything, so I'm not too please with my work ethic.  I also went to see another good friend who I get along with much better, and I'm glad I spent the time to catch up.

I did well in general with exercising, however I haven't been practicing mindfulness as much as I should have.

[AlexTheGrape]

The past couple of days have wizzed by! It has been a few fun days including going out and hosting my own (delayed) birthday party. I'm pretty well rested now and I should be able to get back to studying tomorrow.

I've realised I've been spending a bit too much money recently, but with awareness I'll make sure this is just a one-off. I've made sure to do my exercise this week which is good, but I'm still not posting here daily which is an issue.

I've also realised that I don't enjoy a lifestyle of getting up late and staying up late, it has made me feel rather sad and not myself recently. To make sure this doesn't happen again I'll make sure to keep a consistent sleeping routine.

Gratitude journal:

I'm grateful for having friends who are responsible.

I'm grateful for spotify playlists.

I'm grateful for blue sky.

[AlexTheGrape]

The past two days have been mixed: it involved quite a bit of travel, procrastination, and a bit of work, but overall I could do better.

I've done better today, having been programming for a lot of the day and getting through a large part of my programming project. I want to get up on time tomorrow to make the most of my time.

I'm grateful for uber.

I'm grateful for doing a software paper.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to have a second job.

 

[Cam Adair]

Great new profile picture brother!

[dirkj3]

Today has been a relatively unsuccessful day. I was up late, and didn’t get much sleep. I didn’t sleep in, but spent almost an hour just scrolling through Facebook. I went to university to study, but procrastinated a little too much. The result was that I got a little bit of panicked work done when I realised how much time I had left. I then went to robotics in the evening which went well. In terms of productivity I’ve performed very poorly today, I even managed to waste all my time on the bus into uni by staring out the window. Although this would be acceptable in other circumstances, I have an assignment due tomorrow and I need to make the most of my time.

 

Gratitude journal

I'm grateful for developing self-control a lot more since I'm in university.

I'm grateful for the help I received from my dad to cook dinner tonight.

I'm grateful for the minimal corruption in New Zealand.

 

 

What went well today:

 

I went to the gym and made good use of my time there. I socialised plenty at robotics. Otherwise nothing.

 

What didn’t go well today:

 

I didn’t get enough sleep, I didn’t do enough work, I procrastinated and listened to music too much. I also didn’t write in a schedule of what I wanted to do, which undermined my organisation.

 

What I’ll do differently tomorrow:

 

I’ll make sure to get enough sleep first of all. I’m then going to not bring my headphones to uni so that I don’t have that distraction available. I’m then going to plan out my day by the minute when I’m on the bus.

 

I feel the same way when I don't have a schedule right away.

It is good to make one the day before.

It often was a reason why I relapsed that often.

Now I can plan beforehand but to be honest some days I don't wanna follow a schedule in a tough situation.

So it all boils down to arrange habits to do the tasks given in a regular basis.

 

 

[AlexTheGrape]

Great new profile picture brother!

Thanks Cam!

[AlexTheGrape]

 

I feel the same way when I don't have a schedule right away.

It is good to make one the day before.

It often was a reason why I relapsed that often.

Now I can plan beforehand but to be honest some days I don't wanna follow a schedule in a tough situation.

So it all boils down to arrange habits to do the tasks given in a regular basis.

Thank you for your thoughts! Yeah in reflection I really need to be planning the day before and being really intentional about how I spend my time.

[dirkj3]

 

 

I feel the same way when I don't have a schedule right away.

It is good to make one the day before.

It often was a reason why I relapsed that often.

Now I can plan beforehand but to be honest some days I don't wanna follow a schedule in a tough situation.

So it all boils down to arrange habits to do the tasks given in a regular basis.

Thank you for your thoughts! Yeah in reflection I really need to be planning the day before and being really intentional about how I spend my time.

The thing is I can give advice like a poet but really using this in real life in every situation no matter how hard that can be quite difficult to maintain.

 

[AlexTheGrape]

Today has been another relatively poor day of studying. I spent plenty of time programming for my assignment and CV writing, but because it was unstructured and largely unplanned it wasn’t anywhere near as productive as it could have been.

I don’t know why I’m not posting here daily. I know that it is key to my reflective success, but it seems I forget a lot of the time. I’ll make an alarm for it now. Done.

 

Gratitude journal

I am grateful for having four pets.

I am grateful for sunshine.

I am grateful for loyalty.

One amazing thing that happened/I did today:

Giving the dogs a run and playing with them was a fun break, it really brightened up my day.

Workout/run

Running the dog again. Better than last time, but not what I wanted previously.

Daily task planning ahead of time

Done.

Exercise planning

Tomorrow morning I’m going to go for a run and use the weights at home.

Meditation

Nope.

Visualisation

Nope.

