Month: September 2020

This week was a rather odd one for the conclusion of this experiment. I spent most of it camping with some friends, causing all of my rules to be effectively useless by design. While out in the woods, I still thought about each space we were in and the activity associated. First, a recap.

Results of the Rules

My goals from the beginning of this trial were to reduce distractions while working to 15 minutes per day, fall asleep within 15 minutes of laying down, and to start a morning fitness routine.

The first, I feel has seen progress over the experiment. Before this trial, I fell into the bad habit of throwing on entertainment content while working at my day job or on personal projects. Eliminating the ability to watch said content at my desk, aka the creation station, has led to greater focus when at the desk.

Using my bed as only a place for sleeping was probably the biggest challenge across the goals. There were a number of long days that I wanted to lay down and watch a video before sleeping, but I had to resist and choose either sleep or watching elsewhere. It’s hard to say if I have hit the 15 minute goal exactly, but I know it’s around there based on a sleep meditation I listen to as I go to bed.

The fitness routine wasn’t so much a challenge as just not happening. The first couple of weeks started okay. Seeing the mat rolled out prompted me to do some form of exercise. As time went on, I was still getting a decent workout in, but it just happened after work, a long-standing habit of mine. Perhaps I need to accept my fate of not being a morning workout person.

All in all, I plan to keep the rules in place. I really think they are benefitting me across several areas in life.

Beyond the Spaceship

Throughout the past week, a few friends and I went camping in Northern Minnesota. The trip consisted of several hours of canoeing in between each site. After reaching our site for the day, we would set up camp and relax. Each time we set up, I thought a lot about the space we were in.

The sleeping space was clearly defined as our tents and hammocks. The recreation station was around the fire in which we would get a lengthy chat going each day. The remaining two are a bit strange in this case, because our work and fitness were kind of intertwined. The canoes themselves were a workout to get to our objective each day.

This has me considering spaces wherever I go. As someone who has worked remotely for nearly two years now, I’ve worked in a number of places – from coffee shops to friends houses and even a highway rest stop once. The places I go can always be used for anything. I think it’s important to maintain the sanctity of the stations, beyond the ship itself.

What are some places in your life where you need to create boundaries for your stations?

What’s Next

This next trial has been a challenging one for me to find. I typically take a combination of my latest interests and where I can see improvements. This experiment may or may not click for some and may interest others.

I mentioned previously a growing interest in the game Destiny 2. In an attempt to get better at the game, and PC games in general, I plan to start an “aim training” regiment. The goal is at least three days a week following a series of routines credited to an author known as “AIMER7.”

This week, I thought I’d offer a tour of the room I’ve been referring to as my Spaceship all week. Going through what’s in each station, and how I use it, might be a fun alternative to the usual post on here.

Getting Things Done – The Creation Station

The best place to start is where I spend a good portion of each day, my work desk. This is where I go while working remotely for my day job and on personal projects, like writing this post.

I’ve been referring to this as the work station throughout this series of posts, but I now prefer Grey’s original name, the creation station. The name decouples the space from the burden of work and offers its purpose as a place to get things done.

It’s a simple setup with a desk I’m borrowing from a roommate, the box from my bed, and a couple of white boards. I like having the option to sit or stand depending on how I’m feeling, though as of late it’s been a lot more sitting.

Hanging the white boards was a recent addition just before starting this trial. Before, I just had one that drifted around the room for jotting down quick notes. Now, I have one that’s used for quick note taking, and the other acts as a reminder board. The reminders consist of my goals for the year and the things I want to get done in a given day, week, and month. It’s beneficial to jot down and review notes for just about any project or goal.

Unwinding – The Recreation Station

This desk was actually where I was working for a long time before the release of the Spaceship You video. After watching it, I decided to isolate the two areas. The breakdown of that boundary being a major inspiration for starting this trial.

