DAY ELEVEN AND TWELVE

Limit Goal: 1:40 PM and 1:50 PM

-Soda: I almost made an error when my helpful aunt asked if I wanted a Capri Sun. I said yes, but quickly changed my mind. Still, that was close. But at least there was no soda at her house, so I was easier off.

-Internet: I played lots of video games with my cousin, plus their computer kinda stinks, so this was still easy to commit to. It's not doing wonders for my daily list of goals, though. When I make my list of tasks for tomorrow, I'll make sure to add on stuff I know I'm going to finish-something easier, because I think I'm starting to slip.

DAY THIRTEEN

Limit Goal: 2:00 PM

-Soda: Not much to report here.

-Internet: I spent the whole day cleaning to prepare for the guest that's staying with us for a while. It was good, solid work. I'm going to have to watch out, though-he brought his Wii, and I promised myself that'd I'd only play a minimum of video games before the daily limit so I can use other ways to spend my time.

While limiting gameplay during your internet daily limit is a good move, I don't think anyone would blame you if you decided to stay off the internet by playing the Wii.

I'm not eager to surf the Internet with a Wiimote, thanks :V

Yeah, and the web browsers on the Wii and the other next-gen consoles, I hear, aren't all that great. Too often sites don't load correctly, if at all.

DAY FOURTEEN

Limit Goal: 2:10 PM

-Soda: At times I really get anxious for some kind of flavor, but it's not too bad.

-Internet: Had some major computer problems today. I hope they're fixed. If not, yeesh, this could be a problem. Beyond that, I took a computer project way too far and didn't get much else done. I should probably push that near the back of my morning so everything else gets accomplished.

DAY FIFTEEN

Limit Goal: 2:20 PM

-Soda: I still dislike bottled water, so don't expect me to buy it much, people who are following this :V

-Internet: Today was pretty good. Got most of my things done. I sure need to learn how to focus better, though, but that's something for another trial. I'll have to write later, though-had someone staying in my room and was afraid to type and wake him up, but my sister assures me that he's a heavy sleeper so it should be fine. Also got Chrono Trigger DS today too, which is awesome. After the limit, of course.

DAY SIXTEEN

Limit Goal: 2:30 PM

-Soda: Man, there really isn't much happening in this area, other than it's getting easier to stay on water. I think I'll cut this section out in the future unless there's something good to report.

-Internet: Today went really well. I was decently focused and I got some important things done. I still want to build a greater focus so I can clear out projects more quickly, but other than that, things really worked out well today.

DAY SEVENTEEN

Limit Goal: 2:40 PM

-Soda: I have to use the bathroom constantly these days. I wonder if there's such a thing as drinking too much water. I doubt it, but all the same, I'm going to make sure I compliment my water drinking in the future with other things like eating fruit.

-Internet: I was still decently productive, I think, but I could bear to have some more focus. That's a skill I need to train another time, though.

Actually, there is such a thing as drinking too much water, but what you're doing shouldn't be a problem. If you drink a large amount of water (say, a gallon) in a relatively short amount of time, you'll end up washing all the electrolytes out of your body, which is extremely dangerous. One guy did it as a fraternity initiation at the Chico college, and it ended up killing him.

Since you're only drinking small amounts of water over the course of a day, it shouldn't a problem--my dad does the same thing and it hasn't harmed him in the least.

DAY EIGHTEEN

Limit Goal: 2:50 PM

-Soda: Yep, my eating patterns have gotten to a point where I'm going to work on portion control during my next 30 day challenge. Since I can't influence what food goes in my fridge right now, the best thing I can do right now is learn to tone down on how much I eat.

-Internet: Pretty good day today. Completed two projects and I'm deep in progress with another one. Lately I've just been referring to a list of my projects to figure out what to do, as opposed to specific tasks, and it's been working great so far. I'll do it for a while before making any definite conclusions.

On a momentary aside, I've been submitting my web site to web directories, and their submission forms with spam-prevention passcodes piss me off. If there are normal ones that list letters and numbers in a nice little row, why the hell do you have to use ones with filters and letters that vary widely in size? Does it fool spambots more? If so, can't you find a way to do that while still giving me a chance to actually enter the damn things correctly? Yeah, good luck trying to figure out if that picture has a small x or a captial X! And what really blows is that, if I screw up the passcode, I can't just enter the new passcode and move on. No, I have to resubmit the WHOLE DAMN FORM because it keeps giving me "page expired" messages. God that pisses me off!

