#habit tips

In the past years I have been trying to implement small things, that could help improve my life with little effort. I don't think I have found the superme way to win at life, but these are a few things that did highly improve my days :

Keeping a daily gratitude list

I implemented this habit into my bullet journal almost two years ago. I had been seeing a lot of people doing it, and at the beginning I wasn't so sure about this. I decided to give it a try anyway, and i haven't stopped ever since. I will admit there are days in which I have to select just a few things, because everything wouldn't fit. Other days I have to really think to find something to be grateful for. This exercise is so good for this exact reason, it forces you to find at least one good thing in each day. It's litteraly a way to force yourself to see something positive in each day, and let me tell you, it's such a simple thing that has a huge impact on the long run. Even if you aren't sure about it I would reccomend to give it a try for one month, it takes one minute of your time each day, and you'll see if it could be a good habit for you.

Keeping a daily journal

I used to have a weird relationship with journaling, I might end up doing a separate post on it, but then around a year ago I finally managed to make an habit out of it. I try to journal everyday for at least five minutes. I feel like it's a great outlet, but it doesn't have to be necessarily about what one is feeling. In the past I had developed a bad relationship with the sort of journal I was keeping, partially because I felt a sort of awkwardness linked to it, but also because I associated it with many bad feelings. So anytime I would pick it up it would trigger my anxiety, and other bad feelinngs. This was until I started all over again, and I developped a new habit by using journaling prompts for self reflection, and self discovery. This made me associate my journal with better feelings, and it is now a great way not only to keep memories, or to process things that happen in my life, but also for self discovery, and ranting about anything, and keeping memories. To anyone who wants to start a journaling habit, I highly reccomend to start using prompts found online. I find that following a list of prompts is a good way to stay motivated as the habit is setting. Also I would try to associate this activity to a specific moment in the day, like right before working/studying in the morning, or at the very end of your day.

Reading first thing in the morning

This is the latest habit I have added to my daily routine, and I am enthusiastic about it. I love it so much. What I do is after waking up, I get out of bed, I prepare myself a hot mug of tea and I read for 30 minutes to an hour. This new habit prevents me from using my phone right after waking up, it makes me way more motivate to get up in the morning, and I get so much more reading done that I normally did. It's a great way to get my brain working in the morning, and if I could go back in time I would start doing this sooner. There's no other thing I would reccomend this much, I love this.

Tracking my habits

Again, this is something that you see quite often online on bullet journals, and so on. It's a very simple thing that just helps you to be more mindful about what you want to do on a weekly/monthly basis. I find that having a habit tracker spread in my bullet journal, makes me more motivated to actually do those habits, and it's nice to see at the end of the month how I did with it.

Keeping a huge glass of water right in front of me anything I sit at my desk

During the times of COVID-19 with many working from home, having a routine can help add structure to days that fly by. At first, I used to view routines as boring and rigid. At the beginning of the quarantine, I had no routine; it was a mess from the moment I woke up to the moment I slept. I would finally start my work at 11 PM, after spending all day scrolling on TikTok. But now, since most of my work is online, I've decided to use some of my extra time more productively, adding things into my routine that I was never able to pre-COVID.

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Whether it's a morning routine, a school routine, or an exercise routine, there are many benefits to having one. It creates structure, providing a framework in our lives where most of us are at home most of the time. During times of quarantine, it's difficult to fall out of the loop. Following a routine you set for yourself is something that can keep you running on that loop.

Creating a routine for yourself can create new, good habits and break your old, bad habits. Incorporating good habits into your routine and schedule will eventually help you get rid of your bad habits, and in turn, replacing your bad habits with good ones.

For example, brushing our teeth. Most people don't really dread doing it because, well, it's routine to brush their teeth. This applies to including good practices in your routine because it will simply become a habit sooner or later (only if you keep doing it!).

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There are daily, weekly, and monthly routines, where you can assign different tasks to each routine. For example, cleaning your bathroom can be a part of your weekly routine. Daily routines have smaller routines within it, such as having morning and night routines: things you do each morning when you wake up and things you do right before you go to sleep. There are also many more types of routines such as summer break routines, study routines, and exercise routines. You can make it what you want.

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Set goals and establish the routine around them. Ask yourself: what goals am I hoping to achieve with this routine? What do I want in my routine that will help me achieve my goals?

Be reasonable and realistic with it. Productive habits take a while to form, so begin by slowly diving into it. If you want to work out every morning but you haven't worked out in ages, slowly dive into it. Start with 15 minutes of working out, then 20 minutes, then 25 minutes, and so on.

Write out your routine somewhere, whether it's on a paper or the Notes app on your phone. Put down all the tasks you want to accomplish in your routine and assign times next to them. If you try to memorize all of your routines without jotting them down, you can get confused and stressed out trying to figure out which task you have to do.

Don't beat yourself up if you miss a day. Maybe you didn't have the drive to work out that morning, and that's perfectly okay! Making changes can be hard and you might forget now and then.

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Drinking a glass of water when you wake up Journaling Meditating, yoga, or stretching Eating a healthy breakfast or dinner Read for a couple of minutes Sitting down and planning out your day or week Having a social media detox Organize or clean your working space Exercise, go for a run Having time for yourself to relax Take a good bath/shower Spend time with family and friends Having a decluttering day

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One thing, and I would argue the main thing, about building habits and routines is that you need to make it as easy as possible. 

It sounds like a simple concept but I think sometimes we get in our own way and make things harder than they need to be. When I say make it easy what I really mean is find even the smallest obstacles or friction points and do what you can to eliminate them.

I’ll give some real life examples so you can see what I mean and hopefully this can spark your mind to think of the small things that might have just enough resistance to stop you from making a habit or routine consistent.

Habit/Routine I’m trying to achieve: Stretching in the mornings.

How I execute/want to execute: Roll out my yoga mat at the foot of the bed 

Friction Point/Obstacle: The area at the foot of my bed is not clear

Make it easy: Make sure the area is clear before I go to sleep, or even set up my yoga mat the night before

I know that I like doing my stretches in that one particular spot, and in the morning I don’t have the energy or capacity to want to clear it out so if it’s messy then the likelihood of me getting my stretches done plummets. I need to make it as easy as possible to roll out of bed and get started on the stretches otherwise it’s easy to let them slip.

Habit/Routine I’m trying to achieve: Nighttime gua sha routine

How I execute/want to execute: Sit in front of my vanity and peacefully do the practice

Friction Point/Obstacle: I need to move my chair from my desk to my vanity

Make it easy: Get a stool for the vanity

Even just the act of moving my chair over part of the room often feels like enough effort that I end up skipping all together. Since buying a stool I have consistently maintained my gua sha routine because it’s so easy to just sit down for a few seconds and do it.

As you can see even the smallest obstacles can create friction when trying to build a routine or habit and should be addressed. I know I used to think the obstacles were too minor but addressing those minor things has had the biggest impact.

I am bad at “New Habits.” Help.|Wednesday Wellness

If you are anything like me…making and sticking to new habits…is hard. And today’s blog is all about how I am trying to change that…or at least make it a little bit easier. So you are welcome to try with me…or sit back and wait for the update…but without further ado, here is:

“5 Ways To Make Sticking to Habits Easier…I Hope.”

Make or buy a habit tracker.I personally made mine! It was fairly…