24 Oct Friday
Friday I went for Korean Class from my home. I left my house early and reached my class at 10.15am. Surprised that I was the first in class but again the class started late.
Later I went for a meet up with my friend at canteen A. The meet up time was scheduled at 3pm which I reached at 2pm.
Later I had another lecture at 4.30pm. For once, I was early for the class and reached there at 4.30pm sharp.
After that i went off and met my friends whom I asked to meet at 6.30pm. I reached at 6.25pm as my teacher ended class early.
verdict: Success
Points: 4 out of 4 events
25 Oct Saturday
I met up with my friend at 10.30am at Yew tee. The time for meet up was 10.30am but I was almost late as I left my place a little late.
Later I went down to Orchard for project discussion. Initially, the meet up time was supposed to be 12pm but as my meet up with my friend does not allow me to leave earlier, I informed them that I could only reach at 12.30pm. I ended up reaching at 12.10pm
Later I had to meet up with my church friends to buy some presents at 3.30pm. I reached at 3.28pm but they are late. They reached at 3.45pm.
Later I had to meet my other church group mates to pray before going for service at 5.30pm. I reached at 5.30pm but everyone was late.
Verdict: Success
Points: 4 out of 4 events
26 Oct Sunday
I had to meet up my friend again for morning prayers at 10.30am. I reached at 10.25am. He was early and was already waiting for me.
Later, my brother and I had to meet our parents at Marriot Hotel at 6.30pm. We reached there at 6.20pm despite coming out of our house a little later than we had wanted due to some unforeseen circumstances. We had to look for our parents clothes which took some time.
Verdict: Success
Points: 2 out of 2 events
27 Oct Monday
I had to meet up with my friends for breakfast at 8am at plaza Singapura. I reached at 8.20am as I had initially decided not to go but changed my mind later.
Later, I had to meet up with my church friends at the train station at 12.30pm. Due to the prayers taking longer than usual, and adding on to that I wanted to get a cup of tea before I went I almost missed the timing. I reached exactly at 12.30pm but no one was there. The other 2 girls were late for about half an hour
Verdict: Success
Points: 1 out of 2 events
Although I missed one timing, it was due to the reason that I had initially wanted to skip breakfast as I wanted to concentrate on my report. Hence, it cannot be counted against me that I missed the time though I shouldn't say that I deserved the point either.
Discussion:
Finally the end of the treatment has come. The result I must say is satisfying as I have not been late almost for an entire week. The unfortunate thing was that even though i was usually early, others are often late. However, I should not let such a thing put me down. I derive a lot of pleasure from being early and the negative feelings of being late and feeling guilty has been removed (negative reinforcement) and perhaps it is rewarding me for being early. However, I feel that if there is a flaw in this experiment is that the condition that allowed it to work was that I feel guilty about being late. Also, I was quite adamant that I reach on time as it is a good habit. Perhaps if it was administered on a person who does not see the value of being on time, it might not be as effective. I will certainly continue with this treatment even though I would not be blogging about it anymore as I hope that this will translate into a good habit which will reflect well upon others. Also, I'd want to encourage the people around me to do so as well so that they too will benefit from it. Being on time means having more precious meet up time and allows us to be able to complete what we have set out for. Being late could really become a domino effect as you wouldn't be able to meet other timings as well. However, that would only work if everyone makes the effort to be early.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
23 Oct
The program is coming to an end. In a way, I must say that it has been quite successful throughout though I'd want to analyze it further. Its hard to accept that my program worked because I am aware of it or that I have done it through sheer will power. However, let me first update on the progress made on 23 Oct
23 Oct Thurs
I left my hall for my class at 1pm but because my class starts at 2.30, I was in no rush. I realized that recently I'm leaving my house earlier and my mentality has changed to wanting to be there even if the time has not reached yet. That is because I'm afraid that I would be late so I usually bring whatever I intended to study or read near to the place that I was supposed to have classes. However, as I was having lunch with my friend and chatted for too long, I nearly did not have time to print my notes. Due to some mechanical failure at the printers I was delayed but after printing out my notes I ran all the way to class and made it just on the dot 2.30pm.