Daily affirmation

Nope.

Fully cold shower

Nope. I need to do this again to remind myself daily that I need to be comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Reading + taking notes

Nope.

Getting to bed before 10:10pm

Nope.

Jar of Awesome

Nope.

Cook a meal + Cooking journal

Nope.

Daily application of self-development skills

--

Programming

Yup, but this was essential work.

Social journal

Nope.

What went well today:

Taking exercise breaks.

What didn’t go well today:

Not doing enough exercise.

What I could have done to make my day better:

Getting enough sleep.

What I will do differently tomorrow:

Time myself doing repetitive or other time-consuming tasks.

[AlexTheGrape]

 

 

I feel the same way when I don't have a schedule right away.

It is good to make one the day before.

It often was a reason why I relapsed that often.

Now I can plan beforehand but to be honest some days I don't wanna follow a schedule in a tough situation.

So it all boils down to arrange habits to do the tasks given in a regular basis.

Thank you for your thoughts! Yeah in reflection I really need to be planning the day before and being really intentional about how I spend my time.

The thing is I can give advice like a poet but really using this in real life in every situation no matter how hard that can be quite difficult to maintain.

 

Best of luck with trying these yourself then! Acknowledging these things is a crucial part of doing them consistently, so props for you for that.

[AlexTheGrape]

Today has been a generally good day back at university. I caught up with friends and made it to all lectures despite being deathly tired, and went to the gym too. I mean to get good sleep tonight, but at the moment it doesn’t seem likely as I need to do tons of studying for an online test tomorrow. In future I’ll need to get up earlier and get my gymming done very quickly as it cut into a ton of my study time.

 

Gratitude journal

I am grateful for having friends who inspire me to do my best.

I am grateful for meeting an old friend by chance.

I am grateful for the flexibility my job offers.

One amazing thing that happened/I did today:

Going to a nearby sushi shop and discovering how cheap it was an exciting experience, I think it’ll be my new home for purchased lunch.

Workout/run

Yup, went to the gym today.

Daily task planning ahead of time

Not needed.

Exercise planning

Tomorrow morning I’m going to the gym super early!

Meditation

Nope.

Visualisation

Nope.

Daily affirmation

Nope.

Fully cold shower

Nope. I need to do this again to remind myself daily that I need to be comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Reading + taking notes

Nope.

Getting to bed before 10:10pm

Nope.

Jar of Awesome

Yup.

Cook a meal + Cooking journal

Nope.

Daily application of self-development skills

Tomorrow I’m going to have a cold shower, let’s do this!

Programming

Nope.

Social journal

Nope. I don’t even know where it is!

What went well today:

Taking the time to get through my whole gym schedule despite delays.

What didn’t go well today:

Procrastination at different points during the day.

What I could have done to make my day better:

Get more sleep, prioritise study time.

What I will do differently tomorrow:

I’m going to leave super early, and make as much time for studying as possible.

Photo Stream

Here's a picture of me taken by a friend when I went to the South Island to go skiing!

[Daniel]

Awesome picture!

[AlexTheGrape]

Quick post for today:

Today has been a busy day, with preparation for a test, doing the test itself, and doing robotics in the afternoon. I am a bit behind in sleep and am struggling to find study time, so I'll need to work on that. I intend to get up real early in the coming days to make sure I get enough study time, but at the moment my plate is overflowing with tasks. Tomorrow I'll try to get things done in every crook and cranny of my time.

[Cam Adair]

Agreed with Daniel, that's an awesome picture.

[Simon E]

I've been uncertain whether the journal continues to serve a strong enough purpose now that I've beaten the addiction (would prefer to have said "killed", but that f'cker refuses to die completely  ) and haven't really made an effort to write regularly, but having seen yours that might change. I'm inspired: it's so structured. Also appreciate how you use it as a mirror of the day; it can't too pleasant to write "nope" over and over, am I wrong? 

Might steal the bits and pieces I like most - no hard feelings right?  

Keep being awesome

[AlexTheGrape]

I've been uncertain whether the journal continues to serve a strong enough purpose now that I've beaten the addiction (would prefer to have said "killed", but that f'cker refuses to die completely  ) and haven't really made an effort to write regularly, but having seen yours that might change. I'm inspired: it's so structured. Also appreciate how you use it as a mirror of the day; it can't too pleasant to write "nope" over and over, am I wrong? 

Might steal the bits and pieces I like most - no hard feelings right?  

Keep being awesome

Thanks Simon! Yeah you're definitely right - I'm no longer "on a mission" anymore since I no longer struggle to keep myself away from video games. I keep coming back to here though because it is such a useful reflection tool. At the moment my goals are primarily focused on the grades I want to achieve and to pursue leadership opportunities, so I guess I do still have need for this kind of thing.

