The time where I joined a book club

I need external stimuli and I really need to get back into reading. During a zoom chat with college classmates, a book club was mentioned during the discussion of what books to pick for the upcoming list. As everyone was throwing out suggestions and pulling some books off-screen onto screen, I couldn't help but turn to my own library on my right and glance ever so often. 

I made a couple of Japanese culture-themed suggestions, and there was a quick overview of those but many hours later upon further reflection, I settled on three completely different books instead. 

The books I selected are The Power of Habit by Duhigg; Indistractable by Eyal; and Atomic Habits by Clear. Only for the fact that I've read Power of Habit, and know it to be a stellar book and worth the reread, and the other two I have started but haven't completed and know that they have some gems within them. 

Even now, I am slowly whittling my way through the paper that surrounds me. I have a combo of medieval focused books and writing books. Two genres that I am hoping will push me to create my own paper documentation. Now, I am making a push to get through books and even skimming so I can purge or put aside what is actually needed. 

In the pursuit of reading more, I also perused a Reddit thread last night on people's go-to books. Hyperion came up as well as Slaughterhouse-five, two books I know are within our library. I grabbed Hyperion, settled onto the bed, and started reading only to be inundated with the word "fatlined" several times in the first paragraph. 

I put the book down. Maybe Sci-fi isn't really my cup of tea? Maybe some classics are not for me. 

Now to hunt down Slaughterhouse-five. At least I know Vonnegut's lingo and I like his use of words. Also, the book will be a quick read.

Yes, I need external stimuli. Now that I am not currently working, I need to work on socializing from a different angle. Saying yes to zoom chats, checking up on friends, making random phone calls to fam and friends. I'm really lucky that SO is working from home, so I am not entirely by myself throughout the day. 

 

a tangle of thyme and oregano

Waiting to Explore

I want to explore. But I want to stop daydreaming about exploration and go full mode. I know it is within me to keep to tasks and to become proficient. I know it takes me exactly 3 weeks to learn something, to work out the kinks and to get into a state of flow (and to also be realistic, I'd be working on this task 3 - 5 hours a day, very repetitive motions and easy to zone out on). It is within me to learn something, and it is also within me to be my own supervisor and give myself tasks do. 

This morning as I was journaling, I thought of 30-day challenges. I realize they are quite popular out on social media right now (wheezywaiter is my youtube go-to for these ideas) and maybe there is something about 30 days. It would definitely be a good documenting activity and a middle of the road challenge to accomplish. It's not 6 months and it's not for one week. It's a time frame that hits my learning stride. 

I'm going to go with a body challenge - like no processed sugar, working out, drinking water, getting to bed on time...etc. The best one would definitely be getting to bed before 10pm. Now that I am home full time, getting to bed at 10pm and up at 6am hits the 8-hour sleep requirement. And look at that, we did that last night! We were in bed at 9:15 pm and definitely fell asleep before 10pm (at least I did, don't know about SO). Getting enough sleep has a cascading effect - you sleep well, you eat well. You sleep well, you feel well. You sleep well, you work well. It's a kind of encompassing solid habit to have. 

But besides getting sleep regularly, I know I need to tackle another habit. I'm electing processed sugar and I'm going to go another level with this. I want to say no to store-bought items with sugar in it. So no manufactured chocolate bars, or gummies or ice cream. If we're going to break, it'll be with homemade pastries. The overall goal is quality, not quantity which I am very guilty of. 

The window I wish I had....

....and the window I currently have