Tag Archives: habits

Habits vs Distractions

The kids that are perfectionists, work for hours on something that was good enough long before they consider the work to be finished.

The kids who loves to do research collect so much of it that it becomes overwhelming.

The kids who are easily distracted spends too much time catching up on work that should already have been handed in, and are perpetually putting off work that should be done now.

The kids that stress about the class they don’t like, spend less time and energy on the classes they enjoy.

The kids that work on more than one thing at once end up doing less of everything as they bounce from task to task.

The kids that should ask the most questions ask half as many as the kids that really don’t need to ask, but want to make sure they understand, or are doing things correctly.

It’s not always a lack of trying, it’s not always a lack of effort. It’s the lack of the understanding of where to put effort, what to do next, when to ask for help, and when to either remove distractions or remove themselves from distraction.

But the good news is that habits are learned. Success can provide as much serotonin and reward stimulus as distractions do… but only if the habits are in place to make the rewards consistent. Otherwise, video games, social media, and the illusion that multitasking is actually a thing, trump the rewards of good habits.

Sometimes we give kids too much choice, too much time, too many extensions. Sometimes what they need are high expectations, and hard deadlines. Sometimes they need a teacher checking in on them, asking to see work in progress, and giving timely and precise feedback. Sometimes kids need teachers to help them with their plan of action, and then hold them accountable to the plan.

Because sometimes the appeal of distractions are too strong, and giving a kid time to choose what they should do next isn’t really giving them a choice. Because sometimes distractions are too strong, and kids are not really choosing, they are falling back in the habit of doing the things that feed their brains with serotonin. They don’t get the same rewards from hard work, because they don’t have the habits to ensure that hard work pays off. Sometimes we need to make the choice for them, then instead of praising the work, we need to ask them how they feel getting the work done. Sometimes we need to help build good habits for them, because the alternative is to let the distractions win.

Back to it

After a very restful March break, I’m back at it tomorrow. While the break was wonderful, and a part of me wants to just curl up in bed for another week, another part of me is excited for some busy normalcy.

It’s interesting, but I seem to get more of what I want done when I’ve got more on my plate… the very times that I wish I had more time, are the times when I get stuff done.

I’m looking forward to seeing staff and students. I’m looking forward to getting back into my morning workout routines. I’m looking forward to thinking about education in ways that I haven’t been too thoughtful about over the break.

The end of the year will come quickly now, and I know that in a few short months I’ll wonder where the time went. But for tomorrow, the focus will be catching up and connecting with my community, and then the ‘To Do’ list can officially start on Wednesday.

Social media engagement vs entertainment

For many years social media has been a big part of my life. I’ve used mostly Twitter, but also Facebook and LinkedIn, and to a lesser extent Instagram. I also engage on Snapchat with my family, and I love the creativity of TikTok. But I don’t spend a lot of time on any of these.

Actually, about 3-4 times a week I do go to TikTok and spend a half hour being entertained, but not producing anything, just watching. To me this is more like TV than social media. I don’t watch TV regularly, but I’ll ‘tune in’ to TikTok for 30 minutes, then my phone tells me that I’ve used up all my time. I set the time limit because I found that I could easily switch from 30 minutes of entertainment to an hour plus of wasted time. So, while I engage with TikTok for a few 30 minute stints a week, it’s entertainment rather than engagement. Occasionally I’ll tweet a really clever TikTok.

Beyond that, I really just auto-post my blog to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, then later that day see if anyone has engaged with those posts. I also respond to any engagement people have with me, such as someone tagging me with @datruss on Twitter. So I go in as an observer, and respond if addressed directly. Yes, I might do a bit more while I’m there, but I’m not usually engaged for more than 5-10 minutes.

This is far less than I used to engage. Twitter was my go-to place to share what I was learning and to read links that inspiring educators shared. I used to be fully engaged with Twitter as a learning tool. But now I listen to audiobooks and podcasts or conversations on ClubHouse. I do this mostly when working out or when in transit, or while doing things like grocery shopping. And social media doesn’t engage my attention too much more than that.

