30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Lhet (?) » Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:36 am

Isaak wrote:
Mon Apr 22, 2013 5:30 pm
Wicked! Maybe we can make music together, or learn together!
Yes, definitely!

Day 7 complete:
Spend 30 minutes making noises: done! (although the kick is super overpowered because I made it using headphones but whatev)
Watch a tutorial: Done. My internet has been really bad recently so I had to watch a 5 min "How to make X sound" instead of something better but still.
Take notes on a song: Yup

Everything got done! In reflection I'm really mad at my internet for being really slow tonight, but the goals were simple enough that I just had to begin, then progress just started to happen on it's own.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Venusy (?) » Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:18 am

Can't be bothered writing this one, so...
Today's To-Do List
20% tasks
*Prepare for job interview - potential for job.
*Attend job interview - potential for job.
*More CompTIA A+ stuff (especially as I fell behind a bit yesterday) - increase chances of getting a job with certification.
*(OPTIONAL) Maybe mess around some more with Unity.

80% tasks
*Voluntary work: any tech support requests/1-on-1 computer help requests - I enjoy doing these, but individually they aren't going to have significant impact in the future. Good experience as a whole though.
*Voluntary work: observe kids playing Minecraft - this is all they do. I don't understand why they play local multiplayer when all it seems to do is cause fights. "You broke my house" seems to be the "you stole my Charizard" for a younger generation.
*Voluntary work: fetch kids drinks from upstairs fridge.
Isaak wrote:
Mon Apr 22, 2013 5:30 pm
It's fun reading your thoughts Venusy, I love that you're sharing so much :)
Also, it teaches me how to read my own handwriting, because it can get pretty bad. Yours isn't... super... legible :modesty:
But mine can get worse.
Yeah, I know it's a problem, that's why I usually prefer typing. :modesty: Still, if I was typing it, I don't know if I'd resist that urge to compulsively edit, which is a blocker to getting things done. Writing it down allows me to be more personal.

As I said, sharing that then keeps me accountable, but I also think it's important for the social anxiety. :flutterunsmith: It's something that I mostly do not do and would put up various walls around doing.

Nightsong

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Nightsong » Tue Apr 23, 2013 10:46 am

I just found out about this thread from SA and registered on the strength of it (though my MLP credentials go so far back that the first forum I ever posted on on the internet was a my little pony forum). I'm only on day one, but I hope it's okay that I post my goals. This thread couldn't have come at a better time. I'm coming to the end of various other self-improvement stuff.
Intro:

Nightsong, this is your third self-improvement notebook — and you're making great progress! You're keeping up with CBT techniques, you're being more social, getting more exercise and working on making life memorable. Let's continue that! Let's make the next 30 days memorable for all the right reasons and use this notebook as a record of 30 days of achievement and enjoyment.

Goals:

1. Complete the 30 day challenge.
2. Read more (3 hrs per week)
3. Socialise more (3hrs per week)
4. Exercise more (2hrs per week)
5. Record more (3 diary entries)
6. Eat better (3 days of healthy eating per week)
7. Do something for others (twice a week)
8. Date (send ten online dating messages)
Nice to meet you all :-) I'll sort out an avatar and stuff later.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Momo (?) » Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:14 pm

Wait this thread's on SA now?

Nightsong

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Nightsong » Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:25 pm

Momar wrote:
Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:14 pm
Wait this thread's on SA now?
Daionus the 23rd mentioned it briefly and I went a-googling. As I say, it was perfect timing for me (or near enough).

doodlesplat

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by doodlesplat » Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:45 pm

Welcome Nightsong :party:

I hope you enjoy these challenges and these forums!

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Hi. (?) » Tue Apr 23, 2013 1:26 pm

This one's short! But hey, I'm caught up. (Also I've passed the weight goal I'd put for day 1, which is nice) (Day 8)
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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:05 pm

Venusy wrote:
Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:18 am
Yeah, I know it's a problem, that's why I usually prefer typing. :modesty: Still, if I was typing it, I don't know if I'd resist that urge to compulsively edit, which is a blocker to getting things done. Writing it down allows me to be more personal.
"There is no editing stage" :twonk:
As I said, sharing that then keeps me accountable, but I also think it's important for the social anxiety. :flutterunsmith: It's something that I mostly do not do and would put up various walls around doing.
It's so cool you're working so much on that :allears:
Nightsong wrote:
Tue Apr 23, 2013 10:46 am
I just found out about this thread from SA and registered on the strength of it (though my MLP credentials go so far back that the first forum I ever posted on on the internet was a my little pony forum). I'm only on day one, but I hope it's okay that I post my goals. This thread couldn't have come at a better time. I'm coming to the end of various other self-improvement stuff.

Nice to meet you all :-) I'll sort out an avatar and stuff later.
Welcome :party: !
I'm looking at CBT techniques right now, because I was wondering what you meant, and it looks really interesting. Thanks for sharing! :yay:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Hi. (?) » Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:14 pm

Isaak, I'm sorry. I cheated today. I started thinking about the stuff I still had to do, and breaking them down into the very next action I had to take for each of them, but then it occurred to me there was no reason not to just do them. So I spent the last couple hours just doing them all, then I actually made the list. And now it's only the mostly unimportant stuff left on the list to do.

