Keeping it short tonight because it's been a busy day, and we're all tired!
I made my list today. How did that go for anyone else following along? I realized that my number two habit isn't going to be getting enough sleep; it's going to be consistent quiet time. That will make me happier, even if I don't have enough sleep! ;-)
Today's chapter talks about what to do if you want to give up. Paine's three suggestions (on the blog, not in the book): anticipate obstacles and prepare for them beforehand, be realistic and make realistic goals, and resist negative thought patterns. She has a lot of good advice on perseverance, so check out what she had to say.
The exercise for tomorrow is a two part one:
1. Read Michael Hyatt's article on 5 Steps to Developing Discipline.
2. Consider what obstacles lie in your path as you seek to implement your chosen habit over the next 18 days. Create strategies to help you be prepared for them.
This should be a good exercise! Hope everyone has a good rest of the night! We're off to catch some zzz's!
Monday, November 11, 2013
21 Days to a More Disciplined Life: Oops!!
I just realized tonight that I've messed up! I've been using her blog as a template for these postings instead of the eBook, and I counted my days to make sure I was correct and found that there weren't 21 days on the blog. So, many of the days and exercises on here were actually two days worth of content in the book. Sigh.
I'm going to take some time tomorrow during my lunch break and after work to get the postings straightened out and back on the right track. There may be a flurry of things posted tomorrow as I get everything fixed, so I apologize in advance for the newsfeed/Twitter overload!
I'll get Days 5 and 6 posted tomorrow also, so we'll be caught up and back on track. I know this isn't a huge deal, but I want to do this the correct way for those who are going through this process and these steps. Also, as a librarian, I feel like it's my duty to organize this and redo the mistakes. ;-)
Sunday, November 10, 2013
21 Days to a More Disciplined Life: Day 4 (Focus on Habit at a Time)
Yesterday's exercise was to choose one small bad habit to commit to reverse or one good habit to try to implement for the rest of this challenge. I had a couple of good habits that I was trying to choose between: getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night or walking the pup at least 15 minutes a day. Although both of those would be really beneficial to me and Will, I decided to implement the puppy walking goal first. He has been kind of crazy/hyper lately, and I've definitely been slacking on taking him out daily (especially on weekends). Plus, it wouldn't hurt me to get some exercise! I already had a Daily Feats account from a couple of years ago, so I added that as a goal to track.
Today's chapter is about the importance of only implementing one habit at a time. This is a huge one for me because as those close to me know, I get kind of overenthusiastic sometimes when I want to make changes and end up burning myself out trying to change too much too quickly. Paine talked about how it's better to master a couple of habits per year and be consistent with those rather than starting 30 things at once and mastering none. My pastor has talked about this before too, but it's never really gotten through my thick skull!
The exercise for today is kind of a long one, so I've copied it verbatim from Paine's site instead of trying to summarize it:
Today's chapter is about the importance of only implementing one habit at a time. This is a huge one for me because as those close to me know, I get kind of overenthusiastic sometimes when I want to make changes and end up burning myself out trying to change too much too quickly. Paine talked about how it's better to master a couple of habits per year and be consistent with those rather than starting 30 things at once and mastering none. My pastor has talked about this before too, but it's never really gotten through my thick skull!
The exercise for today is kind of a long one, so I've copied it verbatim from Paine's site instead of trying to summarize it:
"Sometime in the next 24 hours, find 15 minutes to sit down and make a list of all the good habits you want to develop in your own life and the bad habits you want to reverse. This is not an exercise to overwhelm you; it’s an exercise to just get it all written down on paper so it’s not sitting in your brain nagging at you. 
Once you’ve made an exhaustive list, prioritize the top three habits that will make the most difference were you to implement them tomorrow. Then, take a deep breath, set your paper aside in a safe place (if you’re prone to lose things, consider emailing yourself the list or saving it as a file on your computer!), and keep working on the habit you’ve already committed to make your focus for the next 19 days.
When you feel like the current habit you’re working on has truly become a habit, you can then pull out your exhaustive list and start making the next thing a priority. Remember to take it slowly–even if you’re tempted to accelerate onto the next habit."
Can't wait to do this one (I'm a list-making nerd)! I guess my number two habit is going to be getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night!
Saturday, November 9, 2013
21 Days to a More Disciplined Life: Day 3 (Start With Small Things)
I didn't realize that my pictures from yesterday weren't showing up. It should be fixed now. Thanks for letting me know, Aunt Lorrie! =)
Yesterday's exercise was to choose one simple habit to change that I could resolve to follow through with for the next 24 hours. I decided that my simple habit was going to be to take the puppy for a walk after work. I don't always do that, especially now that it's getting dark earlier, but it makes a huge difference in how calm he is at night. Even a short walk helps!
