Grand Productivity Experiment: Phase 1 Complete!

Yes, I’ve finished the first week of the Grand Productivity Experiment! Phase 1 was the Keystone Habit: in my case, getting up on time. I am pleased to report that I managed to get up on time six out of the six days in the experiment.

Santiago Rusinol Before the Morphine
Handy hint for morning laggards: start slowly with a cup of tea.
And did I see results, despite the shortness of the experiment? I think so. The first day was a howling success, but after that I slowed down a bit. I didn’t seem to be getting to bed any earlier, but I did sleep better, I think, being more tired. So not as influential as it might have been, but still some positive change there.

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‘Tis the Season to… Not Do Much At All, Really

It’s an odd sort of time, January, especially in the Southern Hemisphere where you’ve got the whole summer thing lumped on top of the Christmas/New Year things. It’s like no matter what you think you’re doing, your brain doesn’t really believe you’re seriously trying to do anything until at least February – and not even then, if it’s hot.

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It’s Too Darn Hot

It’s been 27 degrees C (80.6F) every day this year. This may not seem hot to you (particularly if you live with air conditioning) but it’s all a matter of what you’re used to, and this climate has conditioned me to mostly dwell in the teens.

Pris Cat cooling herself in the Brisbane heat
Unfortunately, my to do list for summer projects includes things like “clear out woodshed” and “stack cord of firewood” (that’s 3.6 cubic metres/130 cubic feet, by hand), and “dig drainage ditch”.

Due to our proximity to the longest day, the sun pours down for about fifteen hours at a stretch. Fifteen hours and three minutes, if you want to get precise about today. This means that it gets cool enough to go outside and get to work on the garden about ten minutes before it gets dark enough that you can no longer see the garden – about half an hour before bedtime.

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