Paradigm Shift

par·a·digm shift
noun
a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions.

Most of my life I have been an instant gratification type of person. I gave little thought about the future and just did what I wanted to do. Not a good way to live. Over the last few years, I've been shifting my way of doing things, but it is not easy and it is not perfect. But I am trying. Now I am at a point where I have to make a huge paradigm shift if I wish to live the way I want to. Let's examine this.

I am approximately 18 months from completing my Ph.D. In order to make that happen, I have got to be consistent, diligent, and organized. I have to write, write, write. All of the suggestions by people who have completed a Ph.D. say to write everyday, even if it's only for 15 minutes, write every single day. Don't break the chain. That is not something I have been doing. I tend not to do school work during the week and save it all for the weekend. I have to break that habit. I have to have a paradigm shift. I have to make time everyday to write. I have to!!!

Unfortunately there are other things I need to do with my days. I have to work. I have to do somethings around the house. I have to sleep. I have to write. There are also things that I want to do. I want to go to Crossfit. I want to walk the dogs. I want to watch some TV and spend time with my husband. I have to find a way to balance what I have to do and I what I want to do. This requires a shift in some of my ways of thinking. I am stuck in the mindset that I have to leave my house before 6:30 am to get to work. That is not true. If I leave at 6:30 am, I can usually be to work by 7:00 am - that's a half hour early. I like getting there early, but most times I have nothing to do and I sit and cruise Facebook. So leaving at 6:45 am would not be the end of the world. I'm up by 5:00 am, so that means I don't have to leave for an hour and 45 minutes. A shower takes 20 minutes. Feeding the birds takes 10 minutes. Getting everything ready can be done in 10 minutes. That still leaves me over an hour of time. Much of which is spent on my phone checking emails and Facebook. Ugh!!! When examined closely, I'm sure not as busy as I think I am in the mornings. So I have at least an hour to write in the morning.

Let's look at the afternoons. I leave work at 3:30 pm and am home by 4 pm. I go to the 4 pm Crossfit and am home by 5:15 pm. I walk the dogs from 5:30 to 6:30 ish. Then dinner, clean the kitchen and prep for the next day, relax for a bit and in bed by 9 - 9:30 pm.

So what about this:

5:00 - 5:15 coffee, bird food, etc.
5:15 - 5:45 Write
5:45 - 6:15 - get ready
6:30 - leave

4:00pm - Crossfit
5:30 - 6:45 - walk dogs
7:00 - dinner
7:30 - 8:30 - clean kitchen, prep for next day
8:30 - 9:30 - relax, look over next day

This is totally not that hard. But it will involve a shift in thinking on my part. First, that I can't do anything in the morning because I'm too busy. Second, that leaving the house at 6:30 or a little later is the end of the world. Third, that walking the dogs in the dark is bad (this won't last long). Fourth, that prepping for the next day takes too much time. Fifth, being lazy and tired. I just have to suck it up and do it.

This will also require me to be very motivated and productive at school during the day and to utilize my weekends productively. It totally can be done. People do it all the time. I just have to shift my thinking and not focus on what I want now but on the ultimate prize.

Okay, let's get this done.