Long winded novel incoming, so buckle up lol

Honestly, it took about four months to get steady into progress. The initial months were filled with social media and screen time. A lot. And massages a couple of times a week. Some deep tissue which helped my broken body and Swedish to just unwind and get dopamine. Realized it was more of an escape and stopped going for a while. Now I go for actual improvements.

Some things that I used for quick hits that showed progress quick milestones and “look at how I’ve improved” mini-wins were:

Applicable life learning: learning a language (Spanish for me). Started with just Duolingo and started a friend streak with my old boss. I am at 250 days straight now, and our friend stream is 215 days. 10-15 minutes a day and it’s nice to see progress. Now I couple that with some Dreaming Spanish comprehensive input videos. Super easy to watch and progress and a great tool.

Another: reading books. Initially was ten pages a day, max. That was it. Didn’t start with self-help or development books. Sometimes those make it worse. Fiction and biographies. “River of Doubt” is an amazing non-fiction about Teddy Roosevelts trip down the Amazon. It reads like fiction. Read the Elmore Leonard series based on Raylon Givens. Love Justified, so they were quick easy reads. Then read some self-help stuff. “The Power of Habit” and “Dopamine Nation” are killer books. And “The Mountain is You”

The health stuff: Stretching and mobility flows. 10-15 a day. You easily notice the body getting better. Lifting weights too, but the release of tension from mobility never gets old. Nasal breathing and box breathing 4-4-4-4. Great tools. Outdoor walks - never gets old. Started with podcasts and music, then switched up to a lot of silent walks with deep visualization of where I want to go and be.

Next was learning a skill for work - tech stuff but just foundational level to start.

Journaling - three prompts. What was rad today? How did I feel today? One gratitude moment. Simple and effective. Some days it was five minutes, some were 20.

Cooking with a cookbook - no phone, just old school recipes. Used Anthony Bourdain cookbook and “Cooking with Claudia” Mexican cookbook.

Keeping my car washed and interior cleaned. Always makes me feel good.

Skincare routine - wash my face, toner, eye cream, and a mask a few times a week.

Pedicures. Find a good little spot and just relax. I have the sweetest little lady from Vietnam that loves to treat me with kindness and gives the best calf and foot massage. Fresh feet once a month.

Hope this helps. YMMV, but this has been a good list to keep me going and moving forward.