Since setting this area aside, I feel I’ve given myself permission to play more games. Last year around this time, I actually didn’t boot up my gaming PC for something like four months. I kept finding other ways to stay busy that I didn’t spend as much time gaming. Throughout the quarantine and general uncertainty of our times, I’ve had a lot of great times playing games of all kinds alone and with others.

Admittedly, the scale has begun to tip. A desire to start playing the game Destiny 2 again has led to some late nights. Setting limits here is something I’ve needed in the past, and I’m glad I had those in place. The biggest of which is a scheduled shutdown on my PC at 11 PM, which has been utilized more than once just this week.

While gaming on my PC is one of the frequent activities in the recreation station, I also use this desk for reading, streaming videos, and chatting with friends and family. I do spend more time watching shows or movies in the living room, but in terms of the space in my room, this is the place to do it.

Sharpen the Saw – The Exercise Station

While definitely the least used station it is far from the least useful. Having a quick and easy way to exercise all but forces me to get some kind of workout in before the day is over. Whether it’s a few bodyweight sets, pulling some resistance bands, or a yoga session, I can do something with my body that almost always has me feeling better both mentally and physically.

This time of the year does offer the added bonus of nice weather allowing for little friction in going out for a walk or run. The former is probably my favorite form of exercise. A few hours walking around the city listening to an audiobook is a nice cheat to get both reading and exercise in. My preferred walking method is to put on some instrumental music and let my mind wander to wherever it wants to go. It’s a great way to wind down a long day.

Due to being simply a rolled out yoga mat, I can “enter” the workout station whenever I need to tell myself  it’s time to work out. I’m considering leaving the mat rolled out, but I fear it will lose that intentionality of setting it out at exercise time.

I like being able to keep nearly all my gear in a single section of a small shelf. The only exception is a door frame pull-up bar that I need to use on a frame downstairs.

Closing it Down – The Sleep Station

Sleep is one of the most important things we can do to improve our health, productivity, and mood. That impact is the reason that I set a goal to fall asleep faster at the beginning of this trial. Often abused for playing, watching, and reading, my bed became just a thing in my room, not a place for sleep.

About a year ago, I changed my bed from a large memory foam mattress to this small Japanese style futon. It was an interesting change that took some adjustment, but after that trial period, I really enjoy sleeping on it.

One benefit to the futon mattress is that it’s hard to use without intention. Western style mattresses are so tall that it can be easy to sit on it for one thing, and next thing you know it, you’re laying down. It’s a bit more of a challenge to get down on the floor to just hang out without planning on laying down.

It’s now been a couple of weeks into my new rule set for Spaceship Me, and I’m seeing some good results. Having rules has helped nudge me in the right direction; although one challenge I’ve struggled to shake is shifting out of the recreation station.

Rules to Rise

I’m a big fan of this quote by author James Clear, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

In his bestselling book Atomic Habits, where the quote is found, Clear discusses four laws to making a habit stick:

1. Make the habit obvious.
2. Make the habit attractive.
3. Make the habit easy.
4. Make the habit satisfying.

Rules and systems are a way to abide by the third law. These constraints are often the simplest way to eliminate friction and create the focus we need to establish habits and arrive at our goals.

Creating a simple set of rules has helped me to rebuild a withering workout routine and manage to fall asleep when I am ready for bed. I haven’t quite reached the goals I set last week, but I’m definitely trending in the right direction thanks to these new rules.

What About Work?

While I’m making progress in a few areas, I’m still challenged to find the focus I want during my work day. Some days have been successful, but at the beginning of this week I struggled especially to stay on task and avoid distractions. I don’t know if the problem was coming off the long weekend or if some expected technical issues threw a wrench in my focus, but I found myself ineffectively working at the entertainment station while listening to some personal finance podcasts and speeches.

I am confident that if I move myself physically to the work station, I’d find the focus I desire with the rules I have in place. Sitting here writing this, I find it easier to get back to work when I find my attention slipping.

