#iriszokas

[iriszokas]

It is time to pass on to the new journal. I had this golden journal since november 2024 and it has been such a journey to learn how to journal and what kind is the one that fits me better and now it is time to continue that path to the new black journal.

The golden notebook was from leuchtturm1917 (a gift from my sister) and now this new journal was from a shop in the Uk when i used to live there, and since my time in uni is ending i thought it would be a good ending of this phase of my life.

If you are ever interested in the way I journal or how I prepare the journals just ask and I might do a post about it.

[iriszokas]

On to my next read, "Kindred" by Octavia E. Butler, and what better company to a reading session then a warm drink. Today I went for a tea of red fruits, my favourite one. What are some of your current reads or some that you want to get to?

[iriszokas]

We have to start somewhere, even if that somewhere is the bottom line - after crying and letting all my worries out

[iriszokas]

First day of 75

So the first day went bad. Perhaps I didn't choose the right day to start but hey if I don't do it now, I will never start. There is never a perfect time to start anything.

I had lessons, and meetings with friends and then errands to run from picking up newspaper to running to the post office in time (twice because the first time it was closed for lunch time, even though the schedule online said they closed later). I did the mental tasks early in the morning cause I was aware of the running and finally as I'm writing this I have finished the physical part, both the walk and the workout bit.

I did 15 min workout for the first day, drank 1.5L and I know it's not the 2L i said i should do but taking into account i barely drink a full bottle daily this was amazing to me. I read 10 pages from "As long as lemon trees grow".

My honest opinion is that it is a challenge I find very good as to start practicing discipline and improving the mindset of routine. I will update tomorrow with the new day.

[iriszokas]

The 75 challenges

Apparently there is three versions of the 75 challenges, hard, medium and soft. I did not know about this has I always heard my friends mention only the hard 75 challenge. I decided to take a look at it just for the curiosity of it, I thought it was like a diet and workout based challenge, which wasn't far off but still there were some elements that made me think about it. Currently I am debating doing the medium one because it seems like a soft start for someone who has a bit of discipline but needs the check list in order to know what to do.

The 75 medium challenge for me and if you want I will leave the list down here for you if you are interested:

15 to 20 minutes of exercise, and personally I count any physical activity as exercise so if you want to practice either cardio, volleyball or running you can do as you please

drink between 2 to 3L of water

Go for a walk 4 times a week, sometimes the weather and work don't really allow for walks so i lower the amount of times

Read 10 pages of any book you desire

Meditate for 3 minutes in the morning, sometimes a break to take deep breaths is a good start

Write your progress down and if you want you can take a picture as to keep the progress visual, I find it a good idea but nonetheless it is fully up to you

This is my version of 75 medium challenge, today is just the first day so maybe later on I will add if I have completed all of these tasks or not. I do want to keep a routine so I will try to use this platform as the report log of the challenge, if you guys don't mind.

If you want you can use this list or use it as inspiration to create your own 75 medium challenge. We work to be the best versions of ourselves.

[iriszokas]

Procrastinating

A funny term with a lot of implications that are not so funny. I had many of these posts written up and ready to post but then the brain goes why don't we clean up the pantry and the fridge, yeah sure, because a productive person can't start in a messy space. Well, in that case let's also clean our room like it's spring cleaning all over again. Procrastinating what should be done with things that look like work but actually are not the main priority.

I have a lot to do for my main project for uni and then i procrastinate with house work, with the idea of self progressing by taking take care of small habits assuring myself that it's the best course of action, finding even more things to do on the idea that I need to make an effort to make my mark. All with good intentions but not a priority right now.

Struggling a bit but hey it's part of the progress to have highs and lows.

[iriszokas]

Another finished read for 2025. I loved how easy it was to read however it is filled with complex subjects and people. It made me think a lot on how we view others and vice versa, how much that is brought to us by either the people closest to us or by our life experiences. I read it in portuguese and currently it is only available in spanish, french and portuguese but if you are still curious the title is "O filho de mil homens" by Valter Hugo Mãe.

[iriszokas]

Ready to create but creativity is missing... yeah - a relatable story

[iriszokas]

Trying

We try every day. We try new things, we try old things, we try to maintain what we already have. Sometimes we try all of these things in a day and when the day is over some went good, some went not as good and even others could have gone better. It's a matter of chance sometimes, even if we try our hardest sometimes it's not enough.

It's ok for that to happen.

Trying means we care and trying doesn't mean it's over. It's ok for failure to happen, we learn from daily failures and we move on to the next day. It's ok to stop trying for awhile because the truth is failure is a sore spot. It hurts to fail after trying, it hurts to face the reality of it all. Sometimes we take days, weeks, months to come back to a project, event, person to try one more time, and that is ok.

