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I am struggling to get to my ideal weight of 185. I am mostly staying 190+. Especially after the weekend. I need to stay 187-. That’s the goal. Yes, I’m going to gain a little over the weekend, but I need to minimize that effect. That’s the bottom line!

So that’s where the problem lies: I gain too much weight on a weekend. I need to be cognizant of that. I need to watch that. One way to control that is to step on a scale on Sat and Sun. That should at least give me motivation for both days. At least for one of the days. That should help, I think. The other is not to eat any junk food. The other day I ate the whole pack of hazelnat wafers. That’s not how I stay in shape. Period. But one way to fight it is to keep a healthy supply of healthy snacks. I need to do that!

Gardening is fun. Really fun. It’s hard work, epecially when it’s really hot and sunny outside, but it’s really enjoyable to see results.

Yesterday, we went to my friend Joe, who owns a nursery, and bought a lot of perennials and shrubs. Now we have reinvented our raised bed. It looks great!

Starting with the right task is really the key for me. As they say, starting with a right foot.

I get distracted. Easily. I get drawn by other tasks. They take time. Too much time. And then I don’t have any time left for other dev related tasks. And I started on a wrong foot. Meaning I don’t feel that good about myself.

That’s why when I get down here to the basement, early in the morning, I try to collect 2 pomos. Lately, I can only do 1, but my goal is to get 2 on a weekday and 1 on a weekend — actually a good idea and it does not have to be coming down and working on a computer.

At work. the first thing I do, I will try to collect a pomo. Mostly reading books, but sometimes practicing and writing programs. I will find the time — 25 minutes is all it takes.

So my goal for the day is 3×25, 75 minutes. I can do it! Every day!

I am lazy when I wake up at 5am lately. Instead of going straight to the shower, I read on my phone. Probably better than watching TV, but still taking the valuable time I need to allocate for dev improvement.

I could do several things. First, I could time box the reading time. Second, I could head straight down and take a shower. I need to try the 2nd approach.

My goal is to get 2 pomos in the morning. And then 1 at work. I really need to set that goal. Not that hard, actually. Reading for 25 minutes at work is not hard. I already read blogs, then news, then look at perennials.That has to stop. Rather than opening up the rss reader, I can do some programming or reading. I think that should help.

Will try both things tomorrow. And will try to write new goals to include that.

I am intrigued with a great job offer. No limit on time off. No charges for lunch and dinner. No charges for medical or health. For sure, I am interested. But is now the time? I have a feeling, no, not just yet. But I’ll get some more information and perhaps I apply to this place in a year or so.

First of all, I don’t even think I’m ready. I need to brush up. Brush up on algorithms, concepts, etc. I need to start “getting into it.” It’ll take me some time. I have to re-read some books, but perhaps I need a jolt from going to one of these interviews? Don’t know yet, but we’ll see.

ZocDoc or DocZoc is the the name of the opportunity.

2nd time I cut grass. And it’s looking greeeeaaaat! Yes, love it. 

In the front yard, seems like at a few spots I have too much clover. I am going to try to get rid of it, at least some, by spraying with the weed killer. I think that should help. Grass should be the main ingredient, with only a little bit of clover.

Am I motivated at m6d? I like to think so. It’s not always the most interesting work I’m doing. But need to think medium to longer term. And I’ve done some quality work there. That’s why there is hope.  There is hope that more interesting work is down the pipe.

I said it many times, I should delay any type of seach at least until I’ve been at the place for 2 or even 2 1/2 years. Shorter than that, I don’t get to see the impact. That’s been a story of my life. Sure, when things do push me out, like it was at Hertz or even Markit. Then there is Sparta and NBC, where it was time to move. But then there is, hmm, it’a actually just one company, ask.com. So I guess it’s not like I had been rushing all the time. That’s good. That makes me feel a bit better! 🙂

This usually happens during sprints. I have a hard time focusing on work. I try to do anything but work. That goes against my goal of being a plorific worker. That has to stop. Today. I can understand if it’s dev related and I’m writing a new project or something in that regard. No. It’s mostly gardening and news. Not worthy of my work time. Really. Unless I’m waiting on something, there is really no time that should be allocated to that task. Period.

Being a plorific worker is really being a proactive worker. Looking for work. Making improvements. Doing extra projects. Working, working, working. DIgging, evaluating, etc. 

Looking for work and finding it, yes, that’s always a good recepie. Always nice to find filler-type work that can be demonstrated. I did that in last sprint. I think I earned a few points by doing that. I should continue to do that.

Caring for my family, for my wife, for my kids. That’s my goal. It should be my #1 priority. And more important on the weekend!

I don’t want to say it too loud, but if things will stay mostly the same, I’m going to have to look for a new job. Maybe even later this year, but most likely next year.

Why?

Things have fallen off of a cliff in terms of interesting work. There is just not enough. My reports have matured as well, so there is not so much innovation there either. Lately, we’re mostly bug fixing. 

But I am not rushing. I don’t want to leave just yet. I want to sit it out at least for another year. Things could change. Things could improve. 

I am getting great reviews at work. Things are looking up. Why rush?

But I should be ready. I should focus on improving my skills more. I should review algorithms more. I should be more proactive and ready to move if a right opportunity arises.