Weekly Digest – 6/19/16

Welcome to the Weekly Digest for the the week of 6/19/16 — 6/25/16. The Weekly Digest is a weekly review of my activity for (take a wild guess) the week. Each day I record my activity, in a notebook, for the day, in a timed manner. For example: 9:19pm to 9:41 – writing. This is to assist in my on-going process of being more productive and managing procrastination. As well as an accountability measure. In essence, this digest is my weekly reflection. This overview format gives me insight on what’s working and what’s not. Also, I’m able to see where my time is being spent, whether it’s too much or too little in certain areas, such as too much TV. This helps me stay on top of my goals and enables my progression. Most of all I am more aware of what I am doing with my time and how I can do better. Does this work dude? It gives me a sense of acknowledgement and accomplishment of how I use my time. Give it a read or glance.

——————
Weekly Tracker —– 122 of 168 hrs
Sleep—————54 hrs
Reading————-8 hrs
TV——————-13 hrs
Work/Intern——–14 hrs
Travel Time——–3 hrs
Food/Meals——–14 hrs
Writing————–6 hrs
Chores————–7 hrs (includes: laundry, cleaning, garbage, etc.)
Project————–3 hrs
——————

Weekly Tracker Reflection
– Fell short of my TV goal of under 10hrs. The reason is I had a minor setback with night TV watching past my electronics curfew, where I watched 4hrs of TV. That was my kryptonite of the week.

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Weekly Questions:

=How did I progress?
– For the past 6 months Sundays have been my biggest TV watching days. Before then it was my off days, the day’s that I didn’t have school or work. This week I experimented with replacing Sunday TV consumption with listening to an audiobook. Zig Ziglar’s audiobook of course, my absolute favorite.

Weekly Exercise Checklist:
– daily morning routine exercise: [check]
– yoga 1x [no]
– workout 3x: [check]

Weekly Routine Check-in

• My morning routine …
  • All ready by 8:30am [5 out of 7]
  • Outside by 9am [6 out of 7]
• My night routine …
  • Planning [4 out of 7]
  • Journal-ing [5 out of 7]
  • Reading [5 out of 7]

Habit Tracker:
~ Sleep 8+ hrs [3 out of 7]
~ 8+ Glasses of Water [6 out of 7]
~ No TV in morning [7 out of 7]

Next Week Challenges
> Keep progressing on my night routine. Just follow it, don’t try to justify anything.
> Overall keep making small steps towards progress

“Little by little, a little becomes a lot” ~ Tanzanian proverb

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The End.
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Weekly Digest – 6/12/16

Welcome to the Weekly Digest for the the week of 6/12/16 — 6/18/16. The Weekly Digest is a weekly review of my activity for (take a wild guess) the week. Each day I record my activity, in a notebook, for the day, in a timed manner. For example: 6:08am to 6:24am – reading. This is to assist in my on-going process of being more productive and managing procrastination. As well as an accountability measure. In essence, this digest is my weekly reflection. This overview format gives me insight on what’s working and what’s not. Also, I’m able to see where my time is being spent, whether it’s too much or too little in certain areas, such as too much TV. This helps me stay on top of my goals and enables my progression. Most of all I am more aware of what I am doing with my time and how I can do better. Does this work dude? It gives me a sense of acknowledgement and accomplishment of how I use my time. Give it a read or glance.

——————
Weekly Tracker —– 115.5 of 168 hrs
Sleep—————54.5 hrs
Reading————-7.5 hrs
TV——————-7.5 hrs
Work/Intern——–16 hrs
Travel Time——–3 hrs
Food/Meals——–14 hrs
Writing————–3 hrs
Chores————–7 hrs (includes: laundry, cleaning, garbage, etc.)
Project————–3 hrs
——————

Weekly Tracker Reflection
– I surpassed my goal of under 10hrs of TV in a week. This is a big improvement, especially considering where I was two weeks ago. The time that I have spent reading, writing, and working on my project, directly correlates to my TV watching. As the more I read, write, and work on my project, the less TV I watch. Figuring this out is what the Weekly Digest is all about.

Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be. ~ Zig Ziglar

Weekly Questions:

=What did I learn this week?
– Working on my balance while brushing my teeth. I find it challenging to garnish enough willpower to brush my teeth before bed. I have been experimenting with an easier way of going about it. Finally, after a lot of procrastination, I give in and brush my teeth (you were worried I don’t bush). While reading Gretchen Rubin’s book, Better than Before, she references she brushes her teeth while balancing on one foot.
→ After reading that, I was so excited about brushing my teeth before bed. It’s been going great and I get to work on my balance. To balance myself I do the yoga tree pose.
– Being in a meditative state. By staying calm, deep breathing, half-smiling when necessary. Basically, being zen-like with everything throughout the day. While eating lunch and dinner a few times this week. I sat and eat in a quiet, meditative state. Afterwards I felt refreshed. Seems this is great for when I come home stressed out.

=How did I progress?
– I finally CLEANED my ROOM. That’s right. It’s been years in the making. It now looks like a normal human being lives their. I set the intention of cleaning my room for real, as a goal for June. While planning this week, I set aside a day to do so. As I entered my room with the objective of tidying it up, I was overwhelmed. At first, I started sporadically cleaning things off the floor, tops of things, etc. Then, I broke my room down into sections. Starting with the floor. Night stand, clothes, etc. I started to really power through it, which was surprising as in the beginning it felt like a never ending process.
→ I felt great upon completion. It’s a very big accomplishment, that didn’t start to sink in until later on in the week. The two biggest benefits are that when I walk in my room, I feel great. The other is it keeps the adult figures of my back. The next action is for me to maintain and improve it.

Note: this does not do my room justice, mine was worse

Weekly Exercise Checklist:
– daily morning routine exercise: [check]
– yoga 1x [no]
– workout 3x: [check]

Weekly Routine Check-in

• My morning routine …
  • All ready by 8:30am [4 out of 7]
  • Outside by 9am [6 out of 7]
• My night routine …
  • Planning [5 out of 7]
  • Journal-ing [6 out of 7]
  • Reading [6 out of 7]

Next Week Challenges
> Maintain my room
> Maintain my room
> Continue to improve night routine

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The End.
====

Weekly Digest – 6/5/16

Welcome to the Weekly Digest for the the week of 6/5/16 — 6/11/16. The Weekly Digest is a weekly review of my activity for (take a wild guess) the week. Each day I record my activity, in a notebook, for the day, in a timed manner. For example: 3:30pm to 3:47pm – reading. This is to assist in my on-going process of being more productive and managing procrastination. As well as an accountability measure. In essence, this digest is my weekly reflection. This overview format gives me insight on what’s working and what’s not. Also, I’m able to see where my time is being spent, whether it’s too much or too little in certain areas, such as too much TV. This helps me stay on top of my goals and enables my progression. Most of all I am more aware of what I am doing with my time and how I can do better. Does this work dude? It gives me a sense of acknowledgement and accomplishment of how I use my time. Give it a read or glance.

——————
Weekly Tracker —– 121.5 of 168 hrs
Sleep—————55.5 hrs
Reading————-6 hrs
TV——————-13.5 hrs (much improved) {new goal under 10 hrs}
Work/Intern——–12 hrs
Travel Time——–3 hrs
Food/Meals——–14 hrs
Writing————–3.5 hrs
Hygiene————-7 hrs (includes: shower, brushing teeth, etc.)
Chores————–7 hrs (includes: laundry, cleaning, garbage, etc.)
——————

Weekly Tracker Reflection [previous weekly digest]
– TV. Great improvement from last week’s full time job status of 35 hrs of TV watching (an outrageous amount).
– Both my reading and writing daily goals are up from last week. My goal is to read and write, for a one hour minimum per day.
– Overall, my hours are back on track, and it feels great reflecting on this week’s improvements.

