Cents and Sensibility, Day 14. Two weeks. Can this be habit-forming?

Last night's Feast ran late, but I'm not complaining. I'd rather have a nice evening with friends than a good night's sleep.

I put that theory to the test today.

I got to bed about 1 am. The alarm went off at 4:30 am, and I was at my job at 7.

I'm no scientist, but I don't think that's enough sleep.

Logan requested a wake-up call for 9 am, and through my blurred vision this morning, I neglected to set the alarm correctly. But I didn't know that when I texted and called in an attempt to make sure he was up by 9, so that he could get to his class by 10.

I'm only one person.

So when Logan didn't answer his phone this morning, I assumed the worst. And the worst for Logan would have been to sleep in and miss his class.

Which is exactly what happened.

He didn't really miss it. He was late. But he inherited some whacked-out on-time-or-a-few-minutes-early gene from me. 

Highly scientific. Try to keep up.

I left work to come home and work remotely around 10:15, just around the time Logan woke up, blasphemed me for not setting his alarm correctly, and got himself to class.

So he was gone by the time I got home.

So was someone else.

Our dog Dutch was gone too. By the time I got home.

Yes, he did make it back home. He seems to like it here.

Not unlike myself, Dutch suffers from a dusting of wanderlust. Like me, he appreciates the idea of being home, even when he tries to escape.

Dutch and I have a lot in common.

We both escape whenever we get the chance.

That escape clause has been modified for me lately by the nature of this project, and I've become a bit more calm in the face of stasis.

But according to an article I read tonight, I have to log a bit more time before this way of life becomes a habit. Because according to this http://www.spring.org.uk/2009/09/how-long-to-form-a-habit.php, it takes 66 days for a habit to take firm root.

There are several caveats to this particular study. And apparently some of us are simply 'habit-resistant'.

But I've noticed changes, in my bank balance and in the way I think about spending.

It all seems to revolve around paying attention.

We started this project two weeks ago today. As I've noted in previous entries, we'd had just as many guests (a habit I refuse to break), we've spent substantially less money, and I still have somewhere between a fourth and a half of a tank of gas.

Can we keep this going for another 52 days? Highly doubtful.

We'll keep going as long as we can, because we're all seeing results. And like any seed change, results might easily be measured by growth. 

Growth in this project's case seems to have its root in the simple act of paying attention.

And speaking of habits, tonight I'm opting to recognize my habitual need for sleep. No matter how hard I try lately, it's a hard habit to break.