This week, more than any of the previous ones, I feel like I’m making useful tweaks. My mood went up from an average of 6.3 at this time last week to 6.8 with every day but Tuesday being rated as a 7/9. Tuesday’s notes say that I was irritated with transit delays on a day when my only reason for going to work was the four day/week work requirement.

Tweak number one this week was to ride my bike to work two days instead of taking transit. The weather was a bit cool – around 8 degrees in the morning and dark in the morning (and on Wednesday it was dark for part of the ride home). But thinking of winter as an endurance event made me push through and get out the door – which turned out to be the hardest part of the event. I was warm the whole time. And unlike Tuesday, there were no transit delays. Even though my presence at work was no more necessary those days, I did feel like there was a purpose to going: 40 kilometres – about 25 miles of riding.

The other tweak was inspired by reading Stolen Focus – Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari. This book is a fascinating look at all the things that are making it difficult to pay attention today – many of which with we have control over – at least on an individual level.

Sage had changed up her writing workflow and no longer needed her iPad and so I took that iPad, installed apps for reading (Kindle, Kobo, Libby (to check out library books), Pressreader (for newspapers via our library) and Pocket for articles I file for later offline reading, and Spotify for music). Then I locked out any other programs including the App store so I couldn’t load new ones. And voila – a distraction free ereader.

The second part of the trick was to remove distracting (mostly social media) apps from my phone. No more Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky or Mastodon). Unless I’m in the house sitting at this computer I can’t endlessly scroll, post, or check back for replies.

The results were a significant reduction in time spent on my phone (around 30 min, mostly for things like our grocery list or emailing/texting family.). I can also track my time spent reading on the iPad – a total of nearly four hours on Friday. (With nearly 3 hours/day spent in transit when going to work this isn’t hard to do).

Overall I feel pretty great. So far I’m not missing online interactions quite so much – checking in via computer 1-2 times/day is enough, it seems. Time seems to go by more slowly when I’m not scrolling through social media feeds. I’m also really pleased with how much reading I’m doing.

This week will be more of the same with some challenges. The temperatures are dropping so tomorrow’s bike commute will be colder than ever – there’s a frost warning tomorrow.

Sage and I didn’t do an adventure together this week as we both had lots on our schedule. But those bike commutes were definitely an adventure.

My ride is about 50% on quiet to medium traffic roads, and 50% off-road trails, (at least until I have to worry about snow/ice). At 6:30 AM when I leave, the traffic is lovely. For the first 45 min I see more cyclists than drivers and we’re all a friendly lot, saying good morning to one another from behind our headlights.

The trip home is a little more stressful with traffic but even then the streets I ride are not terribly busy and there are few “conflict zones” with drivers so I just pedal through.

With shorts, a jersey, gloves, and a windbreaker I’m warm enough though the first 15 minutes are tricky as most of my warmth on the commute comes from within. If I’m really cold, I’ll push harder to warm up sooner.

How would I rate this adventure?

• Transit: 10/10 – My bike was always on time. I got a seat every time I wanted one.
• Food: 6/10 – My afternoon snack on Monday was Thai canned tuna and crackers – good but a bit spicy for pre-exercise. Wednesday’s PB&J was much better.
• Atmosphere: 10/10 – Look at the photos! Gorgeous scenery, empty roads, friendly cyclists. The leaves are changing colour and look and smell terrific.
• Price: 10/10 – It didn’t cost a dime. I guess you could say the few hundred calories did of fuel did cost money. On the other hand, I probably would’ve had an afternoon snack anyway.

Plan for Next Week:

Bike commuting should continue until it’s too cold to do so. It makes me feel like my trip to work has purpose. It always makes me feel good. I must remember, particularly at 6:00 AM, that I have never had a ride I regretted going on. Looking at the forecast, I’ll aim for Monday and Wednesday for riding – maybe Friday if it isn’t raining. Tuesday and Thursday will be running days.

I will continue with the “boring phone” and indistractible eReader as well. These felt better than scrolling on my phone by far – and much more purposeful.

What are your plans? How will you make next week the best week you can?