Nothing Undone

I’m going to the gym every day before work for 30 days, and today was day 7 (which makes 5 trips to the gym). Because I’m going before work, I’m also getting up at 6am, which is unusual in the tech world. Here’s how it’s going:

1. I feel great. I figured that exercise would make me feel good, but I was worried about not getting enough sleep. I’m getting to around 10:30 or 11, which is when I get sleepy, and it’s plenty of sleep. I wake up at six refreshed and ready to start a new day.

   In fact, I used to go to bed about an hour later, get up about an hour later, and have to drag myself out of bed, so I’d say the exercise is making me less tired.

2. By the end of the day, I’m exhausted. I feel great through the morning. After lunch I hit a slump that I haven’t been able to beat. By the end of the day, I feel like I’ve done a full day’s work, and I’m done. I’m ready to relax, clean up a bit, eat something, and go to bed.

So far, very positive. I haven’t tried to do much with my evenings, though. I think I’d be up for socializing with friends, which I find restorative, but maybe not networking and meeting new people. I’ll find out this week—I’ve got a number of things planed for my evenings.

Today I signed up with a gym.

I haven’t been to a gym since college, and even then I only went a handful of times. Now, looking back, I realize what a luxury that gym was. Yes, it felt like public school, but it was free. At least, I wasn’t paying for it.

Gym membership is expensive. The one closest to me—a nice little local gym, well recommended—charges $67 a month after hitting you with a $99 signup fee. And that’s with a 12 month commitment!

I finally went with 24 Hour Fitness. It’s near work, it’s bright and clean, and there’s no commitment. It’s normally pretty expensive, but thanks to good timing I got a good deal ($65/mo, like my local gym), with a much cheaper signup fee, and all sorts of amenities.

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For the past few weeks I’ve been having a lot of trouble keeping my life in order. Two weeks ago I missed a doctor’s appointment—completely forgot about it until it was too late. This week I have a speech to give at Toastmasters, and I feel completely unprepared. I’ve been failing to see an old friend for a while, and I haven’t been making plans. What the hell?

I also feel like I don’t have nearly enough time. Now, I always feel like there’s not enough time to do everything I’d like to do, and that’s fine. There isn’t. But I’ve come to terms with that. (Mostly.)

This is different. I feel panicked and claustrophobic. I feel like the walls of my calendar are closing in on me.

I’ve given myself a lot of responsibilities:

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