Zen Habits on Breaking a Bad Habit

Check out this Blog from Zen Habits on Breaking a Bad Habit....

zen habits
Breaking a Bad Habit Shatters the Rung Beneath You
Posted: 01 Dec 2008 04:15 PM CSTEditor’s Note: This is a guest post from Sean Platt of Writer Dad.

I’ve always thought of life as a spiraling staircase, gracefully wrapping around time and achievement, as opposed to the blunt vertical found on a ladder. Comparing life’s ascension to a set of stairs is often apt, but there are moments when life as ladder is far more fitting, such as when we find ourselves stuck between rungs, mired in the middle of old pattern and new performance. This is when the decisive climb from one rung to the next must begin so that we may climb toward our tomorrow, while leaving yesterday behind.

Steps may be clambered in tandem (my wife and I often fall into reflexive harmony when we find ourselves on stairs together), but climbing a ladder is a solitary endeavor. We begin at the bottom, then spend our lifetimes reaching for the top, each rung pulling us closer to dusk and further from dawn. Destinations are determined by our daily decisions, as is our grasp and the speed of our climb.

Each of us finds ourselves at some point stuck between the rungs, pinned at an impasse. Perhaps success has halted, and our growth is no longer happening at the rate it once was. We can wrap our hands around the rung above, but we do not have the strength to pull ourselves upward. Often, it is the rung just below that is holding us hostage with insubordinate habit. It is then when we must lower our heel, shatter the habits to bits, and then continue to climb without looking behind.

It is never too late to learn a new habit; never to early to shed the old like dead, useless skin. Bad habits are formed by the slow and steady accumulation of mindless minutes. As a million years of rainfall will smooth the slope of a mountain summit, so do a million misplaced moments warp our good intentions.

We all are capable of reverse engineering our own bad behavior, but we cannot unlock the door without looking for the key.

We can start by searching for the reason in our routine. Understanding why we do something is an excellent precursor to halting the undesirable. If a bad habit is built by a sequence of negative actions, then a good habit can be formed by stringing opposite elements in an opposing direction.
New habits are most difficult at their birth. The links of our new chain are frail, and barely strong enough to hold their weight, but every moment of determination thickens our resolve.

For the last three years, I’ve run a preschool with my wife. Recently, I sailed the seas to full time writer. The needs of a cadre of kiddies are nowhere close to those of the online world, and adjustments needed to be made.

At first, it was easy to allow my old habits to swallow me. It would have been simple to swear I was doing my best, but I wasn’t. The whisper was there, and I rarely commanded his silence. You know the voice, we all have one. Mine tells me to check my email, or my analytics… or my email (it’s been five minutes after all). Telling myself I could do better wasn’t enough. I needed to reach for the rung, and pull with all my might.

I could tell you that I used the mute on my computer to silence the song of my inbox, or preach the pluses of using pen and paper, but ultimately it doesn’t matter. Not one single bit. What worked for me may not work for you. I’ve read enough tips to know. I don’t need a “How To,” I need a “Why Should I.”

It is the universal thread that’s important - our need to change, and desire to do so. When want meets willing, there is no limit to how high we can climb.

Read more from Sean Platt at his blog, Writer Dad, or subscribe to his feed.

Stress Relievers

As the semester winds down, a lot of people tend to get wound up and stressed out. So, take a few minutes to de-stress with the following:

1) Listen to some relaxing music. If you don't have any, create your own on this website: http://www.soundsleeping.com/

2) Recite the Student's Prayer:

Now I sit me down to study,
I pray the Lord I won’t go nutty.
If I should fail to learn this junk,
I pray the Lord that I won’t flunk.
Now I lay me down to rest,
I pray to pass tomorrow’s test.
If I should die before I wake,
That’s one less test I’ll have to take!
- Anonymous


3) Or, you can just sit and ponder some silly things:

• Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
• Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?
• Why are there flotation devices under plane seats instead of parachutes?
• Why are cigarettes sold in gas stations when smoking is prohibited there?
• Why do fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing?
• Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?
• If 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors?
• If nothing ever sticks to Teflon, how do they make Teflon stick to the pan?
• If you're in a vehicle going the speed of light, what happens when you turn on the headlights?
• Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM?
• Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?
• Why isn't "palindrome" spelled the same way backwards as it is forwards?
• Why is it that when you transport something by car, it's called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, it's called cargo?
• If a black box in a plane is indestructible, why can't they make the whole plane out of it?
• Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio?
• Why is it so hard to remember how to spell 'mnemonic'?
• If the front of your car says 'DODGE', do you really need a horn?
• When you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn?
• Does fuzzy logic tickle?
• Do radioactive cats have 18 half-lives?
• What was the best thing before sliced bread?
• Is there another word for thesaurus?
• After eating, do amphibians have to wait one hour before getting out of the water?
• Just before someone gets nervous, do they experience cocoons in their stomach?
• If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
• If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
• Why does the word monosyllabic contain five syllables?
• Why is abbreviated such a long word?
• If you put a chameleon in a mirrored box what color would it change to?
• What should you do if you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?

