I've survived my first (nearly) whole week of work. Granted, it was mostly filling out forms, hearing about benefits packages and retirement plans, and going to developer workshops to get synced up with various company policies and infrastructure. Not that it wasn't interesting (it was), but I'm not a fan of how little I've gotten to contribute thus far. I understand it'll take time to get caught up to speed, I'm certainly not unfamiliar with the concept, though I'd like to start actively applying myself to it. Aside from actual work, there are a few things I hope to accomplish, once the orientation presentations start to quiet down next week and I start to fall into a consistent schedule.

The Gym

While I was in school, especially for the last two semesters, I'd settled into a very structured workout plan (Jim Wendler's 5/3/1) that I'd tailored to my needs. I've started going to the gym again (after a three week hiatus), and I'm definitely feeling that intense, all-over soreness that I missed oh-so much. Starting on Monday, I'll get back to my routine, start the first week of a cycle, and put myself back on the road to physical self-betterment, a part of my personal philosophy that I'll probably detail in a future post. Basically, the carrot I dangle in front of myself for motivation is an improved, future version of me.

Planning The Future

Falling into a routine means dedicating time after work each day for planning my future. The goal of this whole intense money/resource saving expedition is to save money so that I can travel the world in 4 to 5 years time. I plan on spending the majority of my time until then charting out my course around the world: picking out which countries I want to visit, which sights I want to see, which languages I want to learn, and what events I want to experience. The adult world quite frankly freaks me out, and having a future goal to work towards (aside from retirement) takes the edge off, and gives me more of a sense of purpose. Again, I'll probably dedicate multiple future posts to my travel plans, this is just a snippet of what I'm working towards.

Basically, consistency is key. There are all sorts of physical and chemical processes that occur in the body that expect routine and consistency. If I can wake up bright and early every morning (okay, maybe to a lesser extent on weekends), hit the gym, go to work, eat three square meals, and then plan my trip and work on personal projects before heading to bed at a predictable time, I'll be doing a service to my mental and physical state, and it'll make me more productive overall. More important than being productive, it'll also bring me closer to reaching my goals.