Archive of posts with tag 'meditation'

Goal Progress: November

December 1, 2020 • #

We had a hurricane blow up part of a week of productivity around here, but I still limped along with some middling progress on the year’s goals. I’m behind the targets this year late in the game, but I’m still happy with the results. I can still close the gap on the running target, at least.

I’ve been thinking about an idea Patrick O’Shaughnessy wrote about recently on “growth without goals” — setting up systems to be able to pursue and achieve personal growth without having hard numbers on a scoreboard. Using...

Goal Progress: October

November 1, 2020 • #

October is over already?

At this rate, it’ll be New Years in no time flat.

Anyway, let’s check in on the 2020 goals:

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 534.25 miles 543 miles 650 miles -8.90
Meditation 1070 minutes 2607 minutes 3120 minutes
Reading 23 books 25.07 books 30 books -2.07

I made middling progress in areas, like some better runs in the first couple of weeks. Felt good to have some overachieving progress. But then we did a week out of...

Goal Progress: September 2020

October 1, 2020 • #

For the month of September:

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 484.26 miles 488 miles 650 miles -3.69
Meditation 1070 minutes 2342 minutes 3120 minutes
Reading 19 books 22.52 books 30 books -2.52

Good news is I closed the deficit a bit on the running goal, even though it didn’t feel like a particularly productive month there.

COVID makes time fly and crawl simultaneously, through some sort of perverse time distortion. There were just no notable events this month to break up...

Goal Progress: August 2020

September 1, 2020 • #

Another month down of quarantine life.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 426.44 miles 435 miles 650 miles -8.08
Meditation 1070 minutes 2086 minutes 3120 minutes
Reading 19 books 20.05 books 30 books -1.05

Outside of widening our circles a little from shelter to family and one or two friends, we’re still spending most of our time at home or in outdoor activities.

The start of Elyse’s kindergarten over the last couple of weeks really put a dent into anything other than...

Goal Progress: July

August 2, 2020 • #

A quick touch on progress for July. I can’t believe it’s already been 5 months since the beginning of the pandemic.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 371.27 miles 379 miles 650 miles -8.05
Meditation 1070 minutes 1821 minutes 3120 minutes
Reading 17 books 17.51 books 30 books -0.51

Nothing that notable this month. Steady upkeep on the running goals, but the summer time in Florida is brutal. Really restricts the scheduling if you can’t do early morning or late evening exercise.

...

Goal Progress: June

July 1, 2020 • #

These updates during the quarantine are weird. In some ways time feels like it’s standing still, in others it feels like it’s flying by. Every day feels mostly the same. Even though some has opened up in our area, we’re still basically in isolation from friends.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 317.49 miles 324 miles 650 miles -6.62
Meditation 1070 minutes 1556 minutes 3120 minutes
Reading 15 books 14.96 books 30 books +0.04

It wasn’t that interesting of a month from...

Goal Progress: May 2020

June 1, 2020 • #

Just a quick update this month. With the pandemic still going, lockdown in a state of unknown non-committal from any authority, and the madness going on around the nation the past week, all of this seems kinda trivial. I’m sure we’ll power through past it, but I’m just doing my best to keep the habits going. I’m still fortunate to get to plow forward mostly unimpacted by it all.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 257.89 miles 272 miles 650 miles -14.58
Meditation 1070 minutes 1308 minutes 3120 minutes

Goal Progress: April 2020

May 1, 2020 • #

April was the first full calendar month of COVID lockdown. In the beginning of the month I started getting comfortable with the working-from-home setup. I have a decent desk setup and a large master bedroom-slash-office space, which until early March I’d barely used since we moved in. It’s gotten a workout now for 2 months of all-day work. I’ve got one of these adjustable desks that’s nice and wide, with plenty of light in the room, so aside from the zero separation between work and life zones, it’s not too bad.

In this past week though the strain is...

Goal Progress: March

April 1, 2020 • #

So March has wrapped, probably the longest month we’ve had in many years.

The shake-up in schedule, work-life patterns, and disruptions in everything from kids, to family, to day-to-day activities played absolute hell with my progress on goals.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 141.04 miles 162 miles 650 miles -21.01
Meditation 860 minutes 778 minutes 3120 minutes +82
Reading 6 books 7.48 books 30 books -1.48

Let’s start with the “okay” news. On the meditation front I’ve been doing alright, but made...

Goal Progress: February

March 1, 2020 • #

A quick update for February. No big revelations or movements on goals, just slight progress.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 97.76 miles 107 miles 650 miles -9.09
Meditation 600 minutes 513 minutes 3120 minutes +87
Reading 4 books 4.93 books 30 books -0.93

I’ve struggled with building longer meditation sessions into my routine. I think the only way it’s going to happen is if I can get a pattern of sitting down in the morning before the kids are up. At night...

