Day 235 of writing every day.
Phrasing matters even if the intended meanings and goals of the words are the same. That is why writers will spend a long time trying to figure out the best wording to get their message across. Wrongly wording things will not get the intended results.
When I told myself to study x hours a day while enrolled in an online programming school, it was a struggle to hold myself to it. After thinking about it and despite getting a job, I realized that I should approach the issue from a different angle, especially if I’m going to rehabilitate myself back to working 8 hour days. It’ll be close to 5 months of not working by the time I start working. I want to ease myself back into the working life schedule.
Even though I got hired, I’m still going to need to improve my skills and build up my portfolio for the company to sell my skills to projects. My pay is not going to go up just sitting around doing nothing or the bare minimum. More skills will lead to higher paying projects and the likelihood the company will pay me more. If they don’t, then I will be better equipped to find a better paying position elsewhere. That’s how the labor market should work in a competitive market.
Rather than tell myself to study x hours a day, I decided to approach the problem directly and told myself no gaming until past 6pm on weekdays. I don’t know if it’ll work for long, but resisting the urge to play games with a clearly drawn line for when it’s okay and not okay to play will greatly affect how I use time. I don’t have to be studying the whole time, but as long as I’m not gaming, my mind will be turned towards more productive activities such as reading and cleaning, or even just planning things out that I’ve been avoiding.
Denying myself but still getting a delayed gratification is easier mentally than forcing myself to do a task for a set amount of time, I believe. It might be different for others, but if I’m the only one holding myself accountable in practice, then it’s best to try whatever mental tricks I can rather than to keep expecting something that hasn’t worked to eventually work.
Games are a form of escape for me and as long as I keep myself from mentally running away from things I need to get done, especially throughout the day, then I’m positive there will be noticeable improvements to how I’m using my time.
Thanks for reading!
One Chance Works 