It's happened a LOT today. Must be the same source code all these directories use.

DAY NINETEEN

Limit Goal: 3:00 PM

-Internet: So today I decided, "what the heck, I've been working hard, I'll take today off". Unfortunately, this revealed a problem I hadn't taken into account: I didn't really plan for any activities I could do outside of project-oriented work. It's not like working on these projects are a drag-they're important and interesting to me-so it never really felt like working to begin with, and as such, maybe I didn't need to take a day off after all. All the same, after a bit of Chrono Trigger, I settled with clearing out some easy projects I planned to do today anyway. A few of them are part of beginning a part-time freelancing career I want to set up, so I'll be spending some time learning the ropes of that. Things should definitely get interesting, that's for sure.

In the end, this proves the idea of making the first hour of your day the "rudder": if you start off having a productive hour, the rest of your day is bound to be productive. If your first hour is lazy, chances are the rest of your day follows suit. I was surprised to discover that I was actually bored with my supposed day off, in the end.

DAY TWENTY

Limit Goal: 3:10 PM

-Internet: Man, my focus has been all over the place. Today I really got sidetracked in some funny, but unneccessary conversation. I also felt like I didn't accomplish much, though I took care of some projects. This just confirms my desire for my next challenge to be about focusing on one thing at a time before me, and closing any open loops before moving on to something else.

Furthermore, when I felt like stopping for the day, I realized that, beyond writing and reading, I really haven't planned any other variations on those activities. After spending my day writing and reading, it'd be nice to attend to something else that's different from that. Hmmmm. I've had an idea for a game or two lately that I wanted to work on, so maybe I could do that. I don't know, I just know I want something dramatically different to work on.

DAY TWENTY ONE

Limit Goal: 3:20 PM

-Internet: I notice I get real nervous when I feel like I'm taking on too much all at once. Even part-time freelancing seems overwhelming at first, I gotta say, but I think I've got the basics figured out now in what I need to do. I just gotta watch out for being overwhelmed with sheer volume of all I have to do for a project in the future.

Still need to figure out what do with my time after I take care of work for the day. I want to learn some programming but I've been having a hard time finding any decent hands-on stuff for C#. And not just like they tell you about a concept and you type out code to see how it goes. I'm talking about where they lead you through making actual programs you can use. I think having an end product I can be proud of really appeals to me. When I tried to learn how to draw, I lacked that a lot, and that's probably why I decided it wasn't good for me. Writing fiction doesn't have this problem that much, and I want the same thing for learning programming. I'll have to keep an eye out for any tutorials that actually walk me through making programs I can actually use. Microsoft apparently offers some neat virtual labs for using C# in game development, but I need Internet Explorer to use that, and the last time I tried to install that my computer nearly died. Still, I just now remember a backup I've got somewhere on my hard drive, so I'll use that.

Also finished reading The Catcher in the Rye today. I liked it. To tell the truth I wasn't looking too hard about what made the book so great, but I enjoyed the characters and the story. This is the part where I abuse SparkNotes to confirm what I should know about it :V

Edited by The Helldragon on December 2, 2008 at 15:51:45.

DAY TWENTY TWO

Limit Goal: 3:30 PM

-Internet: Besides my continuing filler problems, things are chugging along nicely. The problem is just filling in the rest of my day-the morning is quite busy and productive, with these projects I'm working on. I have a few ideas on how to fill my extra time, but I guess I'm lagging on making a solid commitment-I have enough on my plate, to be honest :V

DAY TWENTY THREE

Limit Goal: 3:40 PM

-Internet: I got two out of three major tasks finished today. I've also realized I need to generate some income first before I can take some of my bigger plans into action, so I've got to focus my guns on that for a bit. I know that finding the right way often involves a lot of trial and error, but I still feel flustered when things aren't exactly going as planned. My next 30 day trial to improve focus should help with this feeling. All the same, at least I've got a better picture of what to do now.