Due to the rushing, I could not get my pencil case as they are in the canteen and I had no time to get them. As usual the teacher is not there and so are most of the students.
Later, I had to go for my tutorial at 4.30pm which I reached at 4.22pm since we ended early and I just went back to the canteen to get my pencil case.
Later I met my friend for a talk at the canteen at 5.30pm which I reached at 5.30 sharp as we just finished classes.
Finally, I contacted my friends online for a meeting at 12am which was the stipulated time. I was on time but the others were not. So I had to call them one by one to gather them.
Verdict: Success
Points Earned: 4 out of 4 events
Total Points: 6 (I used 4 points for computer games)
Discussion
I realized that there is a general tendency for people to be late because of the culture in Singapore or specifically, in our daily lives. As people are used to people being late they do not feel upset nor do they reprimand the offender as the behavior of lateness is expected.
In this way, people seldom come on time as:
1.There are no rewards for being early
2.Most people are late, so the person who is early usually have to wait for others to arrive(Negative punishment)
3.When you are late, no one scolds you and usually the perpetrator just apologizes without any consequences(Lack of punishment = positive reinforcement as the person has more time at doing his/her own things without having to be responsible for his/her timing)
4.Convenience of mobile phones meant that one could notify others of their status and tell others to go on ahead without them. This convenience allows people to make last minute changes without notifying others
Because of these for reasons, tardiness is an issue with many Singaporeans as well as myself. As i review my own blog, I realized that when I was on time in my meet ups with Singaporeans or classes with Singaporean teachers, the meetings and classes never start on time. That meant that I had to wait or make calls to ask where the others are and it is a punishing stimulus for me as I hate to wait for others. In order that we can overcome these problems, it is essential that we communicate to others about our displeasure(As what my Korean teacher did and since then I've been late only once to her class) . Also, we could reward those who are early by being attentive to them or giving them small treats. Lastly, teach them to start the events on time with or without everyone. I also believe that it is our own responsibility to take care of our own time management, even if there is an unforeseen circumstance, we should make time allowance so that even if we are delayed, we wouldn't be late.
However, on a footnote, I understand how and why most people are late so I could understand and sympathize with them since I used to be one of the worst perpetrators. However, that does not mean that lateness should be tolerated.
23 Oct Thurs
I left my hall for my class at 1pm but because my class starts at 2.30, I was in no rush. I realized that recently I'm leaving my house earlier and my mentality has changed to wanting to be there even if the time has not reached yet. That is because I'm afraid that I would be late so I usually bring whatever I intended to study or read near to the place that I was supposed to have classes. However, as I was having lunch with my friend and chatted for too long, I nearly did not have time to print my notes. Due to some mechanical failure at the printers I was delayed but after printing out my notes I ran all the way to class and made it just on the dot 2.30pm.
Due to the rushing, I could not get my pencil case as they are in the canteen and I had no time to get them. As usual the teacher is not there and so are most of the students.
Later, I had to go for my tutorial at 4.30pm which I reached at 4.22pm since we ended early and I just went back to the canteen to get my pencil case.
Later I met my friend for a talk at the canteen at 5.30pm which I reached at 5.30 sharp as we just finished classes.
Finally, I contacted my friends online for a meeting at 12am which was the stipulated time. I was on time but the others were not. So I had to call them one by one to gather them.
Verdict: Success
Points Earned: 4 out of 4 events
Total Points: 6 (I used 4 points for computer games)
Discussion
I realized that there is a general tendency for people to be late because of the culture in Singapore or specifically, in our daily lives. As people are used to people being late they do not feel upset nor do they reprimand the offender as the behavior of lateness is expected.
