Five on Friday: Progress made

Conversation with husband

We never did actually write out our ideal weeks, but we thought about them enough to have a productive conversation about what we each want and need. My husband unearthed a spreadsheet we used during the pandemic to keep track of when people had to be on Zoom (each person has their own sheet with a column for each day, and that info is aggregated onto one sheet so we can see each person’s day next to the others’s for each day), and we’re using it to see what a week looks like and plan things like who is working out when, who is making dinner for whom, who is eating dinner with whom, and who is away from the house. My husband appreciates knowing where everyone is and when he has time to get stuff done. I appreciate that this forces us to be more intentional about the things that are most important to us. I have not conceded any time at the dojo, but have promised to get my home workouts done before he gets home whenever possible, especially on the nights he’s slotted to workout. We’ll have to see if its enough to make life feel less relentless and more manageable. I’ll keep you all updated.

Peloton bike

I got toe cages to add to the clip pedals ($40) so I can decide which ones I want to use (regular tennis shoes on Bootcamp days and clip shoes when I won’t be getting off the bike). I got a new screen with speakers ($80) and a Roku Streaming Stick ($30) so I can cast to the other room when I’m doing bike boot camps, instead of trying to lift weights in the shitty kitchen. All in all I spent $450 on the bike and accoutrements (the screen and Roku were deeply on sale), which is a really good deal. Most used Peloton bikes sell for $600 at the very lowest, and to find one in the city (many of them are much farther away) for $300 was a real steal. I feel very lucky and I’m so excited to use it. The screen is crystal clear (I’ve been recording bike boot camps with Zoom, and the video was always VERY choppy), and it’s so fun to see if my cadence and resistance are staying within range, not to mention my output. It’s much more enjoyable than hacking the cheap bike. Of course, I would never have known I’d be interested in a Peloton bike without hacking the cheap bike, so I guess it was the right place to start. I’m just thankful I was able to transition to the much nicer experience for a reasonable price. Oh and I changed my subscription and paid $240 for a year. I’m pretty happy with that too.

Son’s birthday parties

I cleaned the kitchen and hall floors last weekend, and have been clearing away the clutter in the upstairs all week. We have presents at the house (but not wrapped), and a plan to order some finger food for when the grandparents are here (but not actually ordered yet). I’ve confirmed our head count at Dave & Busters and received RSVPs from eight of the nine kids who are invited. I put together the goodie bags this afternoon. Dave & Busters provides food and drinks, so all I need to do is buy cupcakes somewhere this weekend, probably on Sunday morning, before the party.

Planning

I got a cheap academic year planner with weekly and monthly layouts that I’m using to keep track of things, and so far it’s been very helpful to have both in one book. I like that it has three main priorities to check off at the top of the week. I wish it also had some check-boxes for each day, but I’m just adding those in myself. My old book had all to-do lists and habit trackers on the left and the whole week on the right, so each day had very little space, and the whole weekend was just one block. The new book has M-W on the left and Th-Su on the right, and Saturday and Sunday get their own spaces! Woot! I’ve also finished the first section of Kendra Adachi’s The Plan and I’m liking the message so far. I’ve just started the strategies section, so we’ll see if there are some concrete suggestions in there to help me. The main idea seems to be boiled down to “do less” and this is a hard message for me to get behind, but one I probably need to embrace. We’ll see if I can actually put that into practice.

Work

Last week was conferences and it was rough. This week has been better. I stayed up late Monday night to get caught up on the most important grading, and even though I was kind of a zombie on Tuesday (after five hours of sleep), it was worth it. I’ve been staying on top of my grading all week, because I know I won’t have much time this weekend. I just have one big project to score for my 1A classes, and I will prioritize that on Sunday. I wrote up a new agreement with my 3rd period and have been consistent with it and it’s definitely helped. Things are actually pretty decent at work right now. Fingers crossed that keeps up…