I mentioned at the end of July that I would be trying out a new productivity method to encourage several behaviors I wanted to develop – namely writing, exercising, and doing things around the house. I also said that I would be updating with how I did and how effective it was. And then…nothing. You’d think that would stand in as a pretty effective indicator as to how the chains method was working for me. However, that’s not the case.
Things started out really well, and I was consistently meeting my goals. Then for a variety of reasons, almost none of them relevant, my routine got thrown for a loop. Starting the chain was much easier than restarting it. After all, I had failed once, and would inevitably do it again. Why bother? However, I’ve realized that this is an easy attitude to have, but it’s not the right attitude to have. Things will go wrong and these new chains will be broken. The only thing I have control over is how I will react to these setbacks.
So I’ve decided to start anew. Rather than the paper calendar and marker method I used before, I am going to start using Chains.cc, which keeps statistics about compliance and has a nice visual interface that brings home the length of the chain(s). It also allows you to join groups with others who have similar goals for mutual reinforcement. I just signed up, so I don’t have a complete grasp of the system yet, but it seems like an excellent tool.
I plan on doing monthly progress reports, and this time, I’ll have something to report.