(Source: http://www.doheth.co.uk/funny/ponder)

Enjoy!

Registering for Classes

It's that time again! Time to register for your Spring classes.

Before you get ready to register, take a look at your current schedule, your current obligations and what classes you still need for your major. When you set a schedule, bear in mind that you should add in 2-3 hours of study time for every hour you're in class. (And, if you're taking online classes - you can use the number of credits for a class to figure out how many hours you're expected to be in class. That's why they're called credit hours. 1 credit = 1 hour of time in class) So, plan accordingly. Taking a full schedule is not feasible for a lot of students in one semester. And, if you have multiple obligations (ie. school, work, children/family, church, organizations, etc.), then it gets even more complicated. Here's a list of steps to help you get started:

1. Get the tools you need to have at the ready - blank weekly calendar, a list of the classes you've completed so far (print off your unofficial transcript), the college catalog, and the schedule of classes. You'll also need a writing utensil - I recommend a pencil with a good eraser!
   
   
2. Make a list of your current obligations and any set times that these fall under. Add these to the blank weekly calendar.
   
   
3. Look at the college catalog under your major for the courses you still need to complete. Make a list of the next set you'd like to tackle.
   
   
4. Look in the back of the college catalog for each of the courses in your list to make sure that you've met the pre-requisites. (Update your list from step 3 if necessary.)
   
   
5. Using your list of preferred courses from step 3 (once you've checked pre-req's), find the classes in the Schedule of Classes that best fit your schedule. Write them into the weekly calendar. (Also, make a note of the 5 digit number at the front of the class, the location (campus and room number), and section number in your calendar somewhere. That way it'll be really easy to actually register when the time comes.)
   
   
6. On Monday, register for classes using your weekly calendar!

If you get stuck, stop by and talk to an Advisor. That's what they're there for! First Year students, your advisor is in the Student Success Center. Non 1st Year students, contact the division office for your major to find your Advisor's name and contact information including office hours.


Important Information:

• Early Bird Registration begins Monday, 11/10!!!
• To check tuition due dates, go to: http://reynolds.edu/jsr_ar/paying_for_college.htm
• College Catalog: http://www.jsr.vccs.edu/catalog/ Check here for course pre-requisites and for a list of the courses that you need to complete for your degree.
• Schedule of classes - Pick one up outside the Student Success Center or view it online athttp://reynolds.edu/_schedules/default.htm

Tools to help you set up and meet your goals

Check out the new site by Noomii - www.noomii.com

The site allows you to create a profile for free. By answering some questions, it gives you a visual representation of your life's goals and how well you're meeting them. You can then update things as they change. The site also offers a "Coaching Page" where you can set up specific goals and action items for each goal - all with due dates. The "Coaching Page" also allows you to schedule a specific time to either self-coach or coach with a partner of your choosing. (You invite a partner to work with in a separate section.) During the partner coaching sessions, you take turns coaching each other and checking on each other's progress. This helps provide some motivation and a nice visual way of keeping track of your progress!

Who are you?

After talking to a couple of students recently, I'm reminded of something I had forgotten - a lot of students don't really know who they are or where they're going. So, a lot of you haven't declared a major, and many more of you are likely to change your major. That's ok. The whole point of college is to find out who you are and how to get there. That's one of the reasons behind the SDV class that you're required to take. As a part of the class, you complete the Career Assignment to help you select a major. You get advised on what classes to take for that major. And, you even go through some activities to figure out what type of learner you are or what type of personality you have. But, there's a lot more to who you are than just what you can get in one short class. Everyone should have at least a basic idea of what's important to them and some sort of moral code. It's important to take some time and think about things like this - ponder, ponder, ponder. After all, how can you figure out where you're going if you don't even know who you are?

Well, after some serious soul-searching of my own this past weekend and thirty-something odd years of trials and experiences, I think I've finally figured out some things of my own. I've come up with a list of "rules" for myself. Now, you can take them as your own, or leave them. It matters not to me. I just thought you may find it useful to see what someone else has come up with - and, just how many years/how long it's taken them. And, bear in mind - these are subject to change. I'm not saying any of my own little "rules" are perfect or won't get outdated (- or that they'll even work for someone else). So, keep in mind that you will need to periodically sit down and ponder through all of this again. And, remember - "Not all who wander are lost." Some of the greatest bits of knowledge and insights come from the process and pondering. That's one of the fun parts of life and of college. It should be an adventure - both fun and scary - but, still an adventure. Anyway, here's my list. Good luck on creating your own!

