Project 10 is a physical challenge. During which I plan on running 28 times within a month (in this case the month of September). I plan on averaging at least 5km a time (so running for the bus, sadly won’t count).

Whilst I shouldn’t have any problems running the distance, it’s the frequency that worries me. Especially as a run a day would only give me two rest days during the month - I honestly don’t think my little legs could handle that! So it’s looking like some days will need to be multiple run days. I think this should be alright. I just don’t want to fall into the trap of injuring myself because I’m being too ambitious - especially as I’ll be running in minimalist running shoes.

We’ll see how I get on.

Project 10 was originally published in Project28 on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

So today is my last day being 28. I think it’s fair to say that I’m way behind on my Project 28 challenges. I was far too ambitious to think that I could accomplish all 28 projects within one year - and importantly write them all up.

Rather than just ending things here, I still plan on completing all 28 projects (but this time with no strict time frame in mind). The biggest challenge I’ve found has been trying to write regular updates. I hope that by removing the time constraint to my projects I’ll end up with posts of a higher quality. Time will tell.

On reflection though, Project 28 has been great. It’s forced me to move out of my comfort zone, tell others about my self-development plans, embrace new challenges and reassess what things matter to me.

For those interested in self-development I definitely recommend trying something like this.

P.S Plenty of people have asked if I’ll be doing a project 29. I can’t see myself having time to complete 29 new challenges as well as finishing off the existing 28. Time permitting I may tack on an extra project to the existing 28.

Project 1 - Update was originally published in Project28 on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I bought a drone back in November 2017 on a bit of a whim. I’ve always loved aerial photography and the unique perspective drones can achieve. It turned out to be a fantastic decision. Project 9 is going to be regularly updated to showcase the best 28 drone shots I’ve taken to date.

Project 9 was originally published in Project28 on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I've been doing a lot of research recently on fasting and the benefits it can bring (you can have a look here). So I wanted to see how I’d cope with it and thought why not go at least 28 hours without food.

I’m pleased to report that not only did I survive, but I actually ended up going closer to 36 hours and found I had tonnes of energy throughout - enough even for an 8km run. I came away with a sense of accomplishment and felt more in tune with my body. I definitely plan on doing more of this and think intermittent fasting could be a good way to achieve this.

To those interested, I would recommend trying it out, just make sure you drink plenty of water.

Project 8 was originally published in Project28 on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Unlike my mother, I think it’s fair to say I’m not blessed with green fingers. The only plant I kept alive was in my first year of university, and it took me 3 months until I realised it was a fake one — in my defense it was very realistic!

A friend challenged me to keep a basil plant alive for 28 days. So at the start of June I went to Columbia road and got myself a lemon basil plant.

I’m pleased to report that 28 days later it was still doing alright. Considering the heat wave during the month on July I’m pretty proud of myself.

Update:

I had a 10 day holiday to Budapest and Malta during which it ended up dying. Looks like these fingers aren't as green as I thought.

Project 7 was originally published in Project28 on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

So by my calculations the 28 weeks no meat is complete. I actually completed it a few weeks back, but typing this up has taken longer then I thought.

As a kind of summary I would say it wasn’t actually that bad, in fact I actually found it enjoyable. The most difficult time was the Christmas period and not having the typical dishes but I got through it with no problems.

Do I feel different at the end of the 28 weeks no not really, I definitely think more about what I’m eating which I think is a good thing. I watched a few documentaries on Netflix during my 6 months which have furthered my meat free commitment. I don’t see myself going back.

During the 28 weeks I did eat fish here and there, but I want to cut back on this. I plan on doing 28 days vegetarian as a follow up project in the next couple of weeks to see what that will be like.

Time to make the most of this glorious day, hopefully some more posts to follow up soon.

Project 3 - 28 weeks of Vegetarianism - Update was originally published in Project28 on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I’m writing this post from a cafe in Luxembourg whilst sipping a coffee — having my caffeine friend back feels great! My experience of not consuming caffeine probably wasn’t the most interesting of my projects. As it transpires, giving something up is far less fun then starting something new.

So what were the takeaways from those 28 days?

