To start I will give you a little background on myself. I am a Junior at The Ohio State University and I am studying Accounting. Throughout high school and college so far, I have had some habits when it comes to school and getting my work done that could be described as awful. I would procrastinate things to the absolute last second and I would sometimes to my work during class before it had to be turned in. To say the least, I had very little motivation for school and my school-work.
At the end of last semester, I was recommended by a friend to take a class called “Learning how to study in College”. At first, I scoffed at him thinking I don’t need this class I am about to be a junior I have made it this far I am fine. After some very stern points being made to me, I gave in and then proceeded to schedule this class, and boy am I glad I did. I have gotten so much out of this not only with school work but in my life as well. The book I chose to read for the class was called “Hack your Habits”, and this was the perfect book for me.
Book, Goals, and Connection
Now we are going to get into some of the nitty gritty of the book and a little about my goals, aspirations and dreams! Just kidding about the dreams and aspiration part but I will talk about my goals.
- STOP PROCRASTINATING
- I cannot explain how many times I have told myself to stop procrastinating and to get my work done on time, it’s exhausting. My goal is to keep myself on track and get my work done on time.
- STAY MOTIVATED
- Motivation is hard to come by for me sometimes so my goal is to find ways to motivate myself and improve my work.
- STAY ON TRACK
- This goal is easy, to stay on track, schedule myself times to do stuff, and to follow it!
Why Did I Choose This Book?
To put it simply I have some bad habits that need to be hacked, and also, I liked the title, it was pretty easy to remember. After finishing the book there were two chapters that really stood out to me and could help me with my goals. Chapter 25 talks about willpower and self-control and some tricks to improve them. This chapter spoke to me because I needed help with my willpower and self-control and these tips could really help.
Switch Excuses For Honesty
This tip was the most important tip in the chapter to me because I love making excuses on why I can’t do something. Being honest with myself helps me to stay motivated and on track.
Chapter 15 I the next chapter that spoke to me and it was all about mapping out my routine. This spoke to me because if I map out my routine this will allow me to keep myself on track and stop procrastinating things, I know I need to do.
This picture is of my google calendar and a snapshot of what my week looks like. I tried to add in all I had going on and then added things in as they came up. I put the app on the homepage on my phone and each event had reminders set for 30 minutes before and then 15 minutes before. This was a strategy I got from the book on how to keep a routine.
The next pictures are a snapshot of my months of October and November of what I know I have going on. The best part about this way is that it is flexible and I can change things as I go and tweak them to be better for me.
IT WORKS!
This strategy works like a charm and honestly, I am shocked. I never thought that a simple calendar with reminders and keeping everything updated would help keep me on track so much. I never was stressed about time because I would always schedule myself enough time to get it done well. This strategy checked the boxes for my goal to stop procrastinating and to stay on track.
Motivation!
Motivation is sometimes hard for me to come by sometimes, the motivation to keep doing something that I don’t necessarily want to do is difficult to find. The book talks about building cues and I took what I learned from the book and the chapter on cues to build my own cue to start the day. When I wake up in the morning on week days the first thing I do is find a quote that inspires me, I then write it down, and pin it to my wall. This cue starts my day off right, with a positive mindset and ready to take on any challenges the day throws at me.
These quotes have helped me immensely in my motivation for any task that I need to accomplish. If I am feeling unmotivated, I love to read the quotes I have compiled, but I always look towards a specific one and that was the first one I found. “The way to get started it to quit talking and to begin doing”. This quote resonated with me because I know I needed to just quit talking and start doing. Starting my day with such a positive cue like this was the exact motivation I needed to have an incredible day.
Takeaways!
This book has given me so many insights on how to make myself a better and more productive person. I enjoyed this project also and I am beyond glad that I took this class. That being said this wasn’t all smooth sailing, it started out pretty rocky. When I first started the quotes and my calendar it didn’t seem to be helping, I wasn’t very committed to it. I really had to try hard to find a quote in the morning and keep within the time limits on my calendar.
As I began to do it more and more it became easier and easier, I started to spend more time finding quotes that really motivated me and pushed me to be better. The biggest way I fought through my obstacles was just perseverance and telling myself this was going to end in a great result, and it did.
The insight on motivation for me is going to continue to be the most important to me. Motivation starts all good things and finding good ways o keep yourself motivated is key in a productive and healthy life. To the readers of this post, I want to you to first of all figure out what habits you want to change. Next, I want you to really find out what motivates you, not just today but will motivate you for a long time coming. Finally, I want you to implement strategies that will make you a better person and will only take you towards where you want to get not away from it. You will only get out of it what you put into it.