1. Any problem can be solved with some thought and a good glass of wine. (And - of course - I am NOT advocating that you drink. Alcohol is optional and should be consumed in moderation by those of legal drinking age. 'nuf said!)
2. Breathe. Oxygen is a good thing.
3. Follow your heart - until it's time to follow your head.
4. Look for alternatives.
5. Trust your instincts - even if they don't seem justified.
6. Things will go wrong. You will screw up. Do the best you can and learn from your mistakes.
7. You can always improve.
8. Never stop learning.
9. Appreciate good friends. They are few and far between.
10. Try not to make excuses. Be honest to yourself at least.
11. "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." (Emerson) Don't be afraid to change.
12. "To be great is to be misunderstood." (Emerson) Get over it.
13. You are stronger than you think. Test your limits. Try new things.
14. Don't forget the importance of taking care of yourself sometimes.
15. The little things are important. "Details Matter." (Alberti)
16. Allow people to give you what you need.
17. It's painful, but it's only a growth spurt. This too shall pass.
18. Quit trying to be everything to everyone else. Just be yourself. They can take it or leave it.
19. You do not need to explain yourself to anyone.
20. It can always be worse.

Goal Setting & Time Management

For those of you looking for some ways to change your habits and make better use of your time, here are a couple of helpful links.

http://www.studygs.net/schedule/Weekly.html
This site can help you figure out where you're spending all of your time. It's also good for setting up a schedule on how to spend your time in the future and creating a To Do List (see the links at the top of the page above the scheduling tool.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People
This site gives a brief description of Covey's book. Each of the 7 habits is described, and all are a great way to make progress in anything that you do.

http://zenhabits.net/2008/10/10-simple-ways-to-live-a-less-stressful-life/#more-1437
Finally, check out one of Zen Habit's latest articles on how to live a less stressful life. The whole point of time management is so that you can have more free time, less stress, and some sanity!

Another Approach to Goal Setting...

If you're looking for a simler approach to setting goals, check out this great post on Zen Habits:
http://zenhabits.net/2008/09/really-simple-goal-setting/

Goal Setting & Breaking a Habit

There are a lot of different ways to approach goal setting. One way is to set long-term goals (what you want to eventually accomplish in a distant period of time - ie. 10 years), and then to set interim goals in between to help you make slow but steady progress towards your ultimate goal. The problem with that is that often times a person's long-term goal will change before they've reached it. And, that's ok.

I think that the best way I've seen goal-setting done is as a part of a person's life-long dreams. What have you always wanted to do? What have you always dreamed of being? Who do you want to be remembered as? Those are things that work really well as a long-term goal or a base to start from. This also helps you get a better understanding of who you are as a person and allows you to establish a personal mission statement or set of values. This also rarely changes. How you approach reaching this goal may change, but you'd still be making steady progress towards your ultimate goal.

So, before you begin trying to set goals, you need to do some soul-searching. You need to know more about yourself. Make a list of the things you value. Who do you want to be? Who are you now? Where do the differences lie? What can you improve on? And, don't be worried if it's a long list of things to improve on. Nobody's perfect, and this is something to work on for the rest of your life.

Next, formulate a list or description of one area that you want to improve in to reach this ultimate goal. For instance, if your ultimate goal is to be the type of person someone can admire and depend on, one area that you might need to improve on to reach this goal is to change your work habits - getting rid of procrastination.

Once you figure out your secondary goal (ie. procrastination), then try to figure out where you can improve this area of your life. This is a mid-term goal or interim goal, meaning something you need to work on to before reaching your long-term/ultimate goal. Look at ways that the problems not meeting this secondary goal can cause. What about the areas that you have the most trouble with? For instance, with procrastination, maybe you only procrastinate on things you don't want to or don't like to do. Make a list of what those are. Are any of them similar to others on the list? (ie. Maybe you have doing homework and reading the chapters on the list - both of those would be school related. Or, maybe you have cleaning your room and doing dishes on the list - those would be home or cleaning related.) If you have similar items, group them together and give them a category name (ie. School or Cleaning). These will be your tertiary goals or short-term goals.

