Reflection: Travel Routine v1.0
I went to a workshop the week of 7/15 and tried out my new travel routines that I articulated in my post "Conference Reflection: SIGCSE 2019 - "What I will do next time" (Part 3 of 3)". I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on how my plan compared to reality, as Helmuth von Moltke the Elder said, "No plan survives contact with the enemy." Though in this case, the enemy is my present self when trying to execute the plan made by my well-intentioned past self. This post specifically reflects on my morning and night routines. And I'm posting this reflection now because next week I'm going to ICER, where my new travel routine will really get tested.
This workshop had the best circumstances for my travel routine to succeed. It was close enough for me to drive, which meant I could bring whatever I wanted instead of what I was willing to lug through an airport. Therefore, I brought my foam roller that I use for physical therapy back exercises. The workshop was also small (10 participants and 3 facilitators), so there was plenty of time to meet and get to know everyone, as opposed to a conference where it's impossible to meet everyone, and the number of people I know attending is too high for me even to have a meaningful conversation with each of them. And finally, to my delight, almost half the attendees were interested in doing their own health maintenance and encouraged me on my efforts. Though they all opted for jogging, which is one of my least favorite exercises. We collectively set the tone to go to our rooms at a reasonable hour because so many wanted to go for that morning jog.
For example, I added events to my calendar for when I would exercise, dress, traveling to the venue, and a single event block for my night routine. I also attempted to sketch out when I would do my usual morning work routine that included reading, writing, and email by moving those repeating events to when I would do them during the workshop.
I also put exercise as a task in my Trello to remind myself the night before. Part of my night routine involved moving all of the Trello tasks for the next day to the "Goals for Today" list.
Factors that influenced the morning were things like the workshop included breakfast, so I did not need to add that to my morning plan. It was also very close to the hotel, so travel time was minimal.
The primary deviations for the night were that when I started varied, but the amount of time I actually spent on each thing stayed pretty much the same.
This was even though things did not go as initially planned. The inn I was at did not have a gym, which my original plan said to then just workout in my hotel room. I picked a YouTube cardio workout. However, I was at a historic inn. And while the inn had beautiful charm, it also had thin walls and floors/ceilings. On my first day, I attempted to work out but was so self-conscious about the noise that I adapted my plan instead work out in the outside courtyard. I'm happy that I still finished working out despite having to adjust my plan.
I'm also happy to see that I guessed right for how long things would take me in my morning routine, and I had a good sense of what elements would be required for my night routine.
Something else surprising is that my "dress" time wasn't contiguous. It didn't occur to me that would be the case until I actually was going through my first morning. At least I guessed the right amount of time needed. Next time I'll just make a big block called "Workout + Dress" to account for all of that time.
How about everyone else? Did my conference reflection post help any of you? Any suggestions on how I can do things better?
This workshop had the best circumstances for my travel routine to succeed. It was close enough for me to drive, which meant I could bring whatever I wanted instead of what I was willing to lug through an airport. Therefore, I brought my foam roller that I use for physical therapy back exercises. The workshop was also small (10 participants and 3 facilitators), so there was plenty of time to meet and get to know everyone, as opposed to a conference where it's impossible to meet everyone, and the number of people I know attending is too high for me even to have a meaningful conversation with each of them. And finally, to my delight, almost half the attendees were interested in doing their own health maintenance and encouraged me on my efforts. Though they all opted for jogging, which is one of my least favorite exercises. We collectively set the tone to go to our rooms at a reasonable hour because so many wanted to go for that morning jog.
How I Prepared
To prepare for my workshop trip and increase the odds I would follow the routine, I added and moved events around in my calendar to match how my morning and evenings would go. I wasn't pedantic about putting everything in the routine in, but I did put some of the critical milestones or general structure in.For example, I added events to my calendar for when I would exercise, dress, traveling to the venue, and a single event block for my night routine. I also attempted to sketch out when I would do my usual morning work routine that included reading, writing, and email by moving those repeating events to when I would do them during the workshop.
I also put exercise as a task in my Trello to remind myself the night before. Part of my night routine involved moving all of the Trello tasks for the next day to the "Goals for Today" list.
The Plan vs. Reality
Here is a side-by-side of what I planned to do (left) and what actually happened (right).Factors that influenced the morning were things like the workshop included breakfast, so I did not need to add that to my morning plan. It was also very close to the hotel, so travel time was minimal.
The primary deviations for the night were that when I started varied, but the amount of time I actually spent on each thing stayed pretty much the same.
What Did Go Well
I'm the happiest that I actually succeeded in working out each morning. Something I don't actually do at home. My daily exercise is usually built into my day differently. But getting that workout in with plenty of time to get out the door for the workshop definitely made me feel like I'd already accomplished something for the day.This was even though things did not go as initially planned. The inn I was at did not have a gym, which my original plan said to then just workout in my hotel room. I picked a YouTube cardio workout. However, I was at a historic inn. And while the inn had beautiful charm, it also had thin walls and floors/ceilings. On my first day, I attempted to work out but was so self-conscious about the noise that I adapted my plan instead work out in the outside courtyard. I'm happy that I still finished working out despite having to adjust my plan.
I'm also happy to see that I guessed right for how long things would take me in my morning routine, and I had a good sense of what elements would be required for my night routine.
What Needs Improvement
Morning Routine
The most significant change that was not in my original plan was 45 extra minutes to do my daily reading, writing, and email. In my original blog post, it didn't occur to me that I'd want to do those before the workshop. But a few days before, as I was planning when I'd do what, I kind of shoved them into the plan without thinking it through too much. I think I was a little scared that I'd lose the habits of reading and writing if I didn't do a little, as well as my perfectionist tendency of not wanting to give something up. Next time I'm going to be more deliberate in deciding whether to include those daily elements or give up on them for that day.Something else surprising is that my "dress" time wasn't contiguous. It didn't occur to me that would be the case until I actually was going through my first morning. At least I guessed the right amount of time needed. Next time I'll just make a big block called "Workout + Dress" to account for all of that time.
Night Routine
I'm going to need to plan for this to take me at least 1.5 hours. While this time I only used 1 hour and 10 minutes, I'm sure my wrap-up time will be longer than 10 minutes at conferences. This will definitely be difficult because if I want to be asleep on time, I'll need to head towards my room at something like 8:15 pm, which doesn't quite seem feasible given that dinner usually starts at 7 or 7:30 pm.Conclusion
So overall, I think things went pretty well! And I have this experience to look back on as proof I can do it. The question will be how well things will go at ICER. If things go very different, I'll probably post again soon after.How about everyone else? Did my conference reflection post help any of you? Any suggestions on how I can do things better?
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