This week I got a new peer coach (yay!). Because I have a commitment not to suffer over things that I have control over, the first thing I asked to work on was this me-not-doing-my-coursework thing. We talked about ways that I could change how doing the coursework occurs for me, and we talked about ways that I could make the coursework fun. We came up with a new structure that I've done twice now (Friday and today), and I think I like it! The new structure is this:
- I will take my laptop upstairs to the recliners (or out to the patio if it's nice enough outside) so that I'm not just sitting at my desk like always, and turn off my Internet access.
- I will blast a fun song and dance around before getting started.
- I will set a timer for 30 minutes and do my coursework and nothing else for those 30 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, I will stop working, blast another fun song, and do a Happy Dance!!!
Later, if I want to, I can do more work on the coursework, but the 30 minutes is what I'm committed to. I will set the intention to do this in the mornings so that it's not in my space all day, and that may not always happen.
Having the ritual aspect of it works for me...making it a totally separate entity in my day that once it's complete, it's complete. And doing the Happy Dance is super fun!! I feel great because I've done what I said I would do, and I get to celebrate! Just in those two days that I've already done it, I feel like I've gotten so much work done! Yay!! :)
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2 comments:
I love your idea! I might try this with the kids. Always good to do the happy dance.
Thanks Iris, I like this. It's not necessarily rocket science but sometimes I think it helps to hear/read an idea from someone else, and to hear how it worked for them. I have been spending about 15 minutes per week on job search activities which ... is not adequate. I will try out a version of the process you describe here to increase my job search activity.
A side comment - On the new Oprah cable network there was a 2 hour show where Oprah took a Tony Robbins course, and interviewed him. (I was surprised to hear some common themes that seemed to be copied from Landmark but that's another topic). Your idea about playing a little music and doing a happy dance immediately reminded me of one aspect of Tony Robbins course that was new for me - that to change your "state of being" - you have to get some aspect of your body involved - action/dance/voice/movement/etc. (This is a concept I have never heard in my 4 years at Landmark or maybe it was in a more subtle form such as "SPEAK/share your new possibility ...with enthusiasm).
In your case maybe the intent of doing a happy dance was not so much to change your state of being... and more as a sort of simple reward at the start/end. But I think in a subtle way it may also be shifting the typical "state of being" that you may associate with studying coarsework from "sad" to "FUN".
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