There's so much going on in the Bunch family from one week to the next. I'm always learning, researching, etc. it's really hard to keep up with the blog. Sorry if my percentage of original posts has dropped off this season. To make up for all that I'm going to give you a fast personal update.
When last I gave a complete rundown I was concentrating on the following major value categories in life--Spiritual growth, physical health, fiction writing & freelance writing/editing, organizing, relationships, adventure, entertainment/relaxation.
On the organizational front I had created and repeatedly adjusted a project hopper to manage all this and track plans for the future of each category. On the relationship front I'd decided to marry the woman of my dreams and adventure front I was trying to recover from the implications of that (I wouldn't be putting out 4 books and touring the country in my 5th wheel to sign and sell. Instead, on the writing front I meant to put out 3 books to at least build my catalog even if it cost me time to market. I didn't and generally don't discuss my spiritual goals much beyond the post I do to encourage people to see outside the religious box they may have grown up in. On the health front I detailed my efforts to create a health regimen that would work for me, starting with a diet that worked and I could stand to do. I lost 40lbs on the virgin diet, and gained 20 of it back on the stress and no sleep, baby in a NIC U diet.
Update: I've redone my value categories, branding, plans etc in response to the radical life change of being married with a baby. So the update below is laid out by the new categories and order of things.
1. Spiritual Health: The major theme of 2015 will be DAwG days. I have scheduled one day a month to spend at least half a day on a personal retreat (Day Alone w God). My wife and I will head to the coast monthly and trade off childcare so that the other can get some quality time with God. I also have been doing daily time with God each morning, which is huge and will continue.
2. Relationship (family & friends): I've got some date night activities and surprises planned for my wife. With my friends, I've been getting together for prayer call twice a week and keeping up with my buds more intentionally, and I intend to keep that up. My wife and I have also been able to get together with friends for card games on Saturday evenings, which has been a huge blessing. I'm happy with these changes and plan to keep them up for 2015.
3. Physical health: after being plateaued at 320 lbs for 3 months, during which I was actively working out and dieting, it finally broke and I started dropping weight again. The two biggest factors I credit in this aren't directly diet or exercise related. I work out every day and watch what I eat, but I was doing that the hole time my weight wouldn't budge. So here's the secret. I started journaling everything I ate, my blood pressure, weight, and all my exercise. I was shocked the impact that had on things. It's a pain in the ASS, but it seems to work. The other thing I did is called intermittent fasting. You can either reduce your calories by 2/3rd 3 days a week, or you can skip breakfast and eat only within an 8 hour window each day. I skip breakfast. My 2015 plan includes changing my workout to a High Intensity Interval Training plan. Basically it's working hard for a 30 second burst and then taking 90 second off, for 3 to 5 repetitions. That's the plan, although I suspect I'll have to bite the bullet at some point (January???) and eliminate dairy and glutton again if I want to get below 300 lbs.
4. Write/edit/publish (Fiction): Publishing only 1 book in 2014 has been devastating. I've got great things to report in most of these categories, and I'm stoked about my 2015 goals and the detailed plans I've got to make them happen, BUT this one category took a major hit in 2014 and will again. When I revised my project hopper to make it more practical given my new circumstances, my two year plan became a six or more year plan. Still there is a silver lining--between now and Christmas I plan to draft the last half of a sci-fi novel for an awesome multi-author project I'm honored to be a part of, and I will revise my mystery novel. 2015 will see both those books published early on. After which I'll complete the sequel to Suffering Rancor for publication just ahead of Christmas 2015.
5. Self Improvement (Organization/Learning): Organization amounts to a series of specific projects, not really a major goal. Things like making my home office more than just a place I store stuff. There's many areas I'd like to learn new skills, but with my limited time I've decided to focus on perfecting my writing for the rest of 2014, and will begin focusing on finances in 2015. I also have plans for learning everything there is to know about marketing in the next 14 months. I'll let you know how that goes. Seriously, I'll do a series of blogs on the topic or perhaps a newsletter devoted to that project.
6. Adventure (Gig/Income/Marketing/Promotion): This is a big category and probably doesn't fit together in anyone else's mind. I view my life as an adventure and since writing is my career passion I have to view the other things I do for $ as challenges any hero must face. Bilbo didn't leave the shire to find a simple life where he could be well fed and safe. Into every life pain will come no matter what. Our choice, and we make it every day, is whether to sit at home and wait for it or go out and meet it according to our hearts.
All is not suffering though. I have a vision for the future of my freelance editing business, Tale Scribe. I have a fledgling plan to get me there, too, and I'll share more on this specific topic in upcoming posts.
7. Rest: Yes I have to plan my rest. If you wonder why, you must not have read the paragraphs above. Given my new priorities/schedule I'm in bed every night by 8 pm to read a book for fun and catch up with my wife. And I'm generally asleep by 9 pm. This is the single most radical shift in my life. I'm a night owl for over 30 years. I simply don't have a choice in the matter and I've grown to love it. My gay goes better for getting that wind down time, especially with my wife. We get on the same page. We're both up by 5 am, my wife to rush out to her day job and me to worship and then tend to our baby girl. It's exhausting but I'm very blessed and very happy.
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