Missions — Jan 2018 — Complete
Back in December 2017 I started a thing.
At the start of January I created this month’s set of ‘missions’ to complete every single day.
Here’s how I did.
The Missions
In January I set out to achieve these every single day:
- Wake up at 5:41am. Done
- Go for a long walk after getting up. Done
- Do 30 push-ups. Done
- Complete all 3 activity rings on my Apple Watch. Done
- Read a physical book for at least 30mins. Done
- Capture a family-based photo. Done
- Add photos to Collect by 9:00pm. Hmm...kinda*
The Results
In short, I completed all the missions but learnt early on that #7 was a dud mission from the outset (more on that below).
Wake up at 5:41am. Done. This month there were no exceptions or alarm issues. Every. Single. Day. 5:41am.
Go for a long walk after getting up. Done. I changed my walking route slightly at the start of January to ensure I can keep the same walk going all the way through the year (sticking to a main road with lighting and walking paths). Doing the same walk every day has removed any decision making in the morning. Just get up and go.
Do 30 push-ups. Done. And I’ve really found a decent groove with this goal. Like when I started in December, I don’t try and do them all in one session. Instead I tackle them in smaller sets throughout the day (a concept described in this article - https://www.artofmanliness.com/2016/01/20/get-stronger-by-greasing-the-groove/). I can now do sets of 6 full push-ups at a time and want to slowly bring this up.
Interesting side note: Last year I was getting pain in the left side of my neck and left ear. After progressing with the push-ups this pain has now gone away.
Complete all 3 activity rings on my Apple Watch. Done. Like in December, by doing the long walk first thing in the morning this ended up being pretty easy to achieve (the move goal was 3000 kJ (or 720 calories), exercise goal was 30mins, & standing goal was 12 hrs). I’m going to stick with these goals because they’re pretty reasonable and tracking them does keep me honest throughout each day.
Read a physical book for at least 30 minutes. Done. I got through some great books in January and really enjoyed the quiet time dedicated to reading (I deliberately read for 30 mins straight after getting back from my morning walk). The list of books I read are listed below and I’m definitely continuing this mission into February and beyond.
Discipline Equals Freedom — Jocko Willink.
Tools of Titans — Tim Ferris. (Read for the second time).
Go Green, Spend Less, Live Better. — Crissy Trask.
Rooftop Revolution — Danny Kennedy.
The Blue Zones Solution — Dan Buettner.
Perrenial Seller — Ryan Holiday.
My top two…Discipline Equals Freedom and The Blue Zones Solution.
Capture a family-based photo. Done. This was a goal to get back into the habit of taking more family photos on a consistent basis. With other family members visiting plus school holiday activities with the kids in January it was a good time to get back into that practice. I managed to get the whole month of January filled out in Collect (my photo journaling app) with only one last-minute selfie to keep the streak going :).
Add photos to Collect by 9:00pm. Yeah…sort of. In the first week of January I realised this was a bad goal. The intention behind it was solid but the specifics of the goal were not. You see, I found it difficult in the evenings to stick to a routine. Whether it was guests staying with us, going out for dinner, getting the kids to bed, or other random stuff there was always something that seemed to mess up this 9:00pm goal. Instead, I changed the goal slightly (to better fit the primary intention) so that it was focused on at least 15 minutes every day of photo editing and updating in Collect. This allowed me to work those 15 minutes of activity into each day and still keep on top of my photo editing, organising, and updating in Collect (which was the main intention behind the mission).
The Future
In reflecting on January’s missions, and this new project as a whole, I can’t overstate how much different I feel.
I feel healthier. I feel stronger. I’ve lost weight. I feel mentally sharper.
These missions of daily tasks don’t feel like a chore but they’re not always easy either. I’m trying to set the optimum combination of the right things to strive for, the right level to set, and the definition of each mission for the best outcome.
Regardless of the missions I set, to achieve them I’ve had to focus a lot more on building a solid routine with the right triggers (something I want to talk more about).
Ultimately, it’s all about less thought and more action. Let’s go.
‘Missions’ is a special project I started in December 2017. Little daily challenges, completed every month.