In an attempt to address this problem, I’m going to add another rule and see how it shakes out. Not moving my desk chair from the work station when taking breaks should limit the time spent. First off, it will be a nice change of pace to stand more throughout the day, as my standing “desk” hasn’t been used as often as it should be. More importantly, seeing the chair still parked at the work station will remind me what I’m supposed to be doing at that moment.

Next week, I’ll be diving into more specifics on the setup of each station and how I use them.

In a similar effort to my previous trial, using BeeMinder for accountability, I’m hoping by reevaluating how I use my physical space – particularly my bedroom – I’ll see improvements in a few areas. Inspired by CGP Grey’s video, Spaceship You, I plan to better define and adhere to my “stations,” the designated spaces for certain activities.

Boundary Decay

When the video first came out in April of this year, I applied the lessons in it, created my stations, and did my best to avoid cross contamination of activities. As time went on, those boundaries crumbled.

Lately, I’ve had a bad habit of mixing my work and play areas. While working, I’ll throw on a YouTube video as “background noise,” which of course becomes my focus, as interesting ideas and jokes steal my attention from the task I’m supposed to be working on.. Then, there are times I try to work while in relaxation or entertainment mode. I’ll hop in a game with friends and tell myself that I’ll write a few sentences while I’m waiting to respawn. This goes as well as you might expect; I close my laptop shortly after the game starts.

For me, work has a lot of different forms. It can be my day job, writing, researching, editing, programming, and more. My definition of work is consistent effort on a given project. The intention with the space is to focus on a given task until I find the right time to stop.

Distractions while working were the core inspiration for this trial, but rewatching the video made me think about the other areas I am neglecting as well. Lately, my exercise routine has been lacking, even with a number of options for home workouts. Also, I’ve gotten in the habit of watching a quick video or two while laying in bed to catch up on a few channels. These are simply the result of the loss of intentionality with these spaces.

Separating Stations

While my stations are defined, what I need to now is recreate the boundaries between them. To do this, I’ve come up with a number of rules:

1. No entertainment content while at my working desk.

With my current track record, I need to strictly avoid any entertainment while in my space to work. The only exception to this will be lyric free music and the Study With Me playlist by Thomas Frank. This doesn’t apply to just during “work hours” either. Respecting the space for what I need to do there is key.

2. Any breaks taken during work will be done away from my work desk.

This ties into the above rule. When I’m in my work station, I plan to be doing work. If I need a moment out of the trenches, I need to step away from the desk. Moving to the entertainment station or even out of the room entirely may be needed. The ultimate point is to continue associating that space with working.

3. If a distracting idea comes up, I’ll write it on a whiteboard and get back to the task at hand

There are times that an idea comes to mind and I start to explore it, ending in a rabbithole of twelve tabs open in Google Chrome. While doing so has led me to some interesting places, in order to maintain focus, I will write down the idea and get back on task.

4. Eating will only be done in the entertainment station.

Eating may not seem to be a distraction, but in the end, the goal is to allow each space to only be used for its purpose.

5. My bed is for sleeping only.

There’s a saying that goes “the bed is a place for two things: sleep and sex.” However, my lack of a partner makes the latter a bit unproductive, leaving me with sleep. In the end, I want to develop my ability to fall asleep by creating an association with laying in bed with sleep, not laying in bed reading, watching YouTube, or visiting more adult-oriented content.

6. Prep the fitness station (roll out my yoga mat) for use in the morning.

There is a ton of research supporting exercise and its improvement to mental health and performance. While I am in okay shape, I know my routine has fallen apart recently. As part of a nightly routine, I want to set myself up with a reminder to exercise in the morning.

Any and all these rules are likely to be broken every so often, during and after this trial. Making them, however, should help to develop an expected behavior, not an impossible standard.

The Flight Path of Spaceship Me

In applying these rules for myself, I hope to see the following improvements:

• Reduce distractions while working to less than 15 minutes per day.
• Fall asleep in less than 15 minutes when it’s time for bed.
• Develop a morning fitness routine.

As the trial continues, I’ll share more details on each station and how it is used, as well as how the rules above are impacting these goals.