March 28-use it or lose it! (the motto of my 96 year old Grandma who still drives and lives alone and moves her own patio furniture)

Last week I did not post. I woke up and my whole body ached-mostly legs and right arm. It was from teaching tennis and standing on cement for 2 hours every day to feed balls. This is something I had no trouble doing 10 years ago in the height of my tennis coaching. However, I am 10 years older and my body was not used to it (USE IT OR LOSE IT) so it rebelled against me and made me rest for a whole day. (I was fine the next day after a bit of ibuprofen and rest and hydration.)

Elliptical-probably am not doing while I am coaching. I get 10-12 thousand steps a day at this point with work and practice. Once matches start, I will get even more so trying to preserve energy.

Health-I am parking in a separate parking lot (athletic parking lot) so it naturally increases my steps every day and allows me to drop my clothes in the locker room so that I can change for practice (If you are new here, I am a high school teacher and tennis coach)

Money-did a great job with this also. Was able to save about 100.00 to put toward the Vegas fund. We are leaving in 4 days so it is crunch time!

Home-Staying up on the dishes is about all I have accomplished. I make sure to use the same coffee cup and lunch dishes so that I MUST wash them each day and they don’t pile up in the sink. I have found that when you always have a backup, you get lazy and don’t wash stuff. Henry David Thoreau said “One is enough,” and he was so right. Another tip is to always take something with you when leaving a room/place. When I leave the living room, I take a cup with me to the kitchen.

Mental-reading a book on motivation for exercise called NO SWEAT. I will discuss this in a future post

Other-wrote a thank you note to my parents

Bursts. So last Sunday when I didn’t feel great, I realized that I had eaten some heavy sugar items along with my quasi keto diet. So my burst this week was to be very strict about only eating carbs in fruit (blueberries and bananas) and the low carb Aunt Millie’s bread which is delicious! I FELT SO MUCH BETTER! So even though I don’t think I lost any weight, I FEEL BETTER and isn’t that what we are all after? I also chose a salad on Saturday night instead of pizza because I wanted to feel good this morning-AND I DO!

I was also VERY stressed last week at work so I tidied up my classroom and shoved things into drawers and cupboards so that I have a lot of clean spaces around me. It helped a lot. Every morning I put a few more things away (out of sight) and just that small action/step has REALLY helped the stress level at school.

Next steps

Continue the parking farther away

I will get a lot of steps in Vegas

I will eat as healthy and low carb as possible but it is vacation and I will be treating it as such 🙂

Money-I will also be using some of my vacation money to visit the outlet mall on vacation and buy some shoes (haven’t bought dress shoes for work in over 2 years and pain free feet are a must!)

THANK YOU to my 30 followers! You keep me honest and keep me going! Have a great week and a half ( I will post after we return from Vegas)

March 14-learned a lot this week

This week was a good week-especially coming off of last week’s failure. One of the biggest things that I learned was that persistence is everything-in work, in life, in diet, in saving money, in EVERYTHING. No one that accomplishes anything did it because they gave up, so despite last week being a failure, I persisted and kept going this week with my tiny steps. It was a good week.

Elliptical-I didnt do it this week. It was really nice out in Michigan and I took that opportunity to walk outside for exercise instead. 4 days this week. Tennis coaching starts next week so I am sure I will be getting more steps in during future weeks.

Health-I parked far away in the parking lot and enjoyed my walks outside.

Diet-3 full keto days and the other days were quasi keto. I consider that a win. I feel good. Not sure if I am losing weight but I am not gaining weight so that is a win.

Money-I did a great job with this. I used EXACTLY the money I had budgeted for the week and while I didn’t get to save anything, I did not have to take money out of my savings account. I also got myself an oil change and my hair colored with my budgeted money. Huge win! Sold a jacket that I wasn’t wearing (on ebay) so that money will be put into savings. Also I had to replace my toothbrush this week (electric one that wouldn’t charge anymore) so I used my credit card points and bought one. It was technically free! yay!

