Elf needs help!!

[Elf]

So. The thing is. I have a lot of great idea and a lot of dreams and i am working towards them...

BUT 

I have major problem with consistency. I can't be consistent. I start writing a book and i can't be consistent enough to work on it everyday. I start studying and I'm not consistent in studying everyday, even though I desperately want to. I try to get better at art, i don't practice everyday In short, I suck at routines ig and it's impacting my life in a bad way and i want to know how i can cultivate the discipline to be consistent.

[That1Cellist]

10 minutes ago, Elf said:

So. The thing is. I have a lot of great idea and a lot of dreams and i am working towards them...

BUT 

I have major problem with consistency. I can't be consistent. I start writing a book and i can't be consistent enough to work on it everyday. I start studying and I'm not consistent in studying everyday, even though I desperately want to. I try to get better at art, i don't practice everyday In short, I suck at routines ig and it's impacting my life in a bad way and i want to know how i can cultivate the discipline to be consistent.

Now, I am not going to pretend to be any good at at doing things consistently, because I'm really bad at it as well. The only thing I do consistently is practice cello. I likely wouldn't even do that except for a few reasons.

1. My teacher set a goal for me to practice for 30 days in a row. This helped me to get in the habit of practicing every day, and since I felt like 30 days in a row was a bit short, I set a goal for 100 days in a row instead. Now it's just more of a habit and I either play or practice at lease a little bit basically every day. If you want to do something, set a goal.

2. I really enjoy playing cello. I get to think about things, my life, how I am doing. It's an opportunity to let my mind wander in peace. I look forward to practicing because of that. If you can find a reason to look forward to doing something, it helps with your motivation to do it more.

3. I want to get better. This one might not be as relevant since you said you want to be better at a bunch of stuff and just haven't managed it. (You and I are similar in this) I want to improve at cello because I can play more difficult songs. I will also be able to play much more beautifully if I practice more. I know this, and it keeps me practicing. I also know that if I don't practice, I will regress, but if I at least play some, my progress usually only stagnates at worst.

Well, those are my thoughts. I doubt they will be of any use, but there they are.

[Shining Silhouette]

56 minutes ago, Elf said:

So. The thing is. I have a lot of great idea and a lot of dreams and i am working towards them...

BUT 

I have major problem with consistency. I can't be consistent. I start writing a book and i can't be consistent enough to work on it everyday. I start studying and I'm not consistent in studying everyday, even though I desperately want to. I try to get better at art, i don't practice everyday In short, I suck at routines ig and it's impacting my life in a bad way and i want to know how i can cultivate the discipline to be consistent.

I had the same issue for a long time until last summer. Last year, I attended a habits for life program based on Sean Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. I'd always had major goals and life aims, but I hadn't ever put much work towards them. This camp made me question how much I really wanted to change my life in order to achieve my dreams, and so as soon as I got home I started to do several things:

1. I set one major goal that I wanted to achieve (for me, it was scoring at the very top score band of a standardized test). I wrote out half a dozen reasons why I wanted to achieve this goal and I put it above my mirror where I would see it often. Next, I wrote out a specific plan of some of the things that I would do to attain it (not vague promises like just "to study", I created a schedule to practice the different sections of the test on different days at a specific times). I did this in the front of a new goal journal and I saw it every day when I updated my progress

2. I set supplementary goals such as improving my 5k time and practicing my piano technique. Once again, I wrote specific plans of how I could achieve these goals. I wrote out my motivations for these and put them on index cards below my big goal on the mirror. 

3. I started to organize my time by making a rough plan of the week every Sunday and then every day in the morning I would plan out what I would do that day, down to the half hour. This wasn't as intense as it seems as many days I plotted out a lot of free time for myself, but it was the structure that helped me. One thing that I noticed was that whenever I planned out my free time I had more fun in the long run because my planning let me choose activities that seemed awesome to me and place them wherever I wanted them (such as marathoning LOTR with my sister and going to see a concert with my dad, but also finding time to enjoy Anna Karenina).

4. I set daily goals to focus specifically on what I would do that day. This went along with my day planning, and I set goals for things I wanted to accomplish that day, whether it be to run a 5k under a certain time or to complete a practice test or be nicer to my siblings, it helped me to have a daily focus that assisted in accomplishing my bigger goals. 

4. I renewed myself every day. In the mornings, when I did my day planning, I spent some time each day thinking about where I wanted to be in life. I also spent time praying (as I'm religious, but to those that aren't, meditation is a wonderful way to renew yourself) and spent this time re-anchoring myself to my goals as it's really easy to lose sight of what you want if you don't think about them often. 

5. I reflected on what went wrong. Each night, I journaled how I did with my schedule and whether or not I completed my daily goals. I had a lot of failures, but then again I also had a lot of successes. The more I did this, the better I got at rectifying my mistakes and becoming the person I wanted to be. I felt myself changing and my life took on a different trajectory. 

Anyway, these are the things that have helped me to accomplish my goals! Good luck with yours!

[Elf]

@That1Cellist, @Shining Silhouettethanks so much! Both of those are really, really good answers and i think what both of you said will truly help me. Thanks again 

[Morningtide]

I cannot offer any advice because I have the exact same problem. Sorry. I hope you find a way around all of it and accomplish everything

[Shining Silhouette]

4 hours ago, Elf said:

@That1Cellist, @Shining Silhouettethanks so much! Both of those are really, really good answers and i think what both of you said will truly help me. Thanks again 

Anytime, Elf! Happy to help! Let us know if you ever figure it out!

[TheWanderer]

I would recommend finding a space you can go to on a given day and spend even a half hour to an hour each day. So for instance it sounds like you are a student, before, between, or even after classes. Find a spot that is relatively quiet maybe put on a relaxing playlist, then get to work. I often find that setting aside a specific space you can go to in order to work on something can be very beneficial. As I often struggle to get things done at home with how many other things I can do around me.

[The Sibling]

Just wanted to say that i really like the idea of a relaxing playlist. if I go to a quiet place and play some instrumental music I feel a lot more ready to work and less distracted. 

Also unrelated but when i saw the words "Elf needs help" I was like oh cool that rhymes. (it doesn't.)

[Szeth's Facepalm]

On 8/10/2022 at 8:45 AM, That1Cellist said:

Now, I am not going to pretend to be any good at at doing things consistently, because I'm really bad at it as well. The only thing I do consistently is practice cello. I likely wouldn't even do that except for a few reasons.

1. My teacher set a goal for me to practice for 30 days in a row. This helped me to get in the habit of practicing every day, and since I felt like 30 days in a row was a bit short, I set a goal for 100 days in a row instead. Now it's just more of a habit and I either play or practice at lease a little bit basically every day. If you want to do something, set a goal.

2. I really enjoy playing cello. I get to think about things, my life, how I am doing. It's an opportunity to let my mind wander in peace. I look forward to practicing because of that. If you can find a reason to look forward to doing something, it helps with your motivation to do it more.

3. I want to get better. This one might not be as relevant since you said you want to be better at a bunch of stuff and just haven't managed it. (You and I are similar in this) I want to improve at cello because I can play more difficult songs. I will also be able to play much more beautifully if I practice more. I know this, and it keeps me practicing. I also know that if I don't practice, I will regress, but if I at least play some, my progress usually only stagnates at worst.

Well, those are my thoughts. I doubt they will be of any use, but there they are.

As someone who is currently struggling very much with consistent cello practice, this motivated me very much lol.