How 135 rule brought positivity and discipline into my lifestyle?
The key requirement in the journey to accomplish big dreams is self-discipline.
If I have to talk about my life, then I would have to divide it as before 2020 and after 2020. Two things to know about me: I have always been active and focused on work. This has been common in the before and after periods. Everything looks good so far. But only it was not. I was not happy with where I was and what I was doing with my life. I always wanted to do more things but I couldn’t do them as my life was not structured. This was before 2020.
Then 2020 happened…The pandemic hit us and life wasn’t easy. Searching for a job in the same period when thousands of people were losing jobs every day was not an easy task. The competition was tough. It then hit me that I had wasted years thinking to do things and accomplished nothing. I regretted it. I was someone whom you could call a binge racer (if that’s the official term for someone who binge-watches shows crazily on Netflix). I wasted months/years (cannot track it anymore) doing it which I could have used for self-development. These years wasted put me far behind in the race.
Once this realization hit me I took responsibility and started to change my life. It wasn’t easy. I was lost. I had good days and then bad days. And things were not structured. There was no self-discipline. I was doing a lot more than I was doing before. But towards the end of the day, I wasn’t satisfied. I started trying out different time management techniques and making schedules. Setting timers on mobile, putting up sticky notes, writing things down in a notebook before starting the day. I tried a lot of them. It always seemed to work in the beginning but never lasted more than a week or two. Guess it is just the initial excitement syndrome acting up.
Finally, 2 months ago, I found the winner. The one that works best for me. It took a couple of days to understand what suits me the best. But once after that, it worked wonders. Time to reveal the winner — 135 rule. It is a simple concept. Each day you have to complete 1 big task, 3 medium tasks, and 5 small tasks. Sounds simple? Definitely not! Dividing your tasks as big medium and small is not an easy business. But once you get onboarded to it, there is nothing like it. I finally found out that doing something for 21 days continuously makes it a habit. It actually works!!!
Initially, somedays I had to extend till late at night just to complete everything on the schedule. But it was worth it. After 2 months, I am more positive, confident, happy, and have much more control over my life. I feel satisfied at the end of the day. I can sleep well and I have completed a lot more things in these two months than ever before.
But there is a secret ingredient here. It is not an easy schedule. So how do I prep myself to do it? The answer is very simple. I always begin my day reading few pages of a book. It's always on my list as a small task. It serves as an energy drink for my brain. I would recommend this as a must-try.
It is just the beginning and I have a long way to go. But this has definitely made a positive impact on my lifestyle and so I wanted to share my journey into self-discipline and positivity. Do give the 135 rule a try and see what works best for you. Stay positive!!!!