In this way, people seldom come on time as:
1.There are no rewards for being early
2.Most people are late, so the person who is early usually have to wait for others to arrive(Negative punishment)
3.When you are late, no one scolds you and usually the perpetrator just apologizes without any consequences(Lack of punishment = positive reinforcement as the person has more time at doing his/her own things without having to be responsible for his/her timing)
4.Convenience of mobile phones meant that one could notify others of their status and tell others to go on ahead without them. This convenience allows people to make last minute changes without notifying others
Because of these for reasons, tardiness is an issue with many Singaporeans as well as myself. As i review my own blog, I realized that when I was on time in my meet ups with Singaporeans or classes with Singaporean teachers, the meetings and classes never start on time. That meant that I had to wait or make calls to ask where the others are and it is a punishing stimulus for me as I hate to wait for others. In order that we can overcome these problems, it is essential that we communicate to others about our displeasure(As what my Korean teacher did and since then I've been late only once to her class) . Also, we could reward those who are early by being attentive to them or giving them small treats. Lastly, teach them to start the events on time with or without everyone. I also believe that it is our own responsibility to take care of our own time management, even if there is an unforeseen circumstance, we should make time allowance so that even if we are delayed, we wouldn't be late.
However, on a footnote, I understand how and why most people are late so I could understand and sympathize with them since I used to be one of the worst perpetrators. However, that does not mean that lateness should be tolerated.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
19, 20, 21, 22 Oct updates
19 Oct Sun
I was to meet up my friends at Dhoby Ghaut at 2pm. I managed to reached there on time as i left my house 11.58. The normal time to reach would take 1 hour which means normally i have to leave the house at 12pm to be sure that i can reach on time.
Verdict: Success
20 Oct Monday
I was supposed to meet my friend for project discussion at 12pm. However, knowing that I am unlikely to make it on time due to some work I have to do, I told him that we should shift the meeting time to 12.30 instead. I left my house 11.53 and reach school at 12.10pm. Since my friend was not yet there, i went to the computer room to brush up my work.
Later, at 1.30pm was my lecture for Hp308 and I reached there at 1.30pm sharp. The rest of the day had no more meetings.
Verdict: Success
Some thoughts: I felt that in the morning I could have left the house earlier if i dropped my work and went instead of staying behind to finish it which may have caused me to be late if i wasn't careful. Ultimately, while i was not late, it was because i changed the time rather than because I was early.
Also, since I don't have much money, I have stopped giving myself rewards for being on time. However, the intrinsic motivation that i recieve from feeling good about being early could be a good enough reinforcer for me. But I also think that if I could use a token economy it could be even more effective.
21 Oct Tues
Went for Korean Class in the morning at 10.30am. I left the room at 9.57am and reached my class at 10.15am. Later I went for HP320 class at 1.30pm right on time as I head for it as soon as I had visited the SAO.
Verdict: Success
Reward: 2 points for 2 events
22 Oct Wed
I went home on Tues night and came to school on Wed morning. I had to meet my friend at 9.30am in the morning but because i dallied in the morning(reading newspapers, checking out soccer news) I left my house at 8.20am. Normally, according to my treatment program, I have to leave my house by 8am and adding on the 10 minutes I should have left at 7.50am. Fortunately, the 1.5 hours that i normally need to use to reach my school was shorten in the morning due to the peak hours and transportation was much faster. I reached my destination at 9.30 sharp
Later, I went for classes at 12.30 and reached at 12.30 sharp as well. I left canteen A to walk over there at 12.20pm and was almost late but with a bit of rushing I reached there on time.
Later, I went over for HP320 tutorial and reached the place at 4.30pm sharp. Again I left Canteen A at 4.18pm which was quite late as I didn't take into account the amount of time I would need to walk over there resulting in a bit of rushing.
