motivation Archives

Mid-Month Habit Check – October

October 17, 2017 4 Comments

Need some re-motivation in the middle of the month? Do a Mid-Month Habit Check.

In a habit slump? Do a mid-month habit check to reignite your motivation

I started doing a mid-month habit check a couple of months ago. The beginning of the month I am completely motivated and know that I am going to conquer all of my desires and do all the things. Well, that’s what I intended to do anyway. By the middle of the month, it seems that I have lost steam and I need a boost of motivation.

So the middle of the month, I do a quick assessment of my habits which re-motivates me to keep going to the end of the month. I find this 5-minute assessment does wonders for reigniting the flame that I felt at the beginning of the month.

Questions to ask yourself for re-motivation:

Once I reassess where I am, I spend a couple of minutes thinking of what motivated me in the first place.

I ask:

Why did I start this habit?
What is the end goal?
Do I need to change the time of day for this habit?

A little meditation goes a long way.

Make a Change & Get It Done:

If I find a neglected habit, it probably means that I am not planning for it or I am letting other ‘fluff’ get in the way – things that don’t really matter occupy the time that I would spend on that habit. So I need to refocus and eliminate some of that fluff. If I need to move the habit to the beginning of the day, I do it.

For instance, the I’ve neglected the Show Me Your Letters habit this month. Last month, I missed maybe one day. This month so far, I’ve missed 7 of 17.

Supercharge your habits:

If you notice at the end of this tracker, I have numbers and a blank column on the right side. Th blank column is for the end of the month and I will calculate the percentage of days that I completed that habit. The other column that already has numbers recorded shows how many days of the month I completed the last month. For instance, the show me your letters had 23 days of September that I completed that habit. If I put it as a priority for the rest of the month, I could still meet or beat that number from last month.

I created a post a couple of months ago to “Super-Charge Your Habit Tracker” that talks more about these columns in the habit tracker. You can read it here.

I created a percentage chart so you don’t have to figure it out. Pin for reference later! In October, you would use the 31 days column to figure your percentages. At the end of the month, count the number of days you completed a habit. For instance – if your total days completing a habit was 21, and the month had 31 days, your percentage would be 68%.

For instance – if your total days completing a habit was 21, and the month had 31 days, your percentage would be 68%.

Calculating the percentage helps me really see if I need to change the time of day for that habit if I need to move it to the morning or evening. I love seeing the real numbers so I can give that habit a ‘grade’.

Percentage calculator for monthly habit trackers

Two Categories of Habits:

I actually have two categories of habits that I track. It’s not indicated anywhere except in my mind.

Habits I am actively trying to pursue, and usually the ones I spend the most time on.
Habits I am assessing – these are ‘test subjects’ if you will – things I want to include in my life and are important, I just may not have set goals for them yet. These will most likely become the next set of habits I am actively trying to pursue. Maybe they need a little tweaking, or I need to plan them into my day. It’s like they are getting a trial run on my habit tracker.

Doing a mid-month habit check has been a great ‘habit’ to start, and it gives that extra boost of motivation for the last half of the month.

**Do you do anything during the month to re-motivate yourself? I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

What I Need Help With – and What I am Going to Do

October 14, 2017 4 Comments

There’s a question that I glaze over just like a tasty doughnut. I know I have done it and not just once. No, not glazed a doughnut, but ignoring things that I really want to work on or admit what I need help with or “things to work on”. However, one day this last week, I was reading over the #planwithmechallenge prompts for October and this question jumped out.

Since I have started bullet journaling I have seen so many improvements in my life. So I decided to take this question on. I could list dozens of things that I want to improve. But I tend to shy away from making a laundry list of all the things I need to work on. Overwhelm takes over and I already have a tendency to beat myself up about the things I need to do.

This time I decided to think of the first four things that I needed help with. I limited myself to just four. If you are doing this exercise, decide to limit yourself – it will help to keep you from being overwhelmed more than you realize. These were things I could do for myself, I didn’t have to rely on someone else’s commitment. I chose four ideas for my habit tracker, goals, or personal development.

My Things to Work on:

Read or listen to more books
Idea Implementation
Time-block
Confidence

I didn’t just list the things I needed to work on and close this dotted A5 companion of mine. I listed a little blurb about what I meant and defined it further.

Things to work on... Free Printable Exercise deciding what you need help with and what you are going to do about it.

YouTube Video Walk-Through

This prompt was the inspiration for my weekly bullet journal spread – I decided to create a time-blocking spread to help achieve some of these goals. You can read the post here.

