Entry 9.11  Day 770: No Useless Videos Day 768: Sticking to Food schedule Day 371: Eating Only between 06:30 and 19:00 (Last bite before 19:00) Day 74: Being in bed before 23:15 3 Things I did well no matter how small -12 pomodoros -morning workout -taing yesterday's remark and reading a bit more of parking blog posts during breaks 1 thing I could do  better -at apartment meeting, start with reading all my notes i gather throughout the week and talking about the most important ones. This way when 30 minutes pass I'll know I only have the least important ones and will have a higher probability of stopping and not continue talking for more than an hour as I usually do.

It's tough. I think we're making good progress on our addictive habits overall if we compare to years ago. It's just one of those things that's going to be a battle of endurance and patience. We've got this. 

I got 3 days of better sleep for some reason. It's like he got a splash of life without sleep regression. But last night almost no sleep and I'm exhausted again. It's like I didn't catch up on sleep at all. One day. I'm trying to look at the positives. Overall it's a better week and I'm hopeful he'll climb out of it soon. 

Fri 11.08 No mobile games - 199 days No compulsive social media use: 37 days No compulsive research: 37 days No passive screentime before bed, first thing in the mornings, or during work: 40 days Earlier today, I took some time to write a post here on this forums general section; (Don't think of Moderation as the End Goal; Think of Sobriety as the End Goal)[https://forum.gamequitters.com/index.php?/topic/11173-dont-think-of-moderation-as-the-end-goal-think-of-sobriety-as-the-end-goal/]. I wrote about where I am coming from, and that gives background on why I have those specific day counters for the goals I've set up for myself. I also shared the link to the worksheet from ITAA which helped me get that clarity for myself. My last ADHD coaching session was today, the last one my company is providing anyways. That has been so helpful honestly, and it's been what really motivated me to start journaling again. And she was very pleasantly surprised when I told her that I've been journaling for 43 days straight now (since Sept 26th). She told me to keep doing it too, because journaling is very helpful for reflecting and maintaining the good habits I've built so far. All around great feedback to get, and I'm glad she's been seeing the difference too. This helped a lot, I did talk about yesterday how I might be less productive today; and for the first hour it seemed that was what was going to happen. Talking with her really gave me some good action items to maintain the habits I've formed and to not fall into this trap of "settling back" after a good accomplishment. ----- Things I will do to stay healthy Sleep around 8h - To bed at 11:45pm and woke up at 6:45am, all around about 7 hours again. I stayed up working through the 7 Habits workbook. My last journal entry was posted shortly after I finished those exercises. Partly, I think the lateness is because I forgot about some of the plans I had committed to; errands with my wife and volunteering online. So if I am to maintain these things that I want to do every day, I have to also make an effort to note down commitments in my calendar, check it as well (not just waiting for alerts) and then communicate them with my wife earlier in the day. Stretch - upon waking up, before the gym workout and afterwards too. ...I've been pretty good about stretching, so next entry I'm going to remove it from this template. I feel confident enough to have baked this as a good habit, and I regularly don't say much about it anymore. I'll keep doing it, and if I have to mention something about it, I'll put it under the exercise objective. ...But I'm also gonna add an objective; Brush teeth + Floss. I have noticed that I tend to forget the flossing part some nights. And tonight is gonna be the night I will commit to making both of these a thing. I'll brush AND floss after this entry is posted. I'll make this a night habit. Go for walks / Exercise - My wife and I did quite a bit of arms; bicep curls, tricep extensions, lateral lifts, flys, and overhead press. We finished with planks. Very good workout today; despite waking up a bit late, I did get my kids to school fairly quickly this morning, which helped get more gym time before work. Shower + wash face - got both done after the workout. Meditate + Deep Breaths - At work today, there was actually a guided meditation that they set up for employees to do during a break. That was mighty kind of them! They invited a meditation coach to do it for us. It was great! The theme was about taking a moment to check-in with ourselves as a way to expand our perspective and achieve our goals; we often show up for other people, but we don't tend to make time to show up for ourselves (to check-in with us). So we tell ourselves 3 times; "may we be safe and secure, may we be peaceful and at ease, and may we be kind to ourselves in this moment." Drink Water - yes. I will still keep this even though I don't say much about it, because it is a helpful reminder for me :D Nutrition * Breakfast: 2 banana muffins my mother in law brought us (very kind of her) * Lunch: omelette with spicy peppers and cheese * Dinner: quick pasta dinner Talk to my partner - I was told by my ADHD coach during our final session to use accountability partners for my commitments; so that helps me explain for why I find journaling on this forum to be effective. One thing she mentioned was to also mention my accomplishments to my wife, and letting her know what my commitments