Later at night I back hall to collect some items and rushed back to canteen A as I am meeting my group there at 6.30pm. I reached at 6.25pm.
verdict: Success
Reward: 4 points for 4 events
Something to think about: While I made it on time for all 4 events, it was all very close and I barely made it. Each time, it required me to make a dash for it in order to make it in time for the class or meeting. I think that I may need to implement a punishment regime as well to cut down even further my tendency to dally from tomorrow onwards.
Rewards and Punishment Regime
Rewards will take a point system where points will be tallied and could be exchanged for rewards.
2 Points = 1 hour of computer gaming
15 Points = 1 Comic book of my choice
20 Points = 1 movie ticket
These 3 things are things that I like the most especially computer gaming. At the same time, this implementation would mean that I cannot play computer games on normal days anymore which will give me more time to study.
Punishment
Punishment would require me to lose 2 points for every time I am late. I figured that if my points are deducted, I would lose the freedom to play computer games which will really kill me.
So far the total points accumulated is 6
That's all for today.
I was to meet up my friends at Dhoby Ghaut at 2pm. I managed to reached there on time as i left my house 11.58. The normal time to reach would take 1 hour which means normally i have to leave the house at 12pm to be sure that i can reach on time.
Verdict: Success
20 Oct Monday
I was supposed to meet my friend for project discussion at 12pm. However, knowing that I am unlikely to make it on time due to some work I have to do, I told him that we should shift the meeting time to 12.30 instead. I left my house 11.53 and reach school at 12.10pm. Since my friend was not yet there, i went to the computer room to brush up my work.
Later, at 1.30pm was my lecture for Hp308 and I reached there at 1.30pm sharp. The rest of the day had no more meetings.
Verdict: Success
Some thoughts: I felt that in the morning I could have left the house earlier if i dropped my work and went instead of staying behind to finish it which may have caused me to be late if i wasn't careful. Ultimately, while i was not late, it was because i changed the time rather than because I was early.
Also, since I don't have much money, I have stopped giving myself rewards for being on time. However, the intrinsic motivation that i recieve from feeling good about being early could be a good enough reinforcer for me. But I also think that if I could use a token economy it could be even more effective.
21 Oct Tues
Went for Korean Class in the morning at 10.30am. I left the room at 9.57am and reached my class at 10.15am. Later I went for HP320 class at 1.30pm right on time as I head for it as soon as I had visited the SAO.
Verdict: Success
Reward: 2 points for 2 events
22 Oct Wed
I went home on Tues night and came to school on Wed morning. I had to meet my friend at 9.30am in the morning but because i dallied in the morning(reading newspapers, checking out soccer news) I left my house at 8.20am. Normally, according to my treatment program, I have to leave my house by 8am and adding on the 10 minutes I should have left at 7.50am. Fortunately, the 1.5 hours that i normally need to use to reach my school was shorten in the morning due to the peak hours and transportation was much faster. I reached my destination at 9.30 sharp
Later, I went for classes at 12.30 and reached at 12.30 sharp as well. I left canteen A to walk over there at 12.20pm and was almost late but with a bit of rushing I reached there on time.
Later, I went over for HP320 tutorial and reached the place at 4.30pm sharp. Again I left Canteen A at 4.18pm which was quite late as I didn't take into account the amount of time I would need to walk over there resulting in a bit of rushing.
Later at night I back hall to collect some items and rushed back to canteen A as I am meeting my group there at 6.30pm. I reached at 6.25pm.
verdict: Success
Reward: 4 points for 4 events
Something to think about: While I made it on time for all 4 events, it was all very close and I barely made it. Each time, it required me to make a dash for it in order to make it in time for the class or meeting. I think that I may need to implement a punishment regime as well to cut down even further my tendency to dally from tomorrow onwards.
Rewards and Punishment Regime
Rewards will take a point system where points will be tallied and could be exchanged for rewards.