I created a video of my set up for time-blocking and the process behind it with an overview of the month’s layouts so far. Watch the video below or on my YouTube Channel here. Don’t forget to like and subscribe for future videos. The first part of the video is my “things to work on”.

For instance:

Idea Implementation – I have so many ideas! I need to streamline ideas. Focus on one at a time instead of trying to do them all. I need to finish projects instead of starting a new one before I complete a project.

Give yourself a why:

Why in the world do these things matter to you? Only you can know that. I want to read more books. Well, because I miss it and like many things I have allowed life to consume all my time. I want those words back in my life. My other why? I love to learn. I want to continue learning. All the things.

Ask: What is holding you back?

I find it is good for me to identify my excuses or my obstacles. For instance – I don’t want to buy more books because, well, we have a problem with clutter in my house as it is. I don’t need more. I don’t like reading on my phone as much. Time is an issue for sitting down and reading. Audiobooks are so expensive!

The biggie: What are you going to do about it?

Sign up at the library already for their free resources to books and audiobooks. They have so many resources. This takes the monetary issue out, I don’t collect clutter, I can listen to the books while getting ready or driving since I download them to my phone.

Measure it! When can you count it done?

So in the case of reading or listening to more books – I will measure in quantity. If I read or listen to just one book per month, it will be an increase in what I am doing. I’ll track for 3 months (a random number I chose) then reassess and see if I need to increase it or if it is working. Maybe I will find another source for books or decide to try audible or read one on kindle.

Notes:

Chances are if you haven’t done something already, there are reasons. Maybe they are just excuses, maybe there is something bigger preventing you from doing what you want. Don’t ignore a concern. Address it. Make a note, figure out what it means to you or what you need to do about it. This is a way to help you be happier with you. There are no judgments – let yourself be you. It’s ok.

I am not sure how I will track “Confidence” as I wrote down in my bullet journal. So I’ll do some research so I can define it and measure it.

Emphasis on the RIGHT Words

September 26, 2017 1 Comment

I love lettering. That activity propelled me to get into finding and doing things that I love to help me be a better person.

What is lettering?

Lettering is a form of drawing each letter instead of writing. It’s called many things. Hand-lettering, modern calligraphy, faux calligraphy, lettering etc.

There are many ways to letter a word, sentence, or quote by hand. Some choose a font on their computer and print it out. Each person has their own style. There are more fonts in the world than we could ever count. And I am not a pro {yet} by any means. I am putting in my 10,000 hours to become one… but that is another story for another time.

I started collecting fonts when I had a little computer with 8 gigs of hard drive space. Not RAM, hard drive space. It was a thing. I took a typography class in college and learned how to write in Uncial (here is a google search on Uncial font images if you’re curious.) Even this LOOOOOOOOONG time later, I can still pick up a calligraphy dip pen and produce the letters learned in this class.

I am also a lover of quotes.

Can I tell you that these two loves {quotes + lettering} are a match made in heaven? It takes all the time I will give it. Find a quote, and write it a million different ways. Mix fonts, change styles, try different backgrounds, frames, add a wreath border or another border. ALL THE THINGS. I tell you, if I could read quotes all day long, then write them down, I would do it. I include quotes when I can in my planner.

If you start doing this – it’s a rabbit hole from the likes of which you will never return. By your choice, of course! I am not going to talk about the types of supplies needed to start lettering – there are so many sources and that is not what this post is emphasizing. See what I did there? I emphasized a word.

What is the point of all this talk of lettering and quotes?

Emphasis.

Emphasis is the point.

There are so many times where I have started writing a quote, a very nice quote, and I emphasize the wrong word.

For instance – do any google image search “Quotes on ______” winning, failing, love, joy, hope – it doesn’t matter, just choose your subject. Do not read the quote, just look at it. See which words stand out or which words are emphasized.

I found this quote:

http://img.picturequotes.com/2/546/545603/failure-quote-1.jpg

You Try, You Fail
You Try, You Fail

—-The Real—

Failure
is when you
Stop Trying

If you do not read the quote – and you just glance at it, the quote says:

You Fail
You Fail,
Failure
Stop Trying

Now, this quote is very hard to emphasize on the positive because there are so many negative words. If I were to redo this quote – I might emphasize You Try, You Try and Trying. Still not a lot of positivity, but hopefully, you can see my point about emphasis.

Here is something I lettered – and re-lettered because I didn’t pay attention to the emphasis of the words.

