Day 5 - Sliding Into First

I've come to the end of the first monday - friday of my six week program. In the past, this is the day when things are really difficult. The unnatural discipline of the week and various things that I have not been able to get done, or ways that I have not fully succeeded, begin to grate.

While this week has been more productive and more grounded than previous attempts, I still arrive at Friday a little tired (of course that isn't helped by my staying out late last night) a little frazzled and a little frustrated. I've been more scattered today than the previous four days and several bits of discipline that I put in place in order to function more effectively have sort of fallen by the side of the road. The workload I wanted to complete is not fully done, and the distractions I wanted to avoid have raised there ugly heads more than I would like.

Still... it's Friday afternoon and while I'm feeling tired, I'm also feeling strong.

What did I accomplish so far this week?

• I nailed down my priorities for the period. I reworked them, evaluated them and came up with a set of satisfying (if ambitious) goals which I'll be posting sometime over the weekend.

• I began two separate exercise programs: yoga/calisthenics three days a week and running/walking on four (two of which come up Saturday and Sunday).

• I have paid greater attention to the food I eat and the drink I drink and while the changes I have made are miniscule compared to where I want to be in 35 days, they're still pretty significant for right now.

• I've fulfilled one of my main work goals - that of making at least three new business contacts/week.

• I've begun to put some new, and very necessary, business disciplines in place as a way of beginning to pursue that "inferior function" I was writing about yesterday.

• I've found it possible to operate with a greater calmness, presence, and focus than usual even though I'm still far too scattered to be happy with the way things are.

• I've written (quite a bit actually) every day.

All in all... I'm pretty happy with the progress.

It's Miller Time!