2 Points = 1 hour of computer gaming
15 Points = 1 Comic book of my choice
20 Points = 1 movie ticket
These 3 things are things that I like the most especially computer gaming. At the same time, this implementation would mean that I cannot play computer games on normal days anymore which will give me more time to study.
Punishment
Punishment would require me to lose 2 points for every time I am late. I figured that if my points are deducted, I would lose the freedom to play computer games which will really kill me.
So far the total points accumulated is 6
That's all for today.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
17 and 18 Oct
On Friday 17 Oct i managed to reached my Korean Class in time at 10.30am. As usual I tried to leave 10 minutes earlier but my dad decided to send me to school instead so I was able to reach by 9.50am instead.
The rest of the day was just waiting for the night prayer meet where i had to meet my friends at 5.30pm. I set my alarm clock to go off at 5.15pm and took a nap. Unfortunately i set the alarm to 5.15 am instead and thus overslept. Since this is not a fault of my intention, it should not be considered a failure in the treatment program. However, I would do well to avoid such a repeat by being extra careful in setting my clock.
On Saturday, I was supposed to be in church at 2pm for a talk. I almost missed my timing as I was reading comics in my room but being conscious of the time i left at 12.59pm. I was supposed to leave by 1pm normally so it can be considered not to break the treatment program but it was a close shave.
That's all. Will continue to keep the blog updated.
The rest of the day was just waiting for the night prayer meet where i had to meet my friends at 5.30pm. I set my alarm clock to go off at 5.15pm and took a nap. Unfortunately i set the alarm to 5.15 am instead and thus overslept. Since this is not a fault of my intention, it should not be considered a failure in the treatment program. However, I would do well to avoid such a repeat by being extra careful in setting my clock.
On Saturday, I was supposed to be in church at 2pm for a talk. I almost missed my timing as I was reading comics in my room but being conscious of the time i left at 12.59pm. I was supposed to leave by 1pm normally so it can be considered not to break the treatment program but it was a close shave.
That's all. Will continue to keep the blog updated.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Failure in the treatment
I was late for the yesterday's event when i tried to meet my friend at 6pm. Supposedly according to the treatment program I was supposed to be out of my room at 5.50pm but because i was feeling quite sleepy i decided to take a small nap before meeting my friend. While i set my alarm to 5.50, i neglected to check that it was actually 5.50am instead of pm which when i woke up, it was already 6.10pm.
Today I was late for class as well as I didnt get out of my room within 10 minutes as I was in the middle of playing my computer. As expected, I was late for class. I was supposed to be there at 2.30pm but reached only at 2.38pm. Fortunately for me, the class has yet to start yet. However, it was ultimately a failure on my part to stick to the treatment program.
The tutorial later was started at 4.30pm but due to a HSS PA program talk which i had to attend and which i left at 4.30pm, I only managed to reach the class at 4.40pm.
All in all, my schedules are starting to fail and I need to take more control over the situation. After considering the three events, I realised that the reason I was late was not always due to me but to unexpected circumstances. I also realised that if I had been more diligent in keeping up with this program, it would probably be quite successful. Though there is no punishment regime in this program, I feel that the fact that I have lost my initial desire to be on time is quite dangerous and requires action. Hence, from tomorrow onwards I'd be even more diligent in giving the reinforcement when I am early. This is to encourage me to follow through with this experiment to the end.
Today I was late for class as well as I didnt get out of my room within 10 minutes as I was in the middle of playing my computer. As expected, I was late for class. I was supposed to be there at 2.30pm but reached only at 2.38pm. Fortunately for me, the class has yet to start yet. However, it was ultimately a failure on my part to stick to the treatment program.
The tutorial later was started at 4.30pm but due to a HSS PA program talk which i had to attend and which i left at 4.30pm, I only managed to reach the class at 4.40pm.
