JoeSoChallenges Update!

Let me update the world at large about a few things happening in the world of JoeSoHeady. As you may know, I started 2014 by identifying some habits I wanted to add, drop, or change, and came up with a monthly 30 Day Challenge plan to take me through 12 months of self improvement. January -- no alcohol; February -- read for pleasure every day; March -- no caffeine and stretch every morning.

Welcome back coffee to my life! Wooo!
Dunkin' Donuts original, whole bean

I powered through January without a sip of booze. February flew by, my nose e-buried in an e-book most waking minutes. Then came March. Cold, gloomy, will-spring-ever-arrive March. Oh, beware the ides! What a month to drop caffeine! What a time to rely solely on sleep, nourishment, and sunlight for energy. The first week came and went. Oh how I yearned! Just a sip, just a taste, just a hint of a warm creamy cup o' Joe. 

Now, granted, the tone of this post might lead you to believe I strode through March like a (decaffeinated) Clydesdale coming down the home stretch, but I did not. I had my first JoeSoChallenge violation last month. In fact, I had exactly two and a half violations, and when April 1st hit I drank a whole pot a coffee, but I still call it a great success. Since March ended and I've allowed myself to return to caffeine, I can proudly say that I've skipped it at least 2 days, had decaf or half-calf a couple of times, and only brewed myself 1 cup at a time rather than the whole pot. Hopefully I can keep forming good habits in this department... Wool Sea.

Kickball season returns!

Heading into April I have daily exercise planned for myself every day this month. I designed my monthly challenges with this in mind. I figured I would drop caffeine in March, and added in the daily morning stretch to help replace that morning coffee routine. (You can't change a habit without replacing the old routine with something else.) Plus, doing the stretching every morning would start to prepare me for the daily exercise challenge coming in April. Kickball also started this month, so that gives me a planned exercise at least 1 day a week. I can count (serious) yard work or gardening as exercise too, so April made sense for that reason.  So far, I've had significant exercise every day!

April 1st I did major yard work; on the 2nd we had our first kickball game (and won 12-2); on the 3rd and 4th I rode the exercise bike for at least half an hour (and watched Sal Khan's talk at CMU); Saturday morning I went for a jog, followed by throwing the ball around, with Clay and Dan, and today I did a bunch of yard work and gardening again.

Yard work and gardening counts as exercise if you do a lot. Prepping the garden!