Discipline in Self-Improvement

I have a lot of ideas for ways in which I want to improve myself. For example, I want to explore my spiritual path, exercise, etc. The problem is, I've always been really bad at self discipline for pretty much everything except school or things where others are depending on me. I'll make a schedule to start my new self-help activities, and I might even do the routine for a couple days, but soon I'll go back to binge-watching TV and playing Minecraft.

So what are some of the things that work for you regarding disciplining yourself in terms of self improvement?

Yeah self discipline is really hard, I mean Im sitting here on the computer rather than getting on with tidying up and decorating!
I think set up self improvement tasks that you will actually look forward too as you will more likely do them if they are something you enjoy. You could also set up a reward for yourself when you do something in your schedule that you don't particularly like. So for instance a quick pleasant activity after every chore such as after the washing up, make your favourite drink.
As for spiritual exploration I guess it depends on what you want from it. I guess research different spiritual practises and see which ones really speak to you, I think with spiritual stuff if you don't enjoy the practise then you are not gonna do it.
Also Minecraft.....what is that game all about? Its so popular, just wondered why? Not that I need another reason not to do my duties!

I have the same problem, where I am mindful for a few days and then go back to my old bad habits.

I find that the way I start my day out makes a big difference. If I start to drift towards the fooling around online first thing, it could be 10 AM before I get around to doing anything useful. The longer I can resist temptation to do the bad habit stuff, the more likely I am to work on the things that are more important to me.

I tried many, many different things, but after a while they fell by the wayside. However, I have managed to keep my yoga practice up for several years, and one thing that has helped with this is that although I follow a set routine, I'm always slightly modifying it. Adding or changing a pose. Changing timings. In the summer, going out and having a session in the country. Taking the occasional class.

This mix of the routine and the new is what makes computer games so enticing.

The most difficult thing is just to MAKE THAT START. Once your going, you're always glad you did. Its just that initial impulse. But its just so easy to procrastinate.

Organise. What I do is set everything up the night before. Wake up. Get up. Wash. Do yoga. No thought involved, mostly.

I'm pretty disciplined but it can take a while. These things just take time. Find yourself a routine and STICK WITH IT. Log it. Tell people. (social accountability xD) Join sites that help. Do the research. (there's a LOT of research to be done) Make it part of your life. Diet, for example, shouldn't be a "diet" (healthy eating, basically), it should be a life choice.

I suppose you could start with something small, keep at it, and when you succeed, start with something a little more, and so on.

Self-disciple is very important when it comes down to achieving your goal. The thing is that if you cannot disciple yourself, it'll be extremely hard for you to be consistent.

I think getting into a positive routine can be tough but you have to persevere and then eventually it will become second nature.

I believe its a constant battle. I struggle with it all the time.

But I find I need to change my routine weekly/biweekly, like I've been listening to a pod cast, the same guy, for 3 weeks, and now I just stopped, even though it helped me day to day, so now instead of doing that, I found this place, I just like to read other peoples posts and write about things that help me.

You'll get to it, you just need to find your ritual/routine.

Habits. Habits. Habits.

It's really difficult to break them, but when you've made a tiny dent and some cracks on them, it could be powerful.

The hardest thing is to start.

Discipline also makes me "regret" procrastination. For example I have this plan set for the day, a quite fully-booked plan. If I let some distraction, say I watch videos for 4 hours, I know I'll feel bad about it later, and that feeling stays until I sleep at night. When I resume working, the "regret" stays and so my attention's now not fully on my work.

Whenever I think about it, I'd say "I don't want to experience that ever again, and I know this thing I'm working on definitely brings me closer to my goals."

And just like that, I get some fulfillment. It may not be so much, but it makes me feel good.

Find a way to have a lot of fun with discipline then. I would say playing minecraft everyday takes a lot of discipline. Find ways that exercise can be fun for example. Larping (ie. sword play) can take a lot of exercise.