No judgment on my lettering – I am still practicing and as you may have seen, practice makes progress, but I love this quote. If you glance at the words, it says: “You, Wake Up, Be Incredible”. I’m more than ok with that shortened summary of this quote.

I initially wrote this quote with the WRONG words emphasized. At first glance, it said: You, Mediocre, Incredible. Wait, what? What did that quote just say to me? It said I’m mediocre and incredible? That is incredibly confusing.

Emphasize the main points – usually positive words.

When you are lettering, or even choosing fonts on your computer for a favorite quote or mantra, pay attention to the emphasized words. Then when you glance at the quote and say it in your mind as part of your affirmations, or positive reinforcement for yourself, you will see more motivation in the quote and there eliminate any subtle or subconscious detrimental phrases undermining the positive change you are seeking.

More positivity, less negativity! Especially in the subconscious.

This is the end of my Public Service Announcement. You. Wake Up. Be Incredible. Have a good week.

You, wake up, be incredible motivational quote

Follow me on Instagram – I love to post positive quotes among other things to make life better and happier.

If you have a favorite quote leave a comment below! I’d love to hear from you. Link to your blog/Instagram post with your favorite quote, I’d be happy to approve it 🙂

Habits. Sorry for the dirty word. Mid-Month Habit Tracker Checkup

September 19, 2017 8 Comments

Habits. Sorry for the dirty word.

It can even be a dirty word when you are doing something clean like straightening up or doing the dishes (please pardon the d-word). Here is a mid-month check-up of my September habit tracker. It is much improved from last month or the month before. In the past, I would create habit trackers and never complete them. But that’s the thing, I wanted to complete them. Eventually, I would fill out a couple of boxes on a habit tracker, but nothing real. I was tracking too many habits. So this month, I decided to just track a few habits.

Guess what?! “Habits” is not such a bad word anymore!

Included are things that I knew I wanted to do – and some things I knew I needed to do, but only for improvement. I do enough feeling bad about myself (and I am so tired of that!), I knew I needed a motivation boost.

This month, I tracked doing the dishes on the habit tracker because I knew I needed just to do them instead of playing the game of “who is going to get sick of the dishes first and give in and do them angrily while the other person feels guilty” with my husband. I hate to admit that I play that game sometimes. The problem is, no one wins because if they give in and do the dishes, they are angry and you feel guilty.

If you give in, you are angry. All of these things come from playing a game with dishes.

I have to say that this shows my longest span of doing dishes regularly in a long time, I love marking off the box and seeing the marks. One day, I will have it full. #MyDreamsWillComeTrue

It’s fun to complete it, it’s like a snowball rolling down a large hill. The momentum builds on itself. But the key is that I am having fun. Not all habits are fun (like doing the dishes) but I feel good about what I have accomplished once finished. Marking it off is just another perk.

Having Trouble Keeping Up With Your Habits or Habit Tracker?

If you are having trouble keeping up with your habits or habit tracker, consider paring it down. Eliminate some of the items on your habit tracker. If you are not filling it out anyway, why include them? Include only the items that you know you can carry out, but are a little stretch. Do that for a month, feel good about yourself, then next month add another thing.

The funny thing about habits is that they don’t come all at once. It’s gradual. You are creating a habit of the habit. I think we get into the mindset of ‘I have this habit tracker, now I will perfect my life’. Which is completely untrue and not motivating at all because filling out a habit tracker takes time, motivation, and funny thing, you have to create a habit of filling out your habit tracker.

If you wanted an easy habit to track – just for motivation – add: “Fill out Habit Tracker” to your habit tracker, then fill it out. I know I would think I am hilarious if I did that. But it might just be the motivation I needed to complete some other items on my habit tracker too.

TIP for Beginners:

If you are just starting out and don’t know how to start a habit tracker, check out How to Set up a Habit Tracker.

Tip for Seasoned Bullet Journalers:

If you are more seasoned at habit tracking, check out 4 Ideas to Supercharge your Habit Tracking.

Keep this in mind:

Please keep this in mind if you take nothing else away from this post: Habit Tracking is for self-improvement, not self-detriment. If it is de-motivational rather than motivational, stop for a month and do some self-care instead. I’ve seen some really cute self-care bingo cards on Pinterest. Check out my self-care board.

Habits come over time. They are not immediate. That’s kind of the definition of a habit. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Allow time.

Have a good week and let me know in the comments below what habit you despise the most.

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully.

~Tricia