Goal Progress: January

February 2, 2020 • #

The first month of 2020 is already in the books. 31 days blew by already?

It’s been a rollercoaster of a first few weeks, with some vacation at New Years, shot out of a cannon with a reinvigorated team at work, a trip to Miami, and a trip to Jacksonville.

I already fell behind on the targets with all that’s been going on. Once I can fall into a better rhythm with some normalcy in the schedule (which should be happening over the next couple weeks), I think I’ll be fine to catch up.

...

Goal Summary: Meditation

December 18, 2019 • #

First up on the year in review is the meditation practice. I started out doing short meditation sessions sort of randomly late last year. I’d only remember to do it occasionally, maybe a couple times a week. While that’s better than zero, it never became a habit or a thing that I would think about consistently. Not to mention that meditation itself is a skill you need to hone over time with experience to get the benefits out of it. Committed practice is the only way it feels useful. This year I set a target to do some meditation each...

Goal Progress: November

December 1, 2019 • #

This was a busy one. Between the All Hands earlier in the month and the week off for the holidays, those are brutal to maintaining the routine (though great to get a break and spend time with both workmates and family, respectively).

Here are the stats with one month left to go:

Activity
Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 574.02 miles 457.53 miles 500 miles +120.53
Meditation 3503 minutes 3340 minutes 3650 minutes +163
Reading 51 books 45.75 books 50 books +5.25

Once I...

Goal Progress: October

November 1, 2019 • #

The big achievement this month was the culmination of the half marathon training, ending October by finishing my first one.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 520.12 miles 416.44 miles 500 miles +103.68
Meditation 3208 minutes 3040 minutes 3650 minutes +168
Reading 47 books 41.78 books 50 books +5.22

The other notable movement was surpassing the 500 mile goal, which happened on this run and I didn’t even realize it at the time. I was able to knock out the mileage...

Weekend Reading: Baseball Graphics, the Mind Illuminated, and the Crucial Century

October 19, 2019 • #

⚾️ How Many Outs? Baseball Graphics Compared

Some top-notch baseball geekery, with Jason Snell comparing the graphics overlays from Fox, MLB Network, and ESPN’s telecasts. I’ve thought about this, too, but have to give it to the ESPN one, with Fox right up there.

🧘🏽‍♀️ Book Review: The Mind Illuminated

Scott Alexander’s review is an excellent in-depth look at this book on meditation. I’m still making my way through it, but it’s definitely a fantastic soup-to-nuts guide so far.

🇬🇧 The Crucial Century

...

Goal Progress: September

October 1, 2019 • #

In September the training push continued for the half marathon. I did a personal record 88 miles in the 30 days, for an average of just about 3 miles per day the whole month. Somehow I’m not dead yet, but the aches and pains were there to prove it.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 460.88 miles 373.97 miles 500 miles +86.86
Meditation 2893 minutes 2730 minutes 3650 minutes +163
Reading 42 books 33.66 books 50 books +8.34

I think I’ve got the...

Goal Progress: August

September 1, 2019 • #

This month I made a concerted effort to kick it into a higher gear with the running. Mid-month was the start of the Strava training plan I’m going to try and follow for race preparation.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 372.51 miles 332.88 miles 500 miles +39.63
Meditation 2563 minutes 2430 minutes 3650 minutes +158
Reading 36 books 29.96 books 50 books +6.04

The longer mileage is feeling good. I wasn’t sure what to expect when doing longer times with only single...

Goal Progress: July

August 1, 2019 • #

I had surprisingly good results on goals this July given how much was going on all month.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 300.57 miles 290.41 miles 500 miles +10.16
Meditation 2270 minutes 2120 minutes 3650 minutes +150
Reading 33 books 26.14 books 50 books +6.86

On the exercise front, I was able to get the same quantity of runs in even though we started out with the holiday weekend, which always makes sticking to patterns and habits challenging for me. Plus all...

Goal Progress: June

July 1, 2019 • #

So that’s a wrap on the month of June. This was my best month so far in terms of a consistent plan and feeling more productive with staying on target. Even with an out-of-town trip to visit the Cape and Jacksonville for a few days, which threw a brief wrench into the running plan, I was still able to climb enough above the target line get to my highest mark so far.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 253.54 miles 247.95 miles 500 miles +5.59
Meditation 1920...

Goal Progress: May

May 31, 2019 • #

For the second half of the month I got into a good rhythm with every-other-day running. I was even able to push almost 5 miles beyond the pace target to end the month. I started running with the kids again in the jogging stroller, which I haven’t done really at all since Elyse was little (2015-16). It’s good because it gets them out of the house, adds some cargo to push for additional workout, and gives Colette a nice break if I take them when I get home at the end of the day.

...

Goal Progress: April

May 1, 2019 • #

I was able to stay on track this past month toward my 2019 goals.

