Friday Fun: New Year's Resolutions Health Check

[Andrew Kendris]

🎉Happy New Year🎉

With the start of a new year, I like to consider it another "sprint" of sorts.  Closing out 2021, I did a bit of a retrospective and listed out a few possible resolutions. After careful consideration, it came down to two focus points: Mind & Body. Now I find it important when making resolutions is having action-oriented goals and measures i.e. OKRs 😄

... even while I toss around a few Agile buzz words, I promise this is a Friday Fun.

Mind

I've been enjoying the Calm app and starting my day off with one of their  "Daily Calm" sessions. After a full week, I'm seeing some benefits where mornings are a bit easier and I'm less groggy (even got myself down to one cup of coffee in the morning too)! What I love about the Calm app is it tracks my progress and reminds me throughout the day to stay present and to breathe.  Also, as a data enthusiast, the metrics help maintain excitement.

Body

I've increased my running routine with the goal of running a sub 2-hour half marathon *starts to nervous sweat* 😥 and I've built out a lovely yet simple Trello Board to track progress and remind me my morning exercise.  I'll be running the NYC Half Marathon in March and that will be my first attempt at breaking my personal record!

How's Everyone Doing?

Being that we are in the third week of the new year, I wanted to do a health check with the community and see how your resolutions are coming along 🙂

Do you have a way of tracking your resolution progress to ensure you're still crushing your goals?

[Jack Brickey]

@Andrew Kendris , thanks for posting the article. I definitely have some unique goals this year due to an accident last year that has compromised my ability to workout at the level that I previously would. However, this has not deterred me. Rather it is focused me on where I need to set my goals and expectations. Simply put it has refocused me.

I am starting off my day with a kale smoothie now and midday I will be heading out for my routine walk trying to beat my last time/distance.

Cheers to all on your 2022 goals!

[Andrew Kendris]

Sometimes recalibration is what we need 😄 I'll be working a kale smoothie into my morning routine to hopefully reduce the coffee intake and caffeine crashes that come shortly after lol

[John Funk]

My resolution for this year has been NO resolutions. I am still 100%. 

[Pramodh M]

Be in the moment!! That's the best state of mind

And this is mine!!

[Vero Rivas]

Hi @Andrew Kendris 

  I make annual goals, but then I go to weekly goals, on Sundays I close the week, review those achieved and those that have not and then prioritize the following week

  At the end of the month I repeat the operation and so I can even assess how I carry my annual goals, I do all this with my personal boards obviously in trello

  Step by step without stress

Cheers

[Andrew Kendris]

I love this @Vero Rivas ! No need to try and tackle everything in one shot and bite-size workloads make it much more manageable.  I like your motto about Step by step without stress 🙂 definitely going to incorporate that into my mindfulness exercises!

[Jimmy Seddon]

Good topic @Andrew Kendris!

On a RAG scale, I'm a solid Amber right now.  My focus point for 2022 was/is: Balance.

Where I'm trying to get better at tempering the number of things I get involved in.  However, I'm also super excited and passionate about a number of things and that's how I overload myself.

Right now, I have a lot going on, but the load is manageable.  I'll let you know how I'm feeling at the end of the next sprint ;)

[Andrew Kendris]

@Jimmy Seddon - I totally know what you mean 😄 It's hard to not want to find ways of getting that burst of excitement when you finish a task or project!! Glad you're able to keep it manageable (for now) lol. Definitely keep us posted ahead of the next sprint and what items come out of the Retro 😉

[Laura Holton _ACE Rotterdam_]

Loving this NYR check in article @Andrew Kendris 🙌

Luckily the January blues hasn't quite kicked in and my resolutions are still holding strong, I tend to set 3-4 that try to focus on mind, body, personal achievements and so on. Last year stood me at 2 out of 4 so hopefully this year will be a little stronger but ultimately it's great fun and an even greater way to push myself to do things I spend a lot of time saying I'd love to find time to do that 😅

As for tracking, as a family I am the NYR keeper and we have them all listed down in readiness to review the week leading up to New Years Eve. It's a great way to keep on track and reflect around the year 😊

[Andrew Kendris]

This is awesome @Laura Holton _ACE Rotterdam_ 🙂 You've got a solid foundation and the support of family will carry you through those January blues! You gotta get them around the table for an internal health check! I like the personal achievement pillar you have and will need to consider one to add before we get further into the year 🤔

[Marjorie]

I use the calm app too @Andrew Kendris .  I was daily in 2020 to midway through 2021.  Then, I fell into bad habits and did not maintain daily.  I have started back up.  Guess I need the reminder thing....

And, my body/health needs me to move more.  Waiting on my home gym to be delivered.  Need to fit time for me into my schedule.

[Andrew Kendris]

Ah yes! @Marjorie The Calm app has a few reminder features which always give me that extra push when I want to take a backseat for a day 😅 lol

👏 Kudos for the long mindfulness streak you had and I have all the confidence you can meet (and soon after exceed) it this year 🏆 🎉  

[Brant Schroeder]

Did not have any this year so I am doing well.  Usually just try to set obtainable monthly goals, and skip the big new years thing.

[Andy Gladstone]

@Andrew Kendris since you spoke about a health oriented goal, I'll do a status check on my health oriented goal as well.

As I may have mentioned in previous community posts, I am an avid cyclist. Due to a series of health related issues that have plagued me over the past few years, I have thought more about cycling than actually cycling. I had a Xiphoidectomy (I'm going to use that word a few times so that anyone else looking for information about it will find their way to me) in early December and that put my 2,000 mile goal to rest at 1,761.1 for 2021. That was still better than my 2020 and 2019 mileage combined, but a far cry from 2016-2018.

Part of the reason for undergoing the procedure was to help me reclaim the confidence to get on the bike consistently. I can say I am still in the green and on target for that through 1H January 2022.

I track my progress and set my goals on Strava and Zwift. I often say that the adage "if it ain't on Strava it didn't happen" is second to the "if it isn't in Confluence it isn't documented'. 

Your Trello Board gave me inspiration to work on my own for a June 2022 Gran Fondo I plan on completing, thank you for sharing it.

And if anyone has any questions about Xiphoid Process pain, damage, trauma or removal (Xiphoidectomy) feel free to reach out to me!