Stuttering Success

Reading Kelly McGonigal's book has definitely helped - but because I have put more willpower demands on myself now, progress has been stuttering. Seinfeld tracker is a good way of recording progress, and I am honest enough to keep reasonably accurate records (in the fullness of time, it might be worth joining Quantified Self).

Currently doing well with:

• snacking
• exercise
• meditation

 Challenged by:

• work
• forum times
• model
• bed time

Key issue: feeling tired too much of the time. Will try to alleviate this using technique 2 below (using willpower to avoid using computer after 21:00 - an "I won't" challenge).

Book Progress: at page 68. It has become apparent that it will probably take more than one reading of the book to absorb a good proportion of the knowledge it contains.

New Rule

* 5 minute meditation to be done first thing in the morning before starting work

Techniques Learned From Kelly McGonigal Book

1. when faced with temptation, invoke the pause and plan procedure:

• notice that temptation has occurred
• stop
• slow down breathing for 1-2 minutes - or until the frontal cortex (global optimisation) gains control over the amygdala (the greedy algorithm)

2. try to stock up on sleep by getting one or two early nights early in the week

Change Of Plan

I am switching to Kelly McGonigal's methodology for now. The book is called "Maximum Willpower" in the UK (it has a different title in the USA), and a good overview can be found by searching for her name and "authors at Google" in YouTube (the January 2012 video). For reference, here are the changes I was going to make if I hadn't stumbled on this brand new programme:

* have one daily point of focus / rallying call instead of multiple ones each day - which is confusing and dilutes the message

* keep a record of how long each daily rallying call was used for, and how useful it was

* dealing with exceptions that arise to following the rules (they seem to grow like weeds!)

* following links is a particularly strong urge in my case

* think about improving robustness to distraction

* too much browsing at lunchtime

* think about a reward model that takes account of hyperbolic discounting

In Kelly's programme, the step I am on at the moment is getting more sleep. Unfortunately this has been the week that the clocks went forward one hour - and I tend to have difficulty in adjusting my circadian cycle forwards, so this hasn't worked out very well for me. I have had success at getting myself to bed at a reasonable time - but am still feeling over tired, and in deep sleep when the alarm goes off.

Action: bed time tracking spreadsheet to be opened an hour earlier. I hope that this will also teach me to read fewer entries in the AR links: actionable items only! This should end at 20:00 sharp when modelling work will begin. Any unread links will keep until tomorrow morning!

Seinfeld chain will continue for the time being. However - it will not now be used for its original purpose as a source of motivation, but instead to monitor progress only. It hadn't been successful as a motivating tool anyway - but it is a quick and easy way to both record and view progress.

Morning and afternoon starts are both going VERY badly at the moment. Will try the following "restart" procedure:

private void procedure() {
  switch (currentTime) {

    case before_9:   allowForums();
                     allowNews();
                     allowAR();
                     break;

    case afterLunch: allowNews();
                     allowAR();
                     break();

    default:         disallow();

  }
}

It is set up in task scheduler to open each time the workstation is unlocked.

For bedtime control: tracking spreadsheet is now triggered for 21:00. If AR isn't read, it will have to wait until the next day.

One other step I have taken during the creation of this blog entry: I have removed my football news feed (as well as "Hark! A Vagrant"). The football feed just had too many entries in, and was becoming a regular distraction.

A big session today, with several important changes being made!

Small, But Very Useful, Change To Exercise

If feeling tired, it is still a good idea to do 2 minutes warm-up before doing the stair exercise (2 minutes at gentle pace, 1 minute at intensive pace). However - I just tried doing 1 minute warm up and 1 minute intensive, and it worked very well! It saves time, and is much less boring! From this tiny, non-scientific experiment, it seems that intensive exercise is best done as a quick warm up followed by quick action - the benefit coming as both saved time and increased excitement!

In Praise Of A Cheap Toothbrush

Have recently started using an AquaFresh toothbrush from the pound shop. It has plain bristles (I usually go for cross action) and a bendy neck to prevent excessive pressure. Not only does it clean my teeth very well, but the pressure limiting system means that I am no longer making my gums sore - and cleaning my teeth has become a quicker, pain-free process. Next time I go down the road, I'm going to buy every one in the shop!

The moral is self-knowledge: use the product/method that best suits yourself - even if it is... cheap!

