It's not a lot, but it's enough

SpekySquarehead

I had a short trip back to Scotland at the start of November but aside from this, there wasn’t too much going on. I felt I spent quite a bit towards the end of the month but that was for Christmas as I tried to make the most of the Black Friday sales. My laptop went in to get repaired, so I lost my routine of checking in every day so I can’t remember what I ended up on for my NSD but I think it done ok.

Career
• Make a sale
No change. 1 job I applied for replied to say no thanks. The other hasn’t got back at all. Oh well.
• Maintain performance journal - DONE
A good habit I have started and is something which I update every working day
• Write news articles for work every 2 months - DONE
Didn’t do any writing in November given I am ahead of schedule, will pick this up during the down time of December

Relationships
• Keep in touch with family and friends - DONE
A quick trip home allowed me to see my mates, which was really nice. I’m making a conscious effort to make more calls instead of texts
• Meet new people
My Manchester social events were with my football teammates so didn’t meet anyone. Although I do have a ‘date’ pencilled in for a couple of weeks time

Self
• Cut down phone time - DONE
I’ve now got myself into a place where I don’t need to check my phone constantly, which was the aim of this particular game.
• Less sugar - DONE
At a tricky time of the year and thanks to my new Fitbit, I’m more conscious of what I’m consuming vs expending.
• Read more (4/5)
I’ve paused my final book which was very science based, which doesn’t make for a page turner. Got a new book which arrived yesterday so I’ll make a stab at that
• Meditate & Attend yoga frequently - DONE
Now going to yoga 3 times a week and sticking to that as much as I can.
• Continue to learn Spanish - DONE
Duolingo have made some changes to the experiences which helps spur me on. So I’ll maintain this every lunch

A really busy month ahead, as most people do, with lots of social events. I’ve put everything in YNAB and I can ‘afford’ £120 for all social events this month – which is pretty much impossible. So I just need to be relatively sensible at each. Christmas is currently under budget which is surprising. The other side of that coin is I am tempted to buy more to make up for it, I’ll decide once I’ve finished wrapping and I know what I’ve got.

cathybird

Speky, are you joining us for the December NSD Challenge, link is here Please do, it's not the same without you!

Yoga is great - I do a bit, but not enough, maybe once every week? I used to do a short yoga routine as a stretch at the end of every exercise session but got a bit bored with it I think. It's such a great thing to do though in general.

What does your performance journal consist of? I'm curious, have often thought something like that would be helpful.

crazy_cat_lady

I'm not sure how it's happened Speky but somehow I lost my subscription to your diary....
I'm back and stalking you now though

Mx_Emmin

I'm envious of your £120 set aside for December social

I was not nearly so organised and am going to have to raid some minor savings pots

Learning for next year!

SpekySquarehead

cathybird wrote: »

Speky, are you joining us for the December NSD Challenge, link is here Please do, it's not the same without you!

Yoga is great - I do a bit, but not enough, maybe once every week? I used to do a short yoga routine as a stretch at the end of every exercise session but got a bit bored with it I think. It's such a great thing to do though in general.

What does your performance journal consist of? I'm curious, have often thought something like that would be helpful.

I was going to join but I can't remember my NSD's for the last 5 days, plus, I predict already that I'm not going to do very well this month with so much going on. I'll swing by nonetheless, even if I am aiming low.

It sounds like I'm exaggerating but yoga really changed my life, from a mental health perspective. Teaches you the ability to focus and to be grateful. Like we spent a full class focusing on how important and amazing feet are!

My performance journal is a daily spreadsheet that I fill out before i turn off my laptop. It rounds up everything I've done in the day that a relevant to my job. So, as a salesman, I'm meant to sell but there a whole process before that you should do to give you the best possible chance. From past experience, this can often be overlooked if you're deemed as not performing well, so if you have evidence to suggest you're doing the work, it helps. So I track really basic things; i outline what I done in my day in one short sentence, the amount of calls/emails/meetings/proposals etc. I also recently added the amount of hours I worked over and above my contractual amount. The metrics can be adjusted to whats important to you and it's a nice way to benchmark and show your progress.

crazy_cat_lady wrote: »

I'm not sure how it's happened Speky but somehow I lost my subscription to your diary....
I'm back and stalking you now though

Welcome back!

Mx_Emmin wrote: »

I'm envious of your £120 set aside for December social

I was not nearly so organised and am going to have to raid some minor savings pots

Learning for next year!

Whilst is a nice sum to have, I know it's not near enough for all the social events I have this month;
- Football team Christmas do
- A date (potentially)
- Work Christmas do
- My Mums Birthday
- Dinner with my cousins
- Night out with ex-colleagues
- Hogmanay celebrations

Giving me something like £17 per event. Not even enough for my transport! So I just need to play it smart and not go overboard. I'll have to dip into other pots but it's not the end of the world.


