How
to Develop Daily Habits
As tempting as it is to try and change more than one habit at a
time to reach your goals more quickly, the opposite is true. Doing poorly with
one habit will have a domino effect on the habits you’re doing well with. The
house of cards will topple over and the level of discouragement you’ll feel
will make it that much harder to get back on your feet.
Here’s the habit-building process that’s working for me:
·
Focus on building one
habit per month.
·
Don’t give yourself a
deadline: Some daily habits will be easier to build than others, and it doesn’t
matter how long it takes to build the habit, as long as you build it.
·
Commit fully and don’t
back down.
·
Go easy on yourself if
you stumble. Instead of getting angry with yourself, use it as a learning
experience. Figure out what caused you to stumble, deal with any external
influences causing you problems, and try again.
·
Each time you hit a
milestone—one week, one month, six months, etc.—reward yourself in some way.
How is completely up to you.
·
Once you’re able to
complete the habit without having to think about it, it’s time to move onto
establishing your next habit.
Here are daily habits that will make an immediate difference in
your lifestyle and help you reach your goals sans Xanax
prescription:
1.
Visualize
I used to find it hard to fall asleep until I began visualizing
how I wanted the next day to go. Instead of my mind wandering from topic to
topic, focusing on what “might” go wrong, I started focusing on what “would” go right.
If you not only list in your mind what you’re going to do the next day but
visualize yourself doing it, this matter-of-fact planning process helps keep
uncertainty at bay (and the next day goes muchsmoother!).
2. Define Your Priorities
One of the big reasons why you’re not reaching your goals is
likely to do with how much you have on your plate, professionally and personally. It’s likely you’re trying
to do too many things at the same time. Ask yourself: what are yourultimate goals? Once you’ve defined them, drop everything that doesn’t cater to them. You can
always come back to these things later, after you’ve established what’s most
important to you.
3. Get Up Earlier
I now get all of my important work done before everyone else is
even awake—you would not believe the difference this makes! There’s no better
feeling than knowing no matter what happens for the rest of the day, you’ve
accomplished what you set out to. Bring on the interruptions and distractions;
you’ll be armed and ready!
4. Create a Morning Routine
Wake up and do the same things in the same order before you
start your day: have a glass of water, exercise, read, etc. Do things that you
normally don’t have time for that make you happy. Easing into your day instead
of rushing to get started not only depletes your stress level significantly,
but puts you in a proactive frame of mind for the remainder of the day.
5. Drink Water
Having a glass of water first thing in the morning helps rid
your body of toxins that have been stored overnight. Not only does it aid your
digestive tract, it also boosts your metabolism, helping you feel energized
sooner.
6. Singletask
Only 2% of the world’s population can successfully multitask.
The rest of us posers are serial-tasking: flitting from one task to another,
nudging ourselves forward with each instead of focusing on one at a time. I
broke this habit by choosing one item on my to-do list, then hiding it in a
drawer until I was done. It’s a tough habit to break, but once you do your mind
feels clearer, you feel less restless, and the quality of your work skyrockets
across the board.
7. Go Minimal
External clutter leads to mental clutter. Do a clean sweep of
your home and get rid of everything you no longer use or have never used. By
the end of my own clean sweep last year, it looked like I’d been robbed!
There’s no better feeling than knowing you actually need and use everything
you’re surrounded by. Bonus: you also save time by not having as much to clean!
8. Set Online Boundaries
It’s too easy to get sucked into an online world of status
updates, memes, list posts, and videos. Before you know it, over half your day
is gone and you have nothing to show for it. This is especially difficult for
those of us who work on the Internet. One of the best daily habits I’ve
established is not checking my e-mail or social media accounts first thing in
the morning. Create specific windows of time for your online tasks. It’s okay
to check your e-mail periodically in case you receive urgent requests from your
boss or co-workers, but if you check and there aren’t any, abort and get back
to your day.
9. Create an Evening Routine
Your evening routine is just as important as your morning
routine, as it prepares your body for a solid night’s sleep. Create a relaxing
routine that starts about an hour before you go to bed, and use it as your
body’s “signal” that it’s time to go to sleep.
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