• Caffeine wasn’t nearly as hard to give up as I thought, Yes there were times when I missed drinking coffee, but it was more the experience of a coffee then the caffeine it’s self.
• Herbal teas are great and make a nice alternatives to coffee and tea — peppermint and liquorice in particular became my go to option.
• People drink so much tea and coffee. Maybe it’s because I was continually having to rebuff coffee and tea offers, but I became a lot more aware of how engrained this habbit has become.

I’ve decided that whilst I will still be drinking coffee and tea I plan on doing so in a more mindful way.

So overall as projects go I would give this a 3/10.

Project 5 – Update was originally published in Project28 on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

So I’m hopelessly behind in keeping this up to date, but I’m pleased to announce that I completed this project. I passed my DAS on one very cold December morning with 6 days worth (roughly 24 hours)of Training.

It was a surprise to find out that my test was going ahead, as not only was it cold but there was also snow on the roads. It was so cold in fact that the assessor, who typically conducts the test on a motorbike behind you, abandoned his bike in favour of a car!

I’m glad I challenged myself to undertake this project, learning to ride a motorbike is unlike anything else and it’s so much fun. I won’t lie, some parts of riding (like going 70mph not strapped to anything) do still terrify me, but it’s in a good kind of fear. For those thinking about doing it, I 100% encourage you, we could even form a motorbike club once you’ve passed!

Project 4 – Update was originally published in Project28 on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I don’t know why I’m doing this to myself. First caffeine and now beer - I didn’t think I was a masochist but here I am mid-January, widely acknowledged to be the most depressing time of the year, doing this to myself.

I have to remind myself constantly why giving up beer for 28 weeks seemed like a good idea. It’s partly because I’ve signed up to a triathlon in June, and I reckon giving up beer will help keep me motivated towards that. It’s partly because I decided this in the aftermath of an indulgent Christmas and partly because it’s just one alcoholic drink, it shouldn’t be hard to give up just one type of drink.

I’ve still got wine and spirits so I figured I should be fine. I’m not much of a wine fan, but I figured this could be the time to become one. Rather then a beer with a meal I’ll have wine — easy. And for a night out I’ve got many an option with the plethora of spirits available.

But sadly it’s not that easy, the reason beer is great is partly it’s versatility but also because you can sip it often. Something to wash some food down with, easy have a sip of beer. An awkward lull in a conversation, not a problem just have a sip of beer. Something to quench a thirst, easy, take a sip of beer. You can’t do that with wine of spirits, you’d die!

There’s always Cider I suppose but it’s so sweet you know you’ll be on track to get diabetes before you finish your pint. So that leaves you with one option, have multiple drinks on the go. Sip of wine, sip of water, sip of wine, sip of water, etc. I’m going to be so hydrated. What more could I ask for this year.

Luckily though I’ll have beer back just in time for the summer — which lets face it is when it’s best. I might even see if I can get it delivered by model train like I did in Prague (see gif), where the beer is actually cheaper then water!

I’ll keep you posted on this as and when.

Project 6 was originally published in Project28 on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

So it’s been a while since I gave a Project28 update. Now that’s not because I haven’t been doing things — quite the opposite in fact. It’s just that writing things up is proving to be a struggle.

Considering we’re now in a New Year, it’s not really a surprise to find that completing Project28 (which basically means writing more of these posts) is top of my resolutions.

Now that’s all said and done, my next project may come as a bit of a surprise — 28 days without caffeine. That includes coffee and tea, so there go my two most effective motivators for writing.

In the grand scheme of things 28 days isn’t too long, so it really shouldn’t be a struggle. Especially as I wouldn’t describe myself as a coffee fiend.

I’m writing this up 2 weeks in though and I have to say it’s proving more of a challenge then I initially thought. It’s not so much the caffeine that I miss, but more the time with the coffee if that makes sense. It’s time to myself, when I can read, write or just generally relax.

Take for example this post, I’m writing it up from a coffee shop whilst drinking an apple juice. Frankly it feels weird and I’m not sure if I like it.

I’ll write up a follow up post at the end of the month — hopefully with a flat white as good as the one I has in San Sebastian (see photo) in hand.

Project 5 was originally published in Project28 on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.