(Okay, I lied. I still have to get some exercise, and write something longer, but I'm jumping in the shower and going out for a long walk as soon as I click Submit, and I'll write a review tonight after the day is done. Also I have to still finish the day without going to Starbucks.)
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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Venusy (?) » Tue Apr 23, 2013 4:11 pm

Isaak wrote:
Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:05 pm
It's so cool you're working so much on that :allears:

I'm looking at CBT techniques right now, because I was wondering what you meant, and it looks really interesting. Thanks for sharing! :yay:
The fun thing is, this is basically what I'm doing. :-P

Cross referencing the social anxiety book to note down this in the exact steps, along with including some thoughts that I didn't include in the challenge yet:
  • Identify problematic situation and safety behaviour (avoiding sharing things about myself)
  • Identify the feelings or predictions associated with doing that (everyone will point and laugh, I'll get helldumped)
  • Find alternative ways of thinking (Helldump has been gone for a while, anyone who goes to that sort of effort just to put someone down isn't the kind of person I want to be listening to anyway, and people here would much prefer to be supportive than point and laugh :flutterunsmith:)
  • Experiment by giving up the safety behaviour (share everything! :party:) - as the description text for :allears: says, what would life be like?
  • Evaluate based on facts and own feelings (none of the bad things seem to have happened, and I don't think I'd care too much if they did; I'm more confident in opening up - this level of sharing might be excessive for other situations, but it has me more confident in sharing in general).
  • Conclude - is the old safety behaviour worth maintaining? :ponder: (No).[/list:u]

    It's a continuous process of course, it isn't quite that easy to drop things like that, and a couple of the other problems I've had needed ACT instead of CBT (CBT is about changing behaviour, ACT is about changing attitude towards that behaviour).

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Tue Apr 23, 2013 5:07 pm

Hi! wrote:
Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:14 pm
Isaak, I'm sorry. I cheated today. I started thinking about the stuff I still had to do, and breaking them down into the very next action I had to take for each of them, but then it occurred to me there was no reason not to just do them. So I spent the last couple hours just doing them all, then I actually made the list. And now it's only the mostly unimportant stuff left on the list to do.

(Okay, I lied. I still have to get some exercise, and write something longer, but I'm jumping in the shower and going out for a long walk as soon as I click Submit, and I'll write a review tonight after the day is done. Also I have to still finish the day without going to Starbucks.)
Image
Haha, that's okay Hi :)
Don't feel pressured.
Venusy wrote:
Tue Apr 23, 2013 4:11 pm
[It's a continuous process of course, it isn't quite that easy to drop things like that, and a couple of the other problems I've had needed ACT instead of CBT (CBT is about changing behaviour, ACT is about changing attitude towards that behaviour).
That's really fascinating, I recognize some of the steps but didn't know there was an actual model for it. Might call upon you for input on something at a later time.
Tomorrow's challenge is going to delve into something similar, but not quite as deep.

Oh, and it's past my cut off time and I've yet to post it, so the challenge will be here first thing in the morning.
And I was doing so well :v: Use the time for something great :)

ScionVyse

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by ScionVyse » Tue Apr 23, 2013 5:16 pm

Posting my Day 8!

I'd say this challenge has done a lot of good so far, despite my unconscious struggling about doing things. :v:

I've fallen a bit short on my diet and sleep schedule, but I'm still working on that, and they're not easy to change. I've been making a lot of process on getting a job though. I've had two interviews Monday that both went really well and I'm expecting another this week. The one I'm waiting on is the one I want the most though. I hope I get the call soon. :v:

I'm kind of afraid to take action on a few things, but I'm going to anyway because why the heck not? Finding the time to dedicate is difficult, even though I don't really have much else to do with the time. It's strange, really.




HERE'S A MUSIC THING I DID. AAAAAAAAA I HOPE YOU ALL DON'T DIE. It's just an instrumental thing. Not a big deal. There's about 99 million mistakes though.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9tpx92y1tikwf ... 20Name.mp3

Nightsong

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Nightsong » Tue Apr 23, 2013 5:25 pm

Isaak wrote:
Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:05 pm
Welcome :party: !
I'm looking at CBT techniques right now, because I was wondering what you meant, and it looks really interesting. Thanks for sharing! :yay:
Thanks :-) I must say, the incredible MLP smilies on this forum make everything seem really supportive and fun. I'm doing guided self-help CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) for depression / low mood, specifically. I can go into more detail if anyone is interested. It's kind of been helping, but my last guided self help session is next week but I'm still at the stage where I need some external motivation - hence joining this challenge.

I already did one diary entry and spent an hour and a half being social. I feel more creative and energised than I have in weeks.

Aracat

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Aracat » Wed Apr 24, 2013 12:20 am

Day 9
My day is already pretty stripped down. I don't really have a lot of time to spend after working and meeting basic needs - all of which are necessary. I could reduce the amount of time I spend sleeping and get another hour, maybe, but keeping a non-stupid sleep schedule is one of the goals I really value.
I decided to play games less around day 3 just to keep on top of the challenges, and that helped some. I still don't have as much time to get stuff done as I would like.

Today's 20% goals:
Exercises
Challenges
Cook something

Bonus stretch goal:
I will actually have some free time to read something new tonight.
I'm somewhat interested in ACT/CBT now. The opportunity to intentionally and deliberately tinker with my behavior is too tempting to pass up :excellent:

doodlesplat

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by doodlesplat » Wed Apr 24, 2013 3:26 am

ScionVyse wrote:
Tue Apr 23, 2013 5:16 pm
A MUSIC THING I DID
It's very mellow and soothing, ideal for a dialogue-less montage of Big McIntosh in a golden dawn-caressed orchard, working in quiet solitude while all around nature is still waking up.
:allears:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Wed Apr 24, 2013 4:30 am

I want to reply to all of you, finish writing up today's challenge and drop it here, but my laptop's power supply is dead and I've got about 10 minutes of battery left :modesty:

I'm going to fix this ASAP, hang tight!
ScionVyse wrote:
Tue Apr 23, 2013 5:16 pm
HERE'S A MUSIC THING I DID. AAAAAAAAA I HOPE YOU ALL DON'T DIE. It's just an instrumental thing. Not a big deal. There's about 99 million mistakes though.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9tpx92y1tikwf ... 20Name.mp3
Wowee, go and open up a thread or something, because you make great stuff!

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Wed Apr 24, 2013 9:55 am

Fun fact: posting this challenge was part of my to-do list yesterday :v:

Image

Day 10: Habits & Routines

Welcome to Day 10. I feel a celebration is in order.
Mini forum party go! :yay: Hit it DJ-Pon3!