Interestingly, I think what I do on social media is still a lot compared to others in my age bracket. I don’t pretend that I’m not using these tools at all, or that they don’t take any of my time… they just take less time than they used to.

I remember a conversation with someone about my time spent on social media, and this person spent no time on any of the tools and was questioning how I found the time? I asked if he watched TV? Was he a sports fan and did he watch sports on TV? Did he watch the news? The answers were yes, yes, and yes, and he easily consumed more television than I consumed social media. I could include my daily writing here on my blog and the math still leaned in the direction of more time spent by him on television than me on social media.

But if I’m honest, minus this blog I’ve been using social media more for entertainment than engagement, consumption rather than production. It has been a slow shift over the past few years. This is an observation not a call to action. I don’t think I’ll be changing this any time soon. That said, producing a daily blog since July 2019 is far more online social sharing than almost anyone I know, so my online engagement is still weighted towards production rather than consumption… And, anyone watching TV for the same amount or more time a week can’t say the same.

Meditation and a drifting mind

I’ve struggled with my morning meditation recently. My mind drifts and wanders, and I can’t seem to keep my thoughts on my breath for more than 30 seconds. Today was the 3rd day in a row that my mind wandered so much that I could barely call it meditation.

I like the Calm App, and use the 10 minute Daily Calm meditation. It starts with focussing on your breathing and for the last couple minutes there is always a lesson or topic that Tamara Levitt shares. Today’s was on Mudita. However I can’t tell you what that means despite the fact that I’m writing this immediately after meditating. I have no idea what Tamara spoke about? My mind had drifted for the entire lesson.

I know that bringing my focus back to my breath is meditation as much as staying focused. In the past couple years I’ve gotten better at doing this without being angry at myself, and understanding that this is a natural part of meditation. I’ve also started catching myself drift and bringing my thoughts back to my breath before Tamara reminds me. But my past few sessions have all seemed to involve my mind drifting, and me completely forgetting that I’m meditating. Then I catch myself and almost immediately drift again, unaware that I’m doing this. I’m hoping that writing this, and thinking about my intentions to stay focused will help… but I’m also open to suggestions.

Cold shower

Unexpected snow has delayed my Daily-Ink today… Shovelling the driveway is taking priority and I’ll get this out tonight. But this is connected to the idea of the post, because I really bundle up just to do something like clearing that white, fluffy, frigid stuff off of my driveway.

Cold showers:

I hate the cold. Can’t stand feeling a chill. I blame it on being born in the Caribbean. In Barbados as a kid, when I was at the beach and it started to rain, tourists would get into the water, since they are getting wet anyway. I’d get out of the water because without the sun shining, the water was too cold for me.

Recently I’ve been turning the hot water off at the end of my showers. I let the water hit the top of my head and wait for it to go cold. Then I move so the water hits my chest and I turn in a circle, getting the water first to hit my core, then down my arms and legs.

By my first turn, my breath is taken away. I actually feel like it’s hard to breathe. I only do this for about 15 seconds but it feels longer. Even after I turn the water off my breathing is shallow and takes a moment to recover.

Then two things happen, first, I feel a tingling sensation and I feel wide awake. This feeling is better than my first coffee! Next, I open my shower curtain and grab my towel. Usually when I do this I feel an uncomfortable chill, but instead the air feels comfortable. So rather than getting a chill from the contrast of hot water to cold air, I feel comfortable.

Fifteen seconds of chilly agony, followed by a huge payoff. I’m going to keep doing this, but I might end up taking slightly longer showers as I convince myself to turn the hot water off.

I’ve got a friend who asks me to join him for a polar bear swim each new year. I’m a step closer, but it might still be a few years before I am willing to take the plunge… if I ever do!

Tracking My Heart Rate

I’ve always had a slow pulse. When I was in my last year of high school I was in a pool training for water polo 10 to 12 times a week. When I took my pulse in the morning, it was usually between 32 and 35 beats per second. Now when I take my pulse, usually after my morning meditation, it tends to sit between 49 and 43 beats per minute.