On the side, I'm messing around with Game Maker for fun. Who knows-maybe I can design something I can offer later on down the road.

DAY TWENTY FOUR

Limit Goal: 3:50 PM

-Internet: My focusing skills aren't that hot. I know improving your health can improve your energy and focus, and that's in the cards, but until then, my productivity tends to suffer. Hopefully I can fix it soon.

I also finally began to edit the first draft of my stories today. I felt a bit overwhelmed, but as the strategy goes, I'm concentrating on one thing at a time. Even then I'm a bit uneasy, but it's only probably because I'm not used to it yet.

DAY TWENTY FIVE

Limit Goal: 4:00 PM

-Internet: Today was kinda bleh. I wasn't too organized. But at least I knew why-I didn't make my list of tasks for the next day beforehand. Truth is, I usually make it right before I go to bed, and I don't like rushing to do that. This time I did it a lot earlier, and I plan to throw it together after I finish work for a while.

I've also realized my efforts are all over the place, reconfirming what I've read earlier but not really followed. But now I think it's time to sit up and listen :V I'm going to focus all my guns on my website, even if it means having to wait some more to get some cash coming in. (Though I still hope the articles I posted elsewhere will get approved soon :V)

Since I haven't seen any mention of it since Day 19, I assume the soda goal couldn't be met?

DAY TWENTY SIX

Limit Goal: 4:10 PM

-Internet: Now that I've actually looked into what I do to have a satisfying, productive day, I think I've got a better chance to have more days like that. I've redone my projects and tasks to further align with the goal I'm trying to focus on, so hopefully that'll help. Focus is important anyway-I've read that by making a plan ahead of time for a project and a task, you can reduce obstacles and enter the flow state more easily. This morning I was stumbling about revising my story, but that's because I wasn't being exactly clear on what to do next. When I defined it, I could see how I was going to approach it. It's one of those lessons that you hear a lot, but you still need to make the mistakes before you internalize the advice and follow it more to the letter. I just hope I've finally internalized it :V

In any case, I'm feeling better about what to tackle tomorrow.

DAY TWENTY SEVEN

Limit Goal: 4:20 PM

-Internet: My planning worked-today felt like a fairly productive day. I'm glad I figured out how to make my tasks work out. Now, the trick is to keep doing it, while gradually adding more. (But not too much-I want to only devote so much of my day to working.)

By the way, did I mention my library sucks? It still does. I went in to find website development books-namely, how to get some traffic coming in. I found nothing useful, so I ended up picking up fiction writing books again :V I found some interesting titles, as well as a book of stories by Raymond Carver, whom I've recently discovered and admire. Even so, I've delved into my own research and come up with some things I can do. There's some more sources I need to check out, but other than that, a plan for spreading the word about my website is coming together, so I'm confident it should work well.

Edited by The Helldragon on December 8, 2008 at 17:28:57.

DAY TWENTY EIGHT

Limit Goal: 4:30 PM

Internet-Today I finished my tasks early. I mean, early. Earlier than expected, at least. So I figured, "What the hey, I'll finish this project off!" and I polished off a review I was doing and uploaded it to my website, http://eccentric-video-game-reviews.com. So I sat there and wondered if I could do more. I didn't, for some reason, but I think I've got a handle on this enough to slowly add more daily tasks into my task list, as long as they follow the same criteria I use to set my other tasks. I'll definitely experiment with that in my trial, where I'm going to work on developing my focusing abilities.

DAY TWENTY NINE

Limit Goal: 4:40 PM

Internet-Ha ha! I did not get much done. Today was my birthday, after all. I spent most of the morning watching "Wall-E" (one of my presents), though I did care of some easily done site tasks. Tomorrow I hope to do bigger stuff, though. Apparently I'm getting another gift later tonight, but I'm waiting until my sister gets home, apparently so she can gauge my reaction. I wonder what it's going to be.

DAY THIRTY

Limit Goal: 4:50 PM

Internet-When one of my tasks didn't go as well as planned, I just...I dunno, lost focus. I couldn't concentrate, I felt off. I dunno why. Maybe building my focusing abilities in the next trial will help.

I'll post the challenge rundown tomorrow.