Month: September 2023

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Juggling Work, School, and Life: My Journey to a Graduate Degree

Hey guys! So, one day, I woke up and thought, “I want to go back to school and finish my graduate degree.” Yep, even though I already have a full-time job. Crazy, right? I even decided to take not one, not two, but three courses each week. Oh, and I managed to pass two big CMA exams in just four months. So, how did I pull this off?

First things first, I had to sort out my schedule. We all have only 24 hours daily, no matter how busy. I spent about two weeks tweaking my daily plans until I found extra hours for my classes.

After figuring that out, I talked to my husband about my big idea. He was worried I might wear myself out, but he was super supportive. He even offered to help out with some chores around the house. Teamwork makes the dream work!

Initially, I decided to take it easy and sign up for two classes each semester. But guess what? I felt bold and bumped it into three courses to finish everything in just two semesters. Yeah, I soon found out that was a big oopsie. Grad school isn’t like undergrad; there’s way more work. I had tons of assignments and papers to write. I even had to take five vacation days from my job to catch up on schoolwork. It’s a good thing it wasn’t the busy end-of-year work season!

Despite the craziness, there were some rules I stuck to:

  1. Keep Running: Believe it or not, I still ran my usual 5K every morning. It’s my ‘me time.’
  2. Don’t Overeat at Night: I had to make sure I could focus on studying and feeling too full would make that hard.
  3. Use Spare Time Wisely: Any extra 15 minutes I had, I used for quick chores. A clean home makes a happy mind.
  4. Be Grateful: I couldn’t have done this without my amazing husband. He’s my rock.

So, after a chaotic but super rewarding year, I survived and thrived. I kept my grades up and even graduated with two honors. I know this was one of the craziest things I did. Whatever your big dream is, go for it. Just ensure you have a solid plan, an excellent support team, and a lot of determination.

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Two Proven Methods for Identifying Habits You Actually Need

Hello Dear Readers,

One of the challenges in establishing good habits is figuring out which practices you need. There are many strategies to spot these gaps in your life, and I’ve tried a few. Today, I want to share two methods that have worked well for me.

The first approach is straightforward: pay attention to your immediate environment. Look for tasks, especially repetitive chores, that need doing. Once you’ve identified an assignment, the next step is to decide how often it needs to be done.

Sometimes, determining the frequency is easy because experts have already provided recommendations. Take, for example, the air filters in our HVAC system. I talked to our HVAC technician about routine maintenance to extend the life of our heater and AC. He recommended changing the air filters monthly. Based on his advice, we set up a recurring Amazon order for inexpensive air filters. I also created a monthly reminder on my phone.

There are times, however, when you have to determine the frequency yourself. In such cases, you might need to revisit and adjust the interval to fit your life circumstances better.

The second method I use for identifying habits involves listening to those around me. Specifically, it grabs my attention if I hear my wife or anyone else complain about the same thing three times. I consider whether it’s something I can take action on. Using this approach, I’ve established some beneficial habits. For instance, I’ve gotten into cleaning our cat’s litter box, scrubbing our toilets, and calling my parents more regularly.

These strategies help you identify gaps in your routine. Building a complete set of habits is a gradual process. It’s usually better to let them accumulate over time rather than trying to establish them all at once.

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The Power of Small Steps: How Breaking Down Goals Leads to Big Wins

One lesson I continually learn in my journey of habit formation is the power of small, consistent goals. Achieving startling results can sometimes require herculean efforts. For example, last year, I ran over 1,000 miles. It might sound like a lot, if I only intended to run it in a month. Instead, I broke it down into smaller, more manageable distances. This approach allowed me to hit that considerable number over time.

I’m naturally inclined to try and accomplish goals in one giant leap, but this often leads to failure. For instance, I recently committed to better caring for our front yard. My first task was to weed the planter areas. Initially, it seemed like an overwhelming job. However, by dedicating just 20 minutes a day to it, I found it more manageable. I expect to finish the tendering of our front yard sometime this week without being subjected to a back-breaking, all-day endeavor.

If you need help to achieve your goals or even to get started, consider breaking them down into smaller tasks. The temptation to tackle everything all at once is strong but only sometimes effective. Intellectually, I understand this. Yet, the urge to “do it all now” still pops up.

When setting my goals, I make it a point to remind myself to break them into smaller tasks. I plan to work on these smaller tasks over a more extended period. Starting earlier and extending the timeline can be a safer and more effective approach for various activities.

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From Running to Strength: How I Built an Effective Upper Body Routine

Hello again, dear readers,

After running 1000 miles last year, I decided my legs were in the best condition they’d ever been, even before my stroke. Encouraged by my previous success, I expanded my exercises to include my upper body. I decided on pull-ups, pullovers, pushups, tricep pushups, and planks. These were all exercises I was previously familiar with and knew how to do, and they should help balance the fitness of my body a bit more. 

Next, I had to find a time/trigger for my exercises and determine how many to do. Since I’d been so good at keeping my running schedule, I used getting ready for my run as my trigger. So, every running day, before I head outside, I do some number of pull-ups, pullovers, pushups, triceps pushups, and planking. At the start of this routine, I only did one pull-up, one pullover, 21 pushups, one triceps pushup, and 1 minute, 21 seconds of planking. I found it easier to keep track of the goal numbers if they were aligned. 

