Immersed in the routine of work, it can be difficult to have the time or head to have new habits. And even more, that they are positive habits. For example, ironically something not so healthy (like starting to eat junk food because you do not have time, or spending more on eating out) is easier to normalize and make a habit, than a real change for the better. Is it because good things cost?
I have a classic for you. I have tried for years to achieve one of the greatest pieces of advice I have ever heard, it is about write ten ideas daily. Bad or good, crazy or worldly, the joke was to think about them and record them in a saved message from Messenger, paper or even a spreadsheet.
The problem is that it seemed impossible to do it daily. Pretexts abounded. From time, to not having the ideal notebook. In the end, I imposed a discipline on myself and - as is the cliché - for almost four weeks I did it as if it were homework from high school to get the point he occupied to pass. After that time, it became something I longed for. Like drinking water or the worst habit of our times: watching Netflix before bed.
That's why I loved seeing a list on Fast Company about the 4 techniques that can help you never let go of a good habit:
1. Choose small goals, small changes give big results
We return to my example of the 10 ideas every day, expressed in some way (digital or analog). It's simple, it doesn't cost, it doesn't take up too much time and it becomes part of your identity. It can be something very personal like praying in the morning, or even something as silly but worthwhile as committing to sleep before 11pm. How about committing to being more orderly and leaving the spaces we use clean as long as it is achievable in less than 5 minutes?
Realistic goals. Achievable goals. In the article they put it like this: writing 20 minutes every day is more powerful than a weekend trap. The habit is daily.
2. Visible results, more motivation. But literal.
Another personal anecdote: I try to do bullet journaling, which is a method of daily recording of tasks, goals and activities. It is an agenda that you are forming day by day, ideal for fools who think that those already labeled always have something crude.
Here I can say that it is extremely satisfying to cross out or mark tasks as completed. It is a very peculiar feeling of relief.
For example, if you decided to run daily in the afternoons, you can put mark it in your calendar or Notes application to mark it as completed… just for that day. Or if you are in some kind of savings goal, you can apply the old reliable one of marking the calendar day by day.
3. Join a group of like-minded people
Enter the typical example of changing eating habits. Let's say you are a young college student who still lives with your parents. You want to have a healthier diet but your family culture is about fried foods and soda. You are having a great effort but it is hard to give up the pleasures of greasy food with a lot of people who support you in words but do not sympathize!
Here comes the value of seeking an empathic community with our goals. I'm not talking about a cooking club or a class, but -for example- a group on Facebook of people who are experiencing the same thing. In my hypothetical story, it may be a community of recipes or of people who are in the push and pull of eating habits.
Same case if you are learning to play an instrument. Or, what occupies us in Webirix, if you are undertaking.
It is not only worth looking for like-minded communities. Necessary.
4. It makes bad habits complicated
This I have applied in one of my coconuts: spending on things that I do not use. For example, spending some sweet or food at the Oxxo, being that soon he would be about to make a full meal.
What did I do? Leave the card at home. I move on Uber, I don't need cash. I spend less and eat less junk food. In the example of James Clear, author of Atomic Habits and interviewed by Fast Company about his method, he talks about leaving social media on weekdays by asking someone else to change their passwords for a week so he can focus on more productive things.
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You can read the full article at Fast Company for more information.
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