Today's chapter talks about how important it is not to be discouraged by small changes. She even says that moving in the right direction, even at a microscopic rate, is still moving forward. This chapter really resonated with me because I always want everything to change immediately! It's so easy to get discouraged when you don't think you're making any progress!
Today's exercise is to choose one small bad habit that you will commit to reverse or one good habit you will aim to implement in your life for the next 20 days. She suggests a few tracking resources on her site if you want to visually track your progress. I've got a couple of ideas about what I want to do, so be sure to come back tomorrow to see which one I chose and what the task for day 3 is!
Yesterday's exercise was to choose one simple habit to change that I could resolve to follow through with for the next 24 hours. I decided that my simple habit was going to be to take the puppy for a walk after work. I don't always do that, especially now that it's getting dark earlier, but it makes a huge difference in how calm he is at night. Even a short walk helps!
Today's chapter talks about how important it is not to be discouraged by small changes. She even says that moving in the right direction, even at a microscopic rate, is still moving forward. This chapter really resonated with me because I always want everything to change immediately! It's so easy to get discouraged when you don't think you're making any progress!
Today's exercise is to choose one small bad habit that you will commit to reverse or one good habit you will aim to implement in your life for the next 20 days. She suggests a few tracking resources on her site if you want to visually track your progress. I've got a couple of ideas about what I want to do, so be sure to come back tomorrow to see which one I chose and what the task for day 3 is!
Friday, November 8, 2013
21 Days to a More Disciplined Life: Day 2 (Discipline is a Process)
Welcome to everyone who's reading via the Facebook link! I made the choice to start posting my blog entries on there because I want to really ramp up my writing and become a more consistent blogger in 2014, so I thought I'd get a head start by shamelessly self-promoting myself now.
Yesterday's exercise was to choose one small project that's been nagging at me for weeks or months and complete it in 24 hours. As a chronic list maker and procrastinator extraordinaire, I had a lot more tasks like this than I care to admit! I finally chose to work on my purse bag:
I only started carrying a purse again recently, so I wasn't sure what all was in this bag. I had friends tease me a couple of years (yes, years) ago about all of the junk in it, but that still didn't prompt me to clean it out. It became one of those perpetual to-do list items that got shifted from list to list. I've got many, many other tasks like that, but this one seemed relatively quick and painless and I knew I needed a small victory to start off with. Here's a blurry picture of what was in it:
Some of these thing disturb me! Like, what is that single blue tinted pill at the bottom right? It's hard to see also, but there's black stuff on that green tube of lip gloss in the center. Ick! Those things, along with the Splenda tablets, eye drops (who knows how old those are?), the lip gloss without a lid, the two random lids, all of the mints/medicines, and the flattened Crystal Light packet got thrown away. I've also reduced the number of silver barrettes down to one. I don't know why I had three in there!
I also realized that I was missing a few basics in there, like paper to write on since I had a pen and pencil in there! I added paper, newer mints, my beloved apple pie gum (Jen!), lotion, and headache medicine.
What was your day one task? Are you just jumping in today? Welcome, if you are! =)
Now, on to day 2.
Today's focus is on the process of discipline. Paine says that we have to realize that you can't just go from zero to 100% discipline overnight; you have to resolve to change something and then follow through with it. She also says that it's easier to set small, simple, achievable goals and stick with those over the long haul rather than trying to change everything overnight and being burnt out after a couple of days. Now I know she's talking to me!
Today's exercise is to choose one simple thing that you can resolve to change today and then follow through with it for the next 24 hours. Only choose one thing, even if there are a hundred things you're ready to change!
Yesterday's exercise was to choose one small project that's been nagging at me for weeks or months and complete it in 24 hours. As a chronic list maker and procrastinator extraordinaire, I had a lot more tasks like this than I care to admit! I finally chose to work on my purse bag:
I only started carrying a purse again recently, so I wasn't sure what all was in this bag. I had friends tease me a couple of years (yes, years) ago about all of the junk in it, but that still didn't prompt me to clean it out. It became one of those perpetual to-do list items that got shifted from list to list. I've got many, many other tasks like that, but this one seemed relatively quick and painless and I knew I needed a small victory to start off with. Here's a blurry picture of what was in it:
Some of these thing disturb me! Like, what is that single blue tinted pill at the bottom right? It's hard to see also, but there's black stuff on that green tube of lip gloss in the center. Ick! Those things, along with the Splenda tablets, eye drops (who knows how old those are?), the lip gloss without a lid, the two random lids, all of the mints/medicines, and the flattened Crystal Light packet got thrown away. I've also reduced the number of silver barrettes down to one. I don't know why I had three in there!
