I’m in my forties. For various reasons, it has taken me a long time to finally figure out what success looks like for me in a day. Despite much introspection, every attempt I have made to reduce the goals of a day down the perfect match, I have failed. Perhaps it is the rigidity that each day should have the same ingredients to be perfect.
While there has been research on ADHD and routines, I haven’t read one particular scientific piece that has stuck out to me. I respond well to routines and daily goals. Also, I have only self-diagnosed myself as ADHD, but most of my friends seem to say “that fits” when talking about it. I’m also convinced that my mom has it and that I got it from her.
Preamble aside, I think I’ve finally narrowed down my daily goals (read daily routine) to having three main components in it:
- Workout
- Create Something
- Write Something
Workout
Since the day after Christmas, I have been doing a daily cardio workout. It is pretty simple. I hop on elliptical for about 30 minutes and usually get between 500 and 600 calories a day. With this process, I lost about 23 lbs. I’m still far from where I need to be for my shape, but I’m moving in the right direction.
Working out is more than just losing weight. It’s about the mindset of knowing I can create a habit and do it and knowing I can have a community of people at the gym (even if all we do is nod at each other). This is a step that I need to take.
Create Something
As students, we spend much of our time learning. I’m a constant student. I’m always trying to learn new things. My conclusion is that knowledge is better when shared (this is actually a fundamental principle of Gluino). Sharing lessons learned is far better than just keeping them to yourself.
I’ve spent so much of my life learning how to do things, and in the back 40, I’d like to spend more of my time creating. It doesn’t need to be a big thing. More often than not, it’s something tangible like a sewing project or a piece of art, or a shelf or a box. Every once in a while, it might be a paper or piece of software, but those are hard to hold in your hand. Those are hard to reflect on in 30 years and be proud of. I can’t tell you the software I wrote 30 years ago; I can show you pictures I took back then.
Write Something
This is about taking the art of creation and giving back. If I make something for myself, or even just one other person, wouldn’t it be great if I shared it with society at large?
Much of my life is spent conversing with myself in my fuzzy little head. Much of the knowledge I’ve gleaned has been penned in a journal, typed into a notes file, or hidden in my head.
As consumers, this is very normal. The number of people who listen to music dwarfs the number of people who create music or share music with the world. You don’t have to share music, but you should share something. Everyone has something worth learning; it’s just a matter of discovering it. The greater the collection of the information you share, the easier it is to find out what might be helpful.
To that end, I will create more than I do now. Only some days will be perfect, but I’ll try.
Goal
Wouldn’t it be great if, at the end of a year, you had 365 things you made that you could point back to? That is my goal. I don’t have space to add 365 things yearly, but I can make them document and share or sell them.
I’m making this post today and maybe another one on the box I made yesterday.
What will tomorrow’s creation and sharing be?