The Astonishing Value Of HIT And NEAT Exercise!

Last night, I saw the recording of Tuesday's episode of Horizon (link). It was VERY good! Two major points came out of it:

* 3 minutes HIT exercise (3 x 20 seconds 3x per week - flat out exercise bike was used in programme) will increase aerobic fitness and significantly improve insulin sensitivity

* avoiding sitting down (NEAT exercise) keeps calories burning and keeps the digestion of food working (the opposite is food sat in the digestive system either doing nothing or raising the fat level in the blood)

PM restart

Seinfeld chain has been working well so far.

One thing that has been going poorly - restarting after lunch. For the next week, I have put a 12:00 note in my calendar to make a note to restart after lunch (the intention being to visualise restarting before doing anything else). Worth a try. If it doesn't work, perhaps opening the morning document might be worth a try.

Puzzles That Motivate (And Those That Don't)

When faced with a difficult logic puzzle (or Sudoku, or similar), I like to solve it by building an integer programming (IP) model. Like doing an easy jigsaw, progress can be seen to be made, the whole picture can be seen once the outline (or model structure) has been built, and it gets easier the end is neared. In contrast, doing such puzzles by hand can often lead down blind alleys and dead ends - even if over half completed. I will frequently just give up on a puzzle in this situation.

If work is viewed as a series of puzzles to be resolved, then this could explain a lot: puzzles that just keep on hitting one insurmountable blockage after another are demotivating for me.

The actionable takeaway from this is a behaviour for when becoming demotivated: brainstorm on how to make the task seem less like a grid with dead ends and more like an easy jigsaw.

Goal Tracker

I have just set up a spreadsheet for tracking regular items and habits are done (or not) each day. It's super simple - even more simple than the Joe's Goals website. The columns are items to be achieved daily, and the rows are dates (each date being +1 from the previous date - so a new date is a quick copy/paste). The top row is frozen, so I will just keep adding new rows at the bottom. The principle is to create a Seinfeld Chain.

Something That Worked!

Normally, before I start work, I spend a lot of time reading news, forums and other stuff. This morning, because I was doing a puzzle that a friend had set, I just got straight on with it and did a solid hour's work on it. I didn't even find out that Wolves had sacked Mick McCarthy until about 13:00. When I look back, the most surprising part was how little I missed all the reading I normally do compulsively.

There is an EXCELLENT blog about the issue of distraction/multitasking here.

Power And Responsibility

I have the power to improve the life experience for my family - and therefore I have the responsibility to do so.

If I start going to bed earlier, then so will my spouse - and the end result will be a happier, healthier family.

Things Moving Along In Slightly Unexpected Ways

Things are progressing well - but not for the reasons I had expected. The lunchtime Windows popup is having very little effect - it has been a while since I stopped for lunch before 14:30 (including jogging days). I have been struggling to get out of bed despite getting to bed relatively early (though I haven't been feeling sleepy during the day).

The thing that has made me MASSIVELY more productive has been reading this blog: it's excellent writing by a consistently excellent author - and the key point is to avoid temptation rather than resisting it. This came as a surprise to me, because I've had success in the past deliberately resisting temptation: I taught myself to resist sugary snacks by putting a tempting piece of chocolate by my keyboard for several hours - and this method worked for a period of time. However - finding ways to practically avoid my being aware of temptations has been very successful indeed for me - and this has been one of my most productive weeks in a long time. This may even partially explain why I need more sleep than usual (though that may be something as simple as the fact that I am recovering from an infection).

I seem to do best when I discover certain new information about either myself or about willpower.

The best time I can remember in terms of health and energy were the times I had to work for a week in California (I am British): for the first few days, I'd be going to bed very early and getting up very early. The good weather there motivates you to get up early and start exercising - which is what I did.

Insprining Programme About Microlights

I watched a truly inspiring TV programme about microlight pilots (link). A reminder that the richest memories come from doing things with friends and family.

Reading This Blog

If I say so myself, it is well written and inspiring!

It might be simple and basic stuff - but it's written in the style and at the level of explanation that is right for me.

Having just re-read it, one thing I am going to do is to re-implement the lunchtime rules - because experience has shown that bad things happen when drifting is permitted:

• restart schedule lunch at 12:00, forfeit if not scheduled by 12:05, and forfeit if work not restarted by 14:00

I am also modifying the morning rules to state that work must be started by 09:00 on pain of STRICTLY ADMINISTERED and IMMEDIATE forfeit. The TV guide will be moved to 08:50.

