Let’s talk about habits. Since we live at least 50% of life by routine (some say it’s 90%!), the quality of our habits is essential. Thus it is a good idea to evaluate your habits once in a while and practice one-minute habits for exciting results.
- Which ones do you like?
- Which ones don’t you like?
- Or: Which ones are serving you? Which ones are not serving you?
Like me, there are probably a few new habits you want to form or solidify. Or, you could think of it as exchanging one habit for another.
For example, sometimes days go by, and I don’t reach out to potential clients or collaborators. That does not serve my business. A more consistent habit of reaching out and building relationships would be better.
I struggle with pushups. As a martial artist, I want to be better at doing them. Yet, I am less strong at pushups than I want to be.
How Many Habits Can I Change At Once?
You – and I – could think of ten great habits you want to adopt.
- Go to the gym 3x/week.
- Do 25 pushups each day.
- Make ten business calls each day.
The list goes on.
I invite you to be strong and …
Start SMALL! Dare To Adopt 1-Minute Habits!
Changing too many habits – and big ones – is not likely to work. Give yourself a chance to win. Start small.
- Write one mini-brilliance nugget (one sentence)
- Do one pushup
- Make one call
- Commit to one minute of cleaning up your office
- Meditate for 1 minute
“But, Stephie, that doesn’t do anything?“
Yes, it does. Test it for yourself.
The way I do it: I articulate the habit so I know I can do it daily. I can make one call. That doesn’t mean I can’t make more calls on some days. The same is true for pushups. I might do more on some days, yet I commit to what I wrote down as my daily habit.
I can always increase the intensity of my habit the next month if I like – so can you.
Also: Don’t focus on too many habits at once.
Simple Ways To Track Your Habits
Peter Drucker
There is much truth in that. Tracking the habits you want to adopt makes them stick better.
You can track your habits in a simple Excel sheet (or a piece of paper or a journal). Write the habit in the first column. Then add 31 more columns to the right of that, with 1-31 as the label for the days of the month. Please print it out, and give yourself checkmarks for the habit/s you did that day. Or track it on your computer.
I set up a tracker like that in my beloved Notion app.
One more thing: When you break a “streak” of having executed your habit, get right back on it. Missing once happens. Don’t miss twice. Missing twice means you are about to form a new habit, namely one contrary to the habit you said you wanted to adopt.
Takeaways
- Evaluate your habits once in a while. They determine the quality of your life, and how you show up in life.
- Pick one habit (or at most 4) you want to establish or solidify.
- Start small! If you want to walk 10,000 steps but are walking 2,000 now you might want to set it to 4,000 steps for now. Then increase it over time.
- Track it!
- If you miss once get back on it. Don’t miss twice.
- Again: Give yourself a chance to win by starting small. It works, I promise!
I’m Curious
- Which habit/s do not serve you?
- Which one/s do you want to adopt instead?
- Or maybe you want to adopt the habit of writing one-sentence Brilliance nuggets each day? – This is a form of Brilliance Extraction. It can lead to articles, a book, a manual, process documentation – it can take on many other forms.
Dr. Stephie
P.S.: I appreciate you commenting and sharing this with others. Thank you!
