Rob Raux: Running, Programming, Parenting, Living…

Mid-Month Update

It’s half way through the month, and about 2 weeks into my so called resolutions.  Let’s see how I’ve been holding up.

The graph above shows my aggregate plus/minus for each day.  It appears that I’ve been in the positive 12 of 15 days, with only slightly negative in the offending days.

Resolutions set for 2009 on 1/1/09

1. Understand my income and expenses (+1). So far, so good.  I’ve aggregated everything I have available to me into Mint.com, and categorized it. I am waiting a few months to get a baseline set of data for groceries, entertainment, etc. Once this is set, a budget can be created for the following months.  This resolution has made good progress thus far.
2. Revamp hard copy filing system and implement process to keep records current (+1). Thus far I’ve only managed to clean out my office and purchase another filing cabinet.  Due to some unforeseen issues with the house, this has suffered.
3. Drink no more than 1 normal sized cup of coffee a day (-2). Must…have…caffeine.  Wow, coffee is addictive.  It’s easy to make, easy to drink, and the effects are much better than alcohol.  Feeling a little down?  Need a little pick me up?  Since I don’t drink soda, this is the quickest caffeine delivery device available to me.  The problem is that is keeps me up late at night, throws my body off, forcing it to not understand when it is really tired, and has a detrimental effect on my exercise.  The energy feels faux.
4. Drink no more than 1 normal serving of alcohol per day (-3). Since I don’t usually drink that much to begin with, this hasn’t been hard to accomplish.  What this resolution has allowed me to do is be more cognoscente of what alcohol I am putting my body, when, and for what purpose.
5. Publish on this blog daily, if only a sentence or two (+2). I have posted more here than I have in a long time.  I don’t know if I like the daily aspect of it.  When I post, I’d rather in not be a sentence or two.  It’s hard to keep things purposeful or useful if that’s the case.  This needs further reflection.
6. Exercise 3 times a week, for 20 minutes minimum (+2). Fantastic! My running has started again and I’ve been fitting it in where I can.  My energy levels are increasing and the serotonin release is a nice mood booster.  It’s amazing what a little exercise can do.

Record Keeping

Joesgoals has been a simple and effective means of recording my trials and tribulations from a thumbs up or down perspective.  My dashboard has a web clip of the interface that allows for entering the checks and minuses.  This makes it easy for me to bring up my dashboard, edit what I’ve done for the day, and get right back to what I’ve been working on.  It also keeps the goals in my face, without the need for a start page, calendar reminder, etc.