Georgetown University
Life Style Management and Personal Improvement

 

Survey of System Thinking

The purpose of this survey is to examine the type of change you have introduced or plan to introduce in your lifestyle.  In the first step, you describe the change and in the remaining steps you answer a series of questions about the change.  The survey scores can be used to classify the change.  The higher the score, the more likely that the change is a systemic environmental change.  The higher the score, the more the likelihood of a structural change in your lifestyle.  The lower the score, the more likely that the change requires more personal effort and motivation from you.

Evaluating Possible Changes
 

Step 1: Start with the resolution you want to accomplish.  Then describe the change you have or will introduce in order to achieve your resolution.  Give as much details as possible regarding why, what, where, who so that someone not familiar with you can read the description and understand how your environment or life routines have changed (see sample examples). 

 

Step 2: Check any response that applies to the idea

1. Focuses on factors that precede and affect relapse into unhealthy behaviors

12. If done today, it will affect my behavior in the future, not today. The effect of the change on my behavior is delayed.

2. Does not rely primarily on my personal motivation

13. Leads to desired outcomes through other tasks and activities.

3. Changes me indirectly by changing my environment

14. Involves a physical change in my environment

4. Once the change is done, it stays done.  No need to make the change again the next day.

15. It enables me to have more time or other resources in order to keep up with my plans

5. If it fails to affect my habits, no one is to be blamed.

16. Changes who I socialize with or how frequently I see my friends

6. If it fails to affect my plans, no point in trying again, harder and with more commitment.

17. Affects others who live with me, even though they may not need to change.

7. If it fails to work, it is not an indication of my commitment.

18. Changes what I do for fun & entertainment

8. It does not rely on my memory.

19. Leaves me no choice but to keep up with my plans & my resolution. 

9. Affects my behavior indirectly, through other events or circumstances

20. Changes activities or behaviors of a group of people not just me.

10. It is a change in a reoccurring life routine such as commute, sleep patterns, house cleaning, personal grooming, etc.

21. If it fails to work, it gives me new insights about what I need to do next.
11. Requires more than one person to bring it about

22. Rearranges the sequence or the nature of my daily living activities (e.g. commute, sleeping, bathing, etc.)

Step 3: The change with the highest number of check marks provides the most structural life style change

 

Select your name

Please select your name from list of people who have signed the consent form.  If your name is not in the following list sign the consent form or alert us to the problem you are facing. 

 

