Kick Start Change Challenge

Hi Cole

I have problems remembering my meds too. I have found that setting an alarm, on your cell-phone or watch or something you always have with you, really helps to keep me consistent.

Another thing that has worked for me when I have too much time on my hands and still not getting anything done is to pick just one thing you will work on. For instance, I hate doing housework, so instead of saying that I am going to clean the house, I will decide to do the dishes, which is an easy task for me that I don’t mind doing. Usually by standing at the sink and clearing up the dishes, it makes me inspired to clean off the counters and get out the cleaners and it takes me no time at all and my kitchen is clean. Now this doesn’t work all the time, many times I do the dishes and then go right back to doing nothing. But as long as I have done something, I feel good about myself.

A friend of mine got me started on giving myself little rewards. She started this while in college, having to get through studying for a subject she found boring. She would give herself an M&M after each paragraph she read, and she found she was much more motivated to do the studying. It really works. The key is to give the reward immediately after the effort and making the reward and effort both really small. When I have to do work that I have been putting off, I get a bag of M&Ms, put them in a little bowl on my desk, and then give myself an M&M for every 10 minutes of concentrated work. So if you have certain goals and they can be broken up into REALLY small steps, get a reward that will really motivate you, and then reward yourself every time you do the activity.