All in all, my schedules are starting to fail and I need to take more control over the situation. After considering the three events, I realised that the reason I was late was not always due to me but to unexpected circumstances. I also realised that if I had been more diligent in keeping up with this program, it would probably be quite successful. Though there is no punishment regime in this program, I feel that the fact that I have lost my initial desire to be on time is quite dangerous and requires action. Hence, from tomorrow onwards I'd be even more diligent in giving the reinforcement when I am early. This is to encourage me to follow through with this experiment to the end.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The disaster...
*Note: This part is not related to the project
Oh man... I just fumbled up on my project... I really hate to say this but i accidentally deleted alot of scenes that we took on the video camera the other day. How am i going to recover them i wonder. Is this the end of the world??
*The project starts now
Sighz... well lets get on with things then... I managed to make it on time for my classes today for all 3 classes through leaving the room early by 10 mins and it all worked. I was on time for HP320 lecture, Korean Class at 10.30am and my MB106 Class as well. I couldnt really reinforce myself though because I had no money to keep up with all those chocolates and honestly i dont really wanna eat chocs any more either. Currently now im using drinks and other treats such as nuts and good dinner to award myself but the rewards come so late that im not sure if they will be that effective after all.
*Not related
Anyway im really beset with guilt right now but i dont intend to hide from my group mates what happened. God please save me...
Oh man... I just fumbled up on my project... I really hate to say this but i accidentally deleted alot of scenes that we took on the video camera the other day. How am i going to recover them i wonder. Is this the end of the world??
*The project starts now
Sighz... well lets get on with things then... I managed to make it on time for my classes today for all 3 classes through leaving the room early by 10 mins and it all worked. I was on time for HP320 lecture, Korean Class at 10.30am and my MB106 Class as well. I couldnt really reinforce myself though because I had no money to keep up with all those chocolates and honestly i dont really wanna eat chocs any more either. Currently now im using drinks and other treats such as nuts and good dinner to award myself but the rewards come so late that im not sure if they will be that effective after all.
*Not related
Anyway im really beset with guilt right now but i dont intend to hide from my group mates what happened. God please save me...
Monday, October 13, 2008
Continuing from this morning
It worked!! The system actually worked!! I came out of my house this morning at 11.55 and came down to NTU for my 1.30pm class. I was on time with 30 mins to spare!
Well I went to canteen B and grabbed a lunch, a rarity as i usually skip lunch on Mondays due to my lateness. I could go to the CITS lab to print my notes and go in for lecture just in time. Quite a close shave though... but i was right on the spot at 1.28pm according to the school time.
I treated myself to a snickers bar but it was kinda expensive. Im thinking that in future perhaps a good cold drink will do as reinforcement. At least it is not as fattening.
Well I went to canteen B and grabbed a lunch, a rarity as i usually skip lunch on Mondays due to my lateness. I could go to the CITS lab to print my notes and go in for lecture just in time. Quite a close shave though... but i was right on the spot at 1.28pm according to the school time.
I treated myself to a snickers bar but it was kinda expensive. Im thinking that in future perhaps a good cold drink will do as reinforcement. At least it is not as fattening.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Updates of experiment
The base line is more or less completed...
Just a quick update of the recent events that has happened.
On 9 Oct Thursday, I was supposed to meet Wilson for Shepherding. The time to meet was 10.45am but i only managed to reach at 10.52am. The reason I was late was because I was hanging around in my room.
Next I was going for HP 307 lecture at 2.30pm, I reached at 2.36. Although i was only slightly late, and the lecture did not start even after i reached, according to our definition i am considered late. The reason I was late was because my friend didn't want to go so early.
Next I was supposed to meet my care group friends at 6pm. I reached in time because i was there for quite early at 4.30 after my lesson ended.
On Friday 10 Oct, I had Korean Class at 10.30am. I reached there on time though I was almost late as I reached just on the dot. The reason i was able to reach on time was because i left my room with 30 mins to reach there and the bus came immediately after i left my room. However, because i was rushing my Homework, I almost didnt go to class on time.
