SilverSwan's accountability journal
Hello everyone! I’ll be posting here weekly to reflect on my progress and goals. I’m hoping this journal will provide accountability and prevent me falling into old habits. Feel free to post any suggestions, advice, or any kind of comments. 😉
Week 1 Overview
I’m a college student studying for a Computer Science major. This week I had my finals and everything went well. I already received my scores and should hopefully be getting straight As this semester. This of course makes me happy, however, I have to admit that this semester’s workload was way less compared to previous ones. I still need to improve my discipline and learning skills.
I have started to implement various things to create a productivity system. First, I’m using Beeminder and Forfeit to make more imposing deadlines. I’m also using Forest to track my focused time each day. This week, I spent less focused time compared to previous weeks.
!https://i.imgur.com/xm2V3rg.jpeg
Goals, Values, and Progress
I haven’t really spent much time thinking about my goals… I should change that, for now these are my provisional long/medium-term goals:
- Get a job during winter/spring (hopefully online)
- Make 3 computer science projects for my resume
- Get straight As next semester
- Get a summer 2025 internship
Progress by Values
- Health
- Not much progress here, I went to the gym less than previous weeks and I constantly feel tired. I’m having trouble sleeping, I believe I’m ill. Next week I’ll probably go see a doctor.
- Also, since college is over I’ll find a routine that is 5-6 days long compared to my current 3 days per week.
- Wisdom
- It finally clicked how important and useful “chunking” can be for learning. This was massively helpful for my exams.
- Discipline
- Spent less focused time than previous weeks. Still, I learned a lot of tips to combat procrastination in “The Procrastination Equation”. I think my decrease in focused time is because college is over so I don’t really have any pressing goals. Hopefully next week will be better.
- Communication
- Not much progress here. I have a bit of social anxiety I have to work through. I would like to come back to my workbook of social anxiety.
- Tranquility
- Not much progress, although I don’t feel bad for it. I think out of all my “values” this is the one that I have developed the most. I’m pretty calm most of the time, I have felt a bit frustrated though.
Previous Week’s goals
In this section I’ll write my progress on the goals I set out to do that week.
Goals for Next Week
- [ ] Finish reading “The Procrastination Equation”
- [ ] Apply to at least 2 jobs
- [ ] Email professors
- [ ] Have at least 16 hours of focused time by the end of the week
- [ ] Complete 9 sections of the FreeCodeCamp course
@SilverSwan6 Great idea and you've organised it so well :D Good luck!!
@BlueDarkAurora Thanks! I really appreciate it
@SilverSwan6 that's fantastic ❤ good luck with everything ❤❤
Week 2 Overview
I was able to remained focused despite not having any urgent deadlines. This is a big improvements compared to my past. Usually when college is over my productivity drops significantly but this was not the case this week
![https://imgur.com/a/vG6EOz6]
Goals, Values, and Progress
I have made progress on my goals. I have made much more concrete long-term goals that are both challenging and achievable. I also feel confident that I will achieve them
Progress by Values
- Health
- Slight improvement. I tried a new form of cardio that really exhausted me. I need more of that
- Wisdom
- Slight improvement. Finished a book and started a new one. I didn’t read as much as I should have though
- Discipline
- Significant improvement. Being able to remain focused for 18h in a week is a significant win for me
- Communication
- No change
- Tranquility
- Slight improvement. Becoming more ware of the situations that annoy me. I don’t always express my feelings but I still feel them and see them affect my actions
Previous Week’s goals
Didn’t complete most of my goals but I feel fine. I completed the things I was prioritizing
- [x] Finish reading “The Procrastination Equation”
- [ ] Apply to at least 2 jobs
- [ ] Email professors
- [x] Have at least 16 hours of focused time by the end of the week
- [ ] Complete 9 sections of the FreeCodeCamp course
Goals for Next Week
- [ ] Find new exercise routine
- [ ] Complete 2 programming assignments
- [ ] Complete college form
Week 3 Overview
Good week. Spent less focused time (16h) compared to last week but still a good amount. Found a new exercise routine. However, I’m feeling tired from, presumably, a lack of sleep quality which is really getting to me
Goals, Values, and Progress
Progress by Values
- Health
- No or negative progress. Feel really tired, I’m still having sleep issues. I also found a new exercise routine
- Wisdom
- Some progress. Made progress on my courses and books. Found some interesting things about learning science
- Discipline
- Slight progress. Kept my focused time goal despite the holidays and other interruptions. I did slack off on some of my habits though
- Communication
- No progress. I spent more time talking due to the holidays but I procrastinated and forgot about practice
- Tranquility
- No process. I’m becoming more aware of my mood, I get frustrated but I don’t usually show it.
Previous Week’s goals
- [x] Find new exercise routine
- [x] Complete 2 programming assignments
- [ ] Complete college form
Goals for Next Week
- [ ] Complete college form
- [ ] Spent 17+ focused hours
- [ ] Complete 1 programming assignment
Week 4 Overview
My productivity dropped this week. I’m still feeling tired but making changes to improve that. I improved my revision techniques and implemented a schedule that should hopefully be really useful in the future.
Goals, Values, and Progress
Progress by Values
- Health
- Slight positive change. Maintained consistency with my routine and exercised muscles I usually don’t. Also, started incorporating walking to improve my health
- Wisdom
- Positive change. I implemented a revision schedule that incorporate retrieval and spacing. I also started reading a new book about computer science
- Discipline
- Slight decrease. I was less focused this week (around 15 hours). I should have been more proactive in anticipating the setbacks and be able to recover. Also I did not met this week’s goals. I’ll make sure I complete them next week.
- There was one temptation that was really occupying my mind these last few days but I was able to successfully ignore it until my deadline
- Communication
- No change. Although I did learn an interesting practice to improve my enunciation
- Tranquility
- No change
Previous Week’s goals
- [ ] Complete college form
- [ ] Spend 17+ focused hours (did 15)
- [x] Complete 1 programming assignment
Goals for Next Week
- [ ] Complete college form
- [ ] Focus for 17+ hours
- [ ] Complete 1 programming assignment
Week 5 Overview
A good week. I was able to meet my goal of focused hours (18h). I kept up with my walking habit and spent much more time outside.
Goals, Values, and Progress
Progress by Values
- Health
- Positive change. Remained consistent with my workout routine and my walking habit. I also spent more time outside. My sleep is still a mess though, I have to keep experimenting
- Wisdom
- Slightly positive change. Remained consistent with my revision schedule, practiced my note-taking skills, and gained some insights on feedback and progress
- Discipline
- Slightly positive change. Achieved my weekly focused goal of 17h despite distractions.
- Communication
- No change. Although I did practice more my enunciation and found a way to test myself
- Tranquility
- No change
Previous Week’s goals
- [ ] Complete college form
- [x] Focus for 17+ hours (did 18h)
- [x] Complete 1 programming assignment
Goals for Next Week
- [ ] Focus for 18+ hours
- [ ] Complete 2 programming assignments
- [ ] Read 1 chapter of learning book
- [ ] Read 2 chapters of OS book