Yesterday you looked at your to-do list and played with a way of prioritizing things. Did you like it? Did you have your own spin on things?

Personally I found listing all my "low priority" tasks to be a bit of an eye-opener. I do so much stuff which can get in the way of what I really want to do. Going through my RSS feed might lead me to great articles, but ultimately I don't do much with the information.

It's a way of making you more conscious about how you spend your time. You might think that all hell will break loose if you don't reply to that email right away, or if you neglect checking Facebook every hour. But ultimately you have nothing to worry about.
It's about making choices: on what do you want to spend your time and energy? What are things that excite you? Make you happy?

That new shiny thing might be really tempting, but do realize you might open up a whole can of worms and get lost in doing something you didn't originally set out to do.

The 20/80 rule is very useful, and there are a few like it. So if you find yourself overwhelmed with things to do. Apply it to see what you want your priorities to be. Put everything else on low priority, or get rid of them entirely. There's a term applicable to this: "Kill your darlings".

You might reeaallly want to hold on to something because you might be afraid of losing something "important", but ask yourself:
"Do I really need this?"

If your first reaction is doubt, throw it on the 80% pile.

With that, let's look at your habits & routines

Habits & Routines: the Good, the Bad & the Pony

Everyone of us has habits & routines we do every day, week and month. You might be aware of some of them, and you might be trying to change them. Others you might do without thinking.
Basically a routine & habits is a rough pattern you go through daily, weekly or monthly. We humans have a need for structure, so it helps us figure out what we need to do when we wake up. It gives us a sense of safety and stability.

But because of this that we might also cultivate habits & routines which keep us locked in one pattern, a pattern which might not be the best for you.

But habits & routines can also help! They can help you get the best out of your day and create a solid foundation you can launch yourself from. You can just stick to your habits and get right to getting things done and being awesome.
Let's call this a "system" for now, because I get tired repeating "habits & routines" all the time :cheese:

Having a solid system can be a very powerful tool. One which allows you to make headway in your goals by just sticking to it.
If you were to just stick to it, and not think about anything at all other than your system, you'll get lots of things done!

On the flip side, a flaky system can keep you stuck in the same place, or maybe even push you back. You have to work around it, not with it, to get anything done. This requires a lot of energy and can be very draining.

A lot of people have a system which could use improvement. Their weekly schedules are filled with stuff that keep them very busy, but don't exactly fulfill them.

Idling time away, random web surfing, random channel surfing, working a draining job. Bad eating habits. Negative thought patterns, worrying.

By repeating this cycle they end up feeding the system, creating a cycle which might make them unhappy with themselves.
Today you're going to look at your own system: your habits & routines.

Are they good ones, or bad ones?

Step 1: Identify 6 habits & routines in your life

No matter how erratic or dynamic your schedule is, we all have a certain system in our lives. Write down as many as you can and identify 6 regular habits & routines you do without fail.

Even if you do the activity hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or even every two months, it's still a routine. Write down how frequent you do every habit or routine next to it.

Examples
- Go to bed at 1am (Daily)
- Wake up at 8am (Daily)
- Chat with people on Skype (Daily)
- Work at Company X (Mon-Fri)
- Checking Facebook (Hourly)
- Vidya Gaems (every evening)
- Check email (Hourly)
- Go to the gym (Mon, Wed, Fri)
- Drinking (every two days)
- Smoking (daily)

Step 2: Assess each routine

Assess each habit/routine with a score of -2, -1, 0, +1, +2

+2: Awesome habit/routine :party: Doing this makes me feel really good. I get so much stuff done because of it. Whooo!

+1: This is good :allright: Doing this makes me more positive, more conscious & more productive.

0: Neutral. Sometimes I'll feel good, sometimes I'm just idling. This doesn't seem to add anything. More of a habit than a conscious effort.

-1: Negative :fluttersmith: Doing this takes up time, doesn't add anything to my life, has a tendency to make me feel bad & lowers my productivity. I might feel positive sometimes doing this, but the bad outweighs the good.

-2: Draining :gonkity: Doing this leaves me feeling worse more often than not. The negative effects last for quite a while, even after finishing it. I'm not even sure why I'm still doing this.

After assigning each score, write down why you gave that score.

Step 3: Plot out your next move for each habit/routine

Now that you've assessed part of your system, what do you want to do with it?

Here are some recommendations:

+2 Keep doing this! In fact, think of ways you can make it more frequent if you're not doing it as often as possible already!

+1 This is great! Is there any reason why you did not give a +2? Figure out why and see if you can make it a +2. Or maybe it's fine like it is.

0: This doesn't seem to have any reason of being here. But that doesn't mean it's bad. It might be a habit you have to wind down after a busy day. But it might also be noise, filler.

If it is, consider dropping it, revising it, or replacing it.

-1: This is a negative habit/routine, but you're still doing it. Why? Are you addicted to it? Can you find something better to replace it?

-2: Drop this in a heartbeat. Work to get it out of your system. It's draining you. There might have been days you felt tired because of this, but didn't know this was the cause.

Step 4: Pick new positive habits and add them to your system

Are there any new habits & routines you can identify and add to your system? Pick at least one, but you can also pick 3, or 5 :party:
Make them ones you're not doing at the moment.

A few examples
- Read books
- Write in journal
- Watch tutorials
- Work out
- Read x amount of articles
- Meet with parents
- Go out with friends

Reflect on today's task

What did you think of today's task? Did you gain any new insights?

Your 30 Day Awesome Action Plan

What actions do you have planned for today. Do them with awesome!
Last edited by !saak on Wed Apr 24, 2013 1:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Nightsong

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Nightsong » Wed Apr 24, 2013 10:16 am

I just finished writing stuff for day two. I don't have my wheel yet, as I want to colour it in with my felt-tips, which are at home.
Scores (& why)
Career - 8. I like my job, I like the people I work with, the commute isn't too bad. I like that it's not stressful and there are only a few truly tiresome tasks. It would be nice to be paid a bit more, but it's not urgent. I'd be happy staying in this job for the foreseeable future.

