My Final Challenge

Hello folks!

So I started this year of challenges in June and it is now May - so we know what that means! This challenge is my final challenge of the year. So let's make it a goodun. Technically I should have started this on friday - but the last few days have been a bit hectic and I wanted to get off to a good start, so I am starting tomorrow instead!

These are the challenges I have completed (or at least attempted) thus far:

Juggle every day
Give up refined sugar
Exercise every day
Write something creative every day
Meditate every day
Cut down on TV and Facebook every day

Write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days

Give up on gossiping, bitching, moaning and criticizing for thirty day.

Practice violin every day.

Spend only eighty pounds in thirty days

Read every day

Take a photos and keep a diary every day

(Technically that's my One Year Twelve Challenges done, as I did two the first month! But hey, let's stick one last one in there anyway.)

Looking back on everything I've done this year I feel a bit like this:

And now just one more to go! I really want to end the year with something special - go out with a bang.

A lot of these challenges were about creating habits. Some of which have stuck with me (now in my fifth month of not eating sugar!!) and some of which haven't (that pesky violin practice went as quickly as it came). I've learned a lot about myself and what kind of person I want to be through these challenges, and I want to make this last month a sort of mega-challenge. I want to combine some of my favorite challenges together, and try and start creating a routine that includes them all.

So here are the things I really want to include in this challenge:

Exercise
Meditation
Poetry writing
Violin practice
Juggling practice
Reading
Keeping a journal

(I would include not eating sugar in that list, but I've managed to keep that up anyway, so I wouldn't consider it a challenge any more.)

So these are all things that I really want to make a regular part of my lifestyle. If I've learned anything this year it is that I am at my happiest when I am being productive, and so I want to start pushing myself in all these areas. The tricky part has been trying to figure out how to fit it all in!

This challenge happens to be falling in my very last month of Drama School! What a perfect month to end my challenges on, just before I step out into the big wide world. I am hardly in for lectures any more, but I do have a pretty hefty project to be getting on with - my business plan. So even when I am not in for uni, I am pretty much considering my time from 9 - 5 my 'office hours' - where I dedicate my time to business plan, applying for jobs, and projects. So I need to find time for all of this challenge stuff in my mornings and evenings. Here is what I have in mind...

Exercise and Meditation

I know that I am at my best both physically and mentally when I make time for both of these things every day. Since both of these challenges I have kept them both up to a certain extent - but I want to go back to doing them both daily. Time wise, I think it would be reasonable to fit in half an hour of strength training and stretching, and half an hour of meditation every morning. I'd also like to fit in cardio a couple of times a week, perhaps when I can afford to start 'office hours' a little later in the day. Right now I'm avoiding running because I have very sore knees, but there's always zumba!

Poetry Writing, Violin Practice, Juggling and Reading

So essentially, these are my hobbies and skills. If I want to improve in my violin and juggling I need to practice regularly! And if I want to progress with my writing I need to push myself to write and read as often as possible. But what to do? I can't do them all every day. So I've decided to alternate between violin and juggling each night. It'll be the first thing I do when I get home from uni, practice for half an hour. As for writing and reading... well, I always have a book in my bag for whenever I'm in the bus or just have ten minutes to myself. That seems to work pretty well, it's aided me in reading a few more books since my reading challenge in march finished! I also take my poetry book everywhere, but that doesn't necessarily mean I write in it that often. So to aid me in writing a bit more, I just want to spend a few minutes each day, whether on my lunch break or maybe just before going to bed, jotting some ideas down. Then, over the weekend I must turn one of my ideas into a fully formed poem. A poem a week sounds reasonable I think!

Keeping a Journal

I wanted to include this because I want to use it to keep myself going. This is potentially my hardest challenge yet. It's going to be tricky to keep track of everything and keep motivated! But I think if I organise my thoughts every evening, even if its as simple as writing down my tasks for the next day, I think it could be a real help to me.

Some other thoughts...

I'll sort of be going back to my challenge of avoiding TV so that I can fit all this in. I'm definitely cool with that! As I whole I definitely watch less TV now than I did before, and I really don't miss it! That being said, you should always make time for some good films and documentaries, so I'm gonna give myself Friday and Saturday evenings for some good viewing time. I think by restricting myself I will choose what I watch a bit more wisely! And of course, bringing in some more challenges, I would like to continue to monitor my bitching and moaning, and to limit my spending. But I don't think I'm going to set any solid rules on that - just try and keep it in mind every day.

