Challenge Unlocked
Oof.
This past week I set a challenge for myself that was—a bit lofty.
I set out to create and post 5 videos across 2 channels, knock out all of my Japanese lessons that have been sitting in my Wanikani bin for the past year (over 600 tasks), clear out a bunch of old stuff we don’t use (I procrastinate doing this BIG TIME), hit my daily step goal, and be in bed at 10:00 PM every night.
This was on top of one of the busiest work weeks I have had in a couple of weeks because, why not make a challenge more challenging?
Not to mention, I go to the gym for 2 hours plus, take my dog out to play, do a blog post, and hang out with my lovely wife daily.
I made this challenge to push myself to see what I could accomplish in a busy week and ya boy…
Failed in many elements but not overall.
I haven’t posted any videos yet—yet I recorded 4 and edited 3. I am increasing my production value so my workflow is SLOW right now.
I did some of my Japanese. I got down into the 300s today from the high 600s. Considering 100+ words got added back on numerous days, I didn’t think this was too bad.
I posted… 1 item to Facebook Marketplace. It’s progress, right?
I hit my step goal, every day! This is the first time I have been consistent here in a couple of weeks (after numerous successful months) and I am proud of myself for getting back on track.
I was in bed but not asleep every night this week sometime between 10 and 11. Tonight doesn’t count, okay? Sleep is critical for us and I struggle to make it a priority even though I know it needs to be one. Progress?
I remained consistent with going to the gym, writing a blog post daily, taking Truman to do something daily, and knocking out all of the tasks during my workweek with all of this.
So was it a failure? Yes. But not totally.
I tried a new lavalier mic and clipped the audio on two videos early in the week so I had to re-record them. Guess who learned more about how to use lavaliers and their DJI Mic 2?
I made my videos more conversational and, with a higher focus on quality than simply throwing them out into the world, have started diving back into Davinci Resolve. I am relearning how to use old effects and trying out new ones. Most importantly, I am having fun thinking of the shots that I am going to use for B-Roll!
I am getting back in the rhythm with my Japanese practice. Getting back in the saddle has been a bit rough but it’s been fun using Wanikani again and blending it with my approach to using Lingq for immersion.
Despite not looking forward to being harassed on Facebook Marketplace, I posted one thing and that’s typically all it takes for me to get back in the groove of cleaning things out.
I got back on track with my step count goals and had a solid week prioritizing my health. With this, I realized how I can’t procrastinate and need to take little chips at the marble daily if I ever want David to come to fruition.
Now. Where do I go from here?
I take these learnings and apply them to next week’s challenge and kill it.
Kinda New Challenge:
Finish editing the videos from Week 1 and upload them (with thumbnails, sir)
Finish posting stuff on Facebook Marketplace
New Challenge fr fr
Read Harry Potter in 日本語
Listen to each chapter in Japanese as well (I got too lazy to switch keyboards, sorry friends).
For context on the new challenges: Harry Potter is one of the best series of all time. Period. I have the first three books in Japanese and have had them for a couple of years. Yet they remain unfinished because my Kanji be lackin’.
I will be using Lingq and Audible to help guide me through the book so I can finally read it. This will also give me enough language exposure to memorize a lot of the words without being too intentional (go lazy learning!).
See you on the flip side after my first successful challenge .👀🤭
Oh yeah, there’s a twist this week as well that makes this challenge a bit more challenging. Hint: it’s not Voldemort reincarnating himself for 7 years of my life to try to kill me.
I hope.