Home-on Friday night I watched a few youtube cleaning/organizing videos and felt the desire to “tidy up” my bedroom. I also got rid of a jacket that could not be repaired and was coming apart (faux leather coming off)

Mental-I am reading a book about sleep. It is very interesting.

Other-I complimented a person and went to my niece’s soccer game.

Bursts-a bit of a burst to tidy my bedroom after watching some decluttering videos on youtube.

Missteps-not really. It was a good week. Even when I didn’t eat fully keto, I didn’t do anything crazy and I am happy about that.

Next steps. Persistence and maintenance of current tiny habits.

Elliptical-I am uncertain about this because tennis is starting and so that means a 2 hour practice after school. I will see how much energy I have.

Health-I will continue eating my cheese sticks for breakfast, salads for lunch and almonds for a snack. Dinner will be a challenge as always and I am working on that.

Money-I will save whatever amount (be it small or large) and transfer it to my Vegas account. We go in 3 weeks so need to keep my eye on the ball for that trip.

Home-I actually am doing a load of laundry right now and I threw away some papers. I also put away a pile of clothes that had been sitting out for a while.

Tiny tip for laundry sorting. When the clothes come out of the dryer, dump them IMMEDIATELY onto a surface that you need clear (couch, bed, dining table) This will force you to fold them and put them away so that the activity in that space can continue.

Mental-continue reading the book about sleep and not be ashamed of wanting or needing more sleep.

Other-keep a good attitude about coaching tennis. I saw a quote that said “you can complain and whine or you can accept and move through” so that is what I will do. Accept and move through.

Have a great week! THANK YOU to my 19 followers! I hope these words inspire you to make tiny positive choices in your own life this week 🙂

March 7-a week of failure. I must have tried to do too much.

This was a bad week. I’m actually amazed at how bad it was. It was as if all my tiny habits didn’t matter and I didn’t care. Usually, I can analyze what happened and pinpoint where I went wrong. Unfortunately, that isn’t possible this week.

Elliptical-I did 15 minutes one day and didn’t do any the rest of the week. I was either too tired or didn’t feel like it or ??? Maybe I pushed too hard too fast? This week I will go back to what is attainable. I’m not sure what that number will be. I will let you know next Sunday.

Health-I did part far away in the parking lot but that is about it.

Diet-I ate terribly. It was a keto fail. I can’t even call it keto. It was simply “eating whatever I wanted with no regard for anything else.” I wonder if it had something to do with changing up my breakfast.

Money-I did a great job with this. I was able to transfer some unspent money into my Las Vegas account for our upcoming trip. Im actually really happy about how I did with this.

Home-my bedroom was a mess all week

Mental-I struggled to read anything or care about trying to improve myself.

Other-I did compliment a person. But it didn’t feel like much.

Bursts-NONE

Missteps-THE ENTIRE WEEK as you saw above

Next steps. So here is the important part and here is where I feel like every article/blog post/book I ever read leaves me hanging. They don’t talk about this part. I understand why. It feels like failure. I feel like a failure. And yet, I have a choice. I can keep falling down this hole of self pity, apathy, and failure or I can start again. I choose to start again. Slow and tiny even though my heart wishes it could be fast and big. Slow and tiny is how I will get there.

So…next steps will be…

Elliptical-I will start with 1 minute and increase where I can

Health-I will go back to eating my cheese sticks for breakfast, salads for lunch and almonds for a snack. Dinner will be a challenge as always and I am working on that.

Money-I will save whatever amount (be it small or large) and transfer it to my Vegas account

Home-I actually am doing a load of laundry right now and I threw away some papers. I also put away a pile of clothes that had been sitting out for a while.

Mental-I am going to read for pleasure. If I stumble across a self help book that seems interesting, I will consider it.

Other-I am not sure what to put in this category. I did write a St Patricks Day card to my grandma and I am going home to see my parents next weekend.

February 28-last day of the month

This isn’t a great post but I did it and that is all that counts.

Tiny steps last week

12 min elliptical to 13 (2 days) and 15 (1 day) min.

Money-credit cards are still paid off. Any money I can save is for Vegas, or Paris Olympics, or a future house.

Health-park farther away in parking lot. Did elliptical 4 times this week

Home-pulled up comforter on bed. Kept dishes out of the sink.

