Well, I made it. Season of Change (SoC) Season 1 is a wrap and my attention has already begun to shift towards Season 2. Was Season 1 a complete success? No. Am I reinvented Jane? No. Am I changed? Yes, though it’s only enough for me to notice and, perhaps a little, my husband. I’m still the same person, but now with a little more self-discipline.
No one, apart from my husband, was aware of my SoC or any of my goals so the best way I kept myself truly accountable was through this blog. Although only my eyes have seen these words, I knew that if I quit at any time, I might never trust another promise to myself. If not now, then when would ever be a good time to not only get started, but to also keep going even when it was hard? Thankfully, I didn’t quit (even though there were moments) and instead learned that most improvements are rarely made in grand moments, but rather arrive in bite-sized chunks.
I can admit now that I probably expected too much from one season and three months of work. My physical changes are miniscule to the naked eye, learned history is not something visible, my Spanish-language skills are still being molded, and other than the scarf I crocheted, nothing tangible was output from Season 1. That doesn’t mean that positive change didn’t happen as my mental fortitude is being built and I’m habituating myself to do things that are good for me even when I don’t want to. Trust is being created within which will help me to mold the time I have and allow more ambitious goals to flourish in the future.
Many of us believe that “someday” or “one day in the future” our life will be as we desire it to be. I know I thought that when I was younger and held onto that belief for too long before I realized that personal change starts with the self. It’s literally one step then the next. There’s no magic formula that will whisk us to a finish line that we didn’t earn when it comes to self-improvement.
My thesis with Season of Change (link) was simply to better myself, make the most of the time I’m given for positive change, and finally make the “ideal” future Jane my present reality. I’m still very far off from those goals, but my progress has brought them a little closer. Breaking down and scheduling my goals into daily and weekly tasks created a blueprint for my goals and what I was expected to do each week to move the needle. This worked for me. I had concrete assignments and an easy reminder system that kept me in check and allowed me to stay on path instead of veer into the next shiny skill or project that caught my attention. If a new goal popped into my head, I simply added it to my Grand List of goals that I can pencil into a future SoC Season.
I’m happy I did this project and I plan to take the lessons learned from Season 1 into Season 2 and continue to build up healthy habits.
Successes:
- Learned an introductory level of crocheting and completed my first project.
- Increased my physical strength and can now lift more weight and perform a curl up from a dead hang.
- Study sessions worked for me. Scheduling myself a task for sitting down and learning on a specific topic (even if I didn’t always tune in at the scheduled day) was very beneficial.
- I read six books during Season 1.
- My husband picked up playing the piano again. It could be coincidence but I’d like to think he saw me working on new things, so he decided to branch out a little as well.
- Following Season 1 completion, I treated myself to a trip to Washington D.C. to visit some of the history I learned about. I also re-watched the National Treasure movie (one of my favorite popcorn flicks) for fun.
Lessons Learned:
- Accountability is a must. There were so many instances where I wanted to skip posting an update (and I knew no one was reading) but putting a promise to myself in writing that I’d try for 12 weeks and throwing that out into the world made me push on.
- “I’ll start next week” or “After I’m done with this big work project then I can really focus on improving my life” are generally just excuses. I’m guilty of this which is why I plan out my SoCs and put my goals in writing via my blogs because I know without some sort of accountability, it is too easy for me to lose focus or let my plans descend into nothingness. Planning a start date is essential but also know that no start date will be perfect. Life will continue to happen.
- It’s far easier to expect your future self to cash the check your current self wrote. Imagining yourself running on a treadmill, nose in a book, or studying a language is effortless compared to actually doing it. Our lives aren’t a montage in a movie; the “boring” stuff is what makes the progress possible.
- When I didn’t feel like doing anything, I’d convince myself to only walk for three minutes or read three pages and that often would turn into a completed task; not always, but enough to make a difference.
- At the end of the day, it didn’t matter if I had the best plan and the best organization if I didn’t step into the activity. If I want something, I need to do the work. There is no shortcut.
- I wasn’t cured of all of my bad habits, such as my lack of inertia and languidness at times, but they were lessened.
- Realized I could still begin unscheduled goals if I desired (which also proved that I had enough time for all my goals). During Season 1 I planted a small container garden so I could grow some fresh veggies. This wasn’t planned but after the initial effort, the garden doesn’t take much to care for and I really love it.
- I dropped the ball at tracking Traits outside of my bi-weekly blog post. To remedy this, I will create a daily habit tracker in TickTick for reflection on the traits I want to work on in the future.
- I also didn’t put Stops in my tasking so they kind of fell away and I basically forgot about them. They will be added as a habit tracker in future Seasons.
- I somehow missed my goal of learning Spanish in my Season 1 kickoff post but I did track it each day.
- I mentally resisted sitting down at my home computer (maybe it feels too much like my actual job) so I purchased a laptop desk with a pillow cushion that allows me to work in my loft instead when I desired.
- The task that physically hurt the most (splits, not general stretching) was the thing I skipped the most. I found lifting weights easier than practicing the splits so I really struggled to complete that task and it very often was missed.
