November was a pretty solid month for me. Read more about it in this blog post.

November 2021 Monthly Report

November in a Nutshell

In a word, November is all about expansion.

With 2022 just around the corner, my focus is shifting towards what lies ahead in 2022. I use November as a time to experiment and explore what’s possible in the upcoming year.

I pick up new activities and try out new hobbies. I experiment with new habits and play with the idea of ambitious goals. I look for new leadership opportunities and consider starting new initiatives at work.

By design, November is overly ambitious. I spend November exploring and experimenting so that I can spend December prioritizing and selecting what I will pursue in 2022.

Accomplishments and Milestones

Blog

November marked the beginning of my blogging journey and I am incredibly excited to see where it takes me. My biggest priority right now is re-establishing writing as a habit.

I’ve written a few blog posts already and plan to continue writing at a minimum cadence of one post per week. I’m intentionally keeping the first blog posts relatively short and specific while I’m rebuilding my writing habit. I will then move towards bigger and more challenging content as my writing becomes more reliable and consistent.

Mentoring and Leadership Roles

I’ve been feeling some resistance lately about stepping into leadership and mentorship positions. At the same time, I feel like I’m at a point in my life where I’m ready to take on these kinds of responsibilities.

November saw me take action to move in the direction of leadership and mentorship by reaching out to several volunteer-driven organizations. Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) and Junior Achievement (JA) are two such organizations, though I’ve looked into a few others as well. I haven’t made any commitments, but I plan to commit to at least one in December.

Fitness and Health

After the Ironman in September, most of my training dropped off quite sharply as I rested and recovered from some injuries. Throughout November, I rebuilt my consistency in training. I plan for one workout per day, every day. Adding in some calisthenics and speed workouts led to significant improvements in both cycling power output and swim pace.

I’m also rebuilding my healthy eating habits. Because of the time and calorie constraints that come with Ironman training, I got in the habit of eating fast, high calorie foods such as peanut butter and CLIF bars. While these were good for high volume training, I’m moving back into a more balanced diet with more leafy greens, vegetables, and fully cooked meals.

Social Activities

I’ve been looking forward to salsa/bachata dancing ever since the studio shut down over 18 months ago. At the beginning of this month, I finally returned to the studio and reconnected with my lost dance amigos.

It reminded me of how much mental health is affected by real, in-person social activity. Online and over Zoom is nice, but it is absolutely not a substitute.

Plans for December

In a word, December will be about focus. Most of the goals and activities I’ve been exploring in November will be cut in December and won’t see the new year at all. The (relatively) few items left will receive much more focus as the new year is ushered in.

Cheers!