“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

Weekly Questions:

=What did I learn this week?
– Night Reading outside. In an effort to get back to my night routine of reading. I happened to go outside at 8pm one evening to avoid watching TV. I brought a book out with me and started reading. It was fantastic, and I have been reading outside at night since then, weather permitting of course.
– Cooked sauteed spinach. I heat up the frying pan for 30sec. Put some olive oil in, then some garlic. Next, put the spinach in. Then, I put salt and pepper in. I put it in too early, as the spinach was still raw. Next time, I will wait until the spinach is half cooked, more soft before I add the spices. This was a great feeling because I have yet to learn cooking. My goal is to learn and master one dish every 3 month, so I can become fully independent.
– Doing things that can be done now instead of putting them off. For example, cleaning dishes while cooking and immediately afterwards. I feel a sense of ease upon completion as I don’t have to think about when I’m doing to do it. Following the principle of Benjamin Franklin in the above noted quote.
– Quiet Time. On two occasions this week, while eating lunch and dinner I ate in a meditative state. I had my eyes closed most of the time while deep breathing. No background noise or distractions. After eating in this meditative state I felt totally refreshed.

=How did I progress?
– I followed my routines that have proven to be working for me. By following my routines I reduced my TV watching and was more productive. As I got back on track to more consistency.

=What will I improve upon? {keep it positive phrasing}
» I have come to realize that I need structure in order to be productive, which is why following a routine is key for me. As this is what works best for me. I made the effort this week to stay on track by following my routines and making a few tweaks. I will keep experimenting and adding more structure into my day with better routines.

» Night Routine.
>Brushing my teeth 30min after dinner. ( Otherwise if I wait right before bed, it takes tremendous willpower as I despise doing it then. )
>Following through with planning and reading before bed. ( Possibly get back to some journaling as well. )

 

Weekly Exercise Checklist:
– daily morning routine exercise: [check]
– yoga 1x [no]
– workout 3x: [no] (only 2x this week)

Weekly Routine Check-in

• My morning routine …
  • All ready by 8:30am [3 out of 7 days]
  • Outside by 9am [5 out of 7 days]
• My night routine …
  • Electronics curfew of 8:30pm [6 out of 7 days]
  • Planning [5 out of 7 days]
  • Reading [6 out of 7 days]

Weekly Consumption
~ Article: How To Do Everything You Want To Do (Without Needing Motivation) | CollegeTopia

~ Listening to Podcast or Audiobook:
• Zig Ziglar, How to Stay Motivated Vol. III Goals – Listening for the 2nd time. It is Ziglar recommeneds listening 16 times.

~ Bookshelf:
• How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie, just finished. Everyone regardless of where you’re at in life should pick this book up.
• Deep Work by Cal Newport, still reading, a really valuable book about engaging in focused work in within a time frame, such as time blocks.

Next Week Challenges
> Manage TV watching
> Read more
> Work out 3x

The End.
===

Image Credit: Night Routine

Weekly Digest – 5/30/16

Welcome to the Weekly Digest for the the week of 5/30/16 — 6/4/16. The Weekly Digest is a weekly review of my activity for (take a wild guess) the week. Each day I record my activity, in a notebook, for the day, in a timed manner. For example: 3:30pm to 4:05 – reading. This is to assist in my on-going process of being more productive and managing procrastination. As well as an accountability measure. In essence, this digest is my weekly reflection. This overview format gives me insight on what’s working and what’s not. Also, I’m able to see where my time is being spent, whether it’s too much or too little in certain areas, such as too much TV. This helps me stay on top of my goals and enables my progression. Most of all I am more aware of what I am doing with my time and how I can do better. Does this work dude? It gives me a sense of acknowledgement and accomplishment of how I use my time. Give it a read or glance.

——————
Weekly Tracker —– 115.5 of 168 hrs
Sleep—————44 hrs (Extremely low, ideal goal is 60 hrs)
Reading————-2.5 hrs (i’m doing much better compared to 2 years ago, however my minimum goal is 7 hrs
TV——————-35 hrs (yikes that’s job hours status)
Work/Intern——–7.5 hrs
Travel Time——–3 hrs
Food/Meals——–14 hrs
Writing————–2.5 hrs
Chores————–7 hrs (includes: laundry, cleaning, garbage, etc.)
——————

Weekly Questions:

What did I learn this week?
– The essentials of a productive day (my daily essentials). For me this consists of completion of my morning routine. Followed by deep work such as a project for school, writing, etc. Throughout the day essentials are reading and exercising. And to remain productive in the mornings, no TV, that is an absolute essential. My mornings are my productive time of the day. I am learning to take advantage of that. Other good essentials are quiet time, listening to some music, an audio book, or a podcast.
– I played the guitar for the first time. It was a great stress reliever. I hope to continue with this.
– To work hard and play hard. Everyone says that. I learned that working hard in the mornings allows me to relax in the afternoons. Which leads to working hard during the week and relaxing on the weekends, of course that is afternoon I use my Saturday morning productive hours wisely.