Now, you've broken things down into something smaller - something that you can more easily deal with. Using these short-term goals, create a list of how to tackle each one of these items. Some will be easier to tackle than others. List as many ways as you can and know of to tackle each of your short-term goals. Yes, you can expect to end up with some of your goals having several things listed as ways to accomplish the goal, and some with only have one or two. For the ones that only have 1-2 ideas, you'll need to do research or some more brainstorming on how to accomplish them. The short list means that you haven't completely figured out how you define this and thus how to approach it. So, come back to it. For now, start on the one that has the most suggestions and ways to change it. That'll be the easiest place to start. Or, according to the philosophy of Kaizen, the lowest hanging fruit. (For more information on Kaizen, check out this link: http://lifehacker.com/software/kaizen/practice-your-personal-kaizen-207029.php)

Here's a couple of examples of what I'm talking about:

Ultimate goal (long-term goal) - To be someone that people can depend on to get things done
Mid-term goals - To not procrastinate, to get things done on time
Short-term goals for "Not Procrastinate" - Improving at work, Improving at school, Improving with cleaning
For short-term goal "Improving at school" - Keep a to do list, get a calendar, write all due dates on my calendar and reminders a week ahead of time for upcoming due dates, set aside time one day a week to figure out and update my to do list for the next week using my calendar and old to do list, time myself for reading and doing homework so that I know how much time things will take, etc.

Ultimate goal (long-term goal) - To live a long and healthy life
Mid-term goals - Be physically healthy, mentally healthy, emotionally healthy, etc.
Short-term goals for "Physically Healthy" - Exercise, eat better, get enough rest
For short-term goal "Eat better" - Drink more water, Don't eat fast food, Limit junk food, Limit caffeine

Remember - the more specific you are with your goals and ways to tackle your goals, the more successful you'll be. For instance, "drink more water" is pretty vague. How do you measure "more"? How do you know when you've accomplished that mini-goal? A better way might be "drink at least 32oz of water a day". Granted - it's still not the recommended amount, but it's a start. And, you have to start somewhere. And, make sure that you cut yourself some slack. This isn't all going to happen overnight. In fact, research says it takes 21 days to change a habit. And, that's really what your mini-goals and short-term goals are - ways to change a habit and habits to change.

There are a lot of other things that can help you reach your goals:
1) Give yourself a reward. Incentives work - even if it's something small.
2) Try tackling your habit changes with a friend. Two heads are better than one. They can help you brainstorm other ways of achieving your goals. They can also provide moral support when you're struggling.
3) Don't be afraid to mess up or to change your mind. You may need to figure out another way to do something if your first attempt didn't work. If at first you don't succeed...
4) When you do mess up, take a step back and look at things. Did you set your original goal too high? What obstacles caused you problems? How can you deal with those obstacles next time? Don't think of it as "failure". It's more of an ongoing process. Besides, we learn a LOT more when we "fail" than if everything comes perfect to us the first time around. Just think of it as a learning process.
5) Take advantage of the free things you have at your disposal. JSRCC hands out free calendars (aka. Student Handbooks) every Fall. You can get on in the Student Success Center. Bubble.us offers a free mapping system if you need a way to plan this all out. And, there are workshops at JSR (check the "Useful Links" section) and other free sources on the web. Just do a quick search. For instance, there's a free planner at http://www.studygs.net/schedule/Weekly.html that will actually break things down for you and help you figure out how to schedule all of your time.

And, when in doubt - ask for help! There's nothing wrong with that either. In fact, I'd say the absolutely most important thing you can learn as a student is how to utilize your resources. :)

Skipping classes?

All students "know" that attending class is important, but some still find more exciting things to do than attend class. Unfortunately, skipping (or simply missing) class can have some serious reprocussions:

1) You may miss important information that's not in the textbook. Make sure you borrow notes from another student. But, bear in mind, they might not have written down something important that you would have had you been in class. And, you're still expected to know all of the material whether you were physically there or not.

2) Each Instructor has their own attendance policy. And most Instructors will not take work late if you missed a class. Make sure that you know exactly what each of your Instructors requires of you. Missing a class could cost you a good rappor with the Instructor or even a couple of letter grades in the course.

3) Repeated absences doesn't look good. You may think that missing a class here and there isn't a big deal, but your Instructor sees it differently. If they are there every day and on time, they expect the same from you. By coming in late or not coming at all, you're telling them that what they have to say isn't important and their class is a waste of your time. That can be a problem should you have problems with the material and need their help. It can also cause problems if you ever need a letter of recommendation for a job or another school.