Finance - 7. I have enough money for daily life, but I don't keep a budget and I worry that I'm spending too much. I may never have enough money to buy a house alone and I worry I won't have enough to live on when I retire.

Health/Fitness - 4. I'm working on this sporadically, but it's not consistent. I am still obese and my relationship with food is a little bit unhealthy.

Social - 3. I only have two friends where I live and I rarely/never see the ones who live elsewhere. I'm not good at making new friends.

Family - 4. I get on well enough with my parents, but we don't see each other that much and sometimes I don't want to go to the bother of calling them or going to see them. I worry I'll regret this one day.

Love - 2. I have friends, but I don't feel like they love me. Certainly not the ones I see regularly. I don't date much/at all and I don't feel like there's anything special about me that's worth loving.

Fun - 4. Though I'm trying, there are many days where I don't feel like I have any fun. I have trouble enjoying things, though there has been some improvement lately.

Contribution - 1. Outside of my job, I contribute nothing to the world apart from sometimes doing something nice for a friend. I'm scheduled to start volunteering next week, but I worry it won't be enough.

Personal growth - 4. I'm constantly working on this and I have made progress lately, but I also slid back last weekend and I'm worried I will again.

Self-image -3. I still see myself as neither special nor interesting. I don't credit myself with the things I have achieved, I focus too much on my mistakes.

Why is my life like this?
1. I'm very isolated, outside of work (social, love, fun, contribution)
2. I struggle with consistent motivation (personal growth, fun, health/fitness)
3. My attitude to the things I do do needs work (contribution, fun, self-image, love)

Am I happy with my life wheel?
No. I'm happy with my career, but that's about the only one. I'd like all the others to be much higher - a five or above! That's probably equal amounts changing what I do and changing my attitude to what I do.

Action plan:
Start volunteering; look into ACT; make new friends; lose weight.

doodlesplat

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by doodlesplat » Wed Apr 24, 2013 11:10 am

Nightsong wrote:
Wed Apr 24, 2013 10:16 am
I worry (x4)
Being concerned is good but don't let excessive worrying bog you down. Face them head on, devise a plan to resolve them, and have them no longer bother you! Actually, I think that's what's coming in the days ahead, so yay!
:party:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Wed Apr 24, 2013 4:41 pm

(Oh My Glob, I post this challenge well before 23:00. I am a God of Awesome :twonk: now to make today's 'routine' challenge :-I)
e: Oh hey, next post is #300 :party:

Image

Day 11: Face Your Frustrations :speakest:

Yesterday you had a look at your habits & routines. You looked at 6 of them and see what kind of effect they had.
What kind of routines did you look at? What scores did you give them? Did you keep, change or drop any of them? What new awesome habit are you adding to your system?

We all have 24 hours in a day, yet some of us get more done others. That's because they're leveraging a powerful system they built themselves. They can really make the most of their time and make every moment something special :allears:

I'm a tiny powerful system :ohboy: , and so can you :vogue:

But your life is dynamic, so adapt your system whenever you feel the need to. Some habits might not work after a while. Say you've started seeing someone: spending 10 hours a week on that awesome project might have a bad effect on your relationship.

Be conscious of your system :)

With that, let's go to today's task

Frustrations

Is there anything that's been frustrating you?
What is it?

Many, if not all of us, have things which frustrate us, both big and small, on an ongoing basis. Some of these may be daily, like things not going well at work, arguments with people, and so on. Others might be relationship woes, trouble getting focused, worry about the future, and more.
It's a natural reaction to be frustrated when things don't go your way.

You might want to start out as an artist. But every stroke you put on paper isn't the way you want it to be. No matter how hard you try, it seems you will never be that artist.
You might be trying to lose weight. But after lots of hard work your weight hasn't gone down. It has gone up in fact!
You might have trouble talking to someone because the person keeps interrupting you, leaving you angry because you want to have your say.

In any of these scenarios, feeling frustrated is normal. But staying frustrated isn't going to help you with the problem. It might even take a turn for the worse.

If you keep arting but stay frustrated with your early sketches, you start to think of yourself as not a worthy artist.
If you're trying to lose weight but don't lose any, you might turn to eating to help ease your frustrations.
If you don't tell the person to stop interrupting, talking to him/her might start to feel like a bad routine. Even if he/she's your friend!

Your task today is to face your frustrations and tackle it.

Open to a new page in your notebook, title it something fitting.

Step 1: Identify something that's been frustrating you.

What's something that's been frustrating you? Maybe it only happened today? Maybe it's recurring. Whatever it is, write it down.
Why has it been frustrating you? Throw it all out on to the paper. Let it out, the more the better. Write until you feel you can write no more.

Example: God, my friend's been interrupting me all this time when I'm trying to say something. I can never finish my sentences, add anything to the discussion even though I have something important to say! This really hurts what we're trying to do.

Identify solutions for the problem

What can you do to help you with your frustration? Write down possible solutions and turn them into action steps

Example: I should talk to him, explain how his interruptions make me feel.

Today's task might not contain a whole lot of steps, but it can be a big & difficult one. Take your time :)

Personal anecdote: "the friend interrupting" example comes from personal experience. I ended up internalizing it and then it got worse. After a while I actually had a dream about it, which is when I told myself to tackle it. We've worked to minimize it and now our conversations go lots more smoothly.

Reflect on Today's Task

What did you think of today's task? What have you learned? What kind of insights have you gained?

Day 11 of your Action Plan

What tasks have you got lined up for today? Go and do them with wicked awesomeness!

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Venusy (?) » Wed Apr 24, 2013 5:01 pm

Image

I'll do Day 11 tomorrow.