Good morning everyone,

I forgot that there was some football on last night, so I left work a little later but with enough time to make my lamb rogan josh - which was lovely btw - and then watch the game. Straight to my bed afterwards.

I've been to the gym this morning and I potentially have football training tonight, depending if I can find a pair of football boots to borrow from someone. I had to order a new pair last week (in the sales) as one of my boots was torn in half! Not sure how it happened but they had to go straight in the bin. The new pair arrived but they were too small unfortunately, so they're getting sent back today at some point.

Oh, also, I had my 3rd meeting with The Reserves, which called an interview but it was more an informal chat, I passed anyway. I explained how my Mum and Gran aren't particularly pleased at the idea, which she said was natural and common but didn't really offer much more advice. Not sure what she could have said tbf. So next steps is my assessment weekend which won't be till the end of January, giving me and my family 7 or 8 weeks to get round to the idea.

Hope everyone has a super day.

cathybird

SpekySquarehead wrote: »

I was going to join but I can't remember my NSD's for the last 5 days, plus, I predict already that I'm not going to do very well this month with so much going on. I'll swing by nonetheless, even if I am aiming low.

Speky, I'm just rushing to work so can't answer in detail till a bit later, but you could always start from here, and say 10 NSDs from today, or 8 from today. There's no requirement to set a superhigh target every month and then not go in the challenge at all because you can't do it this month. Why not start from where you are? It's December, so it's good to be realistic if you've got lots on, but surely it doesn't rule out all NSDs absolutely? ... That's my thought. xx

cathybird

SpekySquarehead wrote: »

It sounds like I'm exaggerating but yoga really changed my life, from a mental health perspective. Teaches you the ability to focus and to be grateful. Like we spent a full class focusing on how important and amazing feet are!

It's the same for me, Speky - yoga really makes a difference. My workouts of choice are usually weights plus a bit of cardio but I'm sure there are a lot of benefits to be had from doing yoga 4+ times a week. The only problem is fitting it all in!

My performance journal is a daily spreadsheet that I fill out before i turn off my laptop. It rounds up everything I've done in the day that a relevant to my job. So, as a salesman, I'm meant to sell but there a whole process before that you should do to give you the best possible chance. From past experience, this can often be overlooked if you're deemed as not performing well, so if you have evidence to suggest you're doing the work, it helps. So I track really basic things; i outline what I done in my day in one short sentence, the amount of calls/emails/meetings/proposals etc. I also recently added the amount of hours I worked over and above my contractual amount. The metrics can be adjusted to whats important to you and it's a nice way to benchmark and show your progress.

That's really interesting, thanks I don't work in sales and couldn't really track metrics in this way re my job but I do track other more personal things (like workouts and savings) and am consistent with them (mostly ). It's easy to feel you're not making progress if you don't track things, that's for sure.

SpekySquarehead

Happy Friday everyone! We made it.

Typical Thursday for me. Stayed an 1.5 hours after work to tie up loose ends. Home to make my dinner whilst on the phone to my gran. She didn't really seem herself and asked, right at the end of the call before she was going to watch Eastenders, about The Reserves, so I presume it's playing on her mind. On that note, my fitness test is booked in for end of January, so I've 8 weeks to ponder the idea. Anyway, soon after I had football training which was good, although now suffering from a blister from new boots I've borrowed.

This morning was a struggle to get to the gym, but I managed it. That's every morning this week. The way it used to be before I got a bit complacent. I was planning on going a 5 mile run tonight, as per my marathon plan/guide, but the aforementioned blister might put a stop to that. Aside from that, I'm going to give my mum a call to catch up and probably my step-dad too. Freezer roulette for dinner tonight, which appeared to be some kind of curry or maybe even paella.

Aside from the usual weekend activities I have a relaxed night out tomorrow to watch the boxing with some mates and then on Sunday, I have my football team night out after our game. The beauty of them both is that I've a good excuse not to go overboard, so I hope it's not too expensive.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

cathybird

Speky, what a fantastically sporty week! It's a good thing to do on so many levels, including getting outside in the winter, which it can be hard to do. I really want to take up proper weightlifting - not for bodybuilding purposes, just for strength, it's a really good thing to do at any age but especially in one's fifties and beyond to keep up muscle mass and bone strength. Are you a fan of boxing? ... It's another good way to keep fit.

SpekySquarehead

catybird - I do like boxing, yes. Probably the hardest sport I've done, in terms of fitness. It's soo exhausting. I need to get back in to it.

Good morning everyone,

I feel I've just about recovered from back-to-back nights out over the weekend - something I've not done since my uni days. Both were a really good night and from an MSE perspective, I didn't spend too much either which is always nice to wake up and realise!

So, must get back into the swing of things. I'll go to the gym after work today I recon. Got up early this morning to make my soup for my lunches this week, meaning I can collect some NSD's too. Gnocchi for dinner tonight, probably my favourite pasta actually. I may also do some wrapping but I might wait till I have had everything arrive.