I love asking people about their New Years Resolutions. Sure there are the bucket list resolutions like sky diving, traveling, attending a major sporting event etc, but for the most part the large majority of New Years Resolutions are about some form of self improvement.
While enjoying lunch with a friend yesterday, I asked her about her New Years Resolutions. She was planning to have a resolution a month for the year. Her first on the list was to have more routine in her life. I asked her what her start point was. Her simple answer, “Make my bed everyday!”
I began to talk to her about what I learned while reading the book The Power of Habit. See routines are just something we are just looking to disguise into a habit. It’s all the same, but the key here is the word habit. We associate habit with negative things, but habits can be very positive too, like making your bed every day.
What was so brilliant was her creating an action to have 1 new routine a month. New habits are best started on an individual basis to avoid missteps, frustration and abandonment of the ideas.
By her taking this transition 1 at a time she has a better chance of success throughout the year. Baby steps, just like in the movie “What about Bob” (if you haven’t seen it, watch it, it is a classic!)
We have so much juice per day right? Brain juice, blood sugar, energy. Why waste it by making a pointless decision. The more things I have made routine, then habit, the more productive I have become, the less stressed and the best part, all of the left over energy is just there for me to use at my discretion. I often find myself getting in an extra chore or two, leaving me one step ahead for the following day.
My habits simple & the key in the start and end of my day. I end my day by cleaning up my kitchen, running my dishwasher and setting my coffee pot timer to brew 10 minutes before I wake up. Once this step is done, I also know what time I will be setting my alarm clock for once I go up to bed. When I wake up in the morning to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, I get a cup, bring it to my room, turn on some spa music on Pandora and I make my bed. Once my bed is made I have eased into my day without even thinking about it because that action, making my bed, is a habit.
Routine is the building block to creating new, positive, lifelong habits.
My new routine that I would love to craft into the perfect habit is right here, my blog. I found myself struggling with the right time of the day to write my entry until I read this article the other day.
After reading this article about timing, I had my Ah-ha moment. I am most creative and less distracted by the outside world at night. So I have committed to writing my blog entry as my last mission to be accomplished for the day. To make it stick, this is my routine.
After finishing my kitchen habit, setting my alarm clock & washing up for bed, taking my apple cider vinegar I climb into bed. Yup, I do this entry every night in my jammies in bed. (Current Jammie’s footed pajamas so cozy) I don’t like to bring my computer to my bedroom so instead, I tuck myself in, get comfy & write on my phone. I email myself a rough draft of my blog. By doing this entry at the end of the day, I have all day to mentally write about my topic. I have already found myself more sure of my topic & by adding notes in my phone through out the day, I have my facts ready to put into words.
When I wake in the morning, I re read the rough draft, do some editing and I am ready to go! I have enjoyed writing my entire life, maybe that is part of my problem, I look at it as fun not work. Sometimes fun things get put off while work stuff steps in the way. Now with this new routine, it is both. Fun all day while I brainstorm, followed by the reward of work success when I hit that post button.
Thank you all for keeping me inspired to write for you…