So there we have it! Those are my rules and guidelines for my Ultra-Super-Duper-Awesome-Mega-Challenge (the official title). It's a big one. I'm essentially trying to throw myself into being the busiest and most productive (and therefore, I think, best and happiest) version of myself. I'm trying to see if I could maintain all these habits properly, and build a lifestyle wildly different to the one I started with this time last year. It's a bit scary to be honest, but in a good way!

Now I'm under no illusion that I will manage to keep this up every day. If a trip to the cinema or a dinner with friends stops me from getting everything done, then so be it. This challenge is not about ticking every day off, it's about carving a realistic lifestyle for myself, and that includes random changes of plan! That's why this is probably going to be the hardest challenge for me to keep track of, but I have faith that if I really commit myself I'll do it. Most of all, I just hope that this challenge turns out as well as I want it to, and gives me that 'I'm so happy to be moving forward' buzz I've had from so many of my other challenges. There's a lot riding on this one! I'm excited.

Here is hoping for a fantastic month to end a truly fantastic year.

30 days left....

Reading Vs Watching T.V (and other news)

Good morning my lovelies!

I'm feeling particularly chipper today and I'm going to put it down to the breakfast I just had. I seriously recommend it!! Grate a small apple and half a beetroot into a saucepan and cook up with a smidgen of butter. Then add a sliced banana and stir a little. Mix in five tablespoons of oats and a heaped teaspoon of cocoa powder. Add sufficient milk/milk substitute and leave to bubble. Top with flaked almonds. You will have a deliciously dark purple porridge that will fill you to the brim and make you feel fantastic. Just like this.

You KNOW she had a good breakfast.

Anyway, back to the vocabulary challenge :) I have been doing my half an hour stint on vocabulary.com daily (although sometimes I only manage twenty minutes - it can be rather grueling) and I think it's helpful. It's made me start to look at how words are constructed, which means I can now start to work out what a word means when I've never heard it before. Nailing down the words is mostly a process of repetition, and aside from some website issues (quite a few of the multiple choice questions don't really have a correct answer, more like a synonym than a definition) I think it works pretty well. It's reignited my interest in language and words which is always nice.

The 'word of the day' story I am not so happy with. I thought giving myself a whole paragraph per word would make it more challenging, but actually it's making it easier for me to skate around to make sense of the wacky words I am using - resulting in something much less fun than I intended. So I have decided to back peddle a bit and do one line per word - which should mean I end up with a fun, nonsensical very short story/poem that is a bit less contrived. So I need to go back and do that for the eight words I have so far, and then from today I shall stick with that plan.

The reading element of my challenge is FANTASTIC! Reading is one of my favorite things to do, but often at the end of the day it seems so much easier to just switch on the telly. But as I learned from October's Challenge of Cutting Down TV and Facebook, watching T.V can drain so much time, when you could have been achieving things! And too much sitting around and staring at the screen can make you feel A Bit Shitty.

Now I am a great lover of good T.V and Cinema, but it's all about finding that balance, and sometimes I think you have to give yourself a little push and say 'no, I'm gonna read instead.' A lot of the time it just feels like you don't want to put in the extra effort that reading requires. But in fact, once you get going, it's really not that hard! It's like running - the hardest part is putting on your shoes and getting out of the door. Motivation is key.

Unfortunately, since October, I have fallen easily into watching T.V again. But this challenge, forcing me to read, has reminded me that ultimately I would like to end up spending more of my 'down time' reading than watching T.V. Why? Because it's simply better for your brain. It's actually more relaxing. It might not seem like it at first: but here is why.

The phrase 'T.V rots your brain' might seem like a parental trick to get us moving - akin to 'eating your crusts gives you curly hair' (My sister always ate her crusts and I didn't for a long time. My hair is curly and hers is straight. MYTH BUSTED) but actually it's a pretty accurate description. When you watch T.V you are allowing your brain to make almost no effort. You're kind of vegetating. And the brain is sort of like a muscle in that it needs to be put to good use to develop further. So any form of vegetating should really be kept to a minimum.

But we all need a rest now and again, right? The problem is, watching T.V isn't really rest. When you sleep, your brain is getting proper rest and time to recuperate. But when you watch T.V, your brain might not be doing much work but it IS being stimulated. The flashing colours and lights are creating a little chemical party in your head. If you watch too much T.V, you get used to the lightening fast stimulation, and you adjust yourself to it, resulting in a shorter attention span overall.

I myself experienced this yesterday. I had a really productive morning, and then I watched some T.V over lunch and suddenly my focus was all over the place. Not good.

