Monthly Review: June 2016

Looking back on June, which I feel was a good month. Being the first full month after graduation, it was mostly about establishing a new "normal", which I feel I have.

The Numbers

• Productivity pulse of 58 (182.9 hours logged) (+4)
• Average of 6h 58m of sleep each night (+0%)
• Average calories of 2,403 (-2.5%)
• Average steps: 4,882/day (-33.5%)
• Money spent: 93.3% of income (4.1% decrease)
• Books read: 0 (+0)
• Blog posts written: 1 (+1)

##Exist insights:##

• I’m more productive on Tuesdays (29%) and Wednesdays (22%).
• I have better days on Fridays (24%) and the weekend (23%), and when I wake up later (17%).
• I log more distracting time when I get more sleep (28%), and I sleep more on Thursdays (18%)
• I have more bad days when the day is warmer (15%)
• I listen to more music when it’s cooler outside (25%) and when it’s cloudier (23%)
• I have more good days when I’m less productive (32%)

##Rescuetime top 5 categories:##

• Software Development (35%)
• Social Networking (15%)
• News & Opinion (12%)
• Communication & Scheduling (11%)
• Entertainment (7%)

##Thoughts##

Nothing exciting in any of these numbers. Productivity feels like a good balance between work and home. I’ve fallen out of the habit of logging offline time though, so it may be a little off. I’m not terribly worried it.

Spending 93% of my income is pretty good, though I’d like to do better of course. June’s big expenses were traveling to Maine for a friend’s wedding, and purchasing some things I still needed for my apartment. July will have similar expenses as I buy the last remaining pieces of furniture I need (like the end table and lamp I just bought for my living room - I have lights now!).

I’m still managing to eat less each day, though my severe drop in activity seems to be offsetting that and my weight is stable (though despite my year and a half of trying I’m still just shy of my weight gain goal). I did not start running as I suggested I would like to last month, but my girlfriend and I have been going hiking / walking at various parks about once a week so I am finding some activity now and again. While I used to enjoy running I’m not sure if it’s the right goal for me to have right now. It may be easier for me to start fitting yoga into my weekly schedule. I stopped when my alas finished and the difference in how stiff I feel is noticeable, even though I only did yoga twice a week.

My other June goals were successful, however. I’ve created a budget I think I can stick to pretty easily, and I practically have my mornings down to a science. Overall June was a good step forward for post-grad life.

##What to Focus on in July##

This month, I’d like to be more serious about fitting in some more physical activity. As mentioned above, I think yoga a couple times a week might be the right choice, as I’m not filled with dread when I consider doing it. Twice a week seems like a decent place to start since that’s how often I had class. I don’t think I want to set a minimum time on my sessions as I reform the habit so for the time being I’ll count any amount of time spent doing it as successful.

I have other things in mind I’d like to do more as well - getting back to reading, writing, and I’ve had ideas for side projects I’d like to work on, but by not choosing just one thing I think I’m making it too difficult to decide what I want to actually do. At the end of a work day I’m too mentally exhausted to make that choice sometimes, so I just end up playing video games. With just one specific goal in mind, I think it’ll be easier to make progress.

Of course, I’ve said that before and it doesn’t always work out. We’ll see how July goes.