How did I progress?
– I am becoming very aware off all the things that I do, both good and what should change. By being aware I am in the process of enhancing what works and changing what’s not working. This is a part of my goals plan.

What will I improve upon?
» Read more: At the bare minimum, I will get back to my average of reading one hour per day. I will do this by sticking with my night routine of reading 30min before bed. Reading before bed winds down my mind, preparing me for a great night sleep. It’s like a cool down process for the brain.

» Reduce TV time: Specifically my nightly TV watching before bed. As, a good thing, I have not been watching in the mornings. My trigger has been right before bed. I spent this whole year not watching TV before bed, by giving myself a 8:30pm electronics curfew. I am tapering off slowly. This has been my biggest challenge of recent weeks, since the start of finals, three weeks ago. TV is my biggest issue right now, as I am binge watching the show 24 (such a great show). I started with the movie, then season 7 and 8, then back to one. (Two years ago I watched 24: Live Another Day and absolutely loved it (that was back in the days of watching a lot of tv on my off day,) since then I’ve wanted to watch the series. I had been doing a good job of not binge watching any series this year, as I implemented a rule at the start of the year: to not watch any series where more than one season is available. I was following this right up until finals this year. I did not start any entire TV series during the school year. Then I broke down during finals. The positives are: I am not watching TV in the mornings any more and I’m watching an okay amount in the afternoon (1-2 hrs, if any at all). What’s hurting me is my nightly watching. I’ve been watching an average of 3hrs before bed. I have been tapering off slowly.
→ Remedy: Continue tapering off. Put back into effect my electronics curfew of 830pm and get back to reading 30min before bed. These are the 2 key parts of my night routine, that I have strayed away from the past 3 weeks. My goal for next week is watch less than 18 hours. WIth a 3 hr per day max, ideally between 1-2 hrs and then in time over the next couple of week I will be back to my 1 hr average. Thank you very much!

» Tidy up my room: I am getting much more organized by keeping things its place. I no longer have any clothes on the floor. However, books, papers, and other stuff are spread out in a dysfunctional manner. This is an on-going goal of mine, that I am accomplishing with small steps. I am making a big improvement for this month of June. Also, I’m realizing I don’t need half the stuff that I have in my room, such as old notebooks, receipts, etc.

Weekly Exercise Checklist:
– daily morning routine exercise: [check]
– yoga 1x [no]
– workout 3x: [check]

Weekly Routine Check-in
– My morning routine is doing well. I am very happy with it. I have added variety. One improvement is reducing the procrastination of taking a cold shower, just do it.
– My night routine has been non-existent.

Weekly Consumption
– Article:
> https://hbr.org/2016/03/learning-to-learn
> http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/your-money/finding-a-job-that-works-for-you.html

– Podcast:
>http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/the_moment/2016/05/ryan_holiday_on_stoicism_and_why_ego_is_the_enemy.html

Next Week Challenges
> Productive mornings
> Less TV
> More Reading

The End.
===

Image Credit: Reduce TV

Weekly Digest – 2/21/16

Welcome to the Weekly Digest for the the week of 2/21/16 — 2/27/16. The Weekly Digest is a weekly review of my activity for (take a wild guess) the week. Each day I record my activity for the day in a timed manner. For example: 3:30pm to 4:05 – reading. This is to assist in my on-going process of margin procrastination. Does this work dude? It gives me a sense of accomplishment. Give it a read or glance.

