Break Your Routine

My wife informed me that our toddler children are closer to freshman year in college than we are. So this weekend we loaded up the van and drove north until we found snow to sled down. We wanted to make a memory.

I am very much still in the “college feels like yesterday” camp, which means that in a flash my children will be grown and this stage in my career will be a campfire story.

So what do we do with that information? How do we seize the day?

I have spent the last few weeks away from the blog, in a Log Dog offseason, thinking those thoughts and establishing mise en place** for 2022.

This where I have landed:

• Set Enormous Goals. Work goals, family goals, life goals — whatever lane drives your hunger and curiosity, attach a big exciting goal to it. Write it down and use it to get yourself out of bed every morning. If it is not big enough, your motivation will fade. Now is the time to go for that big dream you’ve been thinking about.

• Build a Routine. Add one small step a day or a week toward your big goal. A workout, writing assignment, online class, date night — we all have capacity to add one small thing. Only after that addition is effortless should you add another step. The path to our dreams is a long one, so we must build a routine that will not break.

• Break Your Routine. This is what we call memory makers. An impromptu trip to the mountains or lake. A trail run instead of a road run. Take the morning off to go fishing and make it up that night. These mixups will be the moments we remember, and also test to ensure that our routine is strong enough to get back on track the next day.

Over the next few months, I will roll out a number of enormous goals we are working on this year, but to start I am excited for a big one coming up March 12. Sam and I, along with our goals coach, are running the Ultra Spartan Race in San Luis Obispo.

31 miles. 60 Obstacles. 8228 ft elevation gain.

I am excited (and terrified), and the two emotions combined have me getting out of bed early every morning. For those interested in our routine, here is the work out plan we are following:

You’ll notice that we missed a strength day in week two, a break in the routine. That was to drive home from UGA’s national championship victory, a memory maker to say the least.

In summary:

1. Time is moving forward

2. You should point it toward your big dream

3. Build a routine to slowly get yourself there

4. But don’t forget to make memories along the way

Happy Monday, there are 341 days left in 2022. Make the most of them.

Love,

Log Dog

**Mise en place is a French culinary term that means “putting in place”. A prepared chef has all their vegetables chopped, spices in order, dishes clean, and knives sharpened, so when they start cooking, they can deliver at the highest level, consistently.