NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/alt/selfimp/868

Internet Message Format | 1993-01-27 | 1.9 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!rosie!rhonda.next.com
From: [e-mail] (Mark Fitzpatrick)
Newsgroups: alt.self-improve
Subject: Re: time and habits
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 26 Jan 93 22:28:46 GMT
References: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail]
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Wow... simple, straight-forward, golden questions.  Here's a layman's
response.

> 1. Do people have tips on how to organise one's time better?

By far, the most important thing to learn is how to say "no".
Considering how few summers (and even hours) are left in your life
helps you gain an appreciation of how important it is that you
focus your time on you and the ones you care for.

> 2. do people have some tips on how to make a new habit stick, so that
> one can begin to do it unconsciously, e.g. if I learn a new way to
> organise my time better then how do I make this way a habit of doing
> things.

Everyone learns differently.  For me (a simp) I need to do the following
to remove a bad habit and/or establish a positive one:

1) Work on one habit at a time
2) Work on it for at least three weeks.  It is widely accepted that
it takes at least three weeks for most humans to adjust to a significant
change.  Of course it all varies as to your personality and the habit.
3) Write it out and verbalize the change often (writing this out
to you helps me reinforce things I've gone through in the past).

> 3. what is it that makes a habit hard to change?

Unfortunately, we (that includes me) are afraid of what comes with
the change.  The pressure, potential ridicule, and even the success.
One might not like their state but, they are comfortable with it.

Try doing things differently i.e. trying different types of food,
reading articles on areas you nothing about, don't carve the turkey
with your other hand but use it instead of your dominate hand.

Get in the habit of change.

Have Fun,
Mark