The Twelve Days of Gheorghemas: Day Three

On the third day of Gheorghemas, Big Gheorghe gave to me:

Three Habits Forming

Two beers with Marcus Aerelius, an OBX Dave Joint, and

Two(?) dudes bested by Kazansky

According to research published in 2009 by Phillipa Lally of University College London, it takes an average of 66 days to form a habit. On November 4 of this year, external actors broke me of some bad habits I'd fallen into during the workday over the pandemic by freeing me from the 'work' part of the day.

Now, I'm trying to build some positive habits. In the interest of accountability, I'm celebrating Gheorghemas by letting you in on my journey while also contributing to the best of holiday traditions. 

None of these habits are particularly novel. I'd be willing to bet a lot of people want to build these muscles, and a bunch of folks already make a practice of them. I'm not an original, at least in this pursuit. But it's important to me nonetheless.

It so happens that the three habits have a chronological dimension in the context of my current daily schedule. Which is entirely of my own design and responsibility. I built a routine out of fear of spending the entirety of my unemployed period sleeping in, dicking around, and letting my mind grapes atrophy. 

That routine starts with waking up to my alarm at the same time I would for a normal workday. Then I walk the dog. That habit's been ingrained for a while, for both me and her. Gets the blood flowing and the brain engaged (I listen to NPR's Up First podcast while we walk).

Then, the first of the new habits: I work out (my goal is five intentional days of working out each week - not including long dog walks). I've been rotating Peloton cycling, weight, and yoga sessions with some degree of success. That workout plan was interrupted by Thanksgiving and then by COVID (which finally tracked me down after nearly three years of trying), but I still managed to hike and run before the virus laid me low. I've been back at it starting Wednesday. 

After I eat and shower, I make a cup of coffee, head to my office, and spend at least an hour on habit-to-be number two: I read. I used to be an avid reader. I'm no Hairy Dave, nor have I ever been, but there was a time when I'd go through books with some regularity. I've gotten away from that, and I'm working on it. In the past month, I've read Colson Whitehead's Harlem Shuffle, Jeanine Cummin's American Dirt, Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children (thanks to OBX Dave's kind gift), and Gay Hendricks' The Big Leap ('cause I suppose I should be doing some self-education as I eventually look for a new gig). The early returns are positive - my morning reading has turned into afternoon and evening sessions, as well. 

When I'm done with my pre-noon reading, I turn to what I'm doing right now - my third prospective habit is writing. I spend an hour a day churning out content. Some of that is Gheorghe-related, which is a nice way to get the mind/fingers connection tune in. On the advice of the former Mrs. Hoopie, a good friend and an accomplished recruiter, I've also started writing some professional stuff, with plans to start building a content repository on LinkedIn. I'm not that sure people really want to hear what I have to say about authentic leadership, culture, and shitty management practices, but my sherpa thinks they do. 

This entire post, an excuse to post
a pic of this good pupper

I'm generally done with my habit-forming activities by lunchtime, when I take the dog out again - this time we go for a long walk, so I listen to podcasts like The Right Time with Bomani Jones, LeBatard and Friends' stuff, Men in Blazers, Futbol with Grant Wahl, 99% Invisible, and Week in the Tackle. Heavy on sports, especially footy. I suppose I should branch out, but one can only manage so many new habits at once.

Starting this week, I've dedicated afternoons to working on, well, working on. That's when I've been researching potential roles, industries, options, making calls to friends and former colleagues, burnishing my C.V., and all that. I'm not in a hurry, which is a double-edged sword. Figuring out the appropriate balance between urgency and selectivity is an ongoing back-of-mind exercise.

It'd be great if one of y'all could just win the lottery so we can build the compound and I can spend more time on my habits. Let's get on that.