——————
Weekly Tracker: 132.5 of 168 hrs
Sleep——————-67 hrs
Reading—————-10 hrs (reading list coming soon)
TV———————-0 hrs (That’s not a typo, thank you!)
Classes—————-12.5 hrs
HW———————–6.5 hrs (if you don’t know what HW stands for, click the red ‘x’ at the top of this page)
Work/Intern—————8.5 hrs
Travel Time—————8 hrs
Food/Meals—————14 hrs
Chores——————–6 hrs
——————

Weekly Questions:

What did I learn this week?
-Putting pen to paper. When I am mad (frustrated, angry) or not happy with how a situation went or even anxious about something. I discovered taking 5 – 10 min to transfer whats on my mind to paper is key. It is therapeutic. Almost, simultaneously I feel better. The release of the thoughts from my mind is a huge relief. I did this on three different occasions this week.
– Creating a deadline. Like most people I work relatively good when under pressure of a deadline. Be it for a paper or a simple homework assignment. I have been playing around with creating my own deadlines for assignments. For example, I had a paper due Friday, so on Monday I gave myself a deadline to put words on the paper. So, I set a timer for 25min and just brain dumped my thoughts onto paper. I put my document in full screen and turned on my ‘HW’ playlist and cranked out 500 words of ideas. I will continue to experiment with this deadline method.

How did I progress?
– 0 (zero) hrs of TV. I have just been trying to keep it under a 1 hr per day average. This week I consumed zero (0) hrs of TV. I did not plan on this, it just sorta happened. Not wanting to take a break for 45 min to watch a show, I read instead. As a result I did a lot more reading this week and also listened to an extra podcast episode. One might wonder how I was actually able to read instead of TV. Simple: it’s all about the right book (Yep!). You have to find a book that you really enjoy, whether it be a topic you are interested in or a biography of sorts.
{coming soon: how I got started reading}

What will I improve upon? {keep it positive phrasing}
– more time for hw
– keep progressing and evolving in all areas
– tidying up my room (attempting to use the KonMar method from her book on How to Tidy Up)

Weekly Exercise Checklist:
– daily morning routine exercise: [check]
– yoga 1x [check]
– workout 3x: [check]
{the exact routine coming soon}

Weekly Routine Check-in
– My morning routine and night routine are my favorite parts of the day. They have become so adaptable that no matter where I am, I follow through with them.
(more on my routines to come in future)

Weekly Consumption
Article—–http://zenhabits.net/mist/

Podcast—http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/02/16/scorpion/ and http://www.artofmanliness.com/2016/02/13/podcast-177-homemade-muscle-bodyweight-training/

Weekly Challenges
– When I have a great book to look froward to it is better than TV. It is the best entertainment you can get (don’t quote me on that). The trick is finding these books. I did just that and was able to read instead of TV and felt great. The last time I can remember going a full week without TV, must have been freshman year of high school. Wow (great for me)!!!!

The End.
===

Weekly Digest – 2/14/16

Welcome to the Weekly Digest for the the week of 2/14/16 — 2/20/16. The Weekly Digest is a weekly review of my activity for (take a wild guess) the week. Each day I record my activity for the day in a timed manner. For example: 3:30pm to 4:05 – reading. This is to assist in my on-going process of margin procrastination. Does this work dude? It gives me a sense of accomplishment, so yeah it does. Give it a read or glance.

——————
Weekly Tracker: 130 of 168 hrs
Sleep——————-63 hrs
Reading—————-8 hrs (reading list coming soon)
TV———————4 hrs (That is very low, very proud of that)
Classes—————-12.5 hrs
HW———————-5 hrs (if you don’t know what HW stands for, click the red ‘x’ at the top of this page)
Work/Intern—————8.5 hrs
Travel Time—————8 hrs (check time)
Food/Meals—————14 hrs
Chores——————–7 hrs
——————

Weekly Questions:

What did I learn this week?
– Outlining. Since I can remember teachers and parents alike have always said to outline before you start writing an essay or a paper. I have always done basic outlining, intro, body, and conclusion. However, this week I wanted to explore a better way. So, I looked at how professional writers outline and it was more in-dept. Meaning they don’t just do it to do it, they actually use it to help them. So, this week I experimented and did just that, in my own way of course. I had to write a one pager, I outlined it in detail. I outlined the first paragraph, from the topic sentence to the middle to the thesis. After I finished outlining, I came back to it later on in the day and finished the paper in a jiffy. It felt great. Also, I just finished outlining in detail for a 5 page paper. I will continue to improve upon my outlining skills as long as I continue wiring. #evolving