Later in the night, I had MB 106 Class at 4.30pm. However i reached only at 4.50pm. The reason i was late was because again i was sleeping in my room. When i finally left my hall, I had to print notes for the class which was the reason i was so late.
On 11 Oct, Saturday, I was supposed to meet my friends in at dhoby Ghaut at 2.15pm Although i left my house a little late, I didnt make it there at all as i was mobilized for the Army and had to go there instead. However i noticed that before i left my room, i was dallying in my room toying with my computer.
On the 12 Oct i had to reach my friend's place for my church's member appreciation day party at 10.30pm. I reached there at 10.02pm. Although I reached there quite early, that was because i thought that the meeting starts at 10pm! However, considering that I thought it was 10pm and i arrived "late", the reason that happened was because I was at home reading newspapers before i left.
Then in the afternoon, I met my project friends at 2.08pm. I was supposed to meet them at 2pm but couldn't reach in time because once again I dallied at the party area when we were playing games.
All in all, the pattern of my behavior has been following a certain pattern. I realised that I NEVER leave my house on time or at a stipulated time. Rather i always dally around until the exact time before i go out of my house. But at the exact time, something will happen or I'd be so engrossed with what i was playing with that i leave my house a few minutes later than initially planned.
My course of action for this behavior modification programme is to from today onwards, I'll leave exactly 10 minutes before the exact time. For example, I have a lecture at 1.30pm later for HP308. From my house, it takes about 1.5 hours to reach safely taking into consideration the travelling and waiting time for public transport. So if i leave my house at 12pm, I'll reach in time. However, to counter the dallying time, I'll move out 10 minutes earlier at 11.50. This way, even if i dally i wont affect the time to reach my destination. If i reach on time, I'll reinforce myself with a chocolate bar(any type) which is my favorite. I feel that I cannot get someone else to administer the reinforcement for me as this tardiness event is applicable quite frequently and I'd want to be able to reinforce myself immediately so that i can associate the reinforcement with being on time.
If i'm late however, then the guilt of being late will be my punisher. Since it is intrinsic and i do indeed feel guilty, it will do well as a punisher. Hopefully, my reinforcer will go from once every time I'm early to once every few times and eventually phase out and live on intrinsic motivation alone. I'm intending to after 3 days on the 16 oct, to stretch the ratio to 1 reinforcement every 2 times im on time.
Just a quick update of the recent events that has happened.
On 9 Oct Thursday, I was supposed to meet Wilson for Shepherding. The time to meet was 10.45am but i only managed to reach at 10.52am. The reason I was late was because I was hanging around in my room.
Next I was going for HP 307 lecture at 2.30pm, I reached at 2.36. Although i was only slightly late, and the lecture did not start even after i reached, according to our definition i am considered late. The reason I was late was because my friend didn't want to go so early.
Next I was supposed to meet my care group friends at 6pm. I reached in time because i was there for quite early at 4.30 after my lesson ended.
On Friday 10 Oct, I had Korean Class at 10.30am. I reached there on time though I was almost late as I reached just on the dot. The reason i was able to reach on time was because i left my room with 30 mins to reach there and the bus came immediately after i left my room. However, because i was rushing my Homework, I almost didnt go to class on time.
Later in the night, I had MB 106 Class at 4.30pm. However i reached only at 4.50pm. The reason i was late was because again i was sleeping in my room. When i finally left my hall, I had to print notes for the class which was the reason i was so late.
On 11 Oct, Saturday, I was supposed to meet my friends in at dhoby Ghaut at 2.15pm Although i left my house a little late, I didnt make it there at all as i was mobilized for the Army and had to go there instead. However i noticed that before i left my room, i was dallying in my room toying with my computer.
On the 12 Oct i had to reach my friend's place for my church's member appreciation day party at 10.30pm. I reached there at 10.02pm. Although I reached there quite early, that was because i thought that the meeting starts at 10pm! However, considering that I thought it was 10pm and i arrived "late", the reason that happened was because I was at home reading newspapers before i left.