4) The college has a strict attendance policy that ALL of your Instructors are required to adhere to. JSRCC's policy is:

• J. Sargeant Reynolds has recently revised the policy on student attendance. The policy revision requires instructors to document and report student attendance for all courses. Attendance in this course will be taken each scheduled class period. At the end of 15% (the add/drop deadline) of the course and again at the end of 60% (the withdrawal deadline) of the course any student having been absent for the last three consecutive periods or weeks, will be involuntarily withdrawn from the class. This action could impact your financial aid (if applicable).
• Students are responsible for their enrollment and attendance in a course and must comply with all institutional obligations and institutional deadlines. Students wishing to drop from a course should complete an Add/Drop form, and submit it to an Access Center or complete the transaction using the Student Information System (PeopleSoft) by the published Add/Drop deadline. After that, students wishing to withdraw from the course should complete a Request to Withdraw from Class(es), and submit it to an Access Center by the published Withdraw from Class with a Grade of “W” deadline.
• Students who do not submit the appropriate forms, or attend classes within the guidelines outlined in this policy may have an adverse transaction occur on their record, which may include involuntary removal from the course or a grade “F” given for the course. An exception to these actions could occur if the student has contacted the instructor and provided a valid reason for his or her extended absence.

What does this mean? It means that you can lose your financial aid if you miss too many classes!


So, what should you do?

1) Try not to miss class. It's important for you to be there to get material and so that the Instructor can check on your progress in the course. It also builds a good reputation with your Instructor and other students.

2) If you must miss class, email/call the Instructor and let them know. Also, check on the syllabus for each class that you miss to find out what the Make-Up Policy is. Some Instructors will penalize you points, and others may require documentation if you want to make up the work at all. And, if you still have questions - ask. That's what office hours are for! :)

-Prof M

Breaking a Habit

Zen Habits has just posted an article this week on "10 Unbeatable Tips for Overcoming Micro-Addictions". It's also great advice for trying to overcome or break your bad habit...

http://zenhabits.net/2008/09/10-unbeatable-tips-for-overcoming-micro-addictions

Timeline Help

If you are looking for some sites to help you create your habit timeline, check these out:

Time Line Maker - This site offers a free horizontal or vertical timeline creation tool. Just type in the dates (or markers you want to use) and then the labels that go with them. Make sure you save you page and print it.
http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/materials/timelines/

Creating a Timeline in MS Word - If you prefer a more traditional program like Microsoft Word, here are some step-by-step instructions for using their program.
http://www.microsoft.com/Education/TimelinesWord.mspx

Bubbl.us - This site is great for creating mind-maps, taking notes in a mapping format (great for visual or kinesthetic learners), and for just brainstorming in general.
http://bubbl.us

Or for something really fancy, you can try Smart Draw. It has a free 7 day trial! (The same thing can be accomplished in other programs, so you don't need to buy the software - but, in case you wanted to see what's out there....)
http://www.smartdraw.com/specials/timelines.asp?id=45261&gclid=COG9nomF8JUCFQgRFQodixHGfQ

-Prof M

Nervous about your upcoming exams?

It's the 3rd week of classes already, so many of you will have your first major exam in the next week or two. If you're nervous, here are some things that can help:

1) Get a good night's sleep and be sure to eat a good breakfast that morning. We've all heard it 100 times, but it's amazing how true it still is. Being tired or hungry can make it difficult to concentrate. (And, a rumbling stomach can draw funny looks when it growls in the middle of a silent classroom!) Also, make sure what you eat is healthy. Proteins and fiber are best for keeping you feeling full. And, watch out for sugar-loaded items. They may sound good at first, but you don't want to have your blood sugar crash while you're taking the test.

2) Study using your learning styles. The textbook offers a number of suggestions. You can also check out the VARK website in the links box below. Using your learning styles to study can make the time you spend studying much more productive. (And, you may even have some downtime you weren't counting on!)

3) Take advantage of the resources on campus. The Academic Support Center offers FREE tutoring. For more information, go to http://www.jsr.vccs.edu/jsr_asc/ . Also, take advantage of the computers, chairs, and study rooms on campus. Did you know you can now borrow a study room by signing in at the library? It's free! Just go by the Library's front desk (Massey LTC Building) and ask for one. And, if you're a Learning Community student, we even have a special study/workroom just for you to use.

4) And, most importantly - BREATHE! Oxygen is a good thing. :) As much as we all want you to succeed and pressure you to do well in a class, failing a test is not the end of the world. I can promise you that every single teacher you have ever had has failed a test or two along the way. If it happens, take note of what you missed and try to do better next time. We all tend to learn a lot more from our mistakes than we do when we're right.

Good luck!

-Prof M

Welcome!

Welcome to College Success Skills!

This blog is dedicated to helping students survive their college adventure. I will be posting information on time management, financial aid, managing your money, and resources that are available to you as students. Also, be sure to check out the links I've provided. They'll help you in your journey!

-Prof M