I’ve been thinking a lot about habits lately (mostly influenced by the Seanwes podcast and Gretchen Rubin) because after an almost out-of-control start to the year I realised that by late March there were still several things I wanted to be doing that I simply wasn’t. And so I decided that April would be the month to give it a red hot go (or at least my version of a red hot go, which is pretty low key) and see what sustainable changes I could make by committing to some new habits.

Originally this post went into quite a bit of the whys and the here-to-fors but it was getting epically long, and I’d rather provide more information in a follow up if you want it than bore you to tears with detail you don’t care about.

Basically:

• I’ve decided to track 5 habits in April. This is why and this is how (yay, colouring!)
• I chose habits that would make my life easier/better and/or create space for more of the good stuff.
• I chose habits that are foundational, in that their positive effect can overflow into other areas (for example, if you’re building an exercise habit you’re more likely to make other healthy choices in your day) and I can build on them over time. Or, once they become automatic, I can add new ones.
• For now I’m looking at a yes/no when I call them completed for a day; I know that we’re often encouraged to be very specific and measurable but for this month I’m purely focused on getting used to doing things every day. Once they start to stick I’ll look at making them more quantifiable.

Here’s what I’ve chosen, and why.

Out of bed by 7am (8am on weekends)*

While I wouldn’t quite call myself an early bird (anything that requires being awake before 6am should be illegal) my day tends to go better when I’m up fairly early — whether I start work early, or journal, or read, it helps me to feel productive straight up, whereas when I sleep later I spend the day feeling like I’m chasing my tail. Plus I don’t like to be rushed in the mornings and getting up before 7 gives me time to ease into my day.

Having a ‘get up’ time on weekends is a new one for me but I’m interested to see if it will help me build a more stable sleep routine.

The only exception to this one is if it’s in support of getting 8 hours sleep, particularly on weekends. To operate well I need to get 7½ – 8 hours sleep consistently (and it doesn’t take a lot for me to get run down) so if I’ve been out dancing til 2am I’m not getting up at 7 or 8 just to tick a box. That’s silly.

Nourishing food choices

There are a couple of reasons I chose this one. The first, and obvious, reason is because it’s good for my health. The bigger reason is because I want to start ramping things up and getting more out of my day and I need energy to do that. Like getting enough sleep, eating nourishing food (and less delicious shitty food) will support my wellbeing and keep my engine running. For this one I’m aiming at 80% good food choices to count as a win and for now it’s based on a general overview each day, not tracking food or calories or anything. Keeping it simple and doable.

Move my body (incidental/purposeful)

As well as steps, my health app tracks my active minutes across a day, whether cumulative or in one session, like going for a walk or swim. For me getting incidental activity in my day tends to come more easily than specifically setting out to exercise and so I walk to places as often as I can. Nevertheless I need to exercise on purpose as well, so I’ve split this one in two — whether I hit this habit just going about my day or if I actually exercised — and I’m aiming for at least 45 active minutes a day.

Gratitude + values journal

As a naturally optimistic person I never really took the time to keep a gratitude journal; I felt I was pretty good at being grateful throughout my day, and noticing moments of joy, happiness, contentment, and so on happens easily for me. Last year though I fell into a mood pit that I was struggling to get out of, and after talking it through with my psychologist I started keeping a gratitude and values journal (the values part was her idea).

At the end of each day I sit for a moment and write down 3 things from the day that I’m grateful for. They don’t have to be big or complicated things (in fact when I was having really bad days sometimes it would just be that the sun came out). I’ll probably elaborate on the values part some other time but in a nutshell I’ve identified those values that are important to me (generosity, capability, compassion, etc) and I reflect on instances in my day when I demonstrated those values.

Writing/Study

As well as missing my little blog, I realised a few weeks ago just how many things are gathering dust on my to read or to learn lists. I see writing and learning as two sides of the same coin in many ways, so like being active these have been squished together and I have to do at least one or the other in a day. Writing can be journalling (which I’ve split into a business journal and a personal journal, because why not), writing for the blog, or writing for a client, and study can include active learning (like doing an online course or workshop) or reading useful non-fiction.

Benefits, so far

Less than 3 weeks in and I’m already feeling good about this. 5 is definitely a manageable amount to tackle and it only takes me a minute each morning to update my tracker. (While I see the power in tracking all sorts of other things, spending too much time updating spreadsheets will just get to be a chore before too long). And these habits feel useful to me, there isn’t anything I’m doing for it’s own sake or because I feel I should.

It’s also made me more mindful of how I spend my time. After losing 6 weeks of my life to Married at First Sight and binging all of Friends in an embarrassingly short time I decided I’d like to cut back on my TV consumption. While I didn’t officially make this a habit (maybe next month), I’m more conscious about when I have the TV on. Instead of having it on all day for background noise, now I chuck on some music. While I’m doing housework or cooking, I put on a podcast, or sometimes music and just let my mind wander. And when I watch TV it’s because I’ve chosen something I actually want to watch.

More generally, I find myself making choices that support these habits (like reading instead of turning on the TV). Another great example is that after a few months off I decided to go back to my coworking space this month. There are several reasons why I love being there, and one factor that helped me realise it was time to go back is that it’s a 20-minute walk away so on days I go there I always hit my movement target. When I stopped going I noticed that I was getting sluggish and spending too much time sitting still, which didn’t feel good.

Finally, doing these things is helping me to feel good in my own skin again (particularly the moving and making nourishing food choices habits). An unexpected part of the bucket-of-fun that was last year was that I felt terrible about my body, in a damaging way that I’ve never experienced before — I felt hideous almost all of the time. Happily, when I’m eating pretty well and moving every day (even when it’s not an intense workout), it’s a lot harder for those thoughts to take root and grow. I also feel capable and competent, which aligns with my values, and by building up productive habits (like writing and learning) I feel like I’m accomplishing something. 

Now I’d love to hear from you! Leave me a comment to let me know your favourite habit — the one that helps you to feel good about your day.