are for the next day. I'll keep that in mind and do that, and moving forward. Talk to my kids + play with them - Tonight I read more books with my kids, which also serve as good French practice for me. Read a book - The 7 Habits workbook, see section below. Practice French - I posted on NewHopes intro topic en français, did Duolingo earlier, and practiced with my partner and kids. Journal - I am grateful that I've stayed logged off all social media besides my Messenger account for 37 days now. I like this feeling of being more aware and mindful with what I do. ------ 7 habits - proactivity test - day 21 Commitments yesterday: * Post my paper exercises in my entry tomorrow * Do more exercises as well; maybe see if I can finish Habit 2s exercises (I'll make that last part a stretch though) Reviewing my personal mission statement first:     I will strive to live a balanced life in my creative pursuits, my job, my family life, and my spiritual life; being honest, patient, loving and driving a positive impact based on my values with everything I do. I'm going to modify it a bit to this;     My mission is to be an honest, patient, loving and positive source of energy and support. I will strive to hold a balanced lifestyle in everything I do; my family, my job, my hobbies and creative pursuits, and my spirituality. I will drive a positive impact to the best of my ability, based on my values with everything I do. I will keep an open mind, seeking to understand before being understood. I will continue to strive for improvement, use the tools which I've been given and found successful, and always work on my personal growth. I feel that this better represents what I want to be and strive for. But I'll keep doing edits to it and revisit on the 13th to do steps 5 and 6 from that workbook. I'll update the About Me section of my profile for now with this statement. Roles and Goals The workbook asks me to write my roles in life, limiting it to seven or less just for this exercise. Also write the statement of optimal performance in role. What sticks out to me: ==Father== Be patient, kind, loving, an active listener, someone to make good times with, and a good role model. ==Husband== Never compromise honesty. Be an active listener, spend quality couple time together, working together to raise successful children and have a lifetime of great experiences together. == Software/Database Engineer == Be interdependent in my work, driving and achieving a greater impact with my team. Continue to work towards self improvement with the techniques I picked up from ADHD Coaching. == Friend == Spend quality time with friends regularly, being a good listener and supportive with them. == Writer == Write readable and understandable documentation. Express my creative ideas through (short) stories and prose, review my journaling for my self reflection, with a goal of publishing later in life. == Volunteer == continue to volunteer with the online tech club, find a physical place in my community to also volunteer and/or donate which I'm passionate about **Goals** Goals are what give your mission statement momentum; they create a plan of action and help measure whether or not you are successfully living your mission statement. Three Long term goals to support my mission, along with solidification reasons for why they matter to me: Goal 1 - strive towards continuous self improvement in my career, taking the opportunities I am given and making an effort to create opportunities for myself and others. This goal is important to me so that I may continue to grow in my field. A year or so back, I actually called out that I wanted to get promoted on this forum as one of my goals. But in hindsight, I think I just ended up hoping it would happen to me, rather than actually taking up my ownership to work towards that goal. Goal 2 - Continue to work on my awareness and mindfulness, sticking with these seeking to first listen to others before being understood. I tend to blow up a lot and let my emotions control me. By practicing the 7 Habits, along with meditation, that has helped visualize situations which are usually stressful in which I can choose a better response. Goal 3 - Remain committed to journaling every day and reflecting on my entries frequently to aid me on my growth. Publish my own creative project, be it a collection of short stories or a novel, or even a technical text. This has been really helpful for me, as I've mentioned several times here, for my own reflection. It also really helps me in the sense that I can focus on what is important to me; the things I will do to stay healthy, for instance, and my mission statement here. As for writing, that is something I do really want to explore in my own time. -- I did not finish all of Habit 2 yet, but I'll continue either tomorrow or Sunday; I don't want to commit for tomorrow because my oldest is having a birthday party, so that will keep me busy. The next part is the "How" I plan on accomplishing these goals. Commitments tomorrow: * Download copy and go through the ADHD Coaching document on cementing and post-coaching retention strategies. * Talk to my partner about my commitments that I achieve and set for myself. * (if time allows) continue with 7 Habits Good night everybody!

Entry 8.11  Day 769: No Useless Videos Day 767: Sticking to Food schedule Day 370: Eating Only between 06:30 and 19:00 (Last bite before 19:00) Day 73: Being in bed before 23:15 3 Things I did well no matter how small -16 pomodoros, awesome! -morning workout -15 minute in sun even though it was cloudy, as much as I managed to catch 1 thing I could do  better -Read about garages at breaks sometimes?