Second day, and a bit more fluid. Like yesterday, it took longer to get through the different commitments than I would have liked, and I still haven't managed to complete all 6 tasks, but at least I'm making headway. I want to endure, so I'll be happy with less than perfect, just to actually launch.

In the future, I'll add a few more comments, but for now, it's better to post than to wait for more.

1. Sleep: 7h, 9m
2. Meditation: The Alchemist, 65m just upon rising, and Reconditioning the Body to a New Mind, 59m later in the day.
3. Walking: 10,507 steps
4. Healthy Eating: 3 Bright Meals and no snacking.
5. Morning Pages: All 3 pages completed.
6. Writing: Not yet.

Score: 5/6

Ok. So today was lift-off, and I truly struggled to make it through my habit stack. I'm super lucky it's Saturday and I haven't any commitments on the books as it took me most of the day to make it through the activities that really should take about 4 hours. Like herding cats, or asking a toddler to walk a straight line. Nevertheless, here's Day One's report:

1. Sleep: 8h, 1m
2. Meditation: Joe Dispenza's meditation The Alchemist, 65m
3. Walking: 7044 steps
4. Healthy Eating: calling the day bright. A bit of a stretch, but that's ok. I'll get more exacting as the days go by.
5. Morning Pages: Did't quite make it. Managed 1.75 out of 3 pages, but hope to do better from here on in.
6. Book writing: Nothing today.

Ending score: 5/6

The best way to master something is through practice. Ironically, a perfectionist tends to cringe at anything that's less than outstanding, and therefore tends to want to skip early stages work. Mediocrity hurts after all because it highlights one's ineptitude and shows how far one has to go. And yet, there's no way forward but through. 

Habits take time to build. It's a fact. An indisputable fact. Automaticity doesn't arise overnight. The initial spark of enthusiasm helps us launch, but dedication and persistence are required if we are to really change. 

In this blog, I'll be documenting my efforts to shore up my health and wellness habits as I want them to become automatic. I want to engrain then deeply so I don't have to use willpower to keep doing these activities that bring me health, well-being, clarity, calmness, strength, and a host of other truly wonderful gifts.  

My habit stack consists of the following-
1. Sleep.
2. Eden Energy Medicine routines and protocols. 
3. Meditation.
4. Exercise.
5. Morning Pages
6. Healthy eating.

Some things take minutes to complete and others hours, but that's ok. I include then here because I want to make sure that all of these become firmly entrenched into my days. 

1. Sleep. 
This habit's one that needs the most work. Fitbit logs my sleep hours over the last week thusly:
Today: 6 h, 4 m
Yesterday: 5 h, 28 m
June 22, Wed: 7 h 27 m
June 21, Tue: 4 h, 57 m
June 20, Mon: 6 h, 21 m
June 19, Sun: 6 h, 26 m
June 18, Sat 7 h, 18 m

Granted, I was traveling over the last week, sleeping away from home, but honestly, home sleep doesn't clock in all that much better.  My average weekly sleep scores show this.
This week : 6 h, 7m
 June 12- June 18: 6 h, 6 m
June 5- June 11: 7 h, 11 m
May 29- June 4: 5 h, 51 m
May 22- May 28: 5 h, 56 m
May 15- May 21: 5 h, 44 m

Basically, I'm averaging 6 hours of sleep, and for me that's just not enough. I knew I was going to be starting this blog, so I tried to get to sleep at a decent hour and that went ok as I was asleep by 11 pm. What didn't work was waking at 4:34 am and not being able to drift back into slumberland. I finally got up and started doing stuff instead of languishing. A nap, 1 h, 2 m, around 10 am helped but even that moved me towards 6 hours instead of the intended 7 hour minimum. I'll work on this habit a bunch in the upcoming days and week. I'll start by taking sleep seriously instead of blowing it off as a desirable luxury. 


2. Eden Energy Medicine
The Daily Energy Routine takes about 10 minutes and tracing meridians about 5, if that. I'm planning on tucking that in before meditation, just after waking and rising, as it'll help with shining.

3. Meditation
At the moment, I'm doing guided meditations produced by Joe Dispenza. They're quite similar to those ones I've practiced for years and they're part of a personal evolution program to which I've dedicated myself recently.

4. Exercise
​Nothing fancy at the moment, as I'm simply starting with a daily walk. Shooting for 10,000 steps, but even 30 minutes of  walking will suffice for now. Once my habits are more established and my weight is down, I'll weave in some yoga and some strength training. 

5. Morning Pages
I haven't decided if I'll stay committed to these. Between penning a daily habits blog and working on a book or two, I'm not sure I want to add an extra writing commitment. Time's precious! The purposes are different however, as Morning Pages are personally oriented and the other two are professional assignments. Morning Pages help clear out kinks to well-being and inspire peace, insight and clarity so what's not to love? I'll include them in the habit stack for now, but reserve the right to pull them if it turns out to be too much.

6. Healthy Eating
Over the last few years I've been experimenting with Bright Line Eating. It's a plan designed by Dr. Susan Pierce Thompson to encourage folks to stay super clear and deliberate about what they put into their mouth. There are 4 bright lines to follow, including:
1. No sugar
2. No flour
3. Only 3 meals per day, no snacking
4. Specific kinds of foods allowed per meal, quantities weighed and measured. 

When I was started, my weight had gradually drifted up to 192 (I'm 5'7") and I was feeling very uncomfortable and also rather embarrassed. Over time, I found my stride and managed to drop down to 149. When life got "life-y," I lost the plot and have arrived recently at 185 lbs. Oops!!

I am therefore taking myself back in hand, and committing to getting back on track. This first week, I'll ease in slowly, starting with one or two of the lines and then as the habits get more automatic, weaving in the remaining ones. As it's almost July, I'm aspiring to be in a right sized body by end of January. I figure if I shoot for an 8 lb. loss per month, dropping 50 lbs. will take at least 6 months, so I'm giving myself 7 months total to reach 130 or so. 

So that's it! That's Project Habit Stack in a nutshell. Each day, I'll report on progress and deliver a daily score which will consist of 6/6 or 5/6 and so on. Here we go!

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