Tears

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Tears » Wed Apr 24, 2013 6:18 pm

I'm a little behind :-I

I'm not dropping out though by any means, it's just that the last few days it's been wake up, work on the train, work through lunch, work on the train home, work at home, go to bed. I'm back in from tomorrow though :allright:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Momo (?) » Wed Apr 24, 2013 10:48 pm

I'm a little behind too. But incidentally, my CBT therapist thinks you're doing a wonderful thing, Izzy :yay:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Perpetual Motion (?) » Wed Apr 24, 2013 10:58 pm

I really wanted to do this thing, but I had no idea that each challenge built directly off the last. Because I'm unable to do Day 3, every single day afterwards is also impossible for me. I'm sorry, Isaak. I know you said that there's no failing this, but I can't see how this is anything but a failure on my part, and I feel like I've let you down since you really wanted me to participate in this from the beginning. There's just nothing I can do. :fluttersmith:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Momo (?) » Wed Apr 24, 2013 11:00 pm

I don't really think that follows. You can skip a day and still move on. I'm no good with collages so I ended up abandoning day 5, but that's me :pinkieshrug:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Momo (?) » Thu Apr 25, 2013 1:07 am

Double-posting to share the cliff's notes on my Day 6&7, because it ended up being pretty successful. Most of last weekend was spent preparing my tax info for my accountant.

But wait, Momar, accountant? "File your taxes" is on your action plan and you've got a freaking accountant? What kind of goal is that?

Well, disembodied critical voice, I'll tell you! (Hidden for a-bloo-bloo-poor-me RUSP-lite oversharing)
Financially, I could be doing a lot worse right now. But back in 2001, when I was dealing with Engineering weeder courses, a full-blown sexual identity crisis, and the CAMH's... well, let's just call it borderline abuse, I was in pretty bad financial shape. I had a $16,000 bill for the school year, and the Ontario Student Assistance Program gave me... two grand. Not a bursary, mind. A loan. I had to go to a bank and get an additional loan (actually they called it a line of credit. This is important). They gave me... $8000. Mind you, at this point in my life objective number one was not throwing myself off a tall building. Objective two was keeping my head barely above water academically. There are a lot of financial aid programs out there, and a lot of grants and scholarships. I'm sure if I had applied myself I could have paid off my bills. But I didn't. And I blamed myself, and my family blamed me, too.

Never owe a university money. Not only will they kick you out at the end of the year, regardless of how good your grades were, they'll also charge you the highest legal interest rate on your outstanding fees, PLUS a flat rate "administration fee" every month, even if you only have six bucks left to pay. I had to pick up a soul-crushing factory job to pay the Beast, and 100% of every paycheck went to them. I had to move back in with my parents. My life as I knew it pretty much ended. In order to prevent my world from completely collapsing, I had to abandon a lot of dreams. Transitioning was one of them.

Proofreading edit: Holy fuck. I can't believe I wrote that. I didn't know this about myself.

Suffice to say, thinking about finances is a pretty big anxiety trigger for me. I don't like thinking about it. I hate hate hate hate budgeting, and I really don't like reviewing a year's worth of financial information. I'll take literally any excuse I can to avoid doing it. It also doesn't help that I'm at high risk for an audit. Remember how I said the bank gave me a line of credit? Well, after completing my current degree, that LoC has grown quite a bit. And interest payments on Student Loans are tax deductible. But guess what? Interest payments on Student Lines of Credit are not. My fucking BANK MANAGER wasn't even aware of this. Fans of the RUSP threads will remember that I got dinged for a couple thousand dollars last year, and that's because Canada Revenue reviewed my taxes and billed me retroactively.
Hence: the accountant.

So anyway, preparing my tax info was my Day 6 task, and Day 7, I did it. Once I got over my crippling anxiety, the rest was actually pretty easy. Wanna know how? I printed everything out. I called my dentist and pharmacy, and asked for EVERY receipt, and printed them out. I opened every CRA letter, T4, and loan document, and laid them out. Then I completely detached. They weren't my taxes. They were just bits of paper that needed to be put in the right order. Then I took my fat stack of paper (just papers, totally not my tax return, nothing to see here), scanned every page, and sent it off to the expert. Out of sight, out of mind. But most importantly, done!

100% of the tax return (if there is one) is going into my savings account, and those funds are earmarked for first & last month's rent. It also helps that getting an apartment is a six-month goal :yay:

Aracat

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Aracat » Thu Apr 25, 2013 1:25 am

Day 10: Examining the railroad tracks on which we run
1, 2: <snip>
tl;dr:
- Inviting people over and feeding/entertaining them, while socially useful, usually ends up being more trouble than it's worth.
- Reading forums is perhaps not a good use of my time but it amuses me.
- Other things I don't like doing, but I know that doing them is improving my life.
3: I kicked most of my useless routines out of my life already, so I don't have much that I want to remove.
- Inviting people over could be improved by having a declared end time to the event so I can get whatever else I want done.
- If I'm honest, the time I spend messing around on the internet in general is probably the biggest "waste" of my time in terms of getting stuff done.
4: The time I would allocate to doing useful/creative things is mostly spent doing challenges.

I'm not sure if I've been doing the last few of these right or if I'm ahead of the game here. :nnngh:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Thu Apr 25, 2013 5:13 am

Momar wrote:
Wed Apr 24, 2013 10:48 pm
I'm a little behind too. But incidentally, my CBT therapist thinks you're doing a wonderful thing, Izzy :yay:
:allears: Tell your therapist that means a lot and that I thank them!
[quote="Perpetual post_id=21679 time=1366858710 user_id=77]I really wanted to do this thing, but I had no idea that each challenge built directly off the last. Because I'm unable to do Day 3, every single day afterwards is also impossible for me.[/quote]
The first few challenges follow one another more closely, but there are challenges you can follow from the get-go, like 9 & 10.
8 is also doable if you alter it to fit your specific needs.

