The Column
Motto: OH BOO HOO
You ever fall out of your groove? It’s funny how doing one little thing can start a domino effect.
I didn’t feel like cooking, so we ate out for dinner.
Because we ate out, I don’t have leftovers.
Because I don’t have leftovers, I have to buy my lunch.
Because I have to buy my lunch, I don’t get home as early as I would like to.
Because I don’t get home as early as I would like to, I don’t have time to make dinner.
Because I didn’t make dinner, I don’t have leftovers…
…or another real-world loop…
Because I haven’t worked out, I’ve gotten lethargic.
Because I’ve gotten lethargic, I haven’t wanted to clean.
Because I haven’t wanted to clean, the place is dirty.
Because the place is dirty, I misplaced my keys.
Because I misplaced my keys, I waste 20 minutes looking for them.
Because I wasted 20 minutes, I leave during the morning rush.
Because I leave during the morning rush, my commute takes an extra 10 minutes.
Because I wasted 20 minutes and took an extra 10 going in, I have to stay at work later, but I also didn’t bring my lunch and really I probably should stop for breakfast… so suddenly time at home where I’m not doing chores becomes nonexistent, so I don’t have time to work out…
It seems like you have to just really be diligent about nipping disturbances in the bud. Or else give up… but that’s not really an option.
I know I’m not the only person in the world to have this sort of problem or think about this sort of thing. This is why I’m such an advocate for routine. Routine, to me, isn’t “just pick a thing and do that every day for forever”, it’s “try out a bunch of stuff, pick what works best. Then do that stuff over and over again while you try out other new stuff.” If you’ve got a good morning routine, you can try mixing up your nighttime one. If you’ve got a good nighttime one, you can try a new morning one.
If you’ve got a kid, you can basically just hold on tightly as the mechanical bull whips you around.
All that’s been the case. Plus we, as a family, have all been sick! This gif comes to mind:
I don’t want to claim a premature victory, but I think I may have actually been successful with my ~51st attempt (estimated) to stop picking my cuticles. January’s 30 day challenge was to finally leave them alone, and I’m shocked to say I’ve been very successful. I think Melissa is much to thank for this. She forced me to use cuticle cream and it changed everything.
Top 5: Aaron’s Favorite Videogames of ALL TIIIIIME
5. Super Smash Bros Ultimate - this is somewhat of a stand-in for every other Super Smash game, which fine cause this is the best one.
4. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - this is somewhat of a stand-in for every other Legend of Zelda Game, which is fine cause it’s the best one.
3. Battlefield 3 - I struggled between this and BF4. I think I put more raw hours into BF3 back in the day. There was a whole week after I graduated college and before I got my first job that I sank into Battlefield 3, exercise, and learning the basics of cooking.
2. Super Mario World - A classic that I never thought anything would ever surpass
1. Hollow Knight - I don’t know why but this game speaks to me on every level.
Quote:
“I made keto cookies this weekend and made the mistake of bringing the bag of them to work today. I’m 6 down. I think the health benefits only go as far as the moderation does.”
- Danielle, whom I can empathize with -
“Right now I feel like sitting in a chair with my mouth half open zoning out until it’s better.”
- Melissa, whom I can empathize with harder because we’ve both been sick because our kid just started going to daycare -