21 Days to a More Disciplined Life: Day 13 (Read Motivating Books)

Before I jump into the content, I just want to thank everyone who's reading this series. I got some really encouraging feedback this morning that made my day, so I appreciate anyone who's hanging in there with this series, even when I've been less-than-positive about this series!

Now for the review! Yesterday's exercise was to look at what distracts us from focusing on our goals. Mine is the Internet/Facebook. I can fall down the rabbit hole of Internet browsing or looking at Facebook posts for an hour or two before I even realize it. Paine asked us to think about how we're going to remove distractions. For me, I've decided to deactivate my Facebook account in a few days. I did it over the summer, and while I can't say that I was super productive, it did make a difference for me. For the Internet, I'm going to either install a timer extension/site blocker or use a regular timer so I know how much time I have to accomplish what I need to. Also, games and apps on my phone/iPad are very distracting, so it's time to do some major deleting. These things may seem extreme to some, but I'm ready to be focused on my goals, be disciplined, and to live a life for Christ, rather than for the Internet or Facebook. (Phew, can you tell I wrote some of this after church tonight? We had an awesome healing service at Joy Church tonight, and then I came home and almost immediately logged into Facebook. Ridiculous!)

Today's chapter title- Read Motivating Books- called my name! =) Paine suggests three books that are great for inspiration on the subject of discipline: Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, and Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Achieve Tomorrow's Success. I've actually read 168, and it was a great book about time management and prioritizing goals in order to accomplish what you really want to, instead of spending too much time pursuing things that don't matter...like Facebook. Sheesh! I think I need to re-read it and read the others though. The exercise for today is to choose one book or audiobook related to self-discipline to read over the next month. Paine suggests setting page number goals per week to help you stay on track if you need to. Make sure to visit your local library for a good self-discipline title and save money on buying a book (or visit their website and download an eBook or audiobook!).