Tag: life

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag. 

Today’s tip is to turn a regular activity into a playful game today.

One of the things I like to do to relax is play some guitar. While I enjoy learning and playing songs, I don’t do quite enough dedicated practice for things like scales. These would help me with improving my play and exercising my fingers. I’ve seen a few exercises, but I haven’t always been interested.

Today I tried something different. I set up a metronome app on my phone, and set it to a fairly slow speed. I then worked on a scale, matching the beat.

Not terribly playful.

However, I started to try other things.

• doubling up, two notes for each beat
• tripling up, 3 notes for each beat
• playing triplets, as in for the C scale, playing
• C, D, E
• D, E, F
• F, G, A
• etc.
• Skipping some beats. As a prelude to some solo practice, I would play3 notes on one beat, then let a beat go by, holding the 3rd note. Then 3 more on the 3rd beat, and holding the fourth.

None of these are earth-shattering, but they do make the exercise a little more fun, and they are a little game.

Now if I would do this more often.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag. 

Today’s tip is to eat healthy food and drink lots of water today.

I did better at the beginning of the pandemic. Well, apart from a few donut days, I was cooking more, adding lots of vegetables, and drinking lots of water. In fact, I used to fill up water bottles and drop them on my desk every day to remind myself to drink.

I got out of both habits a bit, so I’m going to try and do better. I’ve been aiming for more roasted vegetables, salads, and grilled meats.

I’m also going to start filling the bottles and putting them on my desk in the am.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag. 

Today’s tip is to commit to being more active, starting today.

This is tough for me. Not because I want to avoid being active, but because I typically try to be active most of the month. Here’s my March.

The week I missed? I tried to drag the tractor bucket around on the ground, by hand, on the 21st. I did some chores that day outside, so I moved, but then my back had me mostly taking it easy until the 29th.

However, I do want to commit to a different view moving forward. The weather is changing, and my wife got a bike stroller for our dogs. One can’t walk a lot, so our aim, as we are getting older, is to bike more this summer, and take the dogs.

So my commitment is to

a) start biking 2 times a week

b) add in a swim a week

c) continue with yoga and weight lifting, likely doubling up some days with a bike and weights.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag. 

Today’s tip is to mentally scan your body and notice what it is feeling today.

I do this more and more all the time. A few week ago I hurt by back while trying to drag the front end loaded bucket around on the ground. I should know better, and I lost about a week of being able to move without pain.

Today, I’m feeling good. It’s a few days after coming back from a trip, where I walked quite a bit. I remembered to wear my ankle brace walking around town, I took things slower, to the chagrin of my wife. She likes to walk fast, but she’s adjusting with me. I stood on hard concrete floors, but then I got back to yoga and some weight lifting this week.

I feel good. There are some minor aches and pains, a slightly tight back, some muscle soreness from work. No neck pain, fingers feel good (which is important), my eyes aren’t too tired after a good night’s sleep. Knees good.

Ready to keep moving forward in life.