Mental-read a book about Motivation and Drive by Daniel Pink

Other-complimented 1 person

Bursts-I didn’t really have any except for grading almost all the essays (150) for my juniors.

Misssteps-I do great during the week and not as great on the weekend. I wonder if I am too restricting during the week and it is causing this on the weekends.

Next steps

15 minutes on the elliptical from now until Spring Break.

All money saved will go to spring break fund-have about 5 weeks

Health-stick with the one chocolate bar per week

Work-stay on top of lessons, planning, grading and preparing for tennis season

Home-keep dishes out of sink. Maintain clean bedroom

Other-send St Patricks Day cards to my nieces and my Grandma

February 22 Mother’s Birthday celebration

Feb 22

So last week little steps

10 min to 12 min of elliptical

Money-credit cards are still paid off.  Sold some clothes for 38.00. Got a reimbursement check for 25.00. half is going to Vegas fund (6 weeks away) and half is going to Paris Olympics fund (3 years away)

Health-parked farther away in parking lot again-did elliptical 5 times this week Realized that I feel puffy even thought I am eating low carb/keto so need to rejigger my diet a bit (see post below about tiny habits in reverse)

Work-Wrote for blog many days this week but am not feeling any desire to work on fiction so did not work on that.

Home-pulled comforter up on bed, washed dishes out from lunch at school, did laundry. donated 3 bags of clothes that couldnt be sold and took 2 coolers back to my parents.

Tiny steps in reverse. I was eating handfuls of keto crunch for last 3 weeks. It’s keto. Must be fine. Well just like small steps in the right direction can help, small steps in the wrong direction are not helping. I feel puffy. As you know I don’t weigh myself. I have been eating keto and I feel as though it isn’t working. So going to be more purposeful with the keto crunch. Going to spread it on yogurt. Use it as a topping. See if that helps. Only packing my lunch with the essentials and no “back up food” in lunch or car. Except almonds.

Also going to be stricter on keto and reduce carbs down a bit more. I had been doing moderate carbs at dinner. Going to go lower carbs for dinner and see what happens. 

Mental- read articles about rewards-am reading Drive by Daniel Pink right now. Its talking about motivation.

Other– goal was to compliment two people. Only complimented one. Will try again this week for two.

Bursts-had a burst to clean out my car. As soon as I dropped off the clothes to be sold, I wanted everything out of my car and cleaned. Car wash. (didn’t vaccuum-its winter in Michigan so no point). My car looks awesome but now my bedroom is a mess LOL.

Missteps

Didn’t have anything big this week but I feel puffy so I need to reevaluate how much keto crunch I am eating.

Next steps

Try for 13-15 min on elliptical (trying to prepare for Vegas and tennis season so I am pushing a little harder). Also need to lift weights. Arms are very weak.

Money-have a budget of 50.00 to get me through a short 3 day week. Going to eat food at home and only buy gas.

Health-bought my fancy chocolate bars. Allowed one per week from now until Vegas. I have 6 total in my cupboard. Goal is only 1 per week. Also cleaned out car so there is nothing but almonds to grab and snack on. Remember my tough time is 1-5 pm each day

Work-notes each day for the blog. Also asked to shadow some other teachers at school so I can work on becoming a better teacher. (they have agreed so need to find a time to book that)

Home-keep dishes out of sink and put away everything I brought in from my car.

Others: compliment 2 people this week.

February 14-Valentines Day weekend

Feb 14

Valentines Day

So last week little steps

8:30 to 10 min of elliptical

Money-credit cards are still paid off.  Put 50.00 into my savings for Vegas as a reward (that’s what post is going to be about today)

Health-parked farther away in parking lot again-did elliptical 5 times this week (one was today but I still feel like counting it)

Work-Wrote for blog before work today as well as worked on fiction book this week.

