Category: Uncategorized

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Building strength the easy way

This year, I want to get into better shape! This is what many people think around this time of year and I am one of them. Possibly, I am one of a few who starts half way through January when some others start to fizzle out already. Who knows. I want to look and feel better – ideally immediately.

Given my (middle-ish) age, I’m supposed to do weight training two times a week or more often. This way, my muscles stay strong to give my body what it needs to weather the storm of old age. It also means my body would use more calories at rest and I can have more fruit (I am one of those strange creatures who doesn’t like the taste of sugar) or 85% chocolate.

Unfortunately, COVID is still a thing (or is that again?) and last time I walked past the local gym, masks were worn around the neck and most certainly not covering mouth and nose. So that won’t be an option for me.

A few years ago, I was the only person to turn up to a really early gym class and since then I know that individual classes may not be my jam either. The pressure to perform when the spotlight is on me is just too much.

What would you do in my situation?

Yes, exactly! Yoga to the rescue. Yoga counts as resistance aka body weight training and therefore gives me what I need from it. Furthermore, recent research suggests that stretching such as done in Yoga benefits the blood vessels and muscles alike giving you an all round fantastic workout. Best of all, there are plenty of YouTube classes available which I can follow from the privacy of my own bedroom.

Initially, I will start with small steps and try to fit in one workout for a couple of week to see how I like it and when the best time of day is. Then I thought of doing two weeks with two sessions, followed by three weeks with three sessions… You get the idea.

Will you join me and work out too?

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Preparing early for a successful Tax Day

Last year, I promised myself to get on top of my finances. Whilst I have sorted out some of the bigger issues already, there is a lot more to do. The problem is that there is not always more motivation to do it – or time.

That’s why I decided to turn every action that’s needed to reach my goal into small actions which I can tick of as I go along. My thinking is that one small action every working day should get me to my goal by my summer time.

First and foremost, I will prepare for my tax return so that I can submit it ahead of time and with none of the usual pressure and anxiety if the postal service will get my forms there on time.

Before diving in though, my small task for this week is to set up a solid filing system. For the task at hand, I focus on digital filing. I scan all documents which I receive in the post and download my statements. This means I won’t think that much about my paper documents at this point and keep that task for post tax day.

I’m certain that this is the main step that will make all the following task and activities so much easier. That is why I’m spreading this one action over a whole week. Once my filing system is set up, it’s literally one small task of looking at one account a day and saving the necessary statements and files into the filing system. Easy! Stress free! Successful!

What is your way of going about the yearly tax filing? Are you thinking of starting early this year?

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Clean your desk

Imgur ran a campaign asking people to clean their desks and the results are amazing!

What an inspiration. I’m a big fan of having a tidy desk since it gives me the head space to work efficiently. There are a number of studies looking at how clutter including desk clutter impacts people and they are worth while looking into since the topic is more intricate than it appears on the surface.

How about it? Want to join in the clean desk group?

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The great resignation

During COVID, a lot of people started thinking about the meaning of life, the universe and everything. The result is what some call the “great resignation” and many people starting new roles in completely different fields as before.

What can we make of this? Are you still in your old job or have you started a new one? What was your motivation or final thought before the big step?

For me, I have taken a year out in 2021 to deal with health issues (not COVID!) but mainly to re-focus on what I want to do with the next section of my life. According to official life expectancy numbers right now, I am about half way through my life… well, possibly a bit more. So, what I should I do with it?

For one, I want to keep learning new things. So I got myself a subscription to a learning platform and will continue learning languages.

More importantly though, I wonder if sitting for 8 to 12 hours in a chair in an impersonal office is right for me. Don’t get me wrong. I have had a lot of good years of showing up in person in a large company, learning a lot of skills and I met a lot of great people there. Looking forward though, I’m not sure it’s for me.

The challenge is though that I still need to earn a living and this is where the rubber hits the road. What should I do to keep myself fed and clothed and under a roof?

After a long time thinking about it, I decided that my next small actions is to redo my CV and apply for jobs in which I can use my existing knowledge and would continue to learn new things.

Ideally I this next role would be remote. This would allow me to carry it out in new locations so I can experience different ways of living and possibly learn another language in my spare time. Most importantly, I wouldn’t want to be bound to a single country anymore. The COVID crisis has shown how governments treat their residents and not all of these ways are to my liking.

In addition, I have started to learn more about art, poetry, music and try it out myself. With trying it out myself I mean to really give it a chance over a couple of months. If I am not that into it though, I won’t be crying over it because it’s may not for be me. For example, I know that I’m unlikely to continue with water colours. I tried it, went to a class and it doesn’t make me as happy as some of my other activities. So I stopped doing it. Who knows, one of these may be my big passion and is just waiting to be discovered.

It’s all about taking good decisions. It’s all about having meaning in your life. It’s all about taking small actions that matter which bring you closer to your ideal life.

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New Year’s Resolution – or – No Year’s Resolution?

After a long two COVID years, it’s again the start of a new year. What will you do this year? Set another New Year’s resolution or not? Will you simply revisit last year’s? Or will you change the type of resolution you have made in the past?

There are so many different ways of looking at this topic and I’ve been there, done that, tried pretty much all of them. I guess you may have tried them all or most of them as well. Do you have a favorite amongst the resolutions?

As for me, the most successful years where those where I had a guiding thought of where I want to get to. It mattered less whether I would hit my goal exactly as planned as long as I ended up in the approximate ball park of where I wanted to end up – or somewhere better.

Yes, there have been years when I was so focused on a goal that I actually missed out on something better. Of course, there were also years in which I didn’t focus enough to even fail. I merely fizzled out.

So what will I do this year, you ask?

For 2022, I have set myself 3 goals: one for my health, one for quality time spent with friends & family, and one for my job (aka get one). I see all these three areas as equal in my life since I don’t feel my best if either of these areas is lacking.

My goals are definitely achievable (as long as I keep working on them regularly) and will bring me joy at every step of the way. I’m a big fan of enjoying the journey as well as reaching the goal itself, so I have broken them down into smaller steps or mini goals which I can achieve (on average) weekly. If nothing else, I have something to celebrate at the end of my week when I take stock on where I am.

Most importantly though, these goals are part of a bigger picture. I want to be healthy, so I need to live an active life with daily exercise, home cooked food and steady, good habits. The goal of loosing 3kgs this year is not for the sake of loosing weight, the point is to incorporate long term habit changes that will stick and will lead me to a healthier lifestyle. It will also dovetail with learning how to cook which started during the first COVID lockdown. Once COVID will be over, I can then transfer my skills to spend time with friends & family at dinner parties and family gatherings. It feels like a win situation from every angle.

That is the spirit of New Year’s resolutions: having a direction and planning the steps towards a life that feels better to myself. Speed is less important than continuously striving for it, making the necessary changes, maintaining or adjusting the changes and turning them into habits. Also, noticing when milestones get achieved is important. Simply by writing this short article, I’ve achieved my week’s goal. Easy!

It may not be everyone’s idea of a great resolution but it is mine.