What This Is About

Changes - major ones and minor ones - are a process. We all know this. That's why they suck and why so many of us, when we start them rarely follow through on them. Being a person who is usually controlled by logic, I even know the reasoning why habits are hard to break and why change is frightening and difficult to maintain. Too bad change is also a fact of life.

I look at my life and frequently lament the things I need to change. Like most people, I am pretty freakin' whiny about it. Unfortunately, I am also an intellectual, so while I'm complaining, there is a part of my mind that is also piping up with a note reminding me that I need to actually do something about the situation if I'm going to complain about it - otherwise, I'm just being a hypocrite. So I decided to come up with a plan.

As an undergrad, I took applied behavioral analysis. This is the new, more politically correct term for behavior modification since the latter term tends to conjure images of electrocuting rats and scaring children. The general principle is pretty simple - you can change or build behaviors by creating a series of steps to the overall behavior and either introducing a stimulus (good or bad) or removing a stimulus (good or bad) to encourage the behavior. Since I have a lot of things I want to change, I'm going to give this plan a try - with myself as the subject of an impromptu research project.

So here is the deal - I'm going to pick one of my bad habits I want to break and I'm going to see if I can set up a scenario where I reward myself for completing the goal I set. I'm going to start with small, easy to achieve rewards, then move to more difficult, but larger and more valuable rewards as I become more used to the situation. As I build a positive habit - once I feel it is well in hand, I will begin adding a second.

The first habit I need to change is my tendency toward procrastinating in my grading for work. I always tell myself I will get the work done and something always comes up (big or small) to keep that from happening.

GOAL #1 Spend a minimum of 30 min/day on each of the 6 classes I teach.

Reward #1: For each day that I accomplish this, I will have hot chocolate for a bedtime snack and I will put aside $5. I will NOT be allowed to make hot chocolate if I have not met my minimums for the day.

Reward #2: If I meet my goal each day for a week, I will have $35 to spend on whatever I choose. I will not be allowed to spend the money if there is not at least $35. Instead, I must put that money in my savings account and it is inaccessible for any spending.

I will keep this posted as to how I am doing on working toward my goal.