Habits

Habits are said to make us more effective, more organized, and assist us with time management. I am a huge fan of habits, habits allow me to accomplish more in a day, not forget tasks, and to start and end my days well. Creating good habits and practicing them can remove a lot of the guesswork and ensures the tedious pieces of life are not forgotten.

When searching and reading for better habits or tips to create good habits, hundreds of articles on morning habits, evening habits, habits of happy people, etc., etc., etc. appear. The question becomes, what area of your life are you looking to improve, where do you think a solid set of habits would help you the most?

As you set out to build better habits, I recommend you begin in one area of your life, practice those habits for a minimum of 21-days before adding new habits to another area of your life. It is believed it takes 21-days to master a new habit, if you add too many new habits to your life, rather than improving at a faster rate, your progress will be greatly slowed down.

Developing and practicing new habits takes work. Setting out on the journey of self-love and self-care means we must line the road with grace and patience. We must prepare ourselves for minor setbacks and possible failures, we must give ourselves permission to adjust habits mid-trial, to flow with life, and work to create the habits which best suit our lifestyle, not the habits we think we want to implement.

As with any changes we make, slow progress is what we should strive for. Positive changes will make a huge impact on your life, no matter how small, our ultimate goal should be slow and steady progress. When progress happens this way, it becomes a fundamental layer of ourselves, a solid habit which will remain with us for the long-haul. Watching our habits make us better people will inspire us to keep going while simultaneously developing our tenacity and determination.

Make a list of the areas of life you want to improve. Decide the order of priority, and then begin making changes slowly. I promise you will achieve the results you are looking for much more quickly following this method, than doing a complete life overhaul in one weekend.

Sincerely,

Sara

Suggested habits

1. Drink water as soon as you wake up. Focus on hydrating your body throughout the day. Drink water before you go to bed.
2. Add short walks to your day. Choose the farthest parking spot, take the stairs, make multiple trips on purpose. The more you move, the better your body will work.
3. Stop multitasking. Focus on one task at a time. You will notice your stress levels drop and your productivity levels soar. (Note: washing a load of clothes while you check emails does not count as multitasking. This is good time management.)
4. Buy a planner and use it. Before you book any appointments for the week, book your time. Block out time to go to the gym, read, and pamper yourself. Then book a time to work. Uninterrupted work time is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Finally, book work appointments.
5. As fun as alerts on your phone can be, silence them. Only allow the notifications you truly need to come through, calls and texts from family and work. Limiting these distractions will help you stay focused and get more done.
6. Practice gratitude. Every day find one, or more, things you can be thankful for.
7. Invest in your pet. Spend time every day with your pet. Make them a priority. Your mental and physical health will thank you.
8. Meal plan. Knowing what you are making for each meal takes the temptation out of eating and allows you to manage your grocery budget more easily.
9. Buy backup products for items you use daily. Rather than waiting until the product is almost empty to buy more, have a backup on hand. When you pull the backup, buy the product again. This will help you with budgeting, consumption rates, and eliminate stress.
10. Stop running errands. Use delivery services as much as possible. The extra time you gain will ease your stress. You will save gas, and shopping online helps eliminate spontaneous purchases.