nicoleyellow8

[nicoleyellow8]

Reflection on Habit 3 of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey !

I've been reading Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People over the last couple months. It discusses developing independence first, and then interdependence: and this can be accomplished by practicing 7 habits, namely:

Be proactive

Begin with the end in mind

Put first things first

Seek first to understand

Think win-win

Synergise

Sharpen the saw

Recently, I've been practicing the habits of private victory, that is, the habits that constitute independence (Habits 1, 2, & 3).

Independence comes from focusing your attention to matters that are within your circle of influence, and accepting what is beyond your control.

It comes from recognising what truly matters to you, your inner values, and centring your resources and mental paradigms on fulfilling your inner compass. Basically, it means developing a mental map of the territory; navigating the world based on what matters to you.

It then comes from the application of your self-awareness for your deepest values: How can you allocate your time, energy, and focus to reach the goals that are most important to you? Covey reintroduces the Eisenhower Matrix by explaining what the four quadrants mean for true independence.

Source: Todoist

Focus on Quadrant II. That is, activities that aren't urgent, but are important and align with our inner values.

Individuals who focus too much on "putting out fires" in Quadrant I never have the time to allocate to the things that bring them closer to their long-term goals. That's many of us.

We aren't necessarily productive when we're busy; we're productive when we make progress towards our most important destinations.

This month, this is my priority. My focus has been on working on Habit 3: Put first things first. So here's how I applied it:

Screenshot of my notes app: Roles and Goals

These are some of my important roles in life, and some goals for each role that I feel align with what matters to me most.

I find self-improvement (and improvement in general) to be a key motivator in everything I do. This self-awareness produced goals that are representative of me as an individual, and not of external criteria for success.

Furthermore, Covey's concept of "Roles and Goals" is great because we can work on developing ourselves in a breadth of aspects -- not neglecting one when we focus on another!

I've condensed these long-term goals related to my roles in life into mini sub-goals that I can achieve on a day-to-day basis. These "mini goals" bring me closer to my long-term goals, but aren't overwhelming in any way.

I track these goals on my favorite task management app, Todoist!

These projects in Todoist allow me to organize my tasks based on what "Role" they are connected to.

I make sub-tasks to create the small steps that I can take to reach a bigger goal.

Lastly, I use Google Calendar to schedule all my Quadrant II activities for the week, so I don't procrastinate on the activities aligning with my principles. In the gaps, I can slot in activities that are urgent (coursework + deadlines + meetings). This way, we can handle urgent matters while also working on our long-term goals -- meaning sustainable progress!

I hope this reflection gives you the drive to introduce Habit 3: Put first things first in your own life. Try out the applications (Roles + Goals, Task management, Scheduling) that I've discussed in this post to take charge and achieve the goals that actually matter to you. In essence, find success by knowing how to prioritise your inner values instead of putting out fires that never mattered in the first place.

Thank you for reading!

Nicole

[nicoleyellow8]

2023 Goals :)

Hi, my name is Nicole, going by @nicoleyellow8, and I've created this Tumblr blog dedicated to self-improvement and learning... Soo... to get a productive 2023 started, I've done a little mindmap to see what I want by the end of this year, and what I should prioritize!

I've listed what I need by the end of the year -- some of these include getting into the IB Diploma program, preparing well for that, and doing well on the AP Biology exam in May this year (praying for a 5!!!) There's more, of course: efficient and consistent violin practice to reach my goals, getting to a higher French level, maintaining my Chinese progress, etc. !! That's only what I need, though. What I want is another story... I've included those in the mindmap too. For one, I'd love to learn oil painting! I would love to be able to learn another language on top of the two I am learning currently... I'd even love to travel to the language's country to speak it! Good goals need to consider both your wants and needs so that you can progress in your professional life while still meeting your personal desires.

How to Approach Goal-Setting

Here I take from Ali Abdaal's amazing video, "I WAS WRONG -- How I set goals" on YouTube, to summarize what exactly makes up good goal-setting. There's no point in setting a goal without enjoying the process of getting there... If not, you would constantly feel unhappy about your current situation until you get to your goal's endpoint.

So it would make sense to focus instead on creating a system, little daily habits that bring you forward, so you can enjoy the process, rather than solely working towards an abstract goal.

That doesn't mean having an endpoint is wrong. In fact, it's important to set a goal and have a direction. Without a goal, the system becomes aimless and there becomes no point in fulfilling these mini habits. A good system and clear goals come hand in hand.

As Ali Abdaal describes, there is a "Yin-yang" quality to it, where you should have a balance of self-acceptance and self-improvement. You should strive towards being better while still accepting your current state. You should, instead of comparing yourself constantly to the best, take some time to also compare yourself to the former you. Celebrate the progress you've made over that time -- it'll give you the energy to strive forward. An inspirational quote to get you started:

"What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him." - Victor Frankl

Funny thing, just the other day I had completed a huge, personal goal, and rather than feeling the joy I thought I would've, I felt more of a sense of emptiness. Frankl states it perfectly here, we love the journey of getting to our final destination, not necessarily the destination itself. This would explain why working for something is so much more satisfying than when it's easy to obtain. Working for money, working for a better life, working for love.

My Personal Goals

After interweaving wants and needs, I've come up with some 2023 New Me priorities to get started on! For each of these, I'll be spending some time making a good system and some great habits to go along with them.

Get into the IB Diploma Program (IBDP), this is the next step to my future!

Work HARD in my French, especially since I love language learning :)). It will also help me in IB French.

Get a 5 on the AP Bio exam -- and learn more to solve a real-world biology problem...

Efficiently and Effectively practice violin... Maybe learn a dream piece, or brush up on pieces I already know (like Czardas) and make pieces performance-ready, instead of relying on retaking videos.

Make some time for health. Get a good amount of sleep each night and exercise consistently. Have some free time with friends and personal hobbies, like oil painting, too!

Of course, these will be refined in a later post! For now, I think I have a good idea how I should work towards a better me.

That's all for now, take care!