Someone at babe's job had a fever and was awaiting a Covid test as of Monday evening, so she was ordered to quarantine at home until at least Thursday. I realized I hadn't taken a day off from everything since about a month before we moved, which means sometime in mid August, so I decided to take Tuesday and Wednesday off with her and just relax around the house. No writing, no blogging, nothing even resembling work. I mostly succeeded, and boy, it was a nice break.
Yesterday, I got back to work. I started the day at 4:30, walking the dog for some exercise, then sat down and worked on the novel outline. Three more pages, five to six more chapters. I'm leaving it alone today, letting my mind work on a couple of problems I've run into during the outlining.
I've also been listening to an audiobook, "Stein on Writing," by Sol Stein. It's excellent, and very focused on the specifics of the writing craft. He gives solid examples on a variety of topics, from characterization, plot, setting, and an excellent dialogue section, to editing and even non-fiction writing. There's a lot of good information, and it's both interesting and intimidating to be listening to it while I'm working on the novel outline. I think it's going to help me make a good leap forward in my writing quality.
While I'm making progress, I'm not happy with where I'm at. I definitely needed the days off, but now I feel like I have to start pushing myself a bit on all fronts. Here's the plan:
Goals by December 31st, 2020:
Morning exercise - continue with the 30 minute dog walk every morning. Add in Couch to 5K staring Monday. Add in the Nerdfitness Beginner's Bodyweight Workout Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
Exercise Goals: Run 30 minutes straight. Be able to do 3 sets of 25 pushups, 5 pullups, 2 minute plank.
Diet: 100% adherence to the nutrition plan I have laid out, which includes 1 cheat meal per week for each meal (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner). The plan is 50% protein, and designed to help me lose fat and increase muscle. I'm also taking a multivitamin. I'll post the whole diet tomorrow, and report on my progress weekly starting next week.
Weight loss goal - lose 15 lbs. Today, I weigh 231.8 lbs, with 31% body fat, 31% muscle mass, and a BMI of 23.3. Let's see how that changes week to week if I stick to my plan.
Writing: Write every day. Blog every day. Finish the novel first draft.
All that while working 10 hours a day, six days a week. It's definitely going to be a challenge, but it's the path to the life I want. That makes it worthwhile.
See you tomorrow.
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