How did I progress?
– only 4 hrs of TV (damn, that’s very impressive)
– taking better notes in class, something I’ve been wanting to work on; taking notes so that I remember and understand the info, not just regurgitating to paper
– planning my day in advance,  whether it be the the night before or in the morning; this has been working wonders (more on planing check out Cal Newport)

What will I improve upon? {keep in positive phrasing}
– more time for hw
– keep progressing and evolving in all areas
– tidying up my room (attempting to use the KonMar method from her book on How to Tidy Up)

Weekly Exercise Checklist:
– daily morning routine exercise: [check]
– yoga 1x [check]
– workout 3x: [check]
{the exact routine coming soon}

Weekly Routine Check-in
– My morning routine and night routine are going great. I continue to make a few tweaks here and there.
(more on my routines to come in future)

Weekly Consumption
Article—–http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/16/health/research-hints-at-promise-and-difficulty-of-helping-people-with-adhd-learn.html
Podcast—http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2016/01/ep-149-david-levien-and-brian-koppelman-how-to-get-inside-the-mind-of-billionaires/

Weekly Challenges
– Lots of little small things. One thing in particular, is even when I’m frustrated by someone or something is that I force myself to crack a smile. Sounds silly, I know (no pun intended). Just the simple act of smiling for a few seconds puts be in a better mood.

The End.

Weekly Digest – 2/7/16

Welcome to the Weekly Digest for the the week of 2/7/16 — 2/13/16. The Weekly Digest is a weekly review of my activity for (take a wild guess) the week. Each day I record my activity for the day in a timed manner. For example: 3:30pm to 4:05 – reading. This is to assist in my on-going process of managing procrastination. Does this work dude? It works for me. Give it a read or glance.

Weekly Tracker: 114 of 168 hrs
– Sleep……………………70 hrs
– Reading………………8 hrs (reading list coming soon)
– TV……………………………6 hrs
– Classes………………9 hrs
– HW……………………………6 hrs (don’t know what HW stands for, click the red ‘x’ at the top of this page)
– Work/Intern……7 hrs
– Travel Time……8 hrs

Weekly Questions:

What did I learn this week?
– Twice this week I was tempted to watch TV past my electronic curfew which is 1hr 30min before my desired bedtime (a testament to all the good shows or just my TV addiction kicking in). So, I delayed this for 20 minutes by reading and then forgot about it, as I became entangled in my book. This delay was inspired by the strategy of distraction, which Gretchen Rubin discusses in regards to fighting temptations (she also has an entire chapter dedicated to this strategy in her book in her book Better Than Before). I didn’t intend on using this strategy, rather I just did it and afterwards remembered I had read about this. This is one thats going in the toolbox.

How did I progress?
– I kept my TV usage under a one hour per day average.
– I did 6 hrs of hw, which is my weekly minimum
– On a daily basis I did deep breathing throughout day, especially at tense times in order to say calm, which is a skill that is constantly evolving for me. Something I have been working on for the past year.

What will I improve upon? {splendid positive phrasing}
– I will keep progressing and evolving in all areas.
– I will spend more time on a consistent basis for HW.
– I will tidy up my room (attempting to use the KonMari method from the book on the Magic of Tidying Up)

Weekly Exercise Checklist:
– daily morning routine exercise: [check]
– yoga 1x [check]
– workout 3x [check]

Weekly Routine Check-in
– My morning routine and night routine are doing great. Of course, I am tweaking them here and there.
{more on my routines coming soon}

Weekly Consumption
Blog/Article…http://ryanholiday.net/how-dr-drew-pinsky-changed-my-life/
Podcast………………http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/02/10/seth-godin/

Weekly Challenges
My History readings are (insert expletive) tough (Gee, thanks for telling me, you should see mine). I was able to tough my readings out by creating a routine. The reading rotation routine is as follows: 1. start with the hardest reading 2. read a tolerable reading (another subject) 3. read something enjoyable. #ReadRotateRepeat
Example:
1. History reading for 30min
2. Economics textbook reading for 20min
3. Article printed from the interweb for 10 min
4. Back to history reading for 20min
5. Done.

That completes the Weekly Digest.