Blog Entry # 5

So far so good. This is the earliest I have submitted a blog as you can see and it's funny because I am actually in a conference in San Jose right now, so I am budgeting my time pretty well. Yeah! I have been keeping track of my behavior since the beginning of this week. I customized a chart to record each time I check my planner (this includes my planner, my calendar in my laptop, my cellphone), the time that I did, and whether or not I paid myself for it. So, recap from last time, I stated that I would pay myself $2 each time that I checked my planner or some sort of reminder equipment. I actually did it! I emptied my wallet and I started to implement this operational conditioning. This fixed ratio really seems to work well with my style. I had to check my planner if I wanted cash in my wallet. So I would check up to twice a day. Majority of the time, I checked in the morning and I checked at night. The morning check was to prepare and confirm that I had finished all of my homework before I walked into class. The night check was cross off everything that I had finished and if there were anything else I needed to finish in the morning. This means I earned up to $4 a day. At first, I thought it wouldn't be that great of an incentive....a $100 maybe (unfortunately I wouldn't have that much to reward myself)..but $2? On the contrary, I really liked it. For the first 2 times that I checked my planner I had single dollar bills to reward myself, but later on, I only had ten's and a twenty so it was either all ten or nothing. I should improve my strategy so I don't run out or cheat myself by breaking up large bills ahead of time. That ways, my reward would be consistent and immediate.

Maybe the idea behind this is that I just like getting rewarded or simply feeling good that I remembered each time. Self approval or complimenting does feel good once in a while and this routine is really helping my progress. I am also doing better in school because I am now trying to finish assignments ahead of time rather than the opposite. Now.....I need to keep reminding myself.

Blog # 4

Oh gosh, so as you can tell, I forgot once again. I planned how to celebrate a good friends birthday rather than focusing on my blog. I can't believe this is happening. I can remember just about everything that is due and yet this is the second time I am late for my blogging. For some reason, I just don't register blogs apparently as homework. Okay, so from the comments in my last blog, cellphones are a good idea I guess. For awhile, I decided not to resort to cellphones for reminding me to do things because it takes me too long to input words since I don't have a cellphone that has a keypad with all the letters. However, my cellphone is still a good idea because I always have my cellphone around me and so I would be forced to look at it when the alarm goes off to remind me of an event. Another good method would be placing a sticky note on my forehead or just my hand. Or, I guess I could rely on writing on my hand again.

As for operational conditioning, I would rather chose reinforcements rather than punishments because I love positive things rather than negativity. So, I think I will be using positive reinforcements. That means, I will reward myself for doing blogs and reading my planner.


I love to eat but that is definitely not a good reward system since I also want to lose weight and body fat. So, since I also like to go shop and buy things for my house, I will reward myself with money. I will make a chart for myself. Every time I check my planner or my cellphone about homework or blogging, I will give myself $2 to spend for shopping. I will be starting by taking all of the cash out of my wallet and add to it, every time. That ways, every time I forget to check my planner, I also forget to add cash in my wallet. This is a fixed ratio because every time I do it, I get rewarded and it will be $2 everytime that I perform those actions. If I reinforce this strictly, I will have to read my planner because I will be needing money in my wallet. Hopefully this is helpful.

Entry 3

So...I checked my planner today so I haven't missed the deadline..yeah! Throughout the week, I kept track of how many times I checked my planner. I usually take it out for every class I have to write down the assignments that I need to complete. Then, I would also take it out every night to double check that I finished all of my assignments. That means, I took it out three times a day Monday through Thursday because I have two classes everyday. I took it out once on friday to add additional things I needed to do. Even though my planner should be my best friend, I don't really like taking it out to check off everything I completed or didn't complete. Sometimes, I get irritated to have to take out my planner during class because that just means I have more assignments to write down and more work to do ahah. Along with this attitude, I decide to sort of scribble messy notes in my planner. Of course, that leads to me hating to take it out because I have to read and decipher what on earth I wrote. Well, the good thing is that I bought a new planner yesterday that has times listed out for each day so that ways, I not only see what I have to do but at what time and in what order to do them in. SCORE!!!

For the operant conditioning that is perpetuating my laziness to take out my planner, I get positive reinforcement by getting more time to do other stuff than to take the time to take out my planner and decipher what I wrote. In trying to change my laziness, it becomes positive punishment at times because it's a pain to read my notes.

So, I guess the best way to change my behavior is to change my attitude. I should learn to like my planner more and more and appreciate it...if that doesn't sound too crazy. Instead of thinking "ohh noo, more homework," I should be thinking "yeah...by writing things down, I am organized and on top of everything." By feeling better, I will write neater and then it wouldn't be such a burden to have to read my planner at night ahah. When this happens, I get more organized and finish my assignments earlier and earn better grades. Now that would be positive reinforcement and I will be a happy camper. Of course this is much easier said than done when you have bajillion things to write down...but I'll start trying now :).

My change in Behavior

As you can tell, clearly, I am already late for my second posting. There's a lot of things on my plate this semester with school, being the Academic Senator with the Associated Students on campus, as well as working with the Campaign Measure RR to better Mount SAC. With that said, I had a Senate training meeting today from 9-4pm. After the meeting and after sending a friend home, I came home at like 6:30pm and dozed off to sleep because I was so tired. Well, that really costs me since I woke up at like 8:30pm...YIKES! Obviously, I was late for my posting. I wanted to write this entry throughout the week and even on friday night, but I kept on assuring myself that I was going to remember and have tons of time after the training session today. Long behold, I was wrong. So, the behavior I will be observing from now on forward is checking my planner. I love my planner but sometimes I get too lazy to check it because I always think the tasks are already "consolidated in my memory." Well, today proved me quite the opposite. So, by checking my planner more often, I will no longer have to rely on my memory and just look at the tasks as it is written. Also, if I write down tasks to be done ahead of time, I can mitigate procrastination and finish my work before it is due and late posting would hopefully not happen again *knock on wood*. I can be more assured that I finish all of my tasks and have them done on time. Plus, another bonus is that I won't need to keep writing things on my hand and therefore I will decrease my chances for skin cancer :). If you had seen my left hand on friday, you would've thought I'm ridiculous.

If anyone has any other suggestions to solve procrastination or how to better organize my tasks please don't hesitate to let me know!