The Kat Files

Today is the last Monday in August, dear reader! And, I have a bunch I want to accomplish before closing out this month for good because last week I hit a HUGE stumbling block. Remember last week when I mentioned that I was struggling with hayfever and dealing with an itchy throat and hoarseness, which I thought was odd, since I had been on Claritin for almost a month. Well, it was not hayfever but the dreaded coronvirus instead. UGH! The dreadful beast finally got me after all these years. I started feeling worse Monday evening (ran fever; slept poorly; miserable night). On Tuesday, I slept all day (extremely tired; ran a low-grade fever early afternoon; felt miserable). I started to worry that perhaps I had run myself down and was developing a sinus infection, so I drug myself out of bed and drove myself to urgent care where I received the sad and shocking news that I had Covid. Admittedly, I was also quite annoyed because it messed up the remainder of my week. So, let me update you on how I did last week (August 18th-24th) with my August challenge despite the setback.

No book reviews on Goodreads. Who knows if I would have written any reviews even without being sick? My track record says NO.

As for building on my habits I started in July, I met or surpassed my water goal 5/7 times with an average of 65.7 ounces of water consumed over the course of the 7 days. My water consumption dropped on Saturday with 60 ounces and even lower on Sunday with 52 ounces. Hydration is super important during an illness. While I am feeling much better, I must continue striving for 64 ounces of water daily.

Out of the 7 days, I consumed NO added sugar except 1/2 tsp of sugar in my morning coffee, 1 tbsp of honey in my afternoon tea, and 1 small bag of Buc-ees Beaver Nuggets with milk chocolate (spread out over three days). That left me with 4 days of no added sugar (the sugar in my coffee and honey in my tea is negligible). Not perfect but better than the previous week.

My walking streak ended on Tuesday, August 19th when I could not go for my morning walk. Yeah, I am bummed because I was doing so well with my walking up to that point. No need to dwell on it. I started walking again yesterday morning with a moderate walk (30:10). My legs felt stiff, especially around my knees. Once warmed up, they felt better. It was also awesome to stretch after my walk.

Now, for my new habits, I need to catch up on my JOY List! I am sure it is no surprise that I did NO grounding last week.

ATOMIC HABITS by James Clear

I read Chapter 13 of Atomic Habits last night and Chapter 14 this morning. One of the takeaways in Chapter 13 that resonated with me was the Two-Minute Rule. I was familiar with Clear’s story about Twyla Tharp because I read her book, The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life back in 2022. “Habits are like the entrance ramp to the highway…Habits are the entry point, not the end point. They are the cab, not the gym.” (pages 160, 162) James Clear claims, “You’ll find that nearly any habit can be scaled down into a two-minute version.” (page162) This rule just might get me to finally incorporate strength-training into my week. And, it might also help me with grounding.

In Chapter 14, the focus is on a Commitment Device, automating good habits, and making bad habits difficult. Basically, “A commitment device is a choice you make in the present that controls your actions in the future.” (page 170) Reading How to Break Up With Your Phone by Catherine Price and participating in her challenge back in August of 2020 made it more difficult to get sucked into the social media vortex. That book/challenge was my commitment device. Perhaps, it is time for a reread. I found myself this past week spending too much time scrolling through social media. Being sick last week was not a good enough excuse. I could have read more or watched a tv show/movie I have been wanting to watch.

Last week was a massive disappointment for me only because I had high expectations for the last two weeks of this challenge. Even though my walking streak ended, I started a new one. Even though, I did not write any book reviews, I probably would not have anyway. Even though, no grounding took place, I am willing to give it another shot this week. I was still successful in other areas of my August challenge and have one more week to finish strong. Dear reader, how do you handle a stumbling block that knocks you off track? Happiness!

“The more you ritualize the beginning of a process, the more likely it becomes that you can slip into the state of deep focus that is required to do great things.” James Clear, Atomic Habits

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