Remix the challenges to your liking.
I'm sorry, Isaak. I know you said that there's no failing this, but I can't see how this is anything but a failure on my part, and I feel like I've let you down since you really wanted me to participate in this from the beginning. There's just nothing I can do. :fluttersmith:
Don't apologize to me, I should be apologizing to you. I thought I had the best way ever to help fix every problem that existed, so I went ahead to try it without actually thinking ahead. Which means I gave the wrong impression to you and others and things didn't go the way we hoped it would.

I'm the one responsible here, so don't worry about it, okay? :)
Momar wrote:
Thu Apr 25, 2013 1:07 am

Proofreading edit: Holy fuck. I can't believe I wrote that. I didn't know this about myself.
:allears: :allears: :allears:
So anyway, preparing my tax info was my Day 6 task, and Day 7, I did it. Once I got over my crippling anxiety, the rest was actually pretty easy. Wanna know how? I printed everything out. I called my dentist and pharmacy, and asked for EVERY receipt, and printed them out. I opened every CRA letter, T4, and loan document, and laid them out. Then I completely detached. They weren't my taxes. They were just bits of paper that needed to be put in the right order. Then I took my fat stack of paper (just papers, totally not my tax return, nothing to see here), scanned every page, and sent it off to the expert. Out of sight, out of mind. But most importantly, done!

100% of the tax return (if there is one) is going into my savings account, and those funds are earmarked for first & last month's rent. It also helps that getting an apartment is a six-month goal :yay:
You're doing awesome Momar, I'm so happy for you!
Aracat wrote:
Thu Apr 25, 2013 1:25 am
Day 10: Examining the railroad tracks on which we run

I'm not sure if I've been doing the last few of these right or if I'm ahead of the game here. :nnngh:
It depends per person. I've done a lot over the years to get rid of bad habits, but there are still things that have cropped up over the years.

Also, I've found that this challenge might not be as reliable for me, since it's become a routine to add to and maintain the challenge. On the other hand, I've pointed out some things I could stop doing, like buying a snack on the trainstation when going home: I just make a bigger lunch.

Nightsong

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Nightsong » Thu Apr 25, 2013 9:59 am

I have been busier than usual this week - actually going out and doing things rather than sitting at home by myself. This means I have already completed my 'three hours of being social' this week and have done something for someone else (taught my flatmate to purl). However, I am no where near my reading or my exercising goals and I don't have time for either tonight as I'm going to choir. There's always the weekend, I guess.

My ideal life (I kind of did all the segments before I realised I didn't need to, but there's some repetition):
Career - I'd be a pop singer or an author or I'd be in publishing or doing something to improve people's lives. If I had unlimited time and energy, I guess I'd be doing all of those things. I'd write children's books and fantasy books and maybe modern lit as well. I'd rock out to my own musical taste on stage and my music would make people happy and joyful. I'd have a steady 9-5 job in an office in some nice part of London editing books or getting them published. I'd be directly involved in making people's lives better.

Finance - I don't know numbers, but I'd rent a one-bedroom flat in London that I was allowed to redecorate however I wanted. I'd also have a house somewhere either in the south-east of England or in Scotland surrounded by green trees or the sea. I'd have loads of books (physical and e-reader), money to spend on leisure activities and enough to give to charity too.

Fitness - I'd be gorgeously thin and fit enough to not have to worry that I'm ruining my health. My joints wouldn't hurt after I've walked/stood all day and I'd be light enough that I never needed to feel awkward about being lifted up.

Social - All my current friends would live nearby (in the London block of flats, ideally) and they'd be happy to do so and not giving up their careers or boyfriends or anything. :-P Would come up with fun stuff for us to do and coax us all into going, like she used to at university. There'd be a common area where we could all go hang out casually without plans. I'd never have to be alone, unless I wanted to be.

Family - My parents would be thrilled with my life and wouldn't criticise anymore. They'd still be living where they are now, but they'd have stopped fighting with their neighbours. I'd go home for Christmas and birthdays and other events.

Love - I'd be surrounded by my friends who love me and whom I love. I'd be perfectly happy and no one else would feel like that was weird.

Fun I'd go swing dancing and do karaoke and go on adventures with my friends like we used to. I'd read books I really enjoyed and go to see films and plays alone or with friends. I'd try new things and find out what I like and what I enjoy and I would do those things all the time.

Contribution I'd work directly with a group of people, bringing them together and giving them a safe place to socialise and make friends. I might also teach them skills, but mostly it would be about doing something to make them feel happy. I'd also campaign of/contribute to feminist, LGBT and racial equality movements to make the world better for everyone.

Personal growth I'd be trying new things, learning what makes me happy and making new friends. I'd also be learning the best ways to make life even better for even more people.

Self image I'd see myself as attractive, confident and interesting. I'd feel like I had something to give the world and that I had a place and a purpose in it.
I feel like mine is a lot more self-orientated than other people's :( It's interesting to me that my 'ideal life' doesn't have a significant other in it, though. I tried, but I couldn't imagine a relationship that would last and never result in me being hurt, so I just decided to stick with my friends.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Venusy (?) » Thu Apr 25, 2013 10:06 am

Image

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Thu Apr 25, 2013 12:59 pm

Image

Day 12: Take a pitstop

It's Friday tomorrow, we have a weekend ahead of us, let's have a day to recharge.

Are you behind a bit and got any challenges you'd like to finish? Any you'd like to revisit? Maybe you've got something you've wanted to do but didn't get around to. Or you may just want to take a break and marathon that series you've wanted to watch, or play that game you've been so curious about.

Do what you'd like to, we'll be back on Saturday :chillin:

ScionVyse

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by ScionVyse » Thu Apr 25, 2013 1:02 pm

Welp, I won't be doing challenge 10 at all, or at least for a while. I've been doing most of them even if I haven't posted them all, but I won't be doing 10 for now. Mainly because my routine will be changing significantly next week. I have a job that starts Monday bright and early at 8:30! Goal 1 complete! Goal 2 forcibly complete! Aaaa I'm so stoked aaaa :twonk:

Now I just need to get my tax refund back so I can buy a bass (which is totally unrelated to my job) and pay for gas next week.

