Change of plans...

How well do you adapt when plans change? I’m awful at it. I’ve gotten much better as I’ve gotten older, but still there is this internal temper tantrum when things have to change. Outside, I’m pretty cool and comfortable. But what does plans changing have to do with minimalism?

We have our plans and our ideas and goals that we want to accomplish. Most of the time, they don’t always go in that straight line that we’ve planned or projected. Usually it looks something like this:

We have those ups and downs along the way. Those slow downs and get back to its. How we respond is important to how successful we will be. This has been on my mind a lot over the past couple of days. Monday, my girls were off school for the MLK holiday. I forgot that my wife was off as well. So I was able to do more in the garage and outside than I had originally planned, which was fantastic. I knew it was going to get cold this week and there was a potential of freezing rain and ice, which is not normal for Houston. And Monday late afternoon, school was cancelled for everyone for Tuesday. And it got nasty outside. For Texas. But because it was cold, working in the garage wasn’t going to be the most fun or really most productive. I needed to work inside. So I started working in our office. I dealt with files and paper that needed to be dealt with. Of course my work to-do list got much longer, but I was able to get a few things done remotely. Organ practicing for Sunday morning...not so much. I don’t happen to have an organ at my house! And now we fast forward to today. ANOTHER day off of school. It’s still icy, but should clear up by later today. So I’ll be able to get out, but even this morning, I was still able to work on some more projects. The girls got their rooms picked up yesterday, so that’s a huge first step for them. But the garage still sits.

The garage was my goal for the month. Now, I could pout and be frustrated that I didn’t get much done in this great extra time I had. Or, I could stop, take a breath, and realize that there are still 14 days left in the month, and warmer weather to come. I’ll have time on Monday, and the following Sunday/Monday. What I want to get done will happen. I just have to be patient and go with the flow. But gosh, that’s really hard. Tomorrow morning, everyone will be back in a normal routine and our 2 day work/school week will commence. But it’s all about being adaptable and able to change with how life goes. You can do it!

How do you measure progress?

Yesterday, I spent time working in my garage. At the first of the year, and pretty much when I started yesterday, it looked like this:

And by the time I was done, it looked like this:

Am I finished? Goodness no! But it’s progress. So let’s talk about that word progress. Who measures progress? You are the one who can and should measure your progress. That can be on your terms, in your own measurements. Does my progress mean that I got my entire garage cleaned out? No. But there’s places to walk in there. I brought in my plants from outside, because it’s below freezing outside. There are two old bikes that my girls have outgrown that need to go away. That pile that’s basically in the middle is stuff that needs to be gone through. Most of it will go away. Get rid of all of that and you’ve got a whole lot more space and organization. I got as much of the boxes in the recycling container, and as that gets emptied, I’ll add more boxes. So the progress keeps going. Slow, but steady.

So how do you measure progress? I think one of the most helpful things that you can do is to come up with a plan before you start. If you have an hour, or 30 minutes, or 15 minutes, make your plan. Focus on one area, then if you have time, go to the next. The most important parts to remember in making progress is that YOU are the one who determines your progress, and YOU are the one who measures your progress. Sure, you can (and should) enlist the help of others to help hold you accountable. But in the end, the responsibility lies with you. So, make a plan and get to it!

Speaking of plans, I’ve had to alter mine a bit, because while I was supposed to be working today, my wife was supposed to be working and my girls were supposed to be in school, we’re having an ice/freezing rain day. So, instead of trying to do more in the garage (once I do some work from home), I’m going to switch up my focus to inside, where it’s warm! I’ll share some of those results tomorrow.

Week 2 check in

I know I haven’t posted since last Monday. Getting back to routine kicked my tail, but I’ve been making progress. So let’s get to it.

The Whole30 diet is insane, but I haven’t had much trouble with it. After my big drop of 9.2 pounds from January 1st through January 8th, I dropped 2.4 pounds from last Monday to this morning. 11.6 pounds in 14 days isn’t bad at all!! Especially when my goal for that point was 4 pounds. 2 pounds per week. I’ve been drinking a lot of water daily, and ended up getting 101,465 steps last week. Not the best, but it was the first time over 100,000 since the end of November. This week may be a bit tougher on steps because we’re supposed to get a cold snap and possibly ice over the next couple of day, so walking the dog may not happen like I want.

