Don Kowalewski
Writer. Ad Sales and Marketing. Social Media Content Creator. Aeropress Coffee. Makes the best salsa in the world.
Self-Improvement Stuff, Part 1: #75Hard
What crazy thing is Don doing now, you ask? Oh, I’m gonna kick my own butt for 75 days. I always do something during Lent that challenges me, so now I’m adding the infamous #75Hard to the 40 days of Lent and, basically… it’s my way to prove I’m better than you.
#75Hard is something my super motivated friend N.G. introduced me to, invented by foul-mouth self-help guru Andy Frisella. If you want to be ridiculed and yelled at for why you’re not doing stuff, Andy’s your guy. Not my cuppa tea, but motivation is different for everybody. However, his #75Hard is a genius (f’ing) concept that, as my buddy C.W. put it, is about proving to yourself you have the discipline to stick with something.
I like that Andy just has this out there for free. He doesn’t make you join an email list or pay $9.99 to get secret training tips. Nope. It’s just an idea. Do it if you want. That’s kinda genius, too. It creates a community of people hashtagging things with #75hard and keeping each other motivated and then, if you wanna listen to Andy’s podcast or buy his book or follow him on Twitter or buy his supplements, so be it. Guess what? He’s gotten some of my money, even though he didn’t want it.
My #75Hard (along with my buddy C.W.) starts today. My diet is the classic “No S Diet”, another brilliant and FREE idea from a guy named Reinhard Engels. He’s another guy. He just made a website years ago. Hasn’t changed much. Wasn’t selling anything. Yet, some people weren’t satisfied with his simple idea so he actually wrote a book, even though it says what his website already says (not to mention the “No S Diet” is pretty simple and barely needs a whole website).
Join me, won’t you? Or at least cheer me (and C.W.) on in our quest.
I Want Stuff, Part 4: Blue Light Blocking Glasses
Not sure if this is Dad Stuff, Self-Improvement Stuff, or just an old-fashioned I Want Stuff post.
I’m obsessed with quality sleep. I feel if I get 7 hours of sleep I’m Superman. If I get 6 or less, I’m Wile E. Coyote – meaning no matter what I do, everything blows up in my face. Lack of sleep, I think, is the most detrimental thing people, and our society, has done to itself. For thousands of years, humans went to sleep when it got dark. We worked 9-to-5 and didn’t average 45-minutes on our commutes (meaning we could watch the 11 o’clock news, get to bed at 11:30, sleep until 6:30 or later if we stayed up for Johnny Carson, and we had lots of time to get to work by 9.
Now? We don’t. We have a million distractions, we have blue and artificial light. We have phones that shine in our faces constantly (don’t say “not me” because we’re all guilty …if I text you at 10 o’clock at night, you’ll very, very likely text me right back and we’ll text back an forth a half-dozen times.
So, I’ve finally given into the hype and sponsored ads and promotions I’ve seen on social media, as well as the various self-help gurus I follow, and I got (what I believe are) the top-of-the-line blue light blocking glasses from BLUblox. They arrived yesterday and, like I’m supposed to do, I wore them for the 2 hours before bed. Yes, they are red lenses and, yes, they caused my three teenagers and wife to laugh at me, and, yes, they darken the world and are exactly like you would think it would be like to wear sunglasses, indoors, at night. That said, and I know it could be nothing more than placebo effect, but I fell asleep at 10:45 p.m. and slept through the night and woke up, almost surprised, at 5:45 a.m. and I felt amazing. If you’ve been thinking about this, trust me that I spent way, way, way too many hours reading articles and reviews and I’ve concluded BLUblox are a leader in this product category.
More analysis to follow.
I Want Stuff, Part 3: Ash & Erie Because I’m Short
I have a confession. I’m short. My father was short(ish). His father was short. Three uncles on my mother’s side are short. I have 3 short older cousins. My other grandfather stood 5’4″ I hear. And no matter how I comb my hair . . .I’m still 5’5″.
So imagine how excited I was to learn about Ash & Erie …clothes for men under 5’8″. Read More
Lung Stuff, Part 13: A New Pulmonologist
One of my goals for 2021 is to get a handle on my lungs and breathing. The retirement of my long-time pulmonologist coupled with the onset of a pandemic that attacks the respiratory system, has me a little worried. It seemed like as good a time as any to re-focus on my lung health. Plus, from about mid-September of 2020, my coughing and wheezing has worsened. My family, once again, is worried. I am, too. Read More
Dad Stuff, Part 11: A Different Kinda Thankful
Last year, I was lucky enough to start hosting the annual Thanksgiving gathering at my house. For the first 30-35 years of my life, it was always at my Aunt Denise’s house and for the past 10-15 years, turkey-day was at my Dad’s house. I hoped that when my Dad decided to retire from hosting that I would be able to host.
