Creating Good Habits
As of today, I’ve been back in the states for almost two full months post World Race. The time has just flown by and I’ve wavered back and forth between having days where I feel so productive and others where I crawl into bed wondering what I’ve actually accomplished.
And as I reflect I realize that a big part of that comes down to habits.
[bctt tweet=”Good habits can completely change your day and can put you in a flow and space where work comes naturally.” username=”@betsyjaime”]
The past week I’ve been waking up at the same time, eating the same breakfast, and overall sticking to the same morning and evening routine each day. The conclusion that I’ve reached is that this really does make a huge difference. However, I know that once you break a habit once or twice it can be so hard to get back into your routine.
Here are a few tips that I have found to be really helpful in maintaining positive habits:
- Write down each habit and put it in your calendar, on a post-it, or as a reminder on your phone
- One habit at a time: once the first one is down then move on to a new one
- Implement habits first thing in the morning
- Start simple: For example, when I first started meditation I just did 1 minute a day
- Don’t worry about the long-term, just take it one day at a time
- Stick with it for at least 30-40 days (the 30 day mark is usually how long it takes to really create a habit)
- Reward yourself for sticking with it
Still stuck? Here are a few ideas of habits that I’ve been working on.
- 30 minutes of reading a day
- Daily prayer
- A healthy breakfast each morning,
- Writing in my moleskin each day.
Like I said, start with 1. The easiest way to set yourself up for failure, is to try implementing too many new habits at the same time.
I’ve often heard that even making your bed in the morning can be a great keystone habit to start with. It doesn’t take more than a minute or two and it’s a good way to feel productive within 5 minutes of waking up.
