Habit

It's certainly best that I'm starting to work "regular" study into my schedule now rather than waiting until school start in the spring because I'm doing a terrible job of it. Studying simply isn't a habit the way going to work or training for running is. I'm sure I can make it one but, for now, I'm really struggling to carve out the time for study.

I'm trying to understand how these habits are formed (aside from the obvious: practice). It's certainly not as simple as schedule. Work is not as routine as one might think. I usually start the day fairly early (between 6 and 7am), but sometimes it's later. I will work nights and weekends when needed. Similarly, my running training moves around quite a bit; some days are morning only, others are morning and afternoon, others will do something just at lunchtime. Yet, the requirements of both work and running are met very consistently.

I don't think it's as obvious as priorities, either. I think it truly is as Aristotle claimed: "We are what we repeatedly do." Before studying can become a regular part of my life, it must become part of my life. A conscious decision needs to be made each day to tend to it.