In order to be more productive throughout the day and also to feel better and have more energy, developing daily habits can greatly help. However, though it may seem so, it’s not always easy. Just as quickly as we try to develop healthy habits, sometimes they can be pushed to the side when changes come up, say you get the flu or have a bad day or go on a trip… However, there are ways that you can create powerful habits and stick to them.
- Download a habit tracker on your phone – This one thing was a game changer for me. I’ve read several books on developing habits and routines and it wasn’t until I downloaded an app on my phone that I really began to stick to them. (I use the Productive app Free version on iPhone, however for Android users there’s also several options you can check out in the Google Play store).
- Stick to 5 habits – It’s easy to overload on this one…I had tried a habit tracker app before, however since it allowed for an almost unlimited number of habits, I put everything under the sun that I could think of that needed reminding, even things that weren’t daily habits (like watering the plants). The problem was that there was no way I could do everything I listed in one day, so it didn’t leave me with a sense of accomplishment. If you want to stick to a couple key habits, make sure to narrow them down to daily ones you’d like to be reminded of.
- Celebrate and record even small victories – If you have a busy day and you aren’t able to do the 30 min or 1 hour fitness routine you wanted to and only manage to get in 10 min…record it! You did it and you made time for it…just make sure that you make time for the longer sessions at another point in your week.
- Do them every darn day! – Yes, even on holiday…you can do slightly modified versions of some of them, but you will love how you feel and it keeps up the momentum. (Only exception to this rule is when you are sick…give your body the time to recover and get back on track when you feel better, starting slowly.)
- Restart – With a schedule that can get chaotic on occasion, there are bound to be times that you might fall off the bandwagon, but that’s okay. Choose the following day or week to get back on. Scheduling it in your calendar will help you make sure you do.
Starting out, every day might not be perfect and you’ll have weeks that might not be great, that’s okay…keep going and soon you’ll reach a point where you see progress and manage to complete all of them each day. Also, know that at times it might be tougher than others to stay on track, but if you do, you’ll see that by about a month (sources vary anywhere between 25-40 days) you’ll have developed the healthy habits you wanted to keep.
