One Day’s Success Replacing a Habit

Today, I took action on yesterday’s plan to replace the “habit of the black rectangle” with a new habit.  When I sat down to write, I placed a circle of bright neon colors in front of my mind’s eye.  Fun but too distracting; opted instead for a deep yellow rectangle.

That worked-at least for today because here I sit knocking out another post. Isn’t it supposed to take twenty-one days to establish a new habit? That probably applies only to desired habits.  Bad habits require twenty seconds.

A Procrastination Habit Called Boredom

“Being bored with it” is another habit keeping me from accomplishing my objectives. Writing often feels like a plodding old nag. There is nothing to do but words, more words, and even more words lined up in rows broken up by little dots and a white space here and there. Some people (and I am one of them) fall asleep in mid-sentence.

Triggering Boredom

The habit I want to change is that of allowing feelings of boredom to stop my writing before reaching my objective (a minimum of three hundred words a day). What triggers the boredom?  I notice my breathing has become very shallow. Could I be mistaking oxygen deprivation for boredom ? How nice. All I have to do is breathe deeply and move on to the next sentence.

The Difference Between Boredom and Interest

Here’s a thought that popped into my mind. The difference between boredom and lively interest is feeling overwhelmed. Boredom and shallow breathing are messages to myself that I am trying to deal with a mountain when my focus should be on a mole hill. I like that thought. It doesn’t make any sense, yet it lightened my mood, and it resurrected a lively interest in finishing this post.

Replacing the Habit of Boredom

What’s the new habit I desire? The habit of using boredom to tell me my breathing is shallow, and my focus requires readjustment.