Timeblock
| Time (PST) | Plan | Reality |
|---|---|---|
| 0000 | SLEEP | |
| 0030 | SLEEP | |
| 0100 | SLEEP | |
| 0130 | SLEEP | |
| 0200 | SLEEP | |
| 0230 | SLEEP | |
| 0300 | SLEEP | |
| 0330 | SLEEP | |
| 0400 | SLEEP | |
| 0430 | SLEEP | |
| 0500 | SLEEP | |
| 0530 | SLEEP | |
| 0600 | SLEEP | |
| 0630 | Meditation | |
| 0700 | Cooking/eating breakfast | |
| 0730 | Reading: The Wretched of the Earth | |
| 0800 | Morning routine | |
| 0830 | Spaced-repetition | |
| 0900 | Thinking in log | |
| 0930 | Meeting: A time to listen w/ MixAbility | |
| 1000 | Maintenance: Notion Tasks | Stretching |
| 1030 | Buffer | Stretching |
| 1100 | Running 2.5 miles | |
| 1130 | Shower/maintenance | |
| 1200 | Lunch: Notion Office Hours | Lunch |
| 1230 | Lunch: Notion Office Hours | TV: YouTube Overwatch |
| 1300 | NAP | |
| 1330 | Work: Data Sensitivity Task | |
| 1400 | Meeting: WeRQ | |
| 1430 | Work: Prep for 1/1 with Alex | |
| 1500 | Meeting: 1/1 with Alex | |
| 1530 | Work: Data Sensitivity Task | |
| 1600 | Meeting: Mixpanel Meditate | |
| 1630 | Work: Data Sensitivity Task | |
| 1700 | Cooking block | Work: Data Sensitivity Task |
| 1730 | Cooking block | Cooking: Fried Soy Curls |
| 1800 | Buffer | TV: YouTube MTG Arena |
| 1830 | Music with wife | TV: YouTube Overwatch |
| 1900 | Side-projects | Music with wife |
| 1930 | Hanging out | TV: The Legend of Korra |
| 2000 | Hanging out | TV: The Legend of Korra |
| 2030 | Winding down | |
| 2100 | SLEEP | |
| 2130 | SLEEP | |
| 2200 | SLEEP | |
| 2230 | SLEEP | |
| 2300 | SLEEP | |
| 2330 | SLEEP |
Thinking
Morning routine in a solid place, I think. Though it is a significant chunk of time, I believe it sets me up for success. The goal moving forward is to channel my strengthening consciousness to more deep work so I can get things done. This should translate to less watching of YouTube (specifically the YouTube I watch alone, aka MTG Arena stuff).
Meditation (Day 14)
Two weeks of practicing regularly! That's pretty awesome. Meditation was always something I wanted to make a part of my life. For years and years! And now it may very well be a part of my life for a long, long time.
Still haven't experienced strong dullness during my main meditation, but I think I can identify progressive subtle dullness? Or rather, there are some tells, maybe. Been playing with the various pointers for working through stages 3, 4, and 5 depending on how I feel the current session is going. This morning was pretty hard so I tried a bit of stage 5, but gave up on it and kept with stage 3 stuff (introspective attention to identify gross distractions).
I don't think I'm forgetting the meditation object very much, but I believe it happened once or twice today. Also, after many days of songs not coming to me during meditation, they have started to break through yesterday and today. I thought it would happen much sooner. Songs have been a constant thing flowing in my head since I started meditation, though only outside meditation sessions. Still, even within meditation sessions, I find the songs playing in my head are somehow quieter, and they stop playing on loop with much less prompting.
Perhaps there is something about the stillness which quiets the mind. Though it may also be my attempts to focus. For instance, right now I'm focusing on writing this and though I am maintaining awareness (my wife just walked up the stairs), no songs are playing. Maybe a song playing in meditation is a sign of dullness, then? Perhaps, also, it is a form of resisting the meditation session?
This realization is something I've already noted, mind you. I even use it to try to quiet songs when doing menial tasks. I try to focus on the various types of consciousness (e.g. the feeling of water running over my hand, the smell and taste of food, the sounds of whatever I'm doing, how they all bind together), and find that the song will quiet and disappear for a while.
I have also experimented with different sitting positions. I believe I'm doing a quarter-lotus. My leg completely falls asleep (loses all sensation) by the end of the meditation. I am told that this is why meditation should never go beyond 40 minutes (avoid nerve damage), and why you should also pair sitting meditation with walking meditation.
My paranoia is a bit high, though, so I only managed half of today's session in quarter-lotus before switching back to my on-the-knees position. I might wait until I get a cushion, as I believe the way I sit on the foam roller for the lotus especially cuts off circulation.
....
It is something I will continue to play with, I think.