Eco-chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Final Weekly Review and Overall Project Reflection

1) My SMART goal for the week was to shower no more than 7 minutes per day. I've actually gotten in the habit of taking short showers so it wasn't too much of a change. I usually set a timer on my phone that goes off a little bit before my goal so I know how long I have.

2) I find it challenging to get up and moving quickly in the morning. That was my biggest issue this week was trying to move quickly when I was tired. For the most part I did well, there was only one day that I went longer and it wasn't by much. The timer really helped as far as that went.

3) I feel productive when I shower quickly. Usually I never give myself enough time to get ready so now that I've been taking shorter showers it's easier for me to stick to my morning schedule.

4) I learned that if you make showering quick a habit, it's much easier to do everyday.

5) For next week I'm going to skip the timer and all that, but I will still try and stick to the shorter showers.

Review of entire process:
1) Initially my goal was to shower for no more than 10 minutes a day. Each week I chipped at it more and more until this past week I was at 7 minutes.

2) I used my cell phones timer to keep me on track, this helped a ton I think. There wasn't much that got in my way except for me. There was a lot of mornings were I was just too tired to move quick. It was easier for me to keep up the fast pace if I had coffee before I started getting ready. I think the way around problems like this is just to think it through.

3) I was much more timely by the end. It helped me get ready much quicker and helped me not be late for classes some days. I learned that even these rewards can motivate someone to alter their behavior.

4) I hear all about how many people around the world don't have clean water. I know the water I stropped from using doesn't go directly to them, but that's still a bunch of gallons I saved from the sewer. This intern helps the environment.

5) Probably not. I will definitely be trying to shower for less time in the future but I don't think I'll be trying to be down at 7 minutes and setting a timer and everything. I'll still be cutting down on water though.

6) If your not very excited about it or you don't think you can do it, give your self an incentive. I think that incentives motivate all behaviors, you need to get a reward out of what your doing. Whether its just getting to everything earlier or something else, it will motivate you much better then just feel as though you should.

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Eco-chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

1) My SMART goal for last week was to shower for no more than 9 minutes each day. Not only did I achieve my goal, but I went for even less time. On average I showered for about 7 minutes. I did this by setting a timer on my phone. It helped that I was at my parents house too because often I couldn't shower for very long due to them running out of hot water.

2) I had a lot of successes this past week. There wasn't a single day that I didn't meet my goal or do better than it. My family is pretty large so when everyone's home there tends to not be very much hot water to go around in the mornings. I think this was an advantage for my goal, no one wants to shower in cold water. There wasn't much for obstacles this week. Over all it went pretty well.

3) As far as feelings go, I was annoyed if anything. This was because it's not very fun to have to shower in cold water. Overall though I feel sort of proud. It's nice to accomplish your goal and go above and beyond.

4) I learned that no one ever needs to shower for more than 10-15 minutes. It's a waste of water and time. It's totally do-able to shower in half that time, it just might take some practice.

5) My SMART goal for next week is to shower no more than 7 minutes per day. I've seen I can achieve this mark if I just stay committed to the goal. I decided it's better to challenge myself and work towards seeing results. Hopefully this goal is obtainable and will push me!

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Blogged for Eco-chic Lifestyle change: Week 4 hosted by Amy @ Amy In The Rain

Eco-chic Lifestyle Change Week 3: Weekly Update

1) Goal: I will shower less than 10 minutes everyday. I achieved this goal by setting a timer for 9 minutes each day. I try very hard everyday to try to be out of the shower by the time it goes on off.

2) I was pretty successful all week. A challenge I faced however, was to try and stick to the time despite having to shave. This posses a problem but I made it work. I only went over my goal once this past week and it was due to this issue. I would say that i accomplished my goal 6 out of 7 days which I'm putting in my win column.

3) I would say that i feel like I've made a small accomplishment each day when I reach my goal. I also feel very efficient. As far as dealing with these feelings, I guess there's not much to deal with because it's all good stuff.

4) I learned that even though 10 minutes started off as a challenge, less than that is just as manageable. I didn't think that I would be able to go less than 10 but it's possible, you just have to get used to showering quickly.

5) My goal for next week is to shower no more than 9 minutes each day. Before my goal was to just get below 10 minutes so I went a minute under. I think that this small change will challenge me just enough.

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Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2: Weekly Update

1) Goal: I am going to shower no more than 10 minutes everyday. I do this by each day setting a timer on my phone before I just in the shower for 10 minutes. I try to be out of the shower by the time this timer goes off. I do this to ensure that I'm meeting my goal.

2) It's actually a pretty reasonable goal. The timer is really the key to the goal, it really keeps me on track and it reminds me of what Im trying to accomplish everyday. I face a problem with my goal when I am tired in the morning because it's hard for me to keep on a tight schedule so early. As I stated the timer also helps, but I also have started to drink coffee before hand so I'm more inclined to stick to schedule because I'm more awake.

3) I don't associate this goal with any strong feelings although I do feel a bit of accomplishment each day when I complete my mission.

4) I learned that despite liking to take long showers and feeling like its a must, it's really not. Its easy enough to take a quick shower and more over it helps me stay on schedule when getting ready in the morning. I also learned that there's really no excuse to not taking quick showers, and it's helpful for the environment.

5) I'm basically going to stick to the same goal except change the time limit. I will now be trying to do a sub 10 minute goal. I'm going to aim for 9 minutes this week and then take it from there. I feel that this is manageable because I already have enough time as is.

Blogged by the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2 hosted by Amy@ Amy In The Rain

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1- My Smart Goal

1) SMART Goal: I am going to cut down on the time it takes me to shower to 10 minutes or less starting today.

2) I think that this is good for the environment because we should be trying to conserve our water not waste it. There's really no need to take a 20 minute shower or more, when you can just get in and out in half the time. Not being wasteful is something we should all strive for.

3) I choose this goal because I often find myself taking too long in the shower, not only does it throw off my schedule for getting ready but it's just throwing a bunch of fresh water down the drain. I think that it's a habit that I need to break myself from because I now know how important water is from watching bottled.

4) As of today, I'm on the right track!

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain.

Welcome to Lovin' Nature With Brier!

Hey Everyone! My name is Brier, and I'm a senior majoring in Community Health Education with a minor in psychology. I will be graduating in the Fall of 2011, and I am very excited about it! This blog is all about nature, and my environmental class.

There are 6 possible posts on my blog. They include:

1. Advocacy Project
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change
5. Read 'n' Seed
6. Share and Voice

If you notice at the bottom of this post, the categories will be listed as labels. This post is has been labeled with all five kinds of posts. (Use the "label actions" feature in the edit posts tab to add the labels.) You will also see the number of each kind of post in my Labels Gadget at the top of the page. (Place labels gadget below blog header but above blog text). All post titles from now on will begin with one of the categories above.

The members of my web group are:

1. Kristy@Kristys Fun In the Sun Spot
2. Jamie@ Jamie Says Jump
3. Elly@Elly Dreams Green
4. Lauren@Laurens Pouring Rain
5. Mary@Blue Skies For Mary
6. Sarah@Take A Hike With Sarah

You can subscribe to my blog by clicking the subscribe gadget in the gadget column. You can also follow my blog by clicking "Follow this Blog" in the gadget column. I am subscribed to all the blogs in my blog list gadget. You can see my complete profile and all the blogs I am following by clicking on "See Complete Profile." (Make sure all these gadgets are in place).

So, with all that being said, I really hope you enjoy my blog as much as I have creating it! For me, this blog is seen as a learning tool, and I hope that you can use it the very same way. Thank you for reading!!! :)

~Brier