It’s healthy to have a nice slow resting heart rate, but sometimes it can hinder me too. Sometimes, when I’m not active, I can feel tired and lazy. Especially after I eat a big meal. I think it’s because while my body focuses on digestion, my slow pulse doesn’t feed the rest of me enough to keep me going when I’m sedentary. So, I tend to move around a lot after lunch, because I’m not too productive sitting at my desk just after a meal.

I’ve recently been tracking my heart rate with my phone. As I mentioned, the first time is resting, after my meditation, the second time during my workout. The App works by putting my finger over the camera, with the light on. The problem is that I just had to switch phones and this new phone uses a camera that’s farther away from the light than my previous phone, and my measurement during or usually just after activity tends to fail and force a retry. This can happen several times and my heart rate is slowing while I do this.

I shouldn’t let this bug me. I can calculate my pulse without the App, but I like having it track my progress and it bugs me that I can’t get it to work easily. I’m going to have to try a new app, one that works for me, rather than fight me. I like tools to track my progress, that’s why my sticker chart works so well. So I need to find a new tracker, and surrender the fact that I paid for this App… which, while a nominal fee, wasn’t enough to keep my feeling frustrated on a regular basis. Our tools need to work for us, not against us.

That unlearning thing ain’t easy

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” ~ Alvin Toffler

I love this quote, it speaks to the need to embrace change, and to understand that best practice is still just practice. However as easy as it is to understand this idea, it’s much harder to acclimate to. Especially the unlearning part.

I’ve been back into archery since the winter break, got a personal best score of 280 recently, and have been able to duplicate that score a second time. (Scoring is 10 rounds of 3 arrows, with a max score of 10 points per arrow, totalling 300 for a perfect score.) However, I was using a very bad technique with my thumb squeezing the trigger rather than using backward tension on my hand and arm to trigger the release. Since trying to do this properly, I’ve been struggling more and scoring between 267 and 274.

Today I scored a 267, but I was also able to score an X-X-10 three times while practicing. I had been unable to score a perfect 30 in a round for weeks. (An ‘X’ is 10 points but also signifies that I was able to get the arrow in or on the line of the center ‘X’ ring that is the size of a penny, shooting from 18m or 20 yards away.)

While trying to work on my release these past couple weeks, my scores have been lower, and my ability to hit the ‘X’ has been infrequent. But I know that if I continue to punch the trigger with my thumb, I will not shoot nearly as high of a personal best score in the future. My trigger pulling could show some short term gains, but those gains will limit me later on. The problem is, as I unlearn doing this, my scores have gone down.

Unlearning something is hard. Right now there are many things I need to focus on, and when I’m trying to change my muscle memory, my other muscles do funny things. For instance, my bow hand has been gripping the bow tighter, rather than being relaxed, while I think about my back-tension release. And when I relax my hand after drawing, I find it hard to not relax my arm, causing me to have less tension holding my bow ‘hard against the wall’, meaning keeping pressure on the bow’s cams at the back of a full draw.

Without talking about archery technique specifically: while I focus on unlearning a bad habit, my body, accustomed to doing things wrong, doesn’t know how to put all the good moves together. Unlearning one technique means not just learning something new, but also relearning other things as they related to the old vs new learning.

This dip in my scores is part of the unlearning process, and it’s not easy to go through. When we practice new skills, we want to see a quick payoff. But sometimes we need to recognize that unlearning isn’t nearly as easy as learning, and the payoff comes from the practice itself, and not immediate progress. I can focus on my technique, and unlearning a bad habit, or I can worry about my score right now… what I can’t do is both at the same time.

Flossing your teeth

Flossing is something that is extremely good for you, you know it, it doesn’t take long… and you don’t do it.

“You can exercise, eat well, and be emotionally healthy, but if you don’t floss, cavities could be just the beginning of your problems. 

