Day 7 Sat 02/01/2020
Since I can’t sleep, I thought I’d jot a note about the system I’ve arrived at for my journaling process so far. It’s a three-part process that starts in Microsoft Word, then moves to Microsoft OneNote and ends in Squarespace.
I chose to start in Microsoft Word because I wanted to take advantage of Grammarly, “The Ultimate Proofreading and Text Evaluation Tool.” I wanted to start in OneNote (reasoning later), but it did not have a grammar evaluation tool, native or otherwise. I struggle with grammar, punctuation, spelling, and context. A tool like Grammarly or even the native grammar checker in Word helps out.
For every day, diary-styled, journaling, I set Grammarly’s goals to their default. It the text gets too technical, I make adjustments to the goal settings. Grammarly evaluates in real-time, and I make changes accordingly. Once I’ve finished, I save the document to Microsoft’s cloud storage, One Drive. I do a quick reread, Select All [text], and Copy. Then move to Microsoft’s OneNote.
Microsoft’s OneNote is the program I wanted to store my journal entries. So far, not having a grammar checker is its only shortcoming. I created a notebook to house these journal entries, stored in the cloud on OneDrive.
In OneNote, I made a daily journal entry template, which contains four fields (text containers), a title, a journal entry, a schedule, and a meal record. OneNote provides the title text container as default for a new page. The Schedule block uses checkboxes, approximate times, and task descriptions, and the Meal Record uses bullet lists.
After completing the text in Microsoft’s Word, I paste the text into the Journal block. I check to verify the transferred text, do another Select All, and Copy.
In the last step, I post the journal entry online in the blog of my Squarespace website. There’s nothing tricky. I open a new blog page and paste the text using the import text too. I do a last check to make sure everything is OK, and post.
The point of this is to post my daily journal as part of my weight loss accountability, eventually sharing these posts with family and possibly trainers. For now, I’m still evaluating the process and the product.
On the upside, I’ve found a real purpose to OneNote. It’s pretty cool. I wish I didn’t have to use Word, but it’s been a few times now and seems to have worked out. If doing the blog post doesn’t work out, I’d like to continue the diary in OneNote.
So, I didn’t get to bed until 0300. Subsequently, I slept in until 0930. May had breakfast ready, an omelet with the pork sausage, a few cauliflower tots, and three chicken sausages. I added sriracha.
The morning was a bit confusing. May was still feeling out of sorts and didn’t want to go to Costco, but Fred Meyer and the Dollar Store was OK. We left the house around 1100, shopped at Fred Meyer for an hour, then drove to Woodinville, the back way. After rummaging around the Dollar Store, we had lunch at Taco Time NW. I wanted something that would combat the cold, today was quite chilly and ordered a Casita Burrito platter. At about 1000 calories, we made a note to try and something lite for dinner. Dinner was some canned chicken soup with a couple of Costco chicken skewers.
We got home around 1400 and started some laundry. I worked on reviewing articles on the topics of motivation, inspiration, accountability, self-image, and goal setting. I came across several articles written by Ron Prasad, a life coach in Australia. I like his writing style. He has a concise way of getting to the point. I placed these in the Motivation section of the Health and Fitness Research notebook, along with notes.
I also got a couple of loads of laundry in, did the teeth whitening, but did not poop, nor did I shower (having showered twice yesterday).
Today was not very busy. I’m wondering if days like today are an example of future days ahead in retirement. Ew. It was too cold and too blustery to do anything outdoors. May wasn’t feeling good and wasn’t in the mood to run around town shopping. There weren’t any movies to see, a blah day. And tomorrow is looking like another blah day.
Let’s summarize my progress on diet and exercise for the week. I’ll give it a grade of C. I didn’t hold to a strict diet. I didn’t log my meals. I missed Monday’s workout. And the workout sessions I did do were probably a 50% effort. On the upside, the teeth whitening process is forcing me to limit late-night snacking.
I’m still motivated to lose weight. There’s a sense of what I might want to look like for my 50th high school reunion next year. But mostly, it’s about improving health, lowering my risks of heart disease, and Type II Diabetes.
I have a good “input goal,” a Ron Prasad term, in that I’m confident I can continue to lose weight. I have the tools, the knowledge, the experience, and the motivation. I’m continually seeking inspiration through testimonials on the web and YouTube.
May made a nice compliment today. She mentioned she didn’t recognize me in the store, because I was so skinny. Here’s to hoping next week is better than this.