Revisiting Day 18 of the 30-Day Challenge: Procrastination Station

The visit to “Procrastination Station” has now resumed. As mentioned in my previous post, I have decided to revisit some of my 30-day challenge tasks (check out the original challenges I took on under “30-Day Challenges”) that were supposed to have been on-going efforts and placed seamlessly into my routine schedule. Well, tomorrow’s task was very short-lived, indeed. But it’s time to make this thing stick. Here’s what day 18 of the original 30-day challenge entailed:

Task:  To drink more water (32 ounces at the least and no more than 64 ounces daily).

Reason for Task:  I’m not sure if you noticed this or not, but this week’s set of tasks have and will all focus on healthier consumption of eats and drinks.  Water consumption fits right along with this week’s theme.  And, the particular reason for this task is…well…quite frankly, water is awesome!  Water is the life force for all living things; and we, human beings, can’t exist without it.  As a matter of fact, water consumption does so many things for so many people.  It’s a:

• hydration system
• detoxing agent
• constipation blocker
• colon cleanser
• skin, hair, and nails revitalizer
• body temperature regulator
• weight loss assistant

…and so much more.

Since my youth, I’ve struggled with getting enough water intake; and now that I’m in the middle-aged stage of life, I’ve decided to get to chuggin’.  Better late than never, right?

Duration of Task:  It starts today, but my intention is to carry out my water consumption plan on a continual basis for life.

Outcome:  I managed to get down 32 ounces (4 cups) of water today (Woo Hoo!) and that’s a stretch for me.  Here’s the philosophy I’m using for the time being:  too much of a good thing may be a shock to my system, so I’ll gradually build up my tolerance for more and more ounces of water until I meet my maximum intake of 64 ounces in one day.  To me, that seems like a small pond of water I’d be ingesting daily, but I know that’s quite the exaggerated metaphor.  It’s doable, so I’ll work towards it.  And if this amount of water consumption ends up being too excessive for my body makeup, then I’ll tailor it down to a safe amount for my individual needs.  Now, I’ve heard different recommendations for the amount of daily water consumption a person should assume and my maximum allowance is based on factors like my age and weight.  But, I try to steer clear of recommending absolutes to others when it comes to how much of something someone should consume (one size doesn’t fit all), unless it’s a totally destructive substance that can harm the body.  In that case, I would recommend zero intake… avoiding the substance altogether.

Quote of the Day (mine):  Water is my new juice!

So, there you have it. That’s the recap. Now, I won’t totally blame my lack of water-drinking focus on writing my first book (check out my book writing journey under “DOM Writer’s Block: A Writer’s Journey), but I have to admit that the water-drinking initiative wasn’t high on my list of priorities during the major outpouring of my book, and it quickly became a dud in a matter of days. I’m here to rectify that wrong. Why? Because I truly need water in my daily liquid intake.

It’s not like I drink a lot of other beverages. Really, I just drink water and lemonade. However, the problem lies in the fact that I should be drinking more water and less lemonade. So starting tomorrow, I will be reinstating the 32 ounces a day water requirement. (That’s 4 cups of water a day . . . sounds like a reasonable and realistic goal, doesn’t it?) For someone who’s never been an adequate water drinker (like myself), it’s kind of a stretch goal; but I’ll take it over 64 ounces of water a day any day. 64 ounces is something I’ll definitely have to work up to, so 32 ounces it is. I can do it! I can do it! My body is crying out for it and I have to answer back. A weekly update of progress will be on-going until I get this goal on lock down. I’ll check in with you then.