Week 3: Creating a New Normal

Three weeks down, 49 to go! I think the best way to describe this past week would be a week of reflection, and a week of finding what I want my “new normal” to be. Just like last week, my focus was on finding a stronger commitment to this challenge, and to my goals. Part of that commitment is making sure that my goals are reasonable, and achievable.

You can read an overview of my goals for this 52-week reset here: Week 0, and a recap of last week’s progress here: Week 2.

Pillar 1: Image & Mindset

In terms of actual mindset and attitude, I think I’m holding strong in this pillar — maintaining a more positive outlook on my own life and working towards a better future. One of the goals I incorporated into this pillar was to stick to better routines, starting with an early morning/wake up routine, which has been a major struggle so far, and I think it’s time to admit something: I am not a morning person. However, that’s okay! Setting goals and doing this challenge is really about finding what works and what can improve my life — waking up at 2 or 3 in the morning isn’t it though.

So, back to the drawing board in terms of setting routines, which is what I’ll focus on in week 4: finding a routine that is both an improvement over my “old normal”, but also something I can actually stick with in the long run.

Pillar 2: Health & Fitness

During week 3, I only did 2 out of 7 workouts, so negative progress on that front. Most of this was due to a back injury, which seems to have cleared up again. This is actually one of the main reasons I wanted to focus on fitness and flexibility in the first place: reducing chronic pain and improving my range of motion.

So for week 4, the goal is to jump back into the workout routine and continue on improving my diet and eating patterns.

Pillar 3: Finances

Week 3 was rather quiet on the financial front, I continued to remind myself to keep March a “low-spend” month, and since we’re at the end of month now, I’d say I did an acceptable job of this, but I would like to push harder in April to cut my spending even further.

I’ll be making the final payment on my credit card balance in week 4, and from there I’ll be focusing on the smaller of my two personal loans going forward. I might start looking for a second job or other part time gig in the next few weeks.

Pillar 4: Hobbies & Social Life

It was definitely a quiet week on this front, as I’m still focusing on finishing my associate’s degree (6 weeks to go!). I did take some time out for family, and spent part of the weekend away from home. However, the main hobby this week was binge watching old reality shows on the couch, not exactly going outside any comfort zones!

In week 4, I don’t expect much to change on this front, slow and steady progress is alright here.

Pillar 5: Building an Audience

Obviously, I’m writing these posts to a non-existent audience, however, 4 weeks in a row of publishing content is definitely the longest I’ve stuck with any project in a long time, so I will take that as a win. I also joined Bluesky, and I’ll be spending some time curating feeds and finding interesting accounts to follow in the next couple weeks. Hopefully, next month I’ll start posting content of my own and building an actual audience of some sort.

Overall, another slow week, but progress is happening! Bad habits are moving out, and I’m taking the opportunity to replace them with a “new normal”, and I can’t wait to see the progress in the next few months.

Until next week!
-Cammeron