Growth & Freedom

30 day trial – Toodledo

littd — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 11:16:00 +0000

Here’s my 30 day trial: First thing (First Thing!!!) Every morning I check my Toodledo list, which has my goals and all my tasks listed, and I decide what I’m going to do that day. I’ll figure it out and then write it on a piece of paper which I will carry around in my pocket all day. Easy. Toodledo.

Thursday July 26

littd — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:17:38 +0000

Well my 30 day trial is going well (nasal irrigation) it’s working beautifully and I’m definitely going to keep it ip. But it’s not aligned with my goals. Also, it’s not a significant enough lifestyle change. Doing something like meditating every morning, or getting 8 hours sleep every night is something that takes more commitment and more effort, and will produce actual, noticeable differences in my life. So what are some important habits for me to reach my social goals?

Sleep 8 hours a night – It’s important to be well rested to be pleasant and fun to be around.
Meditation in the morning – It’s important to be happy and relaxed
Writing out my goals in the morning – It’s important to stay focussed on what I want
Writing out what I learnt that day at night
Read for 30 minutes a day on communication skill building
Play my guitar and sing for 30 minutes a day

Rules

Reply immediately to messages for social invitations
Never turn down an invitation unless there’s a really good reason
Start conversations with people at every opportunity

Tuesday July 24

littd — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:21:27 +0000

Today I got a lot done from my to-do list, but felt a little tired, and didn’t get a lot of personal development done.

My project is progressing, I’m reading a lot of stuff on colour coordination, body type, hairstyle etc. Some actions I need to take:

Remove all old/non-fitting/bad coloured clothes from my wardrobe
Go to shops and ask for advice from the female shop assistants
Determine the image I’d like to project
Make a list of items that I need

I’m thinking that I might let my hair grow out. I’ve got thick, wavy hair and I think it would look good longer.

I’m starting a new 30 day trial today: Nasal irrigation every time I brush my teeth (i.e. twice a day) for 30 days.

Project 1: Get My Style Together

littd — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:08:16 +0000

Mon July 23 – ???

Project Statement:

This project is about improving the way I present to the external world. Appearance and presentation is a big part of life, and though I’m not a particularly fashion-conscious person traditionally, I can definitely see the benefits to always presenting well.

Project Objectives:

Dress Well all the time
Have outfits appropriate to different situations
Have a good idea of which colours go well with each other and with different contexts
Have a defined “personal style”. Write a blog entry titled “My Personal Style”.
Have fresh breath all the time
Practise good general hygiene
Have a signature fragrance
Have a good hairstyle and an idea of what to ask for
Have nice shoes, take care of them
Know how to wash clothes to keep them looking good

Project Ideas

littd — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 11:19:30 +0000

Get my style together
Build a strong social network
Get a girlfriend
Become a better public speaker
Become a semi-professional musician
Become more energetic
Be Cheerful
Be Funny
Become a better writer
Be more creative
Get organised
Become more effective
Learn Swedish
Learn Blues Guitar
Learn Jazz Guitar
Learn Rock Guitar
Learn Classical Guitar
Learn Piano
Become a faster typer
Become a more effective reader
Become a better songwriter
Become a better singer
Improve my memory

Projects last as long as I see fit. Each project runs singularly, and begins with a list of objectives and a vision statement.

Ideas for 30 day trials

littd — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:44:05 +0000

Nasal Irrigation
Reading for half an hour before bed (fiction, nonfiction, practical)
Meditate for half an hour in the morning
Visualise my “best self” for half an hour each morning
Run the same route every morning, record my times
Swim the same route every morning, record my times
Cycle the same route (you get the idea…)
Start a conversation with a stranger
ask a girl out
Go out every night
Revise and re-write my goals each morning
Get up at 5am
Eat no sugar
Eat no meat
Eat 5 different types of vegetables
Cook a meal
Do 2 De Bono creativity exercises (31 day trial)
Start a list of ‘albums I’d like to get’, add one album per day (then get them…)
Start a list of ‘books I’d like to read’, add one book per day (fiction, nonfiction, practical)
List of ‘countries I’d like to visit’
Learn one song (guitar and vocals)
Analyse one song (chord progressions, harmony etc.)
Practice my guitar in a focussed manner
Do half an hour of vocal exercises
Write out my to do list in the morning (pocketmod!)
Write in my journal
Research a philosophy
Try a new journal exercise each day
Write a poem each day
Do 30 minutes of cleaning/organising

Each trial will be run one at a time (contrary to what I wrote in an earlier post) so I can give each one the attention it deserves. Each day I’ll write about my experiences in this blog.