Now to do get to work on day 11. It would be easier if I hadn't gotten hired today. Not having a job would have been my main frustration. Now I'm going to have to think about things. D'oh. :-/

Aracat

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Aracat » Fri Apr 26, 2013 12:59 am

Day 11:
tl;dr:
Another person and myself have communication issues, and this has been bothering me for a while. We had a chat and I think things will be better in the future.

Day 12:
I am finding a Pinkie Pie plush of some kind and hugging it for Isaak. :party:

Ponder

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Ponder » Fri Apr 26, 2013 1:12 am

I've been running behind again, and wanted to have caught up completely before posting. Bad idea. I still haven't caught all the way up, but I haven't posted anything here for days. Here's my Days 7 through 10.

Day 7:
Image
Day 8:
Isaak wrote:
Sun Apr 21, 2013 5:20 pm
Turn to a new page in your notebook and title it something cool.
:smirk:
Image
Day 9:
Image
Day 10: (TOO MUCH TEXT :twonk: )
Image
Image
Image
Day 11 to come tomorrow.

A major problem I'm having is motivation. I feel motivated while I'm doing things, but not before. Doing these daily challenges can get me pumped up, but that feeling leaves me soon after I finish them. I tell myself what I need to do, but then can't bring myself to do them. What's wrong with me, and how can I fix it? :saddash:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Hi. (?) » Fri Apr 26, 2013 1:48 am

Oops, I forgot to post day 10! In hindsight, I was a bit lazy with it, but it's made me realize I really don't have a lot of habits, and I play a lot of stuff by ear. I'm not sure if this is a problem.
Image
I also did day 11, but I'm not going to post it, because it's personal. But I did it! :pinkieshrug:

Ponder

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Ponder » Fri Apr 26, 2013 2:00 pm

Aaaand Day 11:
Image
So, here's where I ask for help. I don't know how to make myself do things. I am a pro-level procrastinator, in that I always put things off, sometimes to the point of not doing them at all. Important things. Anything I know I should be doing, I can almost never bring myself to actually do. I don't know how to fix it. I can sit down, logic at myself until I know the only reasonable course of action is to, well, take action, and immediately afterward plop down at the computer to play games or mindlessly surf the internet. It makes me mad at myself, but that doesn't bring me any closer to getting up and moving. Soliloquy tends to turn into self-castigation. This is a problem I have no idea how to start tackling.

Does anyone here know how to go about fixing a willpower problem? I don't even know where to start with this. :nnngh:

doodlesplat

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by doodlesplat » Fri Apr 26, 2013 3:08 pm

PonderSketch wrote:
Fri Apr 26, 2013 2:00 pm
I don't know how to make myself do things.
If many forms of convincing yourself to do it doesn't work, try simply not convincing yourself. Once you have the list of steps you plan to take (in your head or on paper), don't think about whether to do it or not. Just jump right into step 1 and be reckless! Your brain might feel weird as it is trying to make justifications for what's going on, but if you keep yourself busied with the task, by the time it figures it out you'll be done that step and onto the next... :-P
In other words, the part of your brain that plots and goes 'well, here's a way I can do it later instead of now...', just ignore or remove them from the thought process. If it helps, you can cackle maniacally as you recklessly plow through task after task.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Fri Apr 26, 2013 3:44 pm

PonderSketch wrote:
Fri Apr 26, 2013 2:00 pm
Aaaand Day 11:

So, here's where I ask for help. I don't know how to make myself do things. I am a pro-level procrastinator, in that I always put things off, sometimes to the point of not doing them at all. Important things. Anything I know I should be doing, I can almost never bring myself to actually do. I don't know how to fix it. I can sit down, logic at myself until I know the only reasonable course of action is to, well, take action, and immediately afterward plop down at the computer to play games or mindlessly surf the internet. It makes me mad at myself, but that doesn't bring me any closer to getting up and moving. Soliloquy tends to turn into self-castigation. This is a problem I have no idea how to start tackling.

Does anyone here know how to go about fixing a willpower problem? I don't even know where to start with this. :nnngh:
Don't punish yourself for not doing things. I've done it and it only made me feel bad. As a long-term solution it's terrible.

I know the feeling, I know what it's like and it's really hard to put it into words. I've mostly grown out of it, thanks to cultivating good habits and getting a routine down. I just got home the first time in two days and the sheer sight of my desk and computer made me happy because OMIGOD I'M GOING TO WORK ON SO MANY COOL THINGS. :awesomedash:

Now it's not an instant solution, you can't just start having a habit: habits have to be trained. You get better at it the more you do it, so the first few tries might not work out the way you want them to. You might also find the habits stupid. Why do you need them anyway? Shouldn't you be able to ride your bicycle without training wheels? But keep going and don't stop. There's absolutely no shame in training wheels, we all had them. Here are a couple of techniques & hacks I've found along the way:

Pomodoro Technique: The Pomodoro Technique is a timeboxing method where you use a timer/stopwatch. You put the timer on 25 minutes and then get to work. A cooking timer works best because of the ticking. A stopwatch app on your phone works too if you put the phone next to you as the screen stays on and continuously reminds you of the time.
I've also experimented with different times, like an hour and 90 minutes.

Chore Wars: You're not a mere person trying to do tasks. You're a bonafide adventurer on an epic quest to vanquish the dreaded Lord Procastrinot. Formulate your own quests, accomplish them and earn XP. Level up your character and become the bad assest bad ass on your hemisphere :chillin:

Zen to Done: Zen to Done is a minimalist system of habits to help you organize and get things done. It's Stephen Covey's Getting Things Done, but without the unnecessary noise.

Livestream/Record yourself working: Livestream yourself working on stuff. You don't need to have a mic, just livestream it and tell your friends to join you. Do you really want to let your friends see your Facebook wall while you could be showing them the wonders of Your Art Program of choice? I find it shuts down whatever part of my brain tells me to "GO CHECK FACEBOOK UAAAGGHH" or whatever silly thing.