Home-pulled comforter up on bed, washed dishes out from lunch at school, did laundry

Rewards.  When I think of a reward, I think of finding someone’s dog and getting a monetary reward or potty training a kid and giving them a piece of candy for “going potty.” It is hard to imagine “rewarding an adult.” And yet, there are some goals that I am struggling with, so I thought I would reward myself if I could work on them consistently.  There is some bath soap I would like, and it is kind of expensive.  I have determined that every day I work on my novel, I will transfer 1.00 to my bath soap fund.  As soon as I hit the price of the bath soap (24.00) then I can go purchase it.  It may seem silly but I have 6.00 in the fund now and have been working diligently on my book.  Also, for every day that I don’t eat sugar, I transfer 10.00 to my vacation account. Or 15.00 if I go completely carb free. Last week I transferred 50.00.  So it seems to be working. I will do both of these again this week.

Mental- read articles about rewards-couldnt really find what I was looking for

Other– Wrote a letter to Grandma

Bursts-had a huge burst day and got a ton of stuff done.  Then, in true burst fashion, the next day I was super tired and didn’t accomplish much but that is ok! You have to take advantage of the bursts when they happen and then settle back into your regular routine when the burst is over. 

Missteps

Valentines weekend.  Friday night, Saturday and Sunday morning I ate some cookies and some very rich food.  But it was a holiday and I will be back at my low carb lifestyle again tomorrow.  

Next steps

Try for 11 min on elliptical (trying to prepare for Vegas and tennis season so I am pushing a little harder)

Move money for “no sugar days” into a separate account (going to be Vegas account now that we have booked that)

Health-9000 steps a day, ONE day of no sugar and be proud if I do that

Work-notes each day for the blog and at least 4 days of writing my novel. Also asked to shadow some other teachers at school so I can work on becoming a better teacher.

Home-keep dishes done each night and dresser cleaned off.  Home is pretty clean right now so will maintain this week.

Others: compliment 2 people this week.

No matter how slowly, keep moving

Feb 7 (Superbowl Sunday)

Last week felt like a bit of a failure, hence the title of the post.

So last week’s little steps

7:30 min of elliptical to 8:30 min of elliptical

Money-used cash that I had in my coat for a few purchases so I didn’t put much on my credit card. Credit card balance is zero right now (hoping to keep it that way so that I can buy a house in the next few months)  However, it is Michigan so I use it at the gas pump because it is so cold out (13 degrees today)

Health-parked farther away in parking lot again-did elliptical 3 times this week. Not as much as usual but more than not doing it at all.

Work-Wrote for blog before work today about 10 min-did that 4 days in a row, also wrote some fiction-I have  a book idea I am working on, graded papers during my planning period at school (this may seem like an obvious task but a lot of times a teacher’s planning period gets taken away by meetings or things that have to be done that have nothing to do with teaching)

Home-pulled comforter up on bed, wash dishes out from lunch at school. On Friday I had a snow day so Thursday night I left a lot of dishes in the sink. (below are my thoughts on how that was a bad idea and why)

130 seconds of dishes while my coffee was brewing. I saw a woman on youtube, speed cleaning her house. It was huge. Twins and toddler. Giant house. So much stuff. I’m not telling anyone how to live but I will tell my story about this morning. My one coffee mug was in the sink and dirty. I had to wash it. So I solved two problems. Less clutter in sink and one more dish washed. In contrast, her speed cleaning video was amazing. It was awesome.  Super motivating.  However a small part of me wondered if she let it get that way so that she could have the big moment of cleaning it all or if she lives like that every single day. And I’m not judging! Lord knows I am not Mrs. Susie cleaning pants, but if she did a little each day would it not be so overwhelming and require an entire Saturday to clean the living room and kitchen and dining room and all the things she cleaned? By the way, during my second cup coffee, I finished washing the dishes in the sink. I also know the principle- like attracts like. When you have one cup and one spoon in the sink you feel like you can wash them quickly and move on. As soon as you start piling up dishes in the sink (which is what I did yesterday) then I just kept piling because I thought well I will get to them all later. The problem is then later I didn’t want to do it either so I just kept piling dishes in the sink and the more you pile the bigger problem it becomes. It’s kind of like losing weight-if you wait till you have 30 pounds to lose, it seems like a huge arduous task; if you start when you have five extra pounds to lose it’s a little less difficult. However, losing weight is always hard so I will just stick with my dish washing for now!