Activity Progress Pace
Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 164.51 miles 164.38 miles 500 miles +0.13
Meditation 1285 minutes 1200 minutes 3650 minutes +85
Reading 19 books 14.79 books 50 books +4.21

We’re still in the throes of prepping our old house for sale, so between that and work at the new house, that’s occupying a good bit of time. I have a goal to have the house listed in the next...

Goal Progress: March

April 1, 2019 • #

Month three is in the books. A seriously eventful month for us, so I’m surprised I was able to stay ahead of the curve.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 123.65 miles 123.29 miles 500 miles +0.36
Meditation 975 minutes 900 minutes 3650 minutes +75
Reading 15 books 11.1 books 50 books +3.90

We closed on the new house on the 15th, had an out-of-town trip to Jacksonville right after. Plus there was...

It’s Not About the Number

March 5, 2019 • #

As I’ve been pushing onward with daily meditation practice on Headspace, the “streak” number has been climbing higher and higher. I have mixed feelings about this in terms of driving motivation. Is the desire to increase a number a healthy way to motivate positive mental health? Is it pushing the right buttons for the right reasons?

Headspace meditation streaks

Headspace founder Andy Puddicombe recently wrote on exactly this topic:

Some people love this feature, viewing it as a source of motivation, a record of accountability, and a...

Goal Progress: February

March 1, 2019 • #

We just crossed month number two of the year, so here’s another pulse check on how I’m tracking against some personal goals for 2019. I’m tracking on all fronts, slightly better positioned against the pace marks than I was at the end of January.

Activity Progress Pace Goal Plus-Minus
Running 84.06 miles 80.82 miles 500 miles +3.24
Meditation 660 minutes 590 minutes 3650 minutes +70
Reading 10 books 7.27 books 50 books +2.73

With meditation practice I’ve widened my plus...

Goal Progress: January

February 1, 2019 • #

This is the first year I set some goals on a few things. I’ve never been strongly goal-oriented, so I thought I’d put some stuff down to hold myself accountable and see if it helps build some healthy habits into my routine. Also, I thought it might be fun, as long as the goals were aggressive but attainable.

For the month of January, here’s how things stack up with each area. We’ve got my progress in the first column, the pace mark I should be at to keep on target, the total goal, and “plus-minus” is where...

Spirituality Without Religion

January 31, 2019 • #

As I’ve been trying to bootstrap into a meditation practice, most of my learnings have been from various podcast episode discussions and a couple of books on the topic. My approach thus far hasn’t been to try and dig in way deep, but largely to kickstart a regular routine to form a healthy habit.

Since I already listen to Sam Harris’s podcast, I’d heard good things about his book Waking Up as a nice primer on meditation from a secular perspective — a neuroscientist’s view on the subject as a true contributor to...

Meditation Progress

January 25, 2019 • #

Since late last year I’ve been keeping up with practicing every day. Mostly 10 minute sessions, but recently I’ve been upping that to 15.

50 days meditation

One important thing I need to work in is how to fit it more consistently into the schedule. I don’t have a set time when I practice; sometimes its before work in the morning, but sometimes also late at night (when falling asleep is a hard competitor). Comfort level is rising with each session. Mindfulness doesn’t feel natural, so the repetition at least makes that part go away...

Peter Attia and Zubin Damania Conversation

January 23, 2019 • #

I’ve listened to a few of Peter Attia’s The Drive podcast episodes. This one was a stand-out conversation between him and Dr. Zubin Damania. It’s a wide-ranging discussion about the health care system, diet, creativity, and meditation (among other things).

I’ve spent a lot of time right in the thick of the health care system the last couple of years (thankfully with a good experience). Insightful thoughts on what’s wrong inside that ecosystem that ring true from first-hand exposure.

Self Reliance and Introspection

January 16, 2019 • #

The nearly 2000 year old Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is likely the first ever entry in the “self help” publishing genre. During his last days as Roman Emperor, reigning from 161-180 AD, he wrote the 12 “books” that comprise the Meditations. It’s a personal journal he wrote to himself, never intended for publication, with thoughts, ruminations, reminders, and short stories from his life, all with the objective of serving his future self as a reminder of how to live and act.

There’s not much of a thematic arc from book to book — each numbered paragraph entry largely...

Weekend Reading: Railway Logos, Meditation, and the Next Feature Fallacy

December 8, 2018 • #

🔩 The Next Feature Fallacy

The vast majority of features won’t bend the curve. These metrics are terrible, and the Next Feature Fallacy strikes because it’s easy to build new features that don’t target the important parts.

This certainly rings true for me from experience over the years. It turns out that a single feature itself is far from the main problem halting people part way into on-boarding with a product. This falls into the category of focusing on what we know how to do already, rather than what’s important to do. What’s...