I also realized that I was missing a few basics in there, like paper to write on since I had a pen and pencil in there! I added paper, newer mints, my beloved apple pie gum (Jen!), lotion, and headache medicine.
What was your day one task? Are you just jumping in today? Welcome, if you are! =)
Now, on to day 2.
Today's focus is on the process of discipline. Paine says that we have to realize that you can't just go from zero to 100% discipline overnight; you have to resolve to change something and then follow through with it. She also says that it's easier to set small, simple, achievable goals and stick with those over the long haul rather than trying to change everything overnight and being burnt out after a couple of days. Now I know she's talking to me!
Today's exercise is to choose one simple thing that you can resolve to change today and then follow through with it for the next 24 hours. Only choose one thing, even if there are a hundred things you're ready to change!
Thursday, November 7, 2013
21 Days to a More Disciplined Life: Day 1 (Discipline is a Choice)
Lately I've been feeling lazy. I wake up every morning with the best intentions to do A, B, C, and D, but usually by the end of my day, I just plop down on the couch and waste time playing Candy Crush or watching mediocre TV with my husband. There's nothing wrong with relaxing, but I'm starting to realize that I lack discipline in my life. I read a review on another blog (can't remember which one, unfortunately) about a book by Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom called 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life, and I had to have it! The book has 21 tasks that help you build your discipline muscles and actually get things done, rather than just writing about it!
So today, I'm starting on Day 1. Coincidentally, by starting today, I will complete her 3 week program on Thanksgiving, so I'll be able to carry my new found discipline into the crazy holiday season!
Here's something that stood out to me on page 4:
"Discipline is doing what you know needs to be done, even though you don't want to."
Ugh. It's like she's talking to me here!
Today's exercise is to choose one small project that's been nagging at me for the last few weeks or months and start and complete it in the next 24 hours. I'll report back on what project I chose tomorrow, along with Day 2's task.
Also, if anyone is interested in following along, here is the series on her blog: http://moneysavingmom.com/2011/11/21-days-to-a-more-disciplined-life-introduction.html. There are a few differences in the eBook, but from what I skimmed on the blog and in the book, a lot of it looks the same.
Here's to discipline!
(Note: I'm doing this completely on my own. No review copy or requirement to blog; I just wanted to make some changes!)
So today, I'm starting on Day 1. Coincidentally, by starting today, I will complete her 3 week program on Thanksgiving, so I'll be able to carry my new found discipline into the crazy holiday season!
Here's something that stood out to me on page 4:
"Discipline is doing what you know needs to be done, even though you don't want to."
Ugh. It's like she's talking to me here!
Today's exercise is to choose one small project that's been nagging at me for the last few weeks or months and start and complete it in the next 24 hours. I'll report back on what project I chose tomorrow, along with Day 2's task.
Also, if anyone is interested in following along, here is the series on her blog: http://moneysavingmom.com/2011/11/21-days-to-a-more-disciplined-life-introduction.html. There are a few differences in the eBook, but from what I skimmed on the blog and in the book, a lot of it looks the same.
Here's to discipline!
(Note: I'm doing this completely on my own. No review copy or requirement to blog; I just wanted to make some changes!)
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
A review of Lead by Morning: 365 Days of the Present Principle
Mornings can be hectic. It often seems like there's not enough time to do everything you need to, much less adding in "extra" things like quiet time, reflection, and exercise. Claire Diaz-Ortiz has come up with a simple acronym and a plan to help with that very problem. Her PRESENT Principle contains ideas on how to make the most of your morning, through prayer, focused reading, scheduling, and other habits to build upon. The book also contains guided meditations for every day of the year for those who need a bit of a jump start on the principle.
While this is a great idea in theory, I've found myself having trouble doing these things on top of an already hectic morning. Perhaps I need to go to bed earlier so I can get up earlier. I know I need to do more planning at night also, but honestly, a seven step routine on top of normal morning busyness seems like a lot to me. I did have some good takeaways from the book and will be attempting to add some of these things to my own morning routine, but I think this principle is better suited to those who have a good amount of time to devote to their morning routines (so I guess I'll look at it when I retire...ha...)
Disclosure: I received a review copy of Lead by Morning, but all opinions are entirely my own!
While this is a great idea in theory, I've found myself having trouble doing these things on top of an already hectic morning. Perhaps I need to go to bed earlier so I can get up earlier. I know I need to do more planning at night also, but honestly, a seven step routine on top of normal morning busyness seems like a lot to me. I did have some good takeaways from the book and will be attempting to add some of these things to my own morning routine, but I think this principle is better suited to those who have a good amount of time to devote to their morning routines (so I guess I'll look at it when I retire...ha...)
Disclosure: I received a review copy of Lead by Morning, but all opinions are entirely my own!
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