5 Ways to Create Good Habits
I’ve always been a pretty organized person. I’ve long been a list maker, a color coder, and a time blocker. But one thing I’ve never taken the time to understand better is the power of habits. I recently went on a little vacation, which was rejuvenating in so many ways. Isn't it funny how stepping out of your day to day gives you perspective on things you don’t see when you’re in it?
Aside from the R&R the vacation provided me, I decided to bring the book Atomic Habits by James Clear with me. It’s a New York Times bestseller, so I’m sure many of you have already heard about. This book was recommended to me for about the hundredth time, so I finally decided to give it a try. I literally could not put it down.
I quickly became so enriched by Clear’s wisdom in breaking bad habits and creating new, lasting good habits. I have already seen such a shift in just a few weeks and I’m hoping you feel that too after reading this book. Here are some of the biggest takeaways that have really stuck with me:
First of all, let me define what makes a habit ‘atomic’. An atomic habit is a regular practice or routine in your life that is not only small or simple to complete, but also a component of the system of compound growth. The simple act of creating habits is life changing. Identifying what your habits are, both good and bad, and understanding how you can better or break them, is so important to your overall health.
Choosing habits that stick is ultimately the key to consistency in your routine. Instead of considering what you want to achieve at the end, shift your mindset to focus more on what you need to do to make that outcome happen. Think more about what you want to become than what you want to achieve. This is how you can create long-term change, rather than just saying you want to make something happen. For instance, if you want to be more organized around the house, the goal should be to become a person who gets ahead of clutter, putting their shoes away everyday.
Do you have a couple minutes to spare? Another great and effective way to create good habits is a concept called the two-minute rule. Basically, creating a new habit should never take more than 2 minutes. To give you an example of the two minute rule in my life, it’s getting myself to the gym. I haven’t worked out this year like I’ve been wanting to, simply because of the expectation I had set for it. So, I decided to shift my mindset. Now, instead of telling myself I’m going to do a full-blown workout, I instead just put on my gym shoes and show up. If I stay for five minutes, great. I showed up. Clear says to do this again and again and gradually build upon that over time.
Write it down. Commit to incorporating this habit into your daily life by setting time aside for it. Let your intention meet action. Clear says that one of the biggest hurdles is getting stuck in the ‘hamster wheel’ of adding to your smaller, less important daily tasks, rather than ever getting to the tasks outside of that wheel. If you set intentional time to make something happen, it’s hard to ignore. Giving it a set time in your schedule can be the difference that actually breathes that habit into your life.
Use your environment to help support your habits. Instead of daydreaming about how you might actually achieve something, make a simple adjustment to your surroundings or how you live. These changes can be small. If you’re trying to not look at your phone the second you wake up, move your phone charger to the opposite side of the room, instead of your nightstand so it’s no longer the first thing you reach for. Or, if you’re trying to drink more water daily, fill up a water bottle at night and set it on your nightstand. This way, it will be one of the first things you do in the morning!
I can’t put into words how deeply this book and James Clear made me reflect on what I currently do, the things I’m not doing, and overall how I want to move forward in this world. I’ve learned that creating small shifts in behavior and segmenting out time to act those out in my schedule makes it easy to show up, even if it’s just for two minutes. I feel so invigorated by the things I’ve learned, and I’m ready to make long-term changes in my routine, starting with the short-term. I’m ready to become, rather than achieve.
Hopefully these things that I learned have influenced you to do the same in your life, no matter what you’re looking to tackle. If it’s organization, great! If it’s creating boundaries between work hours and family time, wonderful. Whatever it is that you’re looking to better, I cannot recommend Atomic Habits enough. If you haven’t read it, get it below. Also be sure to sign up for James Clear’s emails for check-ins, habit worksheets, and more!