Then in the afternoon, I met my project friends at 2.08pm. I was supposed to meet them at 2pm but couldn't reach in time because once again I dallied at the party area when we were playing games.
All in all, the pattern of my behavior has been following a certain pattern. I realised that I NEVER leave my house on time or at a stipulated time. Rather i always dally around until the exact time before i go out of my house. But at the exact time, something will happen or I'd be so engrossed with what i was playing with that i leave my house a few minutes later than initially planned.
My course of action for this behavior modification programme is to from today onwards, I'll leave exactly 10 minutes before the exact time. For example, I have a lecture at 1.30pm later for HP308. From my house, it takes about 1.5 hours to reach safely taking into consideration the travelling and waiting time for public transport. So if i leave my house at 12pm, I'll reach in time. However, to counter the dallying time, I'll move out 10 minutes earlier at 11.50. This way, even if i dally i wont affect the time to reach my destination. If i reach on time, I'll reinforce myself with a chocolate bar(any type) which is my favorite. I feel that I cannot get someone else to administer the reinforcement for me as this tardiness event is applicable quite frequently and I'd want to be able to reinforce myself immediately so that i can associate the reinforcement with being on time.
If i'm late however, then the guilt of being late will be my punisher. Since it is intrinsic and i do indeed feel guilty, it will do well as a punisher. Hopefully, my reinforcer will go from once every time I'm early to once every few times and eventually phase out and live on intrinsic motivation alone. I'm intending to after 3 days on the 16 oct, to stretch the ratio to 1 reinforcement every 2 times im on time.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Starting of my Experiment
Well well... The blogger site said that my blog is repetitive and has thus labeled it as a spam blog. What did you know... Hmmm
Enough of that, I've decided to do what i have intended for this blog for. Yes and that is to use it for my HP 320 project. The behavior which i am modifying is my tendency for tardiness. I realized that very often, I'm late for meetings, classes, rendezvous with my friends or just about meeting someone. After the past week of observations, sad to say even with observation meaning that I know its a behavior that i want to modify, I was only on time for 3 events.
From today till the 14 Oct, I'm going to record down everytime I'm meeting someone as well as the time I'm supposed to and the time I reach. Being late will be defined as arriving at the location 1 minute more than the intended time. I know that this may sound quite stringent but it is neccessary as classes that i attend usually start on time and its not good to be late for them.
I will also include what time i reach and the reason why i was late. After acquiring the baseline, we'll go into the treatment proper by implementing procedures to counter the reasons im late as well as using reinforcement to increase the probability of me being on time.
Finally, we'd analyze the effects of the whole experiment to see how effective it is and how I have progressed.
I will post the daily time recordings at the end of the day as well as some discussion on the progress and the reasons.
Enough of that, I've decided to do what i have intended for this blog for. Yes and that is to use it for my HP 320 project. The behavior which i am modifying is my tendency for tardiness. I realized that very often, I'm late for meetings, classes, rendezvous with my friends or just about meeting someone. After the past week of observations, sad to say even with observation meaning that I know its a behavior that i want to modify, I was only on time for 3 events.
From today till the 14 Oct, I'm going to record down everytime I'm meeting someone as well as the time I'm supposed to and the time I reach. Being late will be defined as arriving at the location 1 minute more than the intended time. I know that this may sound quite stringent but it is neccessary as classes that i attend usually start on time and its not good to be late for them.
I will also include what time i reach and the reason why i was late. After acquiring the baseline, we'll go into the treatment proper by implementing procedures to counter the reasons im late as well as using reinforcement to increase the probability of me being on time.
Finally, we'd analyze the effects of the whole experiment to see how effective it is and how I have progressed.
I will post the daily time recordings at the end of the day as well as some discussion on the progress and the reasons.
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