The garage is my other goal for the month. Today had been and still is my main day of focus. I had forgotten that my wife was off of work today, and so she’ll be doing some things with the girls (and we’ll do some things together as a family), so that I can focus on the garage. The biggest thing for today is getting the boxes from Christmas broken down and in the recycling, and putting things back in the places that I had previously had them. That will make a huge difference and a big starting point to make progress.

So how about you? How are you doing 2 weeks in to the new year? Are you on track? Comment with how you’re doing!

Week 1 check in

It’s been a week into the New Year. How are your goals going? Still crushing them? Feeling a little stagnant? They’re totally blown?

Here’s how mine are going. First goal was to lose 2 pounds per week. So, last Monday morning, I stepped on the scale. 278.6. Fairly typical. I have resided anywhere between 270-290 over the past 3 or so years. Not good. I started the Whole30 diet for the month of January, so that started on the 2nd. Over the past week, I have felt amazing. The Whole30 diet is insane, but it’s a reset. No beans, no dairy, nothing processed or added. It’s forced me to look at labels and plan a whole lot more. But the food I have eaten in the past week has tasted amazing. And so, when I stepped on the scale this morning. 271.4. Down 7.2 pounds in a week. My goal was 2. I figured that with starting a new diet, and something this intense (and drinking a LOT of water), I’d probably lose more than 2 pounds. But, 2 pounds was my goal. So, why didn’t I say 4 or 5 pounds, especially for this first week? Well, our bodies can do strange things, and what happened if my goal was 5 pounds....and I lost 2. I’d feel like I failed and giving up would be a whole lot easier. But, I’ve absolutely crushed my goal. Do I expect to lose 30 pounds by the end of the month? Nope. Only 8. Because that’s my goal.

My second goal was to spend the month of January focused on the garage. It’s a disaster area. Well, the first step was to get the Christmas decoration boxes out of there. And in a couple of hours, those will be back in their storage space above the house. So that’s a good first step. Then I’ll spend a bit of time this afternoon on the Amazon and other boxes that threw up in the front of my garage. Every bit of extra time I have, that is where I am going to focus. Not just on organizing the junk that is out there, but figuring out what is needed and beneficial.

That’s it. My goals for the month of January. Comment on how you’re doing with your goals!

The first step

It’s said that the first step is the hardest. And while that may be true, the first step in making a change isn’t that hard.....once you decide where that step is. Most of the time when we look around our houses, our lives, our whatever the case may be, we can become overwhelmed and paralyzed. So, we hesitate to change. Or, we feel like the change must be immediate, sweeping, overwhelming and done quickly. But here’s the reality. Any change has to happen slowly and over time.

So, where do you take the first step? Great question. Don’t think about it too much, just pick a spot and start. Whether it’s a drawer, a shelf....something. And then keep at it. Little by little, you’re going to make those needed changes.

Or maybe you’re looking to make healthy changes. That’s not too hard. Instead of looking for the closest parking spot, choose one a little farther away. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Swap out that “sweet treat” for some fresh fruit. There’s lots of simple first steps that you can take.....literally!

The whole point is building good habits. A lot of times those habits are built by avoidance and procrastination. Or simple laziness. My youngest daughter is 6. She doesn’t put things away in her room and consequently, the floor is typically littered with stuff. She only wants to pick up with “help”. A couple of days ago, she and my wife spent a whopping 20 minutes and her floor was clean! Now, is it still clean? It’s walkable, but there’s a few land mines to be avoided. But, even as adults, we can be that way. “It’s going to take so much time” we may say. But in reality, it only takes a few minutes, and then we’re free to read a book, watch Netflix, or whatever we need to do!

So what’s your first step today? Comment with your first steps and let’s encourage each other to keep going with those little steps every day!

What is the purpose?

That’s a great question, isn’t it? You can use it for lots of things. Food, relationships, exercise, stuff and so much more. Over the past year in my wrestling with this idea of stuff and what is really beneficial, I’ve found that asking this question is so helpful. So let’s dive in.

What’s the purpose of food? At the most basic purpose is nutrition. We eat to survive. If we don’t, we end up looking like one of the final people left at the end of Survivor. Skin and bones. But there’s much more to it than that, right? We like to eat. Eating brings us joy. Eating brings us community. Eating brings us tasty treats! And none of these things in and of themselves are bad. A delicious piece of warm apple pie with some vanilla ice cream melting on it is heavenly. But if you eat that every day....that’s probably not going to be the best overall for you. So, if you stop and consider what the purpose is, and truly think about what you put in your mouth, and use it for that purpose, that may help your relationship with it. In an article on Fortune.com, it says that 40% of American adults are considered obese and 20% of children are obese. I’m one of those 40% of adults. There are definitely genetic and health factors that do contribute to this, but a large portion of this, I believe, comes from our “fast food” society. Not just the amount of restaurants and drive-thrus, but the quick, cheap, high sugar, high salt, highly processed foods available at our local grocery stores. The purpose of food is definitely something for each individual to consider.

