Swift | Silent | Deadly


2021 Goal Progress: June

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In January of 2021 I committed to some New Year’s resolutions: spend 15 minutes per day learning Spanish, workout 3 times per week, shoot my bow 3 times per week, read 73 books, and stay off tobacco. This is my progress so far in the year.

January, February, March, April, May

June, 2021

The year is halfway over! What have you accomplished? I’ll do a quick reckoning at the bottom of the page and see where I’m at in relation to the original goals I set in January

Week 1: May 30 – June 5

Week 2: June 6 – June 12

This was a HUGE week. I passed my Technical Scope of Practice oral exam, maybe the single biggest (or at least scariest) hurdle in getting out of paramedic school. I also passed my oral board at work, another big hurdle. The board consisted of our medical director [an ER doc], our agency’s training officer, a flight paramedic from another agency, a supervisor, and two FTOs – a pretty daunting group to prove your worth to. Passing means I can begin working as a “transitional paramedic” in the Field Training Officer (FTO) program as soon as I pass the state and NREMT tests. I was also able to attend our monthly SAR team meeting/training this month. Despite a really busy week with work and school, I still managed to do all the things.

  • Spanish: 100%
  • Workouts: 3/3: Workout B on the 7th, busted/stacked wood on the 9th, workout A on the 11th
  • Bow: 3/3: 48 arrows on the 9th, 80 arrows on the 10th, 48 arrows on the 11th
  • Books: 1 – Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City by Rosa Brooks
  • Tobacco Free: YES
  • Bonus: Passed Technical Scope of Practice (for school) and oral board (for work), attended monthly SAR team meeting

Week 3: June 13 – June 19

Friday night of last week I found myself in the emergency room for an injury. Not a huge deal, but it definitely bought me a week of light-duty, so no workouts this week.

Week 4: June 20 – June 26

The last week before my state test. Unfortunately I didn’t do much other than stress and cram for the test.

  • Spanish: 100%
  • Workouts: 1/3 – Workout A on the 21st
  • Bow: 3/3 – 60 arrows on the 21st, 60 arrows on the 23rd, 24 arrows on the 24th
  • Books: Think Again: The Power of Knowing What you Don’t Know by Adam Grant
  • Tobacco Free: YES
  • Bonus: Took/passed paramedic state test. I’m a licensed paramedic!

Week 5: June 27 – July 3

Even though I was on vacation this week I decided to finish the month strong. Adding up my results for the year (and seeing how un-spectacular some of them were) was a real kick in the butt to get moving.

  • Spanish: 100%
  • Workouts: 5/3 Workout A on the 27th, 7.1-mile/2,000 ft. elevation hike on the 28th, workout B on the 30th, workout C on the 2nd, 9.7-mile/1400 ft elevation hike on the 3rd
  • Bow: 3/3 – 36 arrows on the 28th, 36 arrows on the 1st, 36 arrows on the 3rd
  • Books: Macon: Book 4 of the Revengers by Marcus Wynne
  • Tobacco Free: YES
  • Bonus: On vacation this week

The Halfway Tally

I was inspired to take stock of the year when I read someone else’s mid-year review. I’m really glad I saw that article and that it spurred me to take stock – I definitely have some room for improvement. Let’s take a look.

Spanish: I have missed only one single day this entire year. I consider this goal accomplished. I’m crushing this goal like nobody’s business.

What exactly does social media do for you? If you spend more than 15 minutes per day on it and you can’t definitively answer that question, it’s probably wasting your time.

Workouts: I’ve had a few 3-workout weeks but honestly I come in closer to 2/week. I want to step it up in the second half of the year. However, I have gotten great results. The workout that I was struggling through with a 24# kettlebell in January I can now do pretty well with a 40-pounder. Let’s look at success with another measure: vital signs. My current vital signs, as of a wellness visit to my doctor were:

  • Heart Rate: 54 beats per minute, resting
  • Blood Pressure: 112/60
  • SPO2: 99%

This are pretty phenomenal stats. People half my age (at least the ones I see on the bus) rarely have vitals that good. On the other hand… I found out that I’ve put on the “COVID 20,” by which I mean I’ve gained about 15-20 lbs in the past year. I’ve got some work to do. My goal is to hit the gym hard, make some changes to my diet, and lose a solid 15 by the end of the year. Let’s see if I can put my money where my mouth is!

Overall, working out has been a huge success. I haven’t hit the numbers I wanted (3/3 every week) but I’ve gotten stronger, faster, and generally fitter. I’ve done far more than I have in the past couple of years. I’m very happy with what I’ve done. Now I need to step it up a bit.

Bow: Well, I thought I had done way, way better on this one that I actually did. Looking back over this year’s posts I have missed 15 sessions out of a planned 78, or about 1/5th. I want to be mad at myself but honestly, this one is probably the least important/beneficial areas in which I’m trying to improve. Still, I’m going to try to step it up a bit in the coming months, if for no other reason than improving my own discipline.

Books: I’m killing it. I’m over the halfway number of my revised goal (originally 73, then 100, now 128). I’ve read more books this year that I read in the entirety of 2020. For those of you who say you don’t have time to read: bullshit. You might not have time to read 60-something books in six months, but you can  make time – between ebooks, audiobooks, and paper books) to read a couple a month. Change my mind.

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