Summary

The author reflects on a self-improvement writing challenge, acknowledging the progress made and identifying time management and reducing unproductive activities as key areas for improvement to achieve personal goals more efficiently.

Abstract

The author is participating in a 30-day self-reflection writing challenge, currently on Day 16, and is pleasantly surprised by their ability to consistently engage with each day's prompt. The focus of today's reflection is on a personal change that could accelerate the achievement of their goals. The author recognizes that while they cannot easily change their work or health status, they can improve their time management, specifically by reducing time spent on non-productive activities like watching cooking shows or adult animations, and by increasing time spent on productive tasks such as writing and learning new languages. They admit to previously poor time management skills but note improvements since joining Medium, where they have established a routine for writing and editing. The author is determined to further refine these skills to prepare for potential future employment opportunities, acknowledging the need to balance work, health, and personal life.

Opinions

The author expresses satisfaction with their progress in the writing challenge, indicating a sense of accomplishment.
They believe that spending less time on unproductive activities would significantly contribute to reaching their goals faster.
The author is self-critical about the time spent procrastinating, particularly when they could be writing or learning new skills.
Despite health limitations, the author is optimistic about their ability to manage time better and is committed to making further improvements.
There is an awareness that better time management is crucial for any future plans, especially if the author's health improves enough to seek additional income streams.
The author values the structure that writing for Medium has brought to their life and sees it as a tool for personal growth and better time management.
They plan to continue making progress by scheduling time effectively for activities that contribute to their goals while still allowing for hobbies and breaks.

SELF-REFLECTION WRITING CHALLENGE

One Small Change That I Could Make In My Life — Day 16

A thing that could help me reach my goals faster

Photo by Alexas Fotos: https://www.pexels.com/photo/time-for-change-sign-with-led-light-2277784/

Dr. Tracy Davis, I’m amazed at how far I’ve gotten through this writing challenge so far. It’s fantastic to know that I have something to say on each reflection for every day of the journey. I thought that some of these might trip me up but I’m making my way through them just fine. I think that as I come down the stretch, I’ll continue to be able to take my time and reflect on each day just as carefully as the day before.

Journaling for Self-Reflection and Personal Growth: 30 Prompts to Start Now

Join me in this challenge!

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Today’s question is probably one of the harder questions I’ve had to ask myself so far. I don’t think that anyone wants to think that they’re doing anything wrong in their journey towards their goals but I know we’re all far from perfect.

If I had to think about one thing that I could change to accomplish my goals quicker, I’d probably say that even though I can’t work and I can’t change my health and medical status so easily, I could probably spend less time wasting my time on nonsense. I don’t know if I truly account for the time that I spend doing nothing of value.

This time could be spent doing anything productive to help myself learn new skills or continue to further my language learning in the various languages I’ve been wanting to master like German, Spanish, or Swedish. Instead, I find myself watching hours of cooking shows, adult animation, or just staring blankly at my screen and refreshing my Medium stats aimlessly while saying that I’m “writing.”

Another thing, too, is that I could spend more time writing. I know that I already write quite a bit but if I’m dedicating time to writing, I should be doing just that. If I’m just sitting there staring at the screen, that’s just wasted time as well.

I have a lot of editorial, writing, and other Medium obligations as it is, I don’t need to be wasting my time just doing nothing. I need to make sure that I make the most of the time I have for writing because I’ll most likely have some sort of editing duties to complete.

Time management has always been a problem of mine even if I have gotten more of a grasp of it as of late. I used to be so terrible at setting aside and fulfilling a schedule for various things. Now that I have designated days for certain publications, it makes it a lot easier for me to stick to the schedule.

I even wrote about how bad I was when I first started on Medium. I’ve come a long way in both my writing and my time management skills but there are still some strides to be made in that department.

The Day in the Life of Someone with Poor Time Management Skills

Ways I’ve Tried To Improve On This

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I think that tightening down on my time management skills will definitely help to accomplish any future goals and plans that I’d have to figure out how to wean myself off of my disability income. I think that if I ever do get myself strong enough or healthy enough to find another stream of income, then time management will be vital to making that endeavor successful.

My hope is that I can allow myself to continue to make progress in identifying how much time in a day I can waste doing unnecessary things when I already have so much time due to my health and living situation.

Going forward, I’ll still give myself pockets of time in the day to do my hobbies and also give myself breaks when I need them but I’m going to try to be better about scheduling my time for things to help me reach my stated and planned goals.

This writing journey has helped me organize my thoughts and helped me with time management in the right direction. Now I just need to further apply the lessons I’ve learned here and go a bit further.

Day 15;

Future Ideal Living Situation — Day 15

What would I like to do five or ten years down the road?

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