Saturday, March 4, 2017

sol17-4 How do I know for sure?


I am participating in the
Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC).
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day of March 2017. 
A big thank you to Two Writing Teachers for providing this unique opportunity
for teacher-writers to share and reflect.


I like to follow routines.
I like "programs."
I like to compare my results from one day and build on them for the next.
I find these to be motivational, 
'a shot in the arm,' 
a way to reorganize my brain from 'no, I have no time' into
'of course, I can make that happen.'
Which is why I am writing every day in March for this Slice of Life Story Challenge.
Which is why I have a Fitbit, tracking my daily 10,000 steps.
Which is why I said yes to my niece to participate in a Facebook "Secret Group" Fitness Challenge, doing insane exercises every day for one month (15 February through 15 March).

I have only had a very few days of all these 'systems' overlapping and I realize I have turned into a bit of a robot:

Wake up, 
get out journal and write draft ideas for slice(s); 
check time for getting out the door for school; 
check Facebook for today's new exercise routine and make plan for when it will fit into the day (before school or after school?);
attach Fitbit to clothes so that all walking steps are recorded; 
go through work day; 
when you return home, check - 
have you entered blog post? take time to write.
have you walked enough? take time to walk.
did you do new exercise routine? take time to exercise.

It's actually a little amazing how everything is fitting into place, how everything is getting done...even in the midst of a week that included two evenings at school and all the extra duties and preparation for these. Check! still following all routines!

I will admit to living for the weekend - today! yes, it is here! - and having time to process and reflect, to re-organize, regroup, and get ready for another crazy week ahead.

So, it is both ironic and funny that I discovered two technology fails today. Just in time for reflection.

One, my three-year old Fitbit is dead, dead, dead. Yes, I attached it to my clothes every day and I walked, walked, walked, but there is no evidence of this anywhere. Wait a minute, did I walk enough this week? Yikes, how do I know for sure?

Two, my scale. 18 days into this insane exercise challenge and I wondered, have I lost a pound or two? Anything? In 18 days? Let's see! And I jump on the scale - and the screen stays totally blank. Yes, really, my scale is dead, dead, dead.  Wait a minute, is this increased exercise making any difference? Yikes, how do I know for sure?

Maybe I have these new routines taking up too big a space in my head. Why should seeing a number on a device bring me peace? Doesn't the act of walking do this? Doesn't a sweaty workout do this? Does writing about it do this?

There. Blogpost #4. See! I know for sure!




3 comments:

  1. So poetic that your two critical devices failed at the same time! I agree that the sweaty workout, etc should be enough, but we do like the measurable markers to make us really believe in what we are doing, don't we! Take care of your computer...

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  2. Ha, this is funny. You've missed that carrot at the end of the stick, at least through no fault of your own. Could it just be batteries? There are those expectations that fall through and sometimes they mean more time spent in "why?" and "how?" and then "fix it!" It throws my plans off just as you wrote. But you did, as you said, get the slice in!

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  3. I'm a creature of habit, too, and my fitbit has been unable to hold a charge for a while. That's frustrating.

    Even on the weekend I have routines that make the day go sideways if I deviate from them too much.

    My scale does work, but I'm not inclined to use it these days!

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