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From this 3 days course on the 7 habits of highly effective people, I had gained knowledge and how to diligently apply these habits in my workplace as well as improving the quality of life. It may take several weeks of concentrated effort to break free from the "gravity" if old habits until new habits "kick in". Once developed, however, habits come naturally with little energy expended. In order to develop the habits, there is the maturity continuum where it shows the relationships among the 7 habits. It illustrates the stages of progression, how to become highly effective through moving from dependence to independence. For instance, we experience the private victory when we learn self-mastery and self-discipline (Habits 1-3). We then experience the public victory when we build deep, lasting, highly effective relationships with other people. (Habits 4 - 6).

Habit 1 which is the habit of choice. It also means to be proactive in whatever we do.It results in increased influence, more self awareness, to become more initiative and to become the creative force of my life .The principle behind this habit is that one is free to choose and am responsible for the choices. By using proactive behavior instead of reactive behavior, the respond made will be based on principles and desired results rather then allowing outside influences to control their response. In my workplace, for example in Portable X-rays, when the workload gets too heavy, one should seek help from another colleague and use proactive language to react to one's situation instead of being reactive. By using reactive language, it would not result in a positive consequence and thus the effectiveness will decrease. The only colleague may think otherwise of your situation and reluctantly help out. All these will cause unhappiness as a result.

Habit 2, the habit of vision or also known as to begin with the end in mind. The principle behind this habit is that mental creation precedes physical creation. Thus, one has to envision outcomes before one acts and this will result in a clear definition of desired results and a greater sense of meaning and purpose. For instance in modalities training, it would benefit us if we were to start reading up on the particular modality. We can carry out study actitvies to grasp the knowledge that we need for the modality training. At the time of the actual training, with enough basic technological know how and anatomical knowledge, the training will become more efficient.

Habit 3, the habit of integrity and execution also known as to put first things first. The principle behind this habit is that effectiveness requires the integrity to act on ones priorities. One has to prioritise, eliminate the unimportant, plan weekly and daily. This will result in the increased in organization and productivity, fewer crisis, a reputation for follow-through and make life more balanced and with a peace of mind. For instance in an X-ray emergency department in which there were 3 places we have to cover, mainly resus, main ed xray room and tentage. Cases from resus which were known to be urgent should always be done first even if there were patients waiting in the ed xray room for instance. In the end, high efficiency can be achieved despite the amount of tasks at hand.

Habit 4, the habit of mutual benefit also known as to think win-win. The principle behind this habit is that effective, long-term relationships require mutual respect and mutual benefit. One has to balance courage and consideration, seek mutual benefit, create win-win agreements and build win-win systems. This will results in more team incolvement, faster solutions to problems, generosity of spirit and rich relationships. For instance, mutual respect and considerations between colleagues will help create an more efficient workflow and a harmonious working environment. In a fluoroscopy scenario for example, both colleagues from both rooms can coordinate by allocating tasks to each other and distributing workloads evenly. One of the radiographer can be in charge of preparing the contrasts while the other can be responsible for making sure the administration papers are sufficient for the day. These will create a smoother workflow and thus creating a happier environment for both of them.

Habit 5, the habit of mutual understanding also known as to seek first to understand, then to be understood. The principle behind this habit is that to communicate effectively, we must first understand each other. Listen empathically will result in faster problem solving and clarity on real issues. For instance, in handling mammogram patients, most of them were anxious and apprehensive about the seemingly tormenting procedure. However by being empathatic, to give a 'YOU' perspective, the anxiety among them could be released. In order to get them to coorperate, once their fears are alleviated, the procedure could be done more effectively.

Habit 6, the habit of creative coorperation also known as to synergize. The principle behind this habit is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. By valuing and celebrate the differences, we can have new and better solutions and an appreciation of diverse perspectives. Being such a big institution as hospital, cooperation is always important. One man can only do so much, while a few colleagues together we can achieve a lot more. Instead of trying to settle matters on one's own, working together is always more efficient. The working load and pressure is always high, especially when working on shift. Sometimes while working evening shifts, there are situations where the urgent portable cases get too much to handle for one person and there could be an urgent cardiac pacing tobe done as well, hence the other evening radiographer can actually help by relieving the portable radiographer and proceed to do the pacing. The CT radiographer can actually help to finish the inpatient cases while waiting for his/her scans to come down. Sometimes the ED department can be exceptionally busy, while the patients are simply rushing in, and the resus room keep on calling. In this kind of situations, as shift leader, i can try to offer my help to reduce the load for my colleagues, and fasten the working process. If there were OT cases and there were urgent portable cases, my colleagues in ED can also help to settle urgent cases. Work with more efficiency can be achived by simply working together.

Habit 7, the habit of renewal also known as sharpen the saw. It means that to maintain and increase effectiveness, we must renew ourselves in body, heart, mind, and soul. We need to constantly improve ourselves, in order to deal with ever increasing demand of our patients and the high standard of work of our department. To be more effective means that not only we need to imporve our radiological skills and techniques, we also have to acquire more knowledge and always be ready for the new challenges. For instance working in fluoro procedures can be rather stressful if there is a difficult patient or case to do. In order to increase our effectiveness we have to better familiarise with the anatomy or workflow of the procedure in order to aid the radiologist more efficiently. With enough knowledge, we will then be able to speed up the procedure and thus avoiding unnecessary complaints.