Week 42 log – 2025

Returning to rhythm

After several months of inconsistency and instability, this week was about rebuilding consistency and finding rhythm. I’ve spent the past months drifting without direction, but I’ve now regained clarity and built a realistic plan – grounded in the same principles that once helped me rebuild myself and later shaped Hagen Growth. The week demanded vulnerability, but it also brought meaningful progress and a renewed sense of control.

Week 42 metrics

Training
Workouts: 5 | Cycling: 3 hrs

Recovery
Avg sleep: 8.5 hrs | Sleep score: 83

Work
HG work: 25 hrs | Other work: 22 hrs

This log reflects how I’ve worked with the Hagen Growth philosophy in practice over the past week

What I worked on

Since moving to Thailand and starting my job, I’ve struggled to maintain structure. Training, Hagen Growth, and the habits that once grounded me have slipped – taking my sense of stability with them. 

This week, I focused on rebuilding consistency in the two areas that matter most: training and Hagen Growth.

Hagen Growth

For a long time I’ve felt uninspired and overwhelmed. At first, that meant working sporadically, but eventually I ignored Hagen Growth altogether and even considered shutting it down. Still, I could never fully leave it behind. Over the past months, I’ve started questioning what could make the work meaningful again. 

This week, I gathered my old notes and shaped them into a nine-month plan outlining both direction and execution for the future Hagen Growth. The release of this log and my first newsletter, The Hagen Growth Journal, mark the first steps of the platform’s new phase. 

My focus now is consistency – publishing the log and newsletter weekly until the routine is automatic. Alongside that, I’ve restructured layouts, refined templates, set up email flows, and outlined the groundwork for the coming rebuild.

What went well

This week was very positive, and I take several positives with me. Publishing the log and The Hagen Growth Journal required a level of openness and vulnerability that used to cause anxiety – but instead of procrastinating (too much) or telling myself “next week,” I followed through and published on time. A huge win, and something I can genuinely be proud of. 

Another positive from this week is the plan I created – starting with the basics and giving myself a realistic workload. For once, I stayed within normal work hours instead of dragging work into the evening. Allowing myself to get into a routine before increasing intensity has worked well. A big reason for that is publishing faster. Instead of chasing perfection, I’ve accepted that the last 5–10% can wait, and that right now, speed beats perfection. 

There haven’t been any major external changes to Hagen Growth, but my mindset and approach have shifted noticeably– and that’s what truly went well this week.

What could have been better

Despite being a positive week, there are still a few things that could have been better. Before starting to write this log, I spent time editing the layout of my posts – both logs and articles. It wasn’t part of the plan and reflected an old pattern: over-optimizing as a form of procrastination when something feels uncomfortable. 

This was the first time of it this week, and the changes did improve the layout, so it’s not a major concern. Still, if I’m to stay on track and grow Hagen Growth, I need the discipline to stay focused. 

An alternative could be to schedule a few hours each week specifically for these distractions – note them when they appear, then handle them during that window. That would let me fix what’s needed without stealing time or focus from the main work.

Training

In recent months, I’ve been inconsistent with training – both in the gym and on the bike – mostly due to moving around and lacking a stable base. Getting back into rhythm has been difficult, so I reduced total volume: 1–2 hours less cycling and about 20% shorter gym sessions.

The reduced volume aimed to fix two things: recovery and motivation. In recent weeks, I’d felt burned out, performance had dropped, and I hadn’t enjoyed training. Workouts felt forced, and I rarely made it past Thursday before soreness, fatigue, or minor illness stopped me. The goal this week was simple – restore performance, improve wellbeing, and complete every planned session.

This week, I planned five gym workouts of roughly 15 sets each, following an upper/lower split with an additional arm and shoulder day – all performed with high intensity. On the bike, I scheduled two rides: one short trip home from the mechanic and one longer session to close out the week. I completed every workout as planned at the reduced volume.

What went well

This week was about reducing volume to restore recovery and motivation – and it worked. I completed every session, performance improved significantly, and training started to feel enjoyable again. More importantly, I listened to what my body needed instead of forcing progress. By adjusting early, I avoided the usual cycle of fatigue and frustration. What could have become another setback turned into proof that recalibration can be a win in itself.

What could have been better

I followed the plan fully this week – no missed workouts and clear performance improvement. Still, I’ve had ongoing issues with tight hips and shoulders for years and have only not been a problem when I have actively worked on it. I included mobility drills in my warm-ups and stretching in my cooldowns, but I rushed through them. Mobility and stiffness are long-term weaknesses I can’t ignore – neglecting them affects both recovery and sleep, and once that cycle starts, it’s hard to break. I need to address this now, before it becomes a real setback.

Reflection of the week – Changing too much changes nothing

This week has been about rebuilding consistency – something I’ve tried to do in different ways over the past year. While creating my new plan, I reflected deeply on why those earlier attempts failed. 

For a long time, I’ve tried to change too much at once. Living in an environment that didn’t suit me, I tried to find new meaning, get shredded, improve on the bike and in the gym, build relationships, and excel at work, all at the same time. Each goal required significant change, and together they pulled me in every direction. 

I’ve often written that habits must change slowly, but somewhere along the way, I stopped believing that applied to me. Progress came fast at first, then collapsed under its own weight. I pushed harder, but burnout followed. Even the changes I did manage weren’t aligned with what I truly wanted – they were driven by the need to feel like I was moving forward. 

What looked like ambition was actually avoidance – an attempt to outrun dissatisfaction by stacking goals. But when every direction becomes a priority, feedback blurs and effort turns into noise. Progress didn’t fail because I lacked discipline, it failed because I exceeded the system’s capacity to adapt.

I tried to change everything, and in the end, nothing changed. 

Week 42 summarized

Week 42 marks a new beginning – one built on accountability, purpose, and, above all, consistency.

This week, I gained momentum in both Hagen Growth and training. Old patterns surfaced at times, and I occasionally skipped details I knew were important, but I’m learning to accept that I can’t change everything at once. Progress now means moving slowly, choosing “good enough” over perfect, and trusting that step by step, I’ll get where I want to be.

Next week’s focus

It’s been a week of wins, and I now have something solid to build on. Next week, the focus remains on consistency and stability – showing up and delivering as planned.

  • Training –  Five gym sessions and five hours on the bike. Maintain high intensity and quality, adjusting only if needed.
  • Hagen Growth – Publish the weekly log and send out the newsletter. Continue refining and mapping out the philosophy behind Hagen Growth.

A good foundation is set, now it’s about keeping the rhythm.

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Paul Hagen
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