Some might ask, “really? You actually wanted your siblings, parents, in-laws, and nieces and nephews at your house and to do all that planning and cleaning and cooking?” Read More
Random Stuff, Part 7: Ghosts and Aliens
Two things I want to see before I die…
- a U.F.O. and/or an alien from outer space
- a ghost
But do I, really? Because once I see a ghost I have to wrestle with telling anyone, keeping it to myself, or living the rest of my days wondering if I really saw either of them and was it a moment of insanity. Read More
Dad Stuff, Part 10: I Own a Chest Freezer
I see it and hear it. I’m not blind or deaf. I know when I’m at parties and I walk up to a group of people and they’re talking about their chest freezers, they stop talking as I approach. They look around and won’t make eye contact. They try to pretend they were talking about something else and I can feel the tension. Everyone is very uncomfortable talking about their chest freezers in front of me knowing I don’t have one. Read More
I Want Stuff, Part 2: I Have a $100 Visa Gift Card
Am I the only 47-year-old man that goes into a tailspin when he’s given (or wins …ahem …yes, I won!!!) a $100 Visa Gift Card? It’s like gold. It’s found (won) money that can’t be deposited into a bank. It can’t be invested. It must be spent. But how should it be spent?
Immediately my mind goes to the question, “what have I wanted for a while but really isn’t worth the money?” Read More
Project 47, Part 4: Making Good Use of My Time
In an attempt to make my day as efficient as possible, I’m starting to run the stopwatch on everything I do.
- Shave, 3.5 minutes
- Shower, 4 minutes
- Write This Blog Entry, 6 minutes
- Journal, 5 Minutes
- 47 Push-Ups, 2.5 Minutes (hoping this gets better)
This is the next thing I’m going to use to change my life …employing maximum effort in the most efficient way in bursts and sprints to get more done. This time-everything approach will reprogram my approach to life and hopefully eliminate procrastination.
Then I’ll write a book on it. I’ll call it, “Time to Control Your Life,” or, “Perfect Timing on Life.” It will become a movement …people will start to time everything they do and we’ll start to realize how much we can do in 5-minutes and 7-minutes and I’ll go on a speaking tour about the collosal waste of time that social media is, yet doesn’t have to be. I’ll have chapters on saving time and making time and lecturing people about how little time they actually have in life.
Would you read that book? How many minutes a day would you spend reading for self improvement?
Project 47, Part 3: Mini Portable Blender
Reader L.P. asked me yesterday, “what is Project 47?” Basically, every year on my birthday I start a project on myself and my life. In July I turned 47-years-old and closed the book on Project 46 and began Project 47.
Some great things came out of Project 47:
- I became a Plant-Based Most-of-the-Time Vegetarian
- I got my weight down to 155 (a perfect weight for my 5’5″ height)
- I didn’t get COVID
- My wife bought me SupKitDin mini-blender
A buncha other great stuff happened during Project 46 but this mini-blender was a pleasant surprise. As you know I have a very detailed and specific list of things I demand ask for at Christmas, Father’s Day, and my birthday. This mini-blender wasn’t on that list, but my wife really hit a homerun despite going rogue and “off-list.”
This blender is one of those made-in-China products that comes with many different brands on the box. Mine is SupKitDin but that “company” doesn’t even have a website. It’s the type of product that I could put my name on (The Project 47 1-Minute Blender) if I became a health-coach, Podcaster, and wrote a book.
Point is …it’s GREAT and was a true highlight of Project 46. I use it 4-5 days a week. It can’t handle ice cubes and fully frozen fruit, but when I get feeling snacky* and like I want to raid our cookie drawer or quick toast myself a bagel and smear some peanut butter or cream cheese on it …I know it’s a “sugar” craving. With this mini-blender I can throw 10-12 blueberries, 1-2 strawberries, 1/3rd of a banana, a splash of OJ, and diced celery, cucumber, and leaf spinach into this thing with some water and supplements and …bam … I have a smoothie I can guzzle (I “guzzle” because it’s now about the flavor, it’s about putting some quick healthy sugar into my body to fight off the craving for anything with white flour or sugar like a cookie, bagel, candy bar, or bowl of chips).
I should post a video of me using it.
If you’re embarking on a Project You of some sort, this is a must-have. It’s cheap and I don’t anticipate it will last more than a year and when it dies, I’ll buy another one. For $20 (or less), this is nothing more than skipping 3-4 visits to my corner smoothie place and it’s paid for.
Viva la health.
* Feeling Snacky: the urge to microwave a bag of popcorn or run to Starbucks and get a coffee and a little snack in the middle of the morning or afternoon
Don Kowalewski 