Mental-read an article about how journaling your feelings can be just as effective as taking anti-depressants

Other– Wrote a letter of thanks to a former friend of mine

Bursts-cleaned off dresser and desk in room. Cleaned out underwear drawer.  Vacuumed. 

Missteps

Didn’t have a single day that was “NO SUGAR” and that is disappointing.  6, 4, 5,2,0  Thats the last 5 weeks of “no sugar days”  Clearly, I wasn’t ready for it. I went “too fast” and then I crashed and burned when I hit stress. That is exactly what I am trying to prevent with my tiny steps and tiny habits-making the task seem so doable that I accomplish it every day.  So as I look at next week, I will try for one day of not eating sugar.  I wanted to go “full keto” and think that is a bad idea because if I cant give up sugar, then I am not ready to give up sugar AND carbs. I really think this is why diets fail so many people. We go way too big and then crash and burn at the first sign of stress/trouble/failure/disappointment/etc…

Next steps

Try for 9:30  or 10min on elliptical (trying to prepare for Vegas-it is a lot of walking around and so it helps to be in good physical shape)

Move money for “no sugar days” into a separate account (going to be a Vegas account now that we have booked that) (trying this as a reward system for eating well)

Health-9000 steps a day, ONE day of no sugar and be proud if I do that

Work-notes each day, purchase a blog site and post this post (I did that and am posting again this week. Sunday will be my post day)

Home-put away clean clothes. Put sheets on bed Clean off dresser. (did all that) Home is pretty clean right now so will just maintain this week.

Others write a letter to Grandma (she is 96 and loves getting mail)

Start now

Sunday Jan 31 2021

A lot of people have given up their resolutions already. I live in Michigan so its cold and blowing and snowing and ugh feeling. The sun has been hiding from us. I can see the appeal of just putting on a comfortable sweater and some leggings or stretchy pants and riding out the winter.  However, eventually spring will  arrive and I (we) will all wish that we had worked a little harder in the winter. The key here is a LITTLE.  This blog is all about the little tiny steps I take each week to accomplish my goals. And when I say LITTLE TINY steps, I mean very very tiny. You see, I feel like I have figured out the secret of getting things accomplished. This blog will be my attempt at sharing my methods with you.

So last week’s little steps Jan 24-Jan 30. (each Sunday I will post about my progress from the following week)

Money-sold some protein bars that I wasnt eating (25.00), returned a pair of boots that didnt fit right. Used a gift card for my hair appointment so was able to stock up on some products. Instead of buying a humidifier or new candle, I am using my diffuser and essential oils. 

Health-parked farther away in parking lot. Took two laps in hallway. Brought in half container of cookies so I didn’t eat them, walked to mail box, increased from 6.5 min on elliptical to 7.5 min, no sugar 3/6 days, good snack (fruit) after school. 

Work-Wrote for blog before work today about 10 min, graded papers during planning period, set laptop on lap when got home.

Home-pulled comforter up on bed, washed dishes out from lunch at school. Washed sheets and laundry. 

Mental-watched 2 “Google talks” about choice and meditation

Other– Wrote a letter of thanks to Debbie Macomber for writing a delightful book.

The “bursts” are not little steps. They are moments of motivation/inspiration in which I feel like doing more than the “little bit.”

Bursts-selling 3 bags of clothes and jewlery and shoes and cleaned out front seat of car. Also cleaned off my desk at school (completely)

Missteps (This is where I need improvement)

I was doing fine and then my husband had a bad day at work. So in order to handle what he told me, I ate rice for dinner (for comfort) and an entire chocolate bar (the trader joe dark chocolate kind but still it was an entire bar)

Next steps

Try for 8:30 min on elliptical

Move money for “no sugar days” into a separate account (trying a reward system as motivation to eat properly)

Health-9000 steps a day

Work-notes on tiny little habits each day, purchase a blog site and post my first post

Home-Put away clean clothes. Put sheets on bed. Clean off dresser. 

Other- write a letter to N.M. (a thank you letter for some kind words)