Monday July 23

littd — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:25:33 +0000

Well, as of today, this blog is taking it’s latest twist. It’s taken a few so far, I certainly subscribe to the ready, fire, aim (yes, Pavlina again) approach.

This blog is now a combination of my projects and my 30 day trials. Let me ‘splain: (I think I’m turning into him)

Project: equals something that will need a combination of research and implementation. There is no set time limit to a project, it simply runs until I decide that I have achieved my objectives. I’ll start out each project with my project objectives, and most importantly, why I have decided on this particular project and what it will do to move me towards being my best self. For example, my first project will be to get my style together. I will work on my presentation, the image I project to the external world.

30 day trial: Go to www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/04/30-days-to-success/ for the idea. Basically, this is a way of integrating a new habit into my daily routine. This differs from a project because it is something that I can implement immediately that I believe will improve my quality of life.

Habit 3 – Smell Nice

littd — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 12:32:42 +0000

Shower regularly
wear deodorant

Pretty simple, huh?

Saturday July 21 – 30 day trials

littd — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 09:55:01 +0000

I’ve been neglecting this blog for the last few days, partly because I’ve been flat out at work, partly because I lack discipline (Arnie voice).

I’m having trouble staying motivated and focussing on my goal. I think a good way to get myself out of this pattern (which is certainly not new) is to start integrating life habits that will support goal achievement and personal development. These are habits I can incorporate by doing 30 day trials Credit: Steve Pavlina). Here is a list of 30 day trials that look good to me:

Get up at the same time every day
Exercise first thing in the morning
Shower after exercise
Learn a new word every day
Dress well
Nasal Irrigation
Write a new blog entry every day
Write my goals out every day
Visualise my day
Write a to do list
Read a book that interests me
Read a personal development book
Read a fiction book
Have a good friendly conversation with someone
Start a conversation with a stranger
Ask someone out on a date
Get a new album
Go out every evening
Listen to motivational audio
Spend 30 minutes writing about my daily lessons
Have a self-conversation in my journal
Recount a significant life event in my journal
Write a post on Steve Pavlina’s forum every day
Meditate
Practice my singing
Practice the guitar
Learn and/or analyse a song
Write a song
Work on a speech
Monitor my diet
Write a journal entry
Clean or organise something

Ok here are my rules: 30 day trials can be concurrent, but there must be a minimum ten day period in between starting new trials. There can never be more than two running at the same time. I say this because I’m prone to setting plans that only an android could execute (Pavlina again). It’s very important for me to keep my plans simple and easy to execute. There will be no excuses! As for the 21 Habits I’ve already posted – I’ll continue to research them and do posts on how to achieve them on this blog, in the order I’ve posted. In all likelihood they will spawn 30 day trials to add to this list as I go. It’s better I think to pick options as I go rather than have a set plan and order and timeframe on how I’m going to achieve my goals. My goal remains the same, my plan of attack is highly flexible.

Obviously, doing one of these trials doesn’t mean I neglect other things, It’s just the thing I concentrate on the most and write about on this blog. For an indefinite period, this blog is the record of my 30 day trials.

I’ll simply pick items off this list at my leisure and start one that looks appealing. This list is by no means exhaustive. I’ll modify/augment it as I go, and I may use 30 day trials that aren’t (yet) on this list.

I am currently on my tenth day of a thirty day trial of nasal irrigation, so tomorrow I can start a new one (While obviously continuing the nasal irrigation one for another twenty days). An obvious one would be getting up at the same time every day, but I’m going to Pennsylvania in three weeks, which has a 12 hour time difference to my home city of Perth, Western Australia. So my next 30 day trial will be reading a book that interests me. I’ll start with “Impro” by Kenneth Johnstone. If I find a book is boring me, I’ll move on. The key for this trial is to be absorbed in a fascinating topic for 30 minutes a day.

Until Tomorrow!

Tuesday July 17

littd — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 14:47:19 +0000

Today I was bad. I did my morning exercise, but I was on a site visit all day for work and then I played a gig tonight so I didn’t get time to work on my project or even do my reading. Naughty. I got a pretty low score on my habit tracker today. I’ll make up for it tomorrow!

Until then.