I feel like we try and sometimes our brain wires itself to say that it's not a big deal that we are trying. I think some people will recognize this phrase that often pops up in thought "Everyone else is trying and they are not broadcasting it or having problems with it, so you shouldn't either", if you have heard this then let me tell you that it is wrong. It took me a long while to figure that one out, but it is wrong.

They are trying but they may be sharing with the people they connect with and not with the world. People are trying and maybe they seem like they don't have problems but we don't know. We don't know each other's brains like that. We don't know each other's thoughts. We are trying to live a life and that is something to be proud and happy with. It's not an easy thing to do, to try and keep on living, so that's why I say I'm glad we are trying.

If no one as said this words to you then let me at least write them to you. Whatever thing you are working on or planning to do, it may be a passion project or maybe just a simple change in your routine, or even a new habit, I'm proud of you.

Keep on trying.

[iriszokas]

"A day has 24 hours, let's make the most out of every second" - my morning cup of coffee

[iriszokas]

Growing

Growing is not supposed to be quick and it's definitely not supposed to be easy. We say we know this fact, we force ourselves to accept it even, but it's still something we deny day in and day out. I force growth when I'm fighting the exhaustion done by the full days work, and instead of resting and taking into account the health part I push down and try to keep going only to be met with the consequences, these being a lot of sick days. I tried to be the person I want to become but that person knows how to manage her tasks and her life. She will have gone through these lessons and know exactly that if I don't take breaks, if i don't have soft days and if I push too hard, it will not be a good outcome.

I share this because I have been repeating this lesson to a lot of my friends because they are going through that stage where the fuel has run out and their bodies have started to complain. I care for my friends and the message I carry is one of love.

So I share it with you too because I believe everyone deserves to have that one shoulder they could go to for advice. I don't mean I know everything, after all this is a path of ups and downs, and I still have many obstacles to go through and that perhaps many of you will know the answer to. All is a journey and we are walking together. Happy journeys.

[iriszokas]

Going back to zero

Clearly the challenge requires time and commitment and hey I at least managed four days and I'm proud of myself for that. Apparently if you fail the challenge you have to restart but currently university is needing my attention way more then this challenge so although I want to start having a better routine and discipline, I will not put as much of my time for the exercise or the walk. So it's not giving up but adapting the challenge to the current work and uni environment.

Instead of walks and 15 min workouts I will try at least 5 to 10 min workouts and if possible yoga. The body must move even if it is just 10 wall push ups or even 5.

All progress is good progress even the step backs, cause without them we wouldn't know what to improve on for the next ones.

[iriszokas]

2nd of 75 challenge

It went better then what I thought. I genuinely was expecting a bit of push back from my body because going from a minimum exercise routine to then having a full 16 min workout and constant hydration it is a pretty big change.

Today I focused on the physical aspect because I know it is the hardest point to discipline myself into putting in my routine. I do a lesson on duolingo daily because it is already a routine, I think I have a streak of 32 days but it took many fails and trys to get it that way, and even then there are some frozen days in the middle which proves that a habit takes work.

I did a 16 min workout based on the workout plan made by me, I unfortunately do not have money for a gym or to pay someone to make me a plan so I researched what exercises were best for my goal in terms of health and I follow it. I did drink 2L today, it took a lot of effort because as time went by one can forget that they have a whole water bottle to drink from. I did went for a walk through my school and before any questions, my university is in the middle of a forest so I did a whole hike through the forest until my allergies became a problem so I had to go home.

Meditated for 3 minutes and it was very much needed for the beginning because it made me more aware of how my body needs this change in routine in order to find balance. I read a bit more of "As long as lemon trees grow", this book is playing with my heart likes it's a guitar, I highly recommend it to anyone who might find it interesting.

Currently we have done two walks out of the four, (yesterday I went with a friend for a job interview and then another friend invited me to a coffee shop so I walked there as well).

I am actually excited to keep going and try to keep the challenge no matter the festivities that are gonna occur in a 2-3 day period, it will wreck me yes but it will be worthy it in the end.

[iriszokas]

New blog post! I adored reading this beauty and the beast retelling and I hope you will like it. I highly recommend this book and if you aren't into reading, that is okay, this book has a movie adaptation which is also amazing, so go check it out.

[iriszokas]

I started a blog where I post the reviews of the books I have read. It's purely fun commentary and recommendations of possible interesting reads. I hope you enjoy it.