Zen Habits

Zen Habits is about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness. Copyright free content from http://zenhabits.net/open-source-blogging-feel-free-to-steal-my-content

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My Grand Travel Experiment

I’m launching a 4-week travel experiment!

I love traveling and exploring the world, but I have a number of problems when I travel:

  1. Eating: I overindulge in delicious vegan food and feel unhealthy after awhile.
  2. Exercise: I find it hard to keep a regular exercise routine — I walk a lot, but want to do more strength exercises.
  3. Work: I usually do most of my work ahead of time, so I don’t have to worry about it much during my trips … but that means a ton of work before every trip. I’d prefer being able to work while traveling, at a minimal but sufficient level. That would make my travel more sustainable.

I also tend not to meditate as regularly when we travel.

So with those problems not solved yet, I’m going to focus on ways to solve them during my family trip — we’re leaving tomorrow for a 4-week trip to Europe (all 8 of us!). My thinking is that if I can solve these travel problems, I’ll be able to travel in a way that’s healthy, mindful, enjoyable and sustainable.

Here’s the plan for my Grand Travel Experiment:

  1. Eating: I’ll try to focus on healthier vegan foods when possible, but otherwise just focus on being mindful as I eat and not eating too much. In fact, I’ve found that if I stop before I’m full, that’s usually best, but I forget because the food is so delicious! So my experiment will be to rate myself after each meal: if I stop before I’m full, I get a full 5 points … if I overeat until it hurts, that’s just 1 point. I’ll try to get 12-15 points per day.
  2. Exercise: In addition to walking a lot, I’ll be doing bodyweight exercises each day. I think I’ll alternate between pushups with some yoga poses, and bodyweight squats with lunges. For every day that I exercise, I get 5 points.
  3. Work: My plan is to wake up a bit earlier than everyone, and find a coffee shop to do some work for about an hour or so. If I can do that, I’ll get by. While I’m working, everyone else can be getting ready for the day, and then we’ll all head out and explore! For every day that I work for an hour, I get 5 points.

So my maximum for each day is 25 points, and a decent minimum per day would be 20 points. At the end of each week, I should have at least 140 points (20 points per day). If I don’t get 140 points for a week, I fail!

I’m not sure what failure will mean for me … but in any case, I’ll report back here at the end of July to let you know how the experiment went, and what I learned. Wish me luck!

Oh, and I’m also going to be meditating every day for at least a few minutes, and trying to be mindful of my frustrations with the kids, letting go of control and trying to go with the flow more. We’ll see how I do. :)

Zen Habits Meetup in Paris

I’m joining my friend Scott for an event in Paris … if you live there and you’re interested in meeting me, please sign up here:

Paris Live Your Legend & Zen Habits Meetup with Scott Dinsmore & Leo Babauta

Scott and I will also share our latest projects and how we’ve built their businesses and communities over the years, and we’ll have an open Q&A where we’ll be happy to answer just about anything.

So please RSVP asap if you plan to come so we can be sure we have everything arranged at the venue.