Everyday Systems

A couple of years ago I used to be pretty fit, I'd go indoor climbing twice a week and do weight training in between, but then I knackered up my wrist (carpel tunnel) and haven't been able to go climbing since. And thus began a steady decline.

Last year I decided to go running to do something about it. I set myself the target of being able to run for 25 minutes without stopping, arbitrarily chosen on the basis I could do that when I was 12. And sure enough after a few weeks I could run for 25 minutes straight. But then? Well, then I'd hit my target and didn't have any reason to do it anymore and the nights started drawing in and I just stopped.

I tried taking up weights again, but without a reason to do them they felt mechanical, dull and artificial.

Enter Shovelglove. I read about it a couple of weeks ago, picked up a hammer last week, played around with it a bit and then started in earnest on Monday. Five days in, and I've done it everyday. And you know what? Those movements are fun. It doesn't feel as pointless and mechanical as curling a dumbbell.

Welcome, Mr. Jack.

I'm glad you're enjoying shovelglove. The good news is that it stays fun, even 5 years and counting into it.

Of course, fun alone isn't sufficient... you also need the discipline of 14 minutes every N-day (or something equivalent). I think what makes shovelglove work so well is that it combines the bait of fun ("useful movements") with the hook of structured discipline ("schedualistically insignificant time"). The HabitCal can be helpful for the structure discipline part, too. Instead of/in addition to a performance goal, come up with a compliance goal (like shugging 9 out of 10 N-days in the next month/year).

Reinhard