I also decided that if I could achieve the target number 10 times, I would increase the number by 1. Eventually, I found that I could do two sets of exercises and did my first before I ate breakfast and my second before my run. In the beginning, when I was doing relatively small numbers of each activity, I tried to do four sets spread throughout the day. Still, I didn’t have appropriate triggers for 2 of them or 3 of them on non-running days, so I periodically forgot to do them all. Still, my before-breakfast set was reasonably easy to remember. I kept up with this set and have done it daily for over 200 days, gradually increasing my counts to 10 pull-ups, 10 pullovers, 20 pushups, 10 triceps pushups, and 1 minute 50 seconds of planking. There have been non-running days that I’ve missed the second set, but those have been rare enough that I haven’t worried too much about it.

So, after you’ve built and established a habit, consider using it as an anchor for expanding it into an entire routine. In making this routine, I prioritized rooting the practice over starting with higher/more challenging numbers. In the beginning, doing a single pull-up felt underwhelming, but I built the habit of slowly increasing the repetitions in my mind. I’m pretty confident that 10 successful sets aren’t optimal, but it’s easy to keep track of, and it’s working for me now. 

If it stops working, I must find a way to fix it. However, what matters most is that I am progressing and getting stronger.

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The Power of Small Goals: Achieving Big Results Through Consistency

One of the lessons I keep discovering throughout my various habit formation is that small goals done consistently over time can lead to pretty startling results.  

I want to accomplish a goal in one herculean effort, and I often fail when I attempt such a thing. Last year, I ran over 1,000 miles. If I had set out to run 1,000 miles all at once or even in a single month, I’m confident I would have immediately failed; however, by splitting the 1000 miles into more manageable albeit still challenging parts, I could achieve this more significant number. 

I also recently committed to maintaining our front yard better, and the first objective was to weed our planted areas. When I first decided, weeding the entire area would be nearly impossible, but I decided to find a mere 20 minutes to work on it every day. 

I expect it to be finished sometime this week, and I’ll have to maintain it. Again, had I tried to strip the areas of weeds all in one day, it would have been miserable and potentially unwise as it’s pretty hot outside.

If you need help to complete your goals or even get started at them, try to make them smaller. Don’t try to run 1000 miles all at once. Intellectually, I know it’s better to set goals this way, but I still feel an urge to try and do it all at once. 

In my goal formation, I remember to make the habits smaller and plan to practice over a more extended period. Starting earlier and going longer is a safer way to approach many activities.

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“The Unforgettable Journey of Honora: A Review of ‘Sing, Wild Bird, Sing’ by Jacqueline O’Mahony”

“Sing, Wild Bird, Sing” by Jacqueline O’Mahony is a captivating book that opened my eyes. It tells the story of Honora, a young Irish woman who leaves her home because of the Great Famine. Reading this book made me realize how tough life was not just for American pioneers, like in “The Little House on the Prairie,” but also for immigrants like Honora, who came to a brand new country.

What stands out is the author’s fantastic research. The book profoundly looks into the period and makes you feel right there with Honora. Suppose you’ve read other books about Irish or American history. In that case, this one offers something unique by focusing on the Irish Famine. It was so interesting that I even did some of my research on the topic!

One of the most excellent parts of this book is how it keeps you guessing. When you think you know what will happen to Honora, something unexpected comes up. It’s super exciting and makes the book hard to put down.

What got me thinking was the role of women during that time. It made me wonder how different Honora’s life would have been if she were a man. Even today, women often face challenges that men don’t, something I’ve noticed as an immigrant myself. But the struggles Honora faces are on another level.

To summarize, “Sing, Wild Bird, Sing” is not just a history book; it’s a story about courage, tough times, and looking for a better life. If you’re interested in history or want a book that makes you think, I highly recommend it. This book made a big impression and made me appreciate my opportunities today.

 

Book: Sing, Wild Bird, Sing: Novel

Jacqueline O’Mahony

 

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Goal-Setting 101: How to Use Rules and Triggers for Habit Building

t helps to determine rules and triggers to develop and maintain your habits. As with my running goal last year, I knew that sometimes events would conspire against me being able to meet my 35k per week goal. As such, I needed to determine some rules to play by. I had to ensure that my rules supported my plan rather than excuses I could fall back on. The first step I took in crafting my rules was to investigate what my goal was.

 

My goal was to run 35k per week, but I wanted to regain mobility endurance and support my health. Recognizing these as my real goals helped me create appropriate rules. For example, one of my rules is that I will not run if there is snow/ice on the ground. This rule would conflict if my true goal were the 35k per week. However, since my true goal is mobility, doing something that has a substantial risk of decreasing my mobility via a broken ankle from slipping/falling is counterproductive.

I tested all of my potential rules against my goals in this manner. Setting up rules like this is crucial because otherwise, I would be relying on Ad Hoc decisions, which are too easily influenced by current emotions.

As much as I wanted to achieve my actual goals and that I became focused on reaching 35k each week, there were plenty of days when I dreaded running, and it took great effort to force myself to go out. If I had not established a strict running schedule on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, I probably would have made excuses and failed to achieve my goal by missing too many days.

The other half of this equation is setting up triggers. Triggers are events or times that prompt a response or when to apply a rule. Every run day, my trigger for getting ready for running is after I use the bathroom. Every morning, after breakfast and coffee, I’ll eventually have to use the toilet; I use this as my trigger for running. After I use the bathroom, I change into my running clothes instead of returning to my computer. My no running on snow ice rule is triggered by looking out the front door when I get my second cup of coffee. If there’s snow/ice visible on my ground now, I cancel my run.

So when trying to develop your habits, First figure out your actual goals and test your habit ideas against your real goals. Second, build your ruleset so you’re not relying on feelings or motivation, and be strict with your rules. Don’t give yourself any excuses for ignoring your rules. You might need to create a new rule if you can’t do the desired behavior. Just ensure you test this new rule against your goals. Finally, make your triggers. Use alarms on your phone if you can’t find commonly occurring events.