Today was good.

Woke up, and actually listened to the little voice inside my head that said "y'know, if you decide to go for a run instead of going back to bed, you might feel better during the day."  And I don't know what it was, but something compelled me to listen to that voice.  So I did.  And played "Egomaniac" to myself the whole time.

I ate a good breakfast.  While I was doing so, I read an article that shaped how I looked at the day:

http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2015/06/what-happens-when-you-dont-care/

It is very liberating to stop caring what people think.  It really is true.  It made me choose the shirt and shorts I actually wanted to wear, and I wore my dorky digital watch, with no fear whatsoever of looking silly or bad.  It sounds silly, but that's what happened.

Went to work, had an energizing chat with Giacomo and Vicky.  Went back and played with COMSOL a bit, and realized that I genuinely enjoy working with that software and building models.  I legitimately enjoy doing it.  And the praise from Giacomo was good.

Lunch at Flour with Giacomo, Matteo, and Mathias.  A chicken sandwich with brie, caramelized onions, greens, and peppers, grilled panini style.  Tasty.  Matteo told me he's promoted to assistant professor.  It's heartening to know that you can follow such a trajectory at this big school.  It motivates me to keep pushing.

Back in the office, we had a good meeting and plotted the way forward for the boiling and electric fields project.  I am legitimately excited about this work.

Off to the Whitehead for a short visit, then to Strano's lab to make some final measurements.

Biked to the MFA to watch my wife give a gallery talk.

And then we went to Thornton's and won trivia out of 13 teams.  Not too shabby a day.

My quest towards being a more productive person: day 1

Was up till 3.

Woke up close to 9.

Feeling like I need to make a change, and hold myself accountable for it.

I'm caffeinated.  Motivated.

Summer is in full swing - it's a swamp out there.

Today I am going to make a conscious effort to get done what I need to get done.  To consciously do the harder thing that won't make me happy in the moment, but will make me happier in the long run.

It's hard to do the hard thing.  That's why they call it the hard thing.  But, what are we to do with that?  We need to try to do the thing that will have a lasting, positive impact on us, on our friends and family, on the world at large.

So you just need to grit your teeth, bite the bullet, and do the thing you know you should do.  And don't give yourself the chance to talk yourself out of it.

Here we go.