What’s the purpose of relationships? Being connected to others, having a network to lean on and be supported by. People to do things with. In our busy lives, it seems to be harder and harder to build genuine personal relationships. Why? Those take time. Those take intentionality. But relationships are important. They are needed. The amount of people who are being diagnosed as depressed and feel more isolated and alone seems to be growing higher and higher. You could also ask the question toward a more specific topic. What’s the purpose of THIS relationship? Is it a healthy relationship or is it toxic? Is it causing you more harm than good? Again, this is all an individual consideration, but the question is essential to ask.

Exercise. Really? What’s the purpose of exercise. I googled “Do I have to exercise to lose weight” and this was the first article that came up. And so what is the answer? Yes and no. You don’t need to exercise to lose weight, but there is proof that diet and exercise combined helps to keep the weight off. And there are physiological benefits to exercise. Now, I’m not saying you need to go out and join a gym, but look at where you’re at. What could you be doing to be more purposeful in getting more exercise? Taking the stairs instead of the elevator? Going for a walk? There’s plenty of low stress exercise that you could do, if there’s a purpose for you for that.

Now to the last one. Stuff. This is what people seem to be finding most interesting about minimalism. What purpose does the stuff serve? What a great question to ask! What is the purpose of a chair in your bedroom that you don’t sit on, but serves as a catch all for laundry and other stuff? Does that purpose work for you? How about your kitchen? That fondue pot you got as a gift and you’ve only used it twice in 8 years? What purpose does that serve? I could keep going, as could you. But here’s the thing. Your stuff doesn’t own you. You own it. It serves the purpose you choose to give it. But that takes work. That takes intentionality.

I could go on with the different topics this questions works well with. What’s the purpose of work? Social media? Politics? So on and so forth. But my challenge to you today is to try to ask that question of 3 different things today. See what your response is!

Happy New Year!

I know, we’re already 1 day into the new year. The past couple days I wasn’t feeling all that great, so I was resting and spending time with my wife. But today, I’m back at it. So how about you? What are you going to tackle and take on today? Is it going to be stepping on the treadmill for the first time in a while? Is it going to be taking on your closet? That catch all drawer? Whatever it is, here’s a couple of suggestions to help you.

Simple is key. Instead of starting with the entire closet, start with a part of it. Once you get that done, then your goal is to get to the next part. That whole idea I wrote about on Sunday of bite-sized goals. Make it manageable and easy to achieve. My way of breaking my weight loss goal down into bite-sized goals was a weekly 2 pound goal. Now yesterday was a date day with my wife and no children. We had lunch at a steakhouse, had massages and watched The Greatest Showman (I highly recommend it!) So, yesterday, for my breakfast, I had a fruit smoothie with frozen fruit, almond milk, coconut oil and Greek Yogurt. I had a 6 ounce steak for lunch, and sweet potato fries (which I only ate half of). And we did have an appetizer of jalepeno shrimp things which were delicious. But we only had 4 between the two of us. For dinner.....I had popcorn. Yes, popcorn. But here’s the crazy thing. Yesterday morning, I stood on the scale to get my starting point for the year. 280.6. Today, I stepped on the scale....278.6 And that’s without starting my Whole30 eating (which I am today). And exercise, which I’ll be adding in as well.

The other thing that we forget about is making it fun. Jon Acuff did a great job of writing about this in his book Finish, and I think that’s something we lose sight of. Whatever we’re doing has to be drudgery because it’s “work” and it’s “cleaning up” or it’s “getting healthy” or whatever you want to call it. But seriously, if you want to get some serious cleaning done.....put on some “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor and get that stuff knocked out! Or before you workout, make yourself a motivational playlist that’s going to get you going. Music helps lots! Or maybe once you get that small goal done, you give yourself a small reward, and once you get that big goal done, you give yourself a big reward! You know you better than anyone else, so you have to decide what is going to motivate you to do it.

So start small and have fun!Bite sized goals