- Study sessions weren’t long enough. I didn’t have enough time to complete the two main books for my U.S. Constitution studies so I did have to spend some of my break catching up. One book was 400+ pages and the other close to 800 pages so I wasn’t slacking so much as ill-prepared. I should have broken down how many pages I needed to read per session or added in catch-up sessions earlier in the Season.
- Helpful to have a goal that you can quickly see progress. For me it was crochet. I still only know the basics but I’ve got those down and can actually create something. Some tasks can take months or more to see progress so it can be good to have one that can keep me motivated that the process is working.
- I never gave myself a small reward except more time to relax guilt-free since there wasn’t one block of time that I completed all my tasking. Part of that reason was because I had more social occasions than I expected during those 12 weeks which threw off my schedule. However, I did reward myself with a weekend trip with a self-promise to finish my Study reading and essay.
- Keeping promises to myself builds self-confidence that I can do what I say and that I am a woman of my word.
- My greatest lesson in productivity or feeling accomplished: remember the goal is not to get things done just so I can sit on the couch and “relax”. Goal to realize these things that I am doing are my life; they’re what make me happy and human.
Questions from my SoC Blueprint that I Hope will be Answered as I Progress (Now Answered)
Is this overly ambitious for myself?
THEN: Probably…almost a guaranteed yes. However, I can’t know how hard I can go until I try.
The time to accomplish these tasks exists in my “typical” day as long as I stay focused and disciplined. Motivation will ebb and wane but strict discipline can keep me on track. I plan to look at my Tick Tick app each morning until I’ve learned my schedule in hopes that I can front load as much as possible. I’ve also accounted for “know thyself” by scheduling fewer tasks on Mondays and Saturdays as I tend to be lazier at the start of the work week and find more excuses to enjoy my Saturday and tend to push things aside. The lesser tasks on some days also provides me excess time to pull in a task earlier if I’m feeling particularly motivated on a Monday for instance. Notwithstanding unexpected delays at work that may cause me to work in excess or a happy surprise that untangles my day, I can do it all.
NOW: No, this wasn’t overly ambitious. Any tasks I skipped or missed was not because I didn’t have the time or I was overworked, but rather because I couldn’t make myself do it. Allowing myself a two-week period to complete tasks, instead of requiring everything has to be accomplished on its scheduled day, provided me the flexibility I needed, but I didn’t always use.
Is it better to attempt a few goals at one time or concentrate on one of two?
THEN: I hope to discover the answer to this. I’m not certain if it’s better to work on different goals that don’t overlap, say a physical goal compared to a craft or studying a subject, or since they’re so different, different parts of my mind will appreciate the variety.
NOW: Yes. A caveat may be if you have one important goal that you want to achieve above all else. In that case, it may be beneficial to simply focus on that goal and subgoals that support that one goal. An example could be if someone is training to participate in an Ironman event.
This SoC taught me that some people are far more focused and self-disciplined than I am and seem to be able to accomplish nearly anything they put their mind to. There are millions of people that workout consistently, work or run a business, study, and raise a family. They make it work. That’s what I’m aiming for.
Am I overscheduling myself?
THEN: Some goals don’t take much effort (such as consuming more protein/hand grips) while others take only a small amount of effort (curl ups and smoothies). Some may even be enjoyable like watching a Spanish language show. The Physical goals and the studying are where I predict my struggle will live.
NOW: Technically, no. But I did still really struggle some weeks. There’s just not enough energy sometimes and motivation can wean. Checking off the TickTick boxes and knowing I was going to “show my work” via a blog post kept me going sometimes. I’m hoping self-discipline is like a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it gets.
Results:
Health & Physical:
- Increase my strength,
lower body fat, and increase physical fitness and health - Strength train 3 times a week
- Cardio for at least 150 minutes a week
- Squeeze hand grips 4 times a week
- Eat a minimum of 80 grams of protein a day
Be able to perform side splitsStretch and do splits for a minimum of 10 minutes 5 times a week
- Able to perform a curl up from a dead hang
- Practice curl ups 4 times a week
Eat a Whole-Food Plant-Based (WFPB) diet for 80% of my daily calories- Allow myself one “cheat” day a week
Studies:
- Study the U.S. Constitution
- Devote 50 minutes 3 times a week to study (college semester equivalency)
- Complete the Hillsdale College U.S. Constitution class
- Read and analyze the U.S. Constitution book
- Write a summary/report of what I’ve learned at the end of the season
Arts and Crafts:
- Learn how to crochet
- Take a beginner crochet class from the library
- Crochet 20 minutes 3 times a week after class completed
Crochet the puppy kit I previously purchased
Traits:
- Be more patient with others
- Take a breath before responding
- Put my ego to the side when I’m offended
- Take a breath before reacting
Stops:
Stop scrolling and reading ‘junk’ first thing in the morning and last thing before bed. Choose to read something informative instead or just get in or out of bed.
Other:
- Build in time for God:
Goal to memorize two of my favorite passages of the Bible each week
- Read Biblical study guides and non-fiction texts
- Read at least 15 minutes a day