When my husband was a grad student, former procrastinators, his desk was in the open center of our apartment. I pretty much drove him crazy with my interruptions. Finally one day, he grabbed a ball cap and held it up. “You see this hat?” Nod. He yanked it onto his head. “When this hat is on my head, you may not speak to me.” It worked! All I had to do was look in his direction and see if his…
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Tiny Pain, Giant Gain
Mini habits, former procrastinators, work now while we’re home-bound and for the long haul. Before some reminders, please know I’m praying for you during this time of resisting the Corona virus. Also, whether you’d already chosen homeschooling or find it imposed upon you, check out hslda.org/quickstart. Home School Legal Defense Association has resources for the experienced and for unexpected first-timers. And, mini habits work well for schooling. My personal biggies from Stephen Guise’s Mini Habits are first, that mini habits…
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Will Power Over Motivation? – Mini March
Former procrastinators, as we help contain the Corona virus, I pray you are healthy and remembering the great love of our powerful God. Let’s express joy and gratitude while in these circumstances as we recognize time and opportunity we don’t normally have in our homes. We have fewer interruptions and more time in place. There are increased pressures on one hand, but on the other, we can grow in faith and in relationships. Reading, games, projects, cooperation – talking…
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Brain Training – Mini March
Why, former procrastinators, do mini habits work? Stephen Guise tells us in his book, Mini Habits. A habit has an assigned nerve pathway in the brain that is triggered by a thought or cue. An electrical charge fires along the pathway and you have an urge to engage in the behavior. (Alarm buzzes. Hit the snooze button.) We want to create new neural pathways and make them strong with repetition. Since new behaviors do not have a neural pathway, we…
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The Mini Habit Strategy – Mini March
Planning more for my week than I can actually do, former procrastinators, is a constant downer. I set overly ambitious goals I’m not able to reach in six days. (We’re fond of eating, sleeping, etc.) Sometimes going big with massive change works. Most of us benefit from smaller changes. What are mini habits? Why do they work? Can they help me with projects? Mini Habits by Stephen Guise explains a small step approach. From him I continue learning: The goal…
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The Value of Small – Mini March
Do you, like me, former procrastinators, plan fairly well, but your follow up disappoints you? Our strategy may be the glitch. We can beat that! This month we’ll focus on the value of small steps and how to make them. We’ll learn some about how our brains work so we can take advantage of how we’re wired. Consider the bigness of “a little” in scripture. We’re warned that “a little folding of the hands to sleep” brings want, that the…
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Can-Do Quarters – Get a Grip on Goals
Do you ever feel, former procrastinators, as if you’re running for a finish line that keeps moving farther away? That’s part of the frustration of not reaching goals. We should dream big and reach high. But when daily life seems to gang up against us, the finish line grows dim. So does our willingness to press on. It helps to break goals up into segments. It also helps to break the year up into quarters. Looking at a goal for…
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