Scorched Earth: Unplug your computer's ethernet cable.

Go from there and look for similar techniques. My "system" is a mishmash of different things I've cobbled together over the years. Make one that works for you.
I've found that simply trying to improve my system is fun in and of itself, because I get to play around with my brain and experiment.

Have fun with it basically :)

Throbulator

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Throbulator » Fri Apr 26, 2013 3:58 pm

Hey peeps, just letting you all know I've not flaked out of this challenge. I just have a lot of balls in the air right now to properly pay attention to my journal.

Don't worry; the balls are all in cheerful colours. :allright:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Fri Apr 26, 2013 6:29 pm

Throbulator wrote:
Fri Apr 26, 2013 3:58 pm
Hey peeps, just letting you all know I've not flaked out of this challenge. I just have a lot of balls in the air right now to properly pay attention to my journal.

Don't worry; the balls are all in cheerful colours. :allright:
Nice :party:

Dear Princess Celestia, finding the right picture took more time than writing the actual challenge :-I

Image

Day 13: Declutter

Welcome back from yesterday's pitstop, I thought we could use one to catch up and take a breather. Did you manage to catch up? Or relax with a nice flick or some games?
Remember to take a break when you feel like you could use, step away from what you're doing and try to put your mind elsewhere. When you get back to the task at hand you'll be feeling fresh and you might have a new perspective on things.

Be at ease with the world and how you interact with it. If there are things frustrating you don't let the frustration take hold. Don't try to contort yourself in a certain way, you'll put pressure on yourself trying to conform to a certain pattern.

Have expectations, but don't let the expectations own you. If things don't go your way, be okay with that. Continue with your original intent and figure out new and better ways of achieving it.
Frustration, annoyance, anxiety, fear are all perfectly normal, human emotions to have. But they're part of an incredibly wide spectrum, and it's easy to focus on the negative and throw yourself in a loop. When this happens, realize there's a problem and you're simply reacting to it.
Then find ways to solve it. You might have to push your comfort zone, but that's exactly where the opportunity to learn lies :)

With, let's get to today's challenge!

Winter Wrap Up

We sure like stuff don't we? And lots of it! We're encouraged to buy fancy gadgets, make up, clothing and we continually purchase more and more and more, even if the stuff we're using works just fine. Having something new and shiny come out every day doesn't help much either.

We keep a lot of things around too because "we might need it later" or simply because we put it somewhere and don't pay it any mind.
Some people have it really bad. So bad in fact that there are entire reality tv shows dedicated to them.

It isn't just physical either. Our harddrives contain files we haven't opened ever and it spills over to the world wide web: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, forums, Flickr, Four Square, Youtube. Our email boxes have thousands of emails in them, both super useful and turbo useless.

How much do we read? Probably not a whole lot of it...

We have clutter in our pockets too: our phones have messages, apps, photos, documents that we just keep there for... errr... reasons.
Ultimately, it's noise. Just... there for no real reason, but it's still there sort of annoying us. Maybe more than we realize. Besides taking up physical & digital space, it also takes up space in our heads. We have to trudge through hundreds of articles in our RSS feeds every day, have to wade through documents to find that one that we need right now. Where the hay are my keys? I forgot what colour my desk was... I have trouble opening my door.

Your challenge today beautiful person:

Winter Wrap that clutter Up
Winter Wrap it Up big time :chillin:

Open to a new page of your notebook, give it a title worthy of a movie adaptation.
Your challenge is to declutter as much as you can today. Write down all the things you want to declutter & organize, then set aside the time to declutter them.

Keep in mind the 80/20 rule here.

Here are some things you could declutter. Don't feel intimated, this is only a list of examples!

Browser: any bookmarks you keep but don't visit? Any toolbars you got installed but never really use?

Email: How clean is your inbox? :-I Mine isn't. In fact it has like... 6000+ emails in it. Unsubscribe from any newsletters, clear out junk contacts.
For existing emails, organize them with folders & labels. Also check out inbox zero.

Computer: Delete documents you don't use. Organize folders, files, delete unused pictures on your desktop. Uninstall any application you rarely use. Empty your recycle bin, defrag your computer.

Online accounts: How many social media thingies do you have? Do you follow any people on Twitter you could clear? Any updates on your Facebook you can hide forever? Destroy all the clutter :twonk:

Mobile phone: uninstall apps you don't use. Get rid of any audio files or images you don't use. Tidy up bookmarks, organize your pictures, groom its hair... Wait.

Desk: Clean your table top. Get rid of any trash and dishes. Remove documents you have no use for. Improve how things can be organized.

Wardrobe: Are there any clothes you no longer wear? Any that don't fit any more? Donate them to the Salvation Army!

With everything you come across, ask yourself "Is this essential? Do I need this". If not, into the great beyond with it! If yes, organize it accordingly.
Clutter takes up room, by getting rid of it you allow new and much more useful things to get in.

A few tips for decluttering:

Start small, like your desk. Then go from there.

Remove outdated stuff: Are you still keeping old textbooks, documents and the like? Throw away old calendars, newspapers, toys. Or even better, give them to someone who might need them!
Remove if you're not going to need it. Ask yourself "Am I going to need this in the foreseeable future? If no, Scorched Earth.

Address any resistance while clearing
If you find yourself reluctant to clear something, ask yourself why and try to answer it. You might be keeping things you told yourself you'd keep "for memory's sake", but never really paid any mind.
You don't need a whole lot of stuff to remind you of something :)

Clean out the space. After you've finished decluttering something physical, clean it. Relish in its denoised goodness and think of all the useless stuff you just got rid off.

Reflect on Today's Task

What did you declutter today? How did it make you feel?

Day 13 of Your Wickedly Awesome Action Plan

What awesome things have you got planned for today? Go forth and make them so!

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