The most significant thing T.V does to your brain chemically is it suppresses your Melatonin. Melatonin is basically a hormone that helps you to sleep. Any kind of light suppresses it. That's why it's so much easier to wake up in the summer when the sun is out. It means that we as humans are diurnal animals - we sleep in the dark and are active in the day. But studies have shown that blue light - light from laptop screens, phones and other electronics, is even more effective at suppressing Melatonin, which makes it harder to sleep in the hours after you've been exposed to it. This is not good news for people who's evening routine involves a lot of T.V - their version of 'rest' is actually having a negative impact on their real rest.

Most of us will be effected by this because the last thing we do is set our alarms on our phones. I've been told a good method is to plan what time you're going to bed, and an hour before set  your alarm so it's done, and turn off all your electrics. It's supposed to really improve your quality of sleep. I can believe this actually, some of the best sleeps of my life have been when I've been camping and have had no electronics around. Worth a try, I reckon.

Anyway, that's the downside of T.V. Now for the benefits of books.

Books stimulate your mind in a different way, You are gently working your brain when you read, but only mildly, like a nice stroll in the park. This means you can both relax and strengthen your brain at the same time. And you're getting much the same entertainment value (if not more) as when you watch T.V. There is no story told on film that hasn't also been written down in some way. And with books, you need to use your imagination a little bit too.

So it seems that if you replaced all your T.V time with reading time, you would still have had some entertainment and escapism, AND you would also have a better exercised and therefore better functioning brain, better quality sleep, a wider vocabulary, and a strengthened imagination. Reading really is coming out on top here.

HOWEVER. I am not for a minute suggesting that anyone forgoes all T.V and Film and replaces it all with books. Like I say, it's all about balance. There are some things books can not do. If, like me, you love a visual story with good direction, script writing, cinematography, maybe some animation and some cracking acting, then you need to watch some T.V and Film.

But perhaps that should be a checklist. Quality control. Twin Peaks (my current favourite show) certainly ticks some of those boxes. Eastenders? Not so much. But maybe it does for some people. Each to their own.

My point is, if you are going to put up with all the negative effects of T.V, then you should at least make sure that what your watching is worth it. If not, and all you want is a bit of relaxing entertainment. Then pick up that book. You're much better off.

Because basically, books are ace.

Twenty more days!

New Year's Resolution and a New Challenge!

Happy New Year every body!

Of course, New Year is classically a time to be making resolutions, and of course I will be making one. Reflecting back over my challenges, two in particular have made a huge impression on me: Giving Up Sugar and Meditation. Meditation has been something I've managed to keep up fairly well. Especially with the help of Headspace, a meditation website I have found really helpful. Keeping off sugar, however, has been a lot harder. So I've decided to make it my new years resolution. This time I am going to attempt not one month, but a whole year of no added sugar!

The rules are going to be slightly different this time. In June I was really really strict. This time I'm going to be slightly looser on a couple of things. For the sake of saving money, I'm allowing myself stuff like cheaper peanut butter, which has a very small amount of sugar in, rather than forking out for the sugar free stuff. For these kind products I'm going to make sure it's only about a gram of sugar per serving, so it really is minimum. I'm also going to be more lenient when eating out. In June I only ate chips as they were the only thing I could guarantee to be sugar free! This time I am going to allow myself proper meals in restaurants, but I will still avoid things like pizza and burgers, as I know they almost always have added sugar.

The thing I am going to be more strict on is puddings. Last time I made allowances for a very delicious brownie. This time, no matter how special the occasion, (and no matter who has made the brownie!) I am going to resist proper sugary products. I think this is going to be pretty easy except for birthdays and Christmas, but I shall cross that bridge when I come to it!

So that's my New Years Resolution - on day four now and feeling better for it already! Especially after gorging this Christmas!

Now for this months challenge. I've been a bit naughty and not started yet as I was really enjoying my holiday, but I'm going to start it today and just run into February a bit! I haven't done a practicing a skill challenge since the summer, and I really enjoy those, so I've decided that this is the month for practicing my Violin!

I learned how to play the violin when I was younger, but gave it up (which I really regret!) Last year I got a Violin, but I haven't been practicing as much as I should. I think it's because I'm a bit frustrated that I've forgotten so much, so it's not such a pleasure to play at the moment. But the only way I'm going to improve is to practive! It's time to force myself.

So I am going to commit to half an hour of violin practice every day. Hopefully I will see some improvement that way and rediscover my love for the instrument!

Here it goes!