Good Behaviour Popup Disabled

I have disabled the task to periodically pop up a spreadsheet to record good behaviour. In the 6 days it has been active, I have not recorded a single event. I have even struggled to remember what exactly I meant by "good behaviour". Turns out to be an unhelpful pest, so I have stopped it. It was a worthwhile experiment, though.

Another Late Night And Rule Change To Prevent Recurrence

I was up with my son until 21:00 last night, and then my wife put him to bed. However - because I had actually been using my PC as 21:00 passed, the rules didn't trigger, and I didn't set a time to stop using it. Ended up going to bed well after midnight. To prevent a recurrence, I am modifying the relevant rule as follows:

* when an activity finishes after 21:00 (footy, TV programme etc), switching on a PC (or continuing to use PC if you've been doing something on it with A) triggers an immediate forfeit (healthy sleep cycle trumps what other people think is important)

Regarding the idea in the previous entry about automatically opening a spreadsheet to record instances of good behaviour: so far, it's not working. Yesterday, the spreadsheet popped up while I was screen sharing with a work colleague during the day, and during the evening, it popped up while my son was playing a concentration game using the Neurosky EEG headset.

Recognising Small Achievements

This good, short article strongly recommends recognising small achievements. To accomplish this, I will use the Windows task scheduler to pop up a spreadsheet to fill in every four hours to record them.

Disasterous Late Night

Was ready to go to bed at 22:00, PC switched off - but then I decided to just switch on and see how the Walsall game finished (of all things!). Then got browsing about LP, and ended up going upstairs at 00:00 (bed by 00:40). Guess what? Everything has started late today.

Slip ups can be VERY expensive.

Take Socks To Bathroom

Used Neurosky headset with my son last night. Connectivity was a major issue - getting it and keeping it. I need to experiment a little on my own to see how it relates to the position of the probe on the head (both in the games and on the Windows notification tray indicator).

From tonight, I will be trying a new tactic for the cold-feet-in-bed issue: I will take thick socks to the bathroom and, as soon as my feet are dry, put them on to keep my feet warm. A minor thing - but applying innovation to improve things is a major part of a good experience of life.

I have started a spreadsheet to record small instances of good behaviour. So far, I haven't remembered to use it yet.

I haven't been concentrating very well at my work this week. Much of this undoubtedly relates to fatigue - it would be wonderful to string a few good nights of sleep together! In the meantime, perhaps practising with the Neurosky headset and using concentration music will help.

The usage of habits: you'll have heard this before - but IMO the way I'm presenting the information here is subtly, but importantly, different. The old way is to tell you that repeating a behaviour pattern for 3 weeks creates a habit - which is true, but overwhelming and demotivating. My way is to tell you that willpower, like attention, is approximately a zero sum game - if it is applied to something, there will be less of it available for something else. However, a habit does not drain the daily supply of willpower - so turning a behaviour pattern that is needed regularly, and which normally requires willpower, into a habit becomes an optimisation issue! (info link)

Quick Update

In general, behaviour not ideal - but MASSIVELY better than the time before this programme started (about the time of the start of this blog).

A matter that has arisen - I seem to have a lot of anger lately about things which are nothing to do with me - e.g. items in the news relating to the economy, energy market, or things like that. Beware of going onto somebody else's agenda!!!

Two additional small items on the programme - I am now washing when A goes to bed so that I won't have cold feet when I go to bed, and I have created a spreadsheet as a place to record good things that I do, as a way to give myself a small reward for them, by at least acknowledging and recording them.

Quick And Positive Update

The tone of my recent posts has probably been more pessimistic than it should be: I am FAR more likely to do something useful now than previously - when visiting forums was a Pavlovian reaction to a natural break of any sort. If I hadn't been ill for the last few weeks, it's entirely possible that I'd be crowing about almost unbelievable progress now.

I am curious as to whether the fatigue the sickness is causing is affecting my results on Neurosky EEG tests. While I am able to get peak concentration of over 90%, I am finding it more difficult to sustain the measured concentration than the measured "meditation".

Cause for hope: my son, while still coughing a little this morning, was wide awake and full of energy! I had also got better - but then it worsened again - but maybe it will get better again soon.