Running, Meditating, Language-Learning and Even More Goals: The Buffer Team’s Weekly Improvements

Last week we introduced y’all to Buffer’s weekly improvements on the blog for the first time.

This week we’ll dive right in to see what each Buffer team member is working on! (We love chatting about each other’s improvements, too. See all of our comments here.)

We love hearing your improvement goals, too—tell us about them in the comments so we can cheer you on and learn from your goals!

Here’s what we’re working on this week:

Niel– I ran my first 10km (trail run!) the past Sunday which was a good milestone for my running. This week I’m taking it a bit slower to let my body rest up. I’m running only twice: a 5km + another 10km on the weekend. I’ve been very consistent in improving my fitness this year, but I yearn for the same consistency in my intellectual pursuits. Language learning still remains a big passion, but I have trouble getting a routine going. I’m going to spend time this week to see if I can remedy this. Or at least start with a plan and see how it goes :)

Rodolphe – I’m in Casablanca (Morocco) for a week, visiting friends and coworking there – also love taking pictures in the old town and the markets! Another thing is I’m finishing my 100happydays challenge (today is day 98) this week and I’ve drafted a blogpost about it, possibly publish it next week. Still trying to shoot at 4 meditation sessions per week, and commuting helped with my reading: “Quiet – The Power of Introvert” is a great read for everyone, if you’re not introverted yourself, it’s still likely one of your parents, spouse, kids or colleagues are :)

Mary – Loving be in KC and spending time to reflect on how good it feels to be home (outside of the Google Fiber and espresso machine). My more tangible goals are to run 3x each week, read every night before bed and drink lots and lots of water. While I’m home, I’d like to write a short note to the fam members here just saying a quick ‘Hi! I love you!’. Those feel so nice in writing.

Kevin – I’ve had an awesome week at Buffer and my excitement took the better of me, resulting in pretty late nights. I’ll focus to make sure I go to bed in time in order to maximize my energy throughout the day. I also want to bring up reading again, even if it’s just a few pages every day. I’ll start a new book this week about functional programming and I really want to dig into it!

Adam – Reading, Running, and Code Academy. These three feel like my big weekly improvements at the moment. Each seems to be coming along nicely which is only adding more fuel to the fire. Running is slowly becoming more and more enjoyable. I am starting to find the enjoyment in the challenge and finding it easier to overcome my personal roadblocks and mind-tricks. I am hoping to continue to press forward and increase my distance come Thursday.

Colin – My improvement of working through the Buffer values continues for its second week. Really enjoying these improvements which are different from my usual ones that can take quite a bit of effort! Getting some quiet time to read and think about the values has been incredibly relaxing, so I’m looking forward to keeping that up. Also, just so my legs don’t atrophy, I’m trying to get my running back into action. Aiming for three runs this week.

Courtney – I’m re-focusing on getting good sleep this week after a bit of time under the weather over the weekend and into Monday. So far it’s been a smashing success! :) I’ve discovered that I’m a bedtime procrastinator, so I’m working on listening to my UP alarm and “turning off” a little earlier. My “30 days of minimalism goal” continues this week as I rummage around my house for things to get rid of each day. Y’all should see my giant garbage bags for Goodwill. :) It feels great to thoughtfully consider items in this way and to get a tiny bit lighter each day.

Leo – Excited to keep going with my previous week’s improvements before moving on to the next ones. For this week, I want to try and hit 5 meditation sessions a week in the office and 5 deep relaxation exercises before bed. Another focus this week is to get 5 meals in every day, now that I’ve received protein powder and a smoothie maker this should hopefully make things a lot more convenient!

Nicole – Definitely hoping to keep on track with better sleep and increased step goals and adding back in my goal of writing or posting a blog each day. These creative outlets seem to help in other areas as well and I love seeing a small bit of progress each day. :-)

Kevan – Getting things done early in the a.m. has been a huge blessing with remote work. I started noticing that email was creeping in to my morning routine a bit more than I’d like, so I’m aiming to hold off on checking email until I get through my One Big Task of the morning. Also, I was inspired by a book I read recently to be wholly devoted and passionate about the things I do. I think it’s super important to think of this in terms of being a husband and a father, so I’m excited to improve by carving out time to be reflective and purposeful about those roles each day this week.

Joel – This week I’m aiming to be fully back into my ideal routine. For me that’s my morning routine of rising at 6am, doing 5 minutes meditation, heading to the gym at 6:30 for a 45 minute to 1 hour session, then coming back and having a large breakfast and protein shake. I’m aiming to hit that every day. I also want to do 10 minutes meditation in the office after lunch with Leo. Finally, to be able to get up at 6am and still get good sleep I’m continuing with my evening walk habit, going for a 20-minute walk along the Embarcadero (view of the Bay Bridge!) at sunset (around 8:30-8:45) and then sleeping by around 9:30 or 10.

Dan – Continuing on my 30-day no sweets/excess sugar challenge, two weeks in today! I’m also trying to keep my steps up this week. Last week I was better than normal since we were taking care of a dog and I would take it for walks. Goal is 8k steps or a solid bike ride in each day.

Carolyn – With travel and time off upcoming, my focuses are my “rock” habits: keeping my weekly average steps above 10.5K, a few gentle pilates moves each day, and staying on top of my email (both Buffer and personal). For the next few days and when possible while traveling, I’ll keep up intermittent fasting as well. With my new Up that vibrates again, I’m going to try to obey the 30min inactivity warning and at least stand up when it reminds me. :)

Michael – Keeping on the same track this week. I would still like to keep focus on working on my Coursera courses everyday. Also, getting some exercise every day!

Brian – My key goal this week is just to get “settled in” – this includes getting a bed frame, sofa, 2 chairs and maybe a rug (if I’m feeling especially luxurious!!). My orders from Amazon are slowly flowing in too, so it’s been a slow but steady process to get all of life’s essentials!

Andy – Been neglecting my personal projects of late, projects where I did most of my learning for iOS. People are still paying for the apps so I want to get back involved with them and make sure they’re the best they can be. I also want to kick start a project I have had in my head for a while which will be a great project for learning some new iOS 8 goodness ready for Buffer for iOS 8. Another focus for me this week is healthier lunches, might try out Spoonrocket as one option.

Dave –  Back to London and looking forward to returning to my routine. Planning time to spend reflecting on the experiences of the past week, as well as recofusing on improving my French. Continuing to push for 8 hours of good quality sleep per night.

Åsa – I continue to focus on running and the next goal is 6.5km. I aim for 4-5 runs per week. The second goal is to include some reading time in my schedule. I have found that reading before bed works great if it’s fiction so I want to ensure I read non-fiction around lunch time. Starting with a 30 min slot 3 times a week to hopefully build on.  Finally, still working on 8 hours sleep each night. I’m hitting 7hrs 40 min or thereabouts over and over. Almost there :)

Patrik – Looking to carry my fitness improvement forward and start to develop a routine with regular walks and gym visits. Kicked off the week with my longest run ever! Still planning to stick to the recumbent bike for a bit of a lower-impact activity so it was nice to mix it up a little bit. Also making great progress on trying out some new recipes and pushing myself beyond pasta! :)

Want to share your own improvement goals? We’d love to hear about them in the comments!