Go for it! Use all the layout you need and want, if it helps you then I'm happy for you to use it

You keep being awesome too

[AlexTheGrape]

 

The past few days have been a blur of activity, I had my test and have been working hard to meet all my commitments. I’m finding that organising for tutoring sessions and so on has been a bit more trouble than it is worth: I haven’t started yet but I have still spent many hours on the website organising timetables and making arrangements. I’ll see how it goes though. I sorta went on a date yesterday, so hopefully this goes well in future.

Today has been an awesome day at university, I got up super early to go to the gym and had plenty of time left to study before my first lecture. I finished writing and proofing a CV for an internship, so I’m glad I got that sent and out of the way. I’ve needed to stay late at university every night this week, so I’m finding it a little difficult to put in all the revision work I need to.

 

Gratitude journal

I am grateful for having friendly and helpful lecturers.

I am grateful for living in New Zealand.

I am grateful for the washing machine.

One amazing thing that happened/I did today:

Getting up really early has allowed me to do so much more with my morning! I felt pumped to make the most of today and I want to do the same tomorrow.

Workout/run

Yup, I went to the gym again!

Daily task planning ahead of time

Nope, not needed.

Exercise planning

Tomorrow I’m going to the gym again.

Meditation

Nope. I really need to schedule it somehow, but I’ll just need to remember for now.

Visualisation

Nope. I have nothing to visualise… I’ll just need to visualise my goals, and remember why I want to do them. Feel the success of achieving it and feeling inspired whilst working.

Daily affirmation

No daily affirmation. I don’t think these ever worked anyway so I’ll just remove it next time.

Fully cold shower

Nope. I did one yesterday out of necessity, but for now I’m enjoying the warm showers. There’s only so much willpower I have!

Reading + taking notes

Nope. I need to dedicate more time! I also don’t know where I should be taking notes.

Getting to bed before 10:10pm

Nope. I am today though!

Jar of Awesome

Yup! Getting into the habit of this is getting good.

Cook a meal + Cooking journal

Nope. I’m going to scrap this one as I really don’t have time right now and won’t in the next couple of weeks.

Daily application of self-development skills

Tomorrow I’m going to have a cold shower, let’s do this! – I failed this one on Tuesday, I had one yesterday and it was ok because it was not completely cold. I think I should do this in future.

Programming

Nope. I also don’t have time to practice this daily.

Social journal

Nope. I need to find it…

What went well today:

Getting up early.

What didn’t go well today:

Not much actually.

What I could have done to make my day better:

Meditate maybe? Otherwise I did pretty well.

What I will do differently tomorrow:

I’m going to get to bed early so that I get enough sleep.

Photo Stream

Here's a photo I took at a VEX robotics scrimmage (competition) I volunteered at about a month ago!

[Cam Adair]

I've been uncertain whether the journal continues to serve a strong enough purpose now that I've beaten the addiction (would prefer to have said "killed", but that f'cker refuses to die completely  ) and haven't really made an effort to write regularly, but having seen yours that might change. I'm inspired: it's so structured. Also appreciate how you use it as a mirror of the day; it can't too pleasant to write "nope" over and over, am I wrong? 

Might steal the bits and pieces I like most - no hard feelings right?  

Keep being awesome

Thanks Simon! Yeah you're definitely right - I'm no longer "on a mission" anymore since I no longer struggle to keep myself away from video games. I keep coming back to here though because it is such a useful reflection tool. At the moment my goals are primarily focused on the grades I want to achieve and to pursue leadership opportunities, so I guess I do still have need for this kind of thing.

Go for it! Use all the layout you need and want, if it helps you then I'm happy for you to use it

You keep being awesome too

Alex, you're a great example to others of continuing to be dedicated to your personal growth. Thanks for continuing to be here! 

[AlexTheGrape]

I've been uncertain whether the journal continues to serve a strong enough purpose now that I've beaten the addiction (would prefer to have said "killed", but that f'cker refuses to die completely  ) and haven't really made an effort to write regularly, but having seen yours that might change. I'm inspired: it's so structured. Also appreciate how you use it as a mirror of the day; it can't too pleasant to write "nope" over and over, am I wrong? 

Might steal the bits and pieces I like most - no hard feelings right?  

Keep being awesome

Thanks Simon! Yeah you're definitely right - I'm no longer "on a mission" anymore since I no longer struggle to keep myself away from video games. I keep coming back to here though because it is such a useful reflection tool. At the moment my goals are primarily focused on the grades I want to achieve and to pursue leadership opportunities, so I guess I do still have need for this kind of thing.

Go for it! Use all the layout you need and want, if it helps you then I'm happy for you to use it

You keep being awesome too

Alex, you're a great example to others of continuing to be dedicated to your personal growth. Thanks for continuing to be here! 

Thank you Cam! You're doing a great job growing the community, thank you for your tireless work!