New 30 Day Trial Suggestions

[shawnmihalik]

On the sixteenth I will have finished my current 30 Day Trial, which was an experiment in vegetarianism. I'm happy to say the trial went well, and in three days I anticipate that I will announce that I am now in fact a dedicated vegetarian.

That being said, I'd like to start another 30 Day Trial when the current one ends, but I'm having difficulty deciding on a theme for the trial. I'm a freelance writer for Demand Studios, and the job requires focus that I don't always seem to have. In that vain, I'm considering a trial to write four articles a day for 30 days; doing so would increase my income significantly.

However, I'd also like to begin a habit of daily meditation, so I'm considering this as a trial as well.

I'd like to run the Pittsburgh Marathon in May, so another trial I'm considering is that of sticking to a concrete running schedule for 30 days.

I'm certain that each of these trials would have immense benefit for me, but if I'm going to be honest with myself, I must admit that I only have the capacity to consciously work on one trial at a time.

Which trial do you folks think would be the most beneficial? Any chance that running or meditating will help increase my focus, therefore causing be to run more, meditate more, and work more? Or should I focus on the work trial for now and try to develop my discipline in that one specific area?

[scorpio1980]

I would do the 30 days of meditation. This will increase not only your focus, but your overall patience with yourself. Meditation also tends to lead to clearer, and deeper thinking thus giving you better writing ability. When starting a meditation practice I would suggest starting with a less intense amount of time, and increasing your time as the 30 days progress. Maybe start with say 20 minutes, and try to get up to an hour a day by the end of the 30 days.

[shawnmihalik]

I'm thinking the meditation trial is probably the way to go, but another possible trial has come to mind: a 30 day no multitasking trial. I think that this would also improve my focus a great deal.

Then again, meditation would probably help me to not multitask.

[scorpio1980]

Originally Posted by shawnmihalik

I'm thinking the meditation trial is probably the way to go, but another possible trial has come to mind: a 30 day no multitasking trial. I think that this would also improve my focus a great deal.

Then again, meditation would probably help me to not multitask.

Agreed that meditation would help with not multitasking. The clarity of mind meditation can bring will improve almost all areas of your life. In my eyes meditation is probably the one best thing anyone could do to improve their lives. Slowing down ones mind can make you aware of any negative self talk in ones head which may be causing issues not even aware of. We think thoughts all the time that affect us at a deep level that we don't even realize we were thinking.