Daylight savings time is largely irrelevant today with most of us (sadly) spending more time under fluorescent lights than cosmic rays, yet it persists. While sunlight absolutely influences our internal clocks, the time on the clock is just a number. We eliminate the need for DST by simply allowing people to set their schedules based on what works best for their own personal rhythm, but I digress. Twice a year, people complain about their schedules being mixed up but similar to New Years’ resolutions, I thought it would be more productive to make a little experiment out of it. 

So, last Sunday, November 4th we “gained” an hour and I thought…what if I actually had an extra hour every day in my life? Shouldn’t that mean I do more? Accomplish more, experience more, maybe even sleep more? (doubtful on that last one) I decided, for one week I would try to add something new into my life or at least something lost back into it, every day. Come March 10th, 2019 I’ll try to the opposite. With one “less” hour, I’ll try to remove something unproductive from my life each day for a week.

Fortuitously, I took that week off of work which made the experiment a little easier. Here’s what I came up with.

Sunday 11/4: I had spent the night at one of my best friend’s house the night prior. One of the best people I know. Thoughtful, successful, cheerful…it’s rare to see all three in one person, I’m happy to hit just one of those qualities on any given day. Sometimes, too be honest, I’m envious. Great job, new house, amazing partner, happy disposition, everyone likes him, smart as hell and funny too. But mostly, I’m happy for him. Anyway, even though it wasn’t exactly new, as opportunities to hang out become fewer and further between, I count any day with this friend as an addition to my life.

Monday 11/5: I made what would be my only material addition to my life (Material acquisition is not something I want to make a habit, or call an addition to my life); I bought a Jeep. To be fair, the purchase wasn’t really about the Jeep itself, it was about the opportunities it opens up. If you live in Colorado and play in the mountains as much as I do, it’s a necessity. No more dragging my poor Honda Accord over 4-foot tall berms heading to Capitol Peak wondering if I’d make it out. Let’s save the danger for the mountain itself, not the drive to it.

Tuesday 11/6: My work schedule over the past few months had greatly diminished my climbing time. Climbing makes me happy. It’s creative, it’s fluid, there’s an element of danger whether it’s perceived or real that I think lends to a lot of the benefits and personal development climbing provides. Tuesday, I opted for just a touch of real danger and went on a free soloing mission to the Flatirons in Boulder, CO. With a friend, we climbed around 17 pitches in a 4 hour day on routes including the Front Porch, Lost Porch and Primal Rib. Just enough spice to make you dial in, consider your movements and force yourself to calm your mind and move like you are supposed to. I felt amazing afterwards, back to my perceived self.

Wednesday 11/7: I tried something completely new, Muay Thai. I took an hour long class with a couple friends led by a dude named “The Moroccan Maniac”. As a short kid, I used to act like a tough guy in middle school and pretended I’d be happy to take anyone on. I always relished being able to outperform my size. Sad or not, I think it still drives my athletic efforts. I chose climbing for instance, where aside from compressed moves is absolutely easier with reach (see Lattice Trainings analysis if your adamant that height isn’t a factor) but I love figuring out the weird beta required to make moves I can’t just reach up to. Anyway, I’ve come to learn a bit of humility, and taking a Muay Thai class is a quick realization that you aren’t so tough and also that you never want to be kicked in the leg (F*c* that hurts). It’s good to learn new things. Stop learning and life quickly becomes useless. I had a ton of fun and a great new workout.

Thursday 11/8: Opening day snowboarding at Breckenridge! I’ve contemplated forgoing riding this year to focus solely on alpine summits but damn it was fun, I absolutely love the snow and I was glad to get out and hang with another good dude outside our normal gym activities. Send itttt.

Friday 11/9: A bit of a reach, but I played a lot of chess on Friday. I’m good at chess but not great and given that it’s mostly pattern recognition I’ve actually changed my view a bit on the games value. Regardless, I’ve always found playing a game of chess to be a good indicator of where my cognition level is at any given point. In grad school I actually used a game of chess as an indicator of what type of work I should focus on. Win a game or two, I’m operating at a high level, time to build regression models. A sloppy loss, I’m distracted, knock out some busy work b/s. Chess is fun, chess makes you smarter, good addition.

Saturday: I went on a hike. That might not sound new, but the approach was rare for me. I just…hiked. No objective. Not a new summit. Not a training trail run. No time objective. I just enjoyed being active without a goal. Sometimes, this is good for the soul. I thoroughly enjoyed a day filled with my two favorite colors, the green of evergreens and the white of snow. I woke up feeling run down from so much high capacity training this week but a day in the sun, the beauty of the outdoors, time to be quiet and think…these things are cure-alls for any bad feeling. If I were to give one piece of advice to anyone on how to develop yourself, it’s to go walk outside for a while.