[30-CHALLENGE] THE THIRTY DAYS CHALLENGE !

Day 6 completed

 

today 2/30 (Saturday)

 

Day 2 completed.

 

Day 28 completed. I'm getting there.

 

I have to start again
0/30 days
Started from 11.30 AM
17/07/2022

 

Day 7 completed.

 

Day 0

 

Day 29 completed. I haven't been very productive this month and its haunting me. My lows make me numb, make me freeze and break down. During the past month I tried to cope by talking to my friends or doing other healthy activities and stayed clean. But I lost more than 5 hrs everyday in effort to escape my lows. I have barely begun studying what I planned to study this month and suddenly I realized 17 days are gone! I had no idea when or how this happened. yesterday I figured out with the help of a friend that most of it was gone in coping with my depression. But I can't afford to lose any more time because my exam is nearing. So I decided to take this head-on, sit in my lows and help myself calm down on my own. I began learning how to meditate -- I know I won't be able to sit longer than an hour everyday, so some time saved and some healing done. And now I should cram all the study planned for the past 17 days and the coming 14 days, all into the coming 2 weeks. Seems impossible to me. I feel nervous. But I will fight. And I know how chaotic and low my mind can get, but in no case will I give in to PMO.

 

Day 1 Check in

 

18 days now.

 

Day 8 completed.

 

Day 2/30

 

Day 30 completed! I will re-join for doing another 30.

 

Day 1/30

 

Day 9 completed.

 

I can totally relate to your frustration and worries as I am going through a similar situation.

I will share my strategy as to how I study, maybe it can also help you. It hasn't done wonders yet as expected but it certainly gives me a push in the right direction.

1. Wake up Early, if you are not a night owl. Best believe it's the best time to study.
2. Do some light exercise, very helpful.
3. Do 10mins of mindfulness exercise. The word seems magnanimous in itself but the actual exercise is quite the contrary. Just sit on a chair and focus on your breathing. While you are doing so, your mind will keep wandering and you will start to think of different things. During that time, just acknowledge that you are distracted and just switch your attention back to breathing. Simple!!!
4. If you are unable to concentrate for a long stretch of time then try the POMODORO Technique where basically you study for 25 mins with utmost concentration and then 5 mins of break. (You can google this if not clear). You can also use an app called Forest.
5. While studying, if you seem to think of some other thoughts which are distracting you, just write them down in a notebook. Writing it down limits the thought's power over you.

Hope they work for you. Happy Learning.
Cheers!

 

Hey, thank you so much for sharing your strategy with me! I had actually combined 1,2,3,5 together and made a good schedule that worked well. But my problem is consistency, especially due to the triggers and glitches that come from outside that break my flow and I find it very hard to get back on the schedule again and I lose a lot of time in picking myself back up. Maybe on days when my schedule is disturbed, I can do all you mentioned even if at random times. It is better than just letting my day go out of hand. I will try to pay attention to the practices more than being able to do it on time. Thank you again and best wishes to you!

 

Hi, I know exactly what you are talking. That is why I would suggest giving utmost focus on point 1, because for me also , if my schedule is disturbed due to any factor, then it becomes very hard for me to study. Because when you wake up early (or whenever you wake up after having a good night's sleep, your mind is that much more refreshed), it's only the anxiety that puts the brain into a state where it starts craving dopamine and as a defense mechanism, the thoughts start piling in and they try to overwhelm you.

Having a schedule and following it is very important as then we know what are we supposed to do in a particular moment in time which eliminates the need to sit and think of all the things we could possibly do, which again can become way for lethargy to kick in.

So, try to follow your schedule diligently. Even if , you are not able to achieve 100% productivity but doing something every day makes it worthwhile.

Remember, It's a process!! (Try listening to, It's a process by Mychael Danna from the Movie Moneyball, maybe that might cheer you up )

 

Rejoining challenge. Day 1 completed (31 in my current streak).

Thats right -- step 1. If I recall well, on the days I did step 1 I actually could follow the schedule well. Maybe thats the key, I will try to get this right everyday -- its a long process and hopefully it will come naturally someday. Also, thank you for the reference; I will definitely check it out : )

 

Starting from Day 0 Again as was alone during the day and something just clicked within me to search for one particular thing and then it went downhill from there. Will spend today analyzing what went wrong and try to eliminate that moving forward. Not giving up.