…wherein I lose track of the weeks and re-enter the proper workforce and long for the days when I had time to think about productivity and life direction.
The contract I mentioned a while back as “possibly turning full time” has essentially done that, in so much as it has become a 30-hour-a-week contract, which, I’m finding, consumes at least 40 hours of a week. The lower overall commitment level suites me fine for now, though, as I’m still trying to finish up and/or start some side projects, one of the best evidences of which is the fact I’m still titling these less-than-weekly minutial posts as weeknotes.
Still, I find myself in regret for the books I’m not reading and the extra time I’m not spending with Lucy, who is growing up fast these days. Soon she will be toddling around the house in a nonstop blaze of activity.
The paid work has gotten in the way of the unpaid work, namely the new record, some bartered work, and the secret side project. But as long as the paid work is interesting, pleasant and, well, paid, I can’t very well complain now can I? Stress about money can ruin everything else and so it is best to assuage that stress as long as the work stress does not overwhelm it. And as I grow older I’m finding that the only people who achieve a work-life balance are those people who simply do not (or need not) worry about money, so until I’m at that point I’m happy with the amount of balance I am able to maintain.
The sobriety has gone better than expected. Today marks the end of month one. There have been days I have been very tempted. But not so much that I was about to drive to the beer store. I have found a couple brands of non-alcoholic beer that suite me but I’ve moved more to tea in the evenings, thankful that it is still warm beverage season here in North Texas, as short as that season might be.
I’m adding additional behaviors each month so today I have to develop a tracking system for the next month’s, which are almost all weight-loss related. I lost about 7.5 pounds in month one, eating whatever I liked whenever I liked and only riding as much as I could, which was not even as much as I would have liked. This month I eat less and more carefully as well as ride consistently. I’m curious what the additional behaviors do for my weight, fitness and willpower, especially as they begin to pile on month after month.