Examples of Changes
 

ID Idea
197 I want to exercise, in the morning for one hour at least three times a week. Do achieve this goal I need to go to bed before midnight so that I have ample rest to wake myself at 6:00 a.m. to go to the gym.
196  
195  
194 Currently I do not work out on the weekends. Going forward, I will add one weekend day to the workout routine. I am #82 submitting this through the instructors name.
193 I will go to be earlier so that I can wak up in time for the gym. I am #82 using the instructors name to submit this because my name is not listed even though I signed/sent a consent.
192 I want to have less stress, and to ease the pain I have with my chronic spinal injury and knees injuries. 1- I want to change how much junk I eat, to see if my stress will ease up with better food. I have recently began taking apples and healthy food with me when I am going to be out for hours for work and school. 2- I want to start working out more so I can heal my body and try ease some of the pain I get from sitting too long. 3- Find time to get to physical therapy appointments so the conditions do not worsten, as they do when I miss p.t.
191 Third change will be to make a list of foods I like and can cook easily so it will take the guess work out of what to cook at home.
190 Resolution is to eat less take out. Second change will be to cook extra and freeze so that I have leftover for next day and when I get hungry I do not have to eat out.
189 My resolution is to eat less take out. First change that I will introduce is to find simple and quick reicpes to cook so that I don't get overwhelmed. And shop for ingredients a day in advance so I am not tired and bored by the time I start cooking.
188 Exercise and diet
187 I want to exercise, in the morning for one hour at least three times a week. Do achieve this goal I need to go to bed before midnight so that I have ample rest to wake myself at 6:00 a.m. to go to the gym.
186  
185 I want to stop eating in front of the TV, snacks or meals. I want to exercise more regularly to improve my health and reduce weight.
184  
183  
182 I want to lose weight, feel great physically and emotionally, and have fulfillment in my life. I've started exercising and cutting down on my eating. I also eat more healthy. I would like more emotional stability, but its difficult being in the same environment day after day. I'm not ready yet to move because I have a child and pursuing a masters degree. I would like to start seeing some changes now, not much later.
181 lose weight and eat healthy foods.
180 I would like to decrease my intake of sodas and juice and coffee and increase my water intake to at least 32 onces per day . currently i do not drink musch water al all. As amatter of fact I probably drink 32 onces per week or less. I drink alot of cafienated drinks such as soda and coffee becauce I,m usually tring to get through abusy day and I,m very tired . Ialso do not seem to sence thirst. I feel my lack of water is probably contributing to my chronic fatigue. I plan to incrrease my water intake by 1. enlisting my daughter and husband to reming me to drink water when I,m at home .2.I will carry watter to work.(we are not allowed to carry food or liquids outside the breakroom at my jor . This hinders my drinking at work . I will have my colleague (jant ) at work remind me to drink water.I also plan to get more rest so that I,m less dependent on caffiene to keep me going throughout the day.I plan to work less nght shifts .this will help reduce cafiene intake and increase rest.
179  
178  
177 My resolution to accomplish with this project is to work on getting a consistent amount of sleep (6.5 – 8.0 hours) a night at least five times a week. I often find myself so focused on the work I am doing I continuing working beyond when I should go to bed so that I do not get enough sleep. A few days later I then find myself completely exhausted and sleeping much more than I would like to, and not being able to accomplish any of my basic daily tasks. So far I have encountered several major obstacles in my attempts to implement changes in my personal improvement project. One of those obstacles is that I split with my girlfriend who had been my primary accountability source for working towards progress on this project. I do not have anyone else immediately living near me who can provide anywhere near that same level of accountability, so I am somewhat left to motivate myself alone at this point. Secondly, I have discovered that when it comes to my school work I have a tendency to do more work than necessary the first few days of the week, causing me to get a lower than sufficient amount of sleep. When it gets later in the week and I realize there wasn’t such a need to rush through my school work my body is exhausted from not getting enough sleep and I end up sleeping more than my desired amount. I need to work on establishing a balance where I trust my abilities to be able to space out my school work over the entire week, while still completing it all. That will allow me to get a more consistent amount of sleep on a regular basis. Two changes I can think of that would likely have a positive effect on my pursuit of my goal are getting some regular exercise at least several days a week and eating a more healthy, balanced diet. Right now I get little exercise on a regular basis. If I were to try walking even for 20 – 30 minutes a day at least three times a week I have a feeling I would see a positive improvement on my sleep. Also, with feeling the pressures of having so much to do I have typically not been eating a regular dinner for the past several weeks. I’ll often just have some crackers of else later into the night eat something sweet. Both of those are likely detrimental factors towards positive sleep cycles. A healthy and balanced diet will provide me with the nutrients I need to be most effective during my daytime hours as well as allow my body to get sufficient rest when I do go to sleep.
176 The resolution that I would like to accomplish is to quit smoking. To clarify, I did quit in March, but have since "slipped" on many occasions, such as when I go to a bar. Although smoking is no longer a daily activity, I am seeking to eliminate from my life completely.
175 I need to bring more phisycal activities in my life. Even though I visit a gym 2-3 times per week I have a sedentary life stile. The solutions are: to use breaks for doing some exersise, walking to grocery store instead of driving, taking stares instead of an elevator, establishing before bed walks with my family; The other huge problem is the need to eat after a stressful situation. I do not see how I could exclude this absolutely, but I would eat fruits and vegetables instead of sweets and junk food.
174 The resolution I want to accomplish is to eat less junk food. Items that I will change include: - Brining in health snacks, already in single size portions, to have handy if I am hungry (i.e. single serving size popcorn, fruit) - Make a conscious effort to get up from my desk and walk around for a few mins., especially in the afternoon. This will prevent from the desire to snack. - Ensure I allow for a gym workout at lunch - Do not bring a wallet to work so that I cannot go and buy snacks (rather have pre-paid CVS and Starbucks cards for emergencies. These are down the block and will require more effort to attain, rather than unhealthy snacks in my building) - If I feel hungry, have a glass of water and wait 10 min. before I eat anything. - While eating out, choose health foods and only eat ½ of what is presented. - When I arrive home from work, do not immediately snack on crackers. Have a drink and change clothes, then decide if I am hungry or not. If I need a snack, it should be a healthy snack.
173 I do not get enough hours of sleep each night. I would like to consistently get nine hours of sleep per night. I will have make changes in my sleeping, exercise, shower, and eating habits to help aid this change. Throught the Life Cycle assignment, I was able to realize that all of these factors contribute, however miniscule they may seem, to my sleep deprivation. By recording my nightly sleep hours and rating my sleepiness on a scale of one to five, I feel that I am slowly becoming more aware of how sleep deprivation affects all of my daily activities. Also, by making environmental changes such as turning off my light, setting my alarm clock, not leaving items on my bed, making my bed every morning, removing books from my bedside table, and even moving my tv, I will hopefully be able to make changes.
172 I want to establish a routine exercise schedule. Before my pregnancy I exercised 4 -5 times a week. Now - 2 years later - the only exercise I get is chasing my 2 year old around the house. If I could just plan a time and days to exercise - I would be more motivated, have more support and get the benefits of maintaining an exercise routine.
171 The resolution I want to accomplish is to stop procrastinating and stop doing professional work and school work at the last minute. I need to start assignments and projects in advance. I put so much pressure on myself when I wait until the last minute. I have no room for errors, or mistakes. If an error or mistake happens I do not have time to resolve because the deadline is approaching. I plan to accomplish this resolution by prioritizing assignments and projects. I also, plan to create a checklist, that I will refer to everyday to see if I have completed assignments and projects for the day. I will also, use a time management calendar where I will fill in my daily rountine items and see where I have free space, to insert study time, and reading time. I plan to eliminate procrastination time at home. Cut down on the time I spend on the phone with friends, watching television, and napping. I plan to have a more structured day, which will eliminate some procrastinating.
170 I want to increase my weekly exercise to maintain fitness to keep healthy while I am pregnant and after delivery. I plan to exercise 5 days a week for 20-30 minutes.
169 My personal improvement resolution is to exercise more and gain about 20-25 pounds by the end of this year (that means gain about 10 pounds by the end of this summer). I almost didn't do any exercise before. I thought taking care of two toddlers and cleaning house already mean exercise. But it seems that I was wrong, I feel fatigue and lack of energy, especially after pregancy. I think exercise more will be helpful to improve current situation. I will walk at least 5 days per week and 30 minutes per day. I walk while kids play outdoors with my husband. Sometimes I even can walk with my whole family. I also hope that I can gain weight as planned through regular exercise.
168 Change my environment by scheduling my meals and not eating on the run. I want to eat healthier and loose 10 lbs. I want to change my diet to lower calories 1500 p/day, less fat, and a higher fiber diet. Also, I want to incorporate 30 minutes daily of cardio exercise.
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This page is part of the course on quality, lecture on personal improvement.  For more information contact Farrokh Alemi, Ph.D.  Copyright © 1996. Most recent revision 09/29/2008.