As you may know, I’ve been on a juice fast for the last 10 days. I’ve traded my regular diet for nothing but fresh juice from fruits and vegetables. I’m also allowing myself the occasional cup of green tea to help my detox from caffeine.
So, how are things going? Here are a few things I’ve learned so far.
It’s early in the morning on Day 4 of my juice fast experiment and I wanted to post a quick update on how things are going so far.
For me, Day 1 wasn’t actually so bad. I had expected this experiment to be similar to other challenges I’ve done in the past. Usually the first couple days are the toughest and then I go into cruise control and my new habits become easier. I was surprised at how easy the first day on my juice fast went. I woke up a little earlier than usual, fired up my shiny new Breville juicer and made about two liters of juice.
After last month’s Stop Working Late experiment, I wanted to do something that wasn’t work-related for my February experiment.
A few months ago, my friend Bradley from Pass The Sour Cream told me about a documentary called “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.” Despite the depressing title, it’s a very inspiring story about two guys who are, you guessed it, fat, sick and nearly dead. The film follows the filmmaker, Joe Cross, and an American truck driver as they rediscover their health and fitness by way of a juice fast.
You can watch the entire film for free on the Juice Fast Experiment hub page.
Anyway, Bradley decided to go on a juice fast at the end of 2011 and recently wrote an awesome post about reaching his goal weight. I was inspired to try a juice fast myself to see what would happen.
I’ve talked a lot about how the Stop Working Late experiment has changed my life. I was walking out of my office today at 5:00 and it really hit me that everything about my days are so much different than before. I thought it would be interesting to take you through a typical work-day in my life, both before and after this experiment.
I should mention that I work from my home office most days, and not all of my days are the same. This is less about one specific day and more about the new patterns that are emerging. The changes are pretty amazing.
At the end of 2011, I was keeping a secret.
I’d been running my consulting firm for 8 years, and business had never been better. I should have been ecstatic, but I wasn’t.
My secret was that I was miserable. My work/life balance was a joke and it wasn’t getting any better.
The problem wasn’t related to the work itself. I love the work, love my clients, love my colleagues.
The problem was that I had become so engrossed in the work that I was neglecting the rest of my life.
I had become a workaholic.
There is a crucial difference between being a hard worker and being a workaholic.
I went into this week carrying some good momentum from last week. For the most part, I kept the good momentum going…until Wednesday.
I knew there was a chance I’d slip up this week, but it didn’t happen the way I expected it to.
It’s been a very interesting ride so far.
It’s Friday night and I’ve just finished my first work-week since taking on the Stop Working Late experiment. My rule for the month is to stop work at 5:00, no matter what. To many of you, this might not seem like a difficult challenge. For me, it’s a huge change from what I’ve been doing. Lately, I’ve been working from before sunrise to long after sunset, often pulling all-nighters.
Working that much is not good for your health or your relationships, or even for your business. Eventually, no one is getting you at your best.
I chose to do this experiment in January for two reasons.
My first monthly experiment is going to be a big one. I’m going to stop working late.
I have a nasty habit of working way too much. I think it started about 12 years ago. I worked at a startup where most of the company worked 80 hours a week. The company culture was pretty intense, and putting in a ton of hours was a matter of pride for a lot of us. Of course, all work and no play isn’t sustainable. I got burnt out and quit.
I’ve been running my own company for the last 8 years. Of course, part of what made entrepreneurship attractive to me was the flexibility. At least, that was the idea. I didn’t have to work crazy hours…unless I wanted to.
So, how has it worked out? Not well. Continue Reading →
Hi there. This is going to be a quick introduction post so you know what to expect in 2012 and beyond.
My name is John Muldoon. You’ll get to know me a lot better as this site comes together. What you need to know right now is that I’m an entrepreneur living in the San Francisco bay area.
I’m starting this site for a few different reasons.
I don’t know about you, but my life can get pretty crazy at times. Between running a business multiple businesses and trying to have a life, things can get unbalanced pretty easily. Many of the experiments I have planned are about getting back some sanity, about taking control of a hectic schedule and having more fun.
You’ve probably heard people say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. That sounds great, right? I mean, if we can reprogram ourselves with better habits in less than a month, why wouldn’t we? That’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’re going to take things one month at a time, and design our experiments around a better habit that we’d like to make permanent. I say “we” because I hope you’ll be excited about challenging yourself to make a change for the better–I hope you’ll want to join me.
One of the first challenges I’m going to do is to Stop Working Late. My work hours have been out of control lately, and every time I pull an all-nighter, I feel like shit the next day. Not just physically, but emotionally. During the Stop Working Late challenge, I’ll have a rule that my computer has to be shut down by 5:00 pm everyday. Working late simply won’t be an option. Stopping work at 5:00 might not sound like a big challenge to some of you (congratulations!), but I often work from sunrise to midnight. I’m really excited about this and I’ll write more about the experiment in an upcoming post.
I’ve always loved a good personal challenge. My idea of a fun vacation it to go mountain climbing. I like to push myself and discover more about my limits. It’s fun to set a goal and then meet it. This site isn’t just going to be about serious stuff like business and fitness. I’ve got some fun challenges planned that I think you’re going to like. I could even see some people wanting to follow along. The more the merrier! It would be great if we could all use this site to support each other as we push ourselves.
I’ll post another update soon.
I can’t wait to get to know you all.
Juice Fast Update #2: 10 Days of Juice Fasting
Juice Fast Update #1: Days 1-4
February 2012: Juice Fast
Stop Working Late: Before & After
How To Stop Being a Workaholic
Stop Working Late – Week 2
My First Week Without Working Late
Juice Fast Update #2: 10 Days of Juice Fasting
What to Expect in 2012
January 2012: Stop Working Late
John Muldoon: Hey Kevin,
So far it has been very reliable. Yo...
Kevin: I think you should give a review of the juicer you...
John Muldoon: Hey Kevin! It's great to see you over here.
Tha...
Kevin: My initial full-time job in higher education was a...
John Muldoon: Thanks Leslie! Good to see you over here....
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