On Saturday morning, I finished reading Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (#11 on my 21 for 2021 list). Terrific book! If anyone wants to develop good habits or break bad habits, I highly recommend this book. James Clear gives practical ways with readily comprehensible steps to build better habits and provides helpful resources.
“If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change…Atomic habits are little habits that are part of a larger system and are the building blocks of remarkable results.“
James Clear
One important idea from this book that has resonated with me is the difference between outcome-based habits and identity-based habits. Instead of asking myself what I want to achieve, I need to ask myself who I wish to become. This makes a huge difference. Instead of saying “I want to be amazing at managing my time so I can accomplish my goals,” I need to say “I want to become an amazing time manager which will allow me to reach my goals.” Easier said than done, right? Wrong! According to Clear, “the process only takes two simple steps: decide the person you want to be and prove it to yourself with small wins” (39).
Therefore, I’ve read the book, been given the tools to reshape my habits, and now it is time for me to do the work. My first task is to make a list of my daily habits and rate them as good, bad, or neutral. Thankfully, Clear provides free resources on his website, so I was able to get a template to create my own Habits Scorecard. I will be working on this task throughout the week.
Analyzing my habits goes hand in hand with time management. The key to being a good time manager is being efficient and effective. One observation that I have made in the past couple of weeks concerning my morning routine is the impact the order of my habits has on my overall time in the morning. I wake up at 4:30 every morning (Monday-Friday); however, there are some mornings I am struggling to get out the door on time while other mornings I have 15 minutes to spare. One contributing factor is when I take care of my fur babies. If I can use the first 10 minutes of my morning getting myself moving (going to the bathroom, taking my medicine, brewing my coffee, starting my breakfast), I will be much more effective with my time than if I start my morning taking the dogs out and feeding Puar. While the dogs are eating, I can unload the dishwasher, cut Andrew’s strawberries, and transfer laundry from the washer to the dryer (if applicable). A further factor is getting dressed for work. Instead of my clothes being in one central location (my closet), they are in different locations, requiring extra time to gather everything. Of course, my untidy closet is the culprit. Well, in all honesty, I am the culprit for keeping my closet untidy. Another factor that plays a part is what I decide to bring for lunch. My lunch decision determines the time it takes to prepare it. Putting together a salad (especially if you have to wash the lettuce) takes longer than making a sandwich which takes longer to make than grabbing already packaged leftovers. All of these factors can be adjusted quite easily. Making a few adjustments to my morning routine will be another task I will be undertaking this week.
I will continue to schedule my time, dear reader. Overall, it is working. The two areas that I struggled with this week were housekeeping tasks and my decluttering project. I did not declutter the office at all this week and do not see it even happening today since I will be using the time to catch up on chores that were not done during the week. I was able to keep up with laundry and cooking. I swept instead of vacuuming. My hubby is taking care of the grocery shopping this morning. I had the opportunity to proctor the ACT test at SLU yesterday morning and make some extra money, so I did not get to work on my blogging course or my scheduled chores. I could have done them when I got home at 1:00; however, I wanted to get some financial stuff done and finish writing out my Valentine cards. The remainder of the afternoon/evening was spent with family.
Obviously, the world did not end because I did not complete everything on my schedule for this week. Clearly, it is more satisfying when everything is accomplished and runs smoothly. Except, I am incapable of controlling unexpected situations (gastro distress, for example). I could have turned down the proctoring job; however, that would have been silly considering my schedule on Saturday could easily be adjusted to take advantage of making some extra money. The bottom line, dear reader, is about making good choices that enhance a richer and more joyful life, one worth living. Happiness!
“Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply whatever you feed it. Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.” ~ James Clear
Today is the first day of June, and it falls on a Monday. What do I like about that fact? For me and my personality, I like to start a new fitness/diet routine on a Monday. I like the fact that it is a brand new month, a blank slate, which makes it mentally great for me to keep track of my progress. And, my summer break officially begins today. This summer I want to settle into a routine that encompasses several goals that I have set for myself. I am ready to make changes in different areas of my life which I have been ready to make for some time. Some changes have already been put into motion, some need action steps to set changes into motion while other changes need more time to come to fruition. Basically, I want to reboot some old routines and establish some new ones.
I recently finished reading Mind Over Weight written by Dr. Ian K. Smith, who is the author of The Clean 20. It is a wonderful little book that gave me a much-needed pep talk. I will be referring to this book for motivation throughout my weight loss journey. It has some terrific questions to reflect upon, tips on curbing cravings, and suggestions on dealing with emotional eating. Journaling and tracking my progress is also part of the plan.
I DID IT! Two weeks ago, I auditioned for my first musical at The New Octavians, a local community theatre in Hammond. The show that I auditioned for is called The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and it will be directed by Rachael Knaps. It is a musical comedy centered on a fictional spelling bee held at a middle school where six oddball teens will compete, and three unconventional adults will run the show. Well (drum roll), my name made its way on the cast list. I was offered a role, and I accepted it! I will be playing Mitch Mahoney, who happens to be an ex-con assigned to the spelling bee to fulfill a community service requirement. HA! I’m SUPER excited about getting cast and cannot thank my voice coach Laura enough for all of her help preparing me for the audition. We worked intensively together for two weeks preparing me to belt out “The Kite” and the hard work paid off. Go, me! The performances will be in November.
which is extremely beneficial when you want to see how you are REALLY spending your time. We all (myself included) like to say we are busy; however, that is a story we like to tell even to ourselves. I found her “three versions of the self” interesting. She describes each version: “The anticipating self is wondering about, planning, and worrying about the future. The experiencing self is in the here and now. The remembering self thinks back to the past” (Vanderkam, 70). The anticipating self sets our intentions or goals while the remembering self reflects on the fruits of our labor. Our experiencing self follows through or falls through with plans, intentions, or goals depending on the circumstances or feelings in the present moment. My experiencing self gets in my way of taking action on a regular basis. It is pals with FEAR and PROCRASTINATION which has robbed me from realizing a few goals or pursuing a couple of dreams. This is my year to COMMIT, so in order to take more action and waste less time, I need to commit to listening less to my experiencing self, plan the task/event, and execute.
The Kat Files 