Flossing every day is so crucial to health that it’s one of the questions included in the Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator.” ~BusinessInsider.com

I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one who feels guilty going to get my teeth cleaned, because I know that the dental assistant is going to make me feel bad for not flossing. I’m not the only one who remembers to floss for 2-3 days before that cleaning, then promptly forgets to floss until just before the next cleaning. Or I floss when I can feel something stuck between my teeth.

For over half a century that has been my flossing story, until a month ago. I seem to have developed a bit of a gap between two of my lower back left molars and food gets stuck in there very easily. I learned this when I had to floss a few days in a row because I could feel food between these teeth. After that, I was in the bathroom the following night without the feeling of something stuck and decided to floss anyway, after brushing my teeth. Sure enough there was food stuck between those same molars even though I didn’t feel it.

I was a bit grossed out thinking that every night I go to bed with decaying food between my teeth, even though I always brush my teeth. I realized that I’m probably going to get a cavity if I don’t do this daily. And just like that a new habit was finally formed!

So here are is my public service announce: You will increase your life expectancy by flossing every day; it’s a small, easy habit that doesn’t take long in your day; and if you don’t do it, you probably go to sleep every night with decaying food in you mouth.

Want to start this healthy, life-extending habit? Do a 3-night experiment: Brush your teeth like you usually do for three nights in a row… then floss your teeth.

See what you leave behind in your mouth every night, despite your good habit of brushing.

Still on a fast growth path

I’m on cloud 9 after shooting a 280 in archery today! I thought it would be a long time to get here. In fact, six days ago I hit my personal best of 270 and this is what I shared here on my blog,

So now I have set a new goal of 275, with no score of 7 or lower on any arrow. Next after that will be a 280 with no score of 8 or lower.

I did have five 8’s, so I didn’t completely jump to my second goal, but I leapt right over my first goal.

Here is today’s journal entry:

I don’t know how long it will take to repeat this, but I’m going to enjoy the moment and celebrate these victories while they are coming faster than expected. No new goals for now, just consistency. I still have to achieve this score without any 8’s. After that I know the improvements will slow, but for now, I’ll just keep this childish grin going… and celebrate a surprise success!

2 week social media vacation

I’m removing Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram off of my phone until Sunday February 7th, 2021. That’s two weeks of shutting down the social media tools I engage with on some regular daily or weekly level. Staying on my phone will be WhatsApp and Snapchat because they both have family group chats that I engage with, without having other interactions beyond family.

I will continue to blog every day, and these blog posts will auto-post to Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook (to my Pair-Dimes page, not my personal wall, so please follow if FB is where you usually see my blog posts). Feel free to chat with me in my blog comments, but comments on other platforms won’t be seen by me.

There is no specific reason I’m doing this, other than curiosity. I want to see what I miss, and how I will use my time. I think I’ll end up with more audio book and podcast listening time, and I’m hoping that I’ll write and meditate more. Time will tell.

I actually deleted the Apps Sunday night, and I wrote everything above before going to bed. This morning I realized that one thing I’ll need to think about is how I get news? Normally I start my day in Twitter Search looking at the News tab and trending hashtags to get a sense of what’s happening in the world. This has been my strategy for a couple years because television and radio news are not designed to inform as much as to keep you watching and listening. And while I read some print news on my phone, it tends to be focussed on the coronavirus or US politics these days… and it seems to be more commentary and opinion than actual news.

In the end, I won’t have missed much if I’m tuned out of the news for two weeks. And although I’m not always in the room, my wife does watch evening news on tv. I will survive just fine with less news along with my social media vacation.

Interestingly, I came across some Coronavirus news this morning and did a little math with the stats. It seems that while the US has vaccinated 20.5 million people, Canada has only vaccinated 0.817 million. Looking at populations, my math tells me that the US has vaccinated 6% of their population while Canada has only vaccinated 2%. What’s the first thing I thought of doing with that info? Tweeting it… my social media vacation has already started to curtail my behaviour.

I’ll share my vacation experience and reflections on February 7th.