The Importance of Our Daily Habits
With governments around the world asking people to stay at home during this unprecedented time, many of us are having to adapt to either working from home or finding ways to occupy our time indoors. COVID-19 has caused disruption to our way of life, however it has also provided us with a once in a lifetime opportunity to reset, refocus and reprioritise on all of our goals in life.
Currently I am also working from home, in a small village in Fukushima, Japan and while it has been frustrating as an English teacher not to be teaching in school, it hasn’t stopped me from creating study materials that the students can work on at home.
In addition to creating study materials, I have set myself two goals to focus on during this time. The first is to get into good physical shape through eating healthier and by doing some form of exercise every day. The second is to improve my Japanese language skills with the aim of passing the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in December.
With so much uncertainty around the days and weeks ahead, I have found it to be helpful to focus on these goals to ensure that my days are productive so that when things do return to normal, I can look back on this time and know that I used it as best I could.
As the world starts to return to “normal”, each of us now have the opportunity to improve ourselves in some way. Whether your goal is learning how to play an instrument or learning how to bake – now is the time. First however, we need to make sure that our daily actions or “habits” actually align with our goals so that we can work towards achieving them every day.
It all starts with our daily habits
Our daily habits for the most part define who we are. After all, we are what we do. Everything we do from the moment we wake up until the time we go to bed can set us up for success or hold us back from being the person that we want to be.
So now is a good time to ask ourselves one honest question. Are the actions that we take every day bringing us closer to achieving our goals in life? This is a question that I ask myself everyday as I continuously tinker with my daily habits to build a routine that helps me become a little bit better at life each day.
Below are 6 of the most important things that I have found to help me master my daily habits and that I hope will help you achieve your goals too.
1. Small changes = long term results
Whenever most of us feel inspired to make a change or to take up something new in life, we typically try to change too much at once. We often get engulfed in the initial excitement of starting something new and this is something that I am indeed personally guilty of. However, after many years of trying different approaches, I have found that my new habits are more likely to become part of my daily lifestyle if I start by making small gradual changes over a longer period of time.
By making smaller gradual changes, we can ensure that new habits settle in and become almost automatic to us before we introduce the next change. The other benefit of making smaller changes is that we are more likely to continue with them after we have the inevitable “off day”. The smaller the task, the less resistance there will be to getting back on that horse.
When it comes to something like starting a new exercise regime, start by committing to something that you know you can do. It is all about creating a solid foundation to which you can build upon. Commit to a workout that you can do and commit to a training frequency that you can do. It is far better to commit to working out 3 days a week than committing to 5 and not being able to do it.
Ultimately, your consistency will be the determining factor on whether you achieve your goals or not. For this reason, making smaller, achievable changes that you are more likely to stick to, will make the big differences to your life in the long run.
2. Set a time to complete your activity
The best way to become consistent in anything is to do it at the same time every single day. Whether you are working at the office or working from home, there is a timeslot in your day that will work best for any given task, but this is completely dependent on your own personal lifestyle.
Studying Japanese has now become a firm part of my mornings for the past 3 weeks and by studying at the same time every day, I have been able to develop consistency with my studies for perhaps the first time. Before I would study whenever I had a free moment but by making dedicated “study time”, I feel more ready and focused to study when that time comes.
In addition, I have found that creating a general daily schedule on a whiteboard has helped me manage my time better and be more productive while I’ve been at home. The beauty of a schedule being on a whiteboard is that it is very easy to change as and when you come up with new ideas. It is also important to note that on the days when it is just not possible to stick to the schedule, it is ok. You can do whatever you need to do, then resume the schedule when you can.
The aim is to find the right time that you can do your given task every day. It is also important to remember that whatever time you decide on can change and can keep changing until you find the best time that suits your lifestyle.
3. Track your progress
When we are trying to build a new habit for the first time, tracking our progress helps by giving us a visual representation of what we have achieved so far. In addition, the very action of logging or marking off a task as you complete it gives us a sense of accomplishment that we can use as motivation for the rest of the day.
Now depending on the task, how you track and how much you track are completely up to you. Printing off a monthly calendar from the internet is a great starting point. You can then pin the calendar up on the wall, use a magnet to hold it on the fridge or put it anywhere that you will see it to remind you of what you need to do.
For tracking my workouts, I have a whiteboard in my bedroom where I note every workout that I have done that day. If I miss a day, then I have a glaring blank space staring back at me, which then motivates me into making up for it the following day. I also use an iPhone app to track what exercises I do for each workout. The app I use is called “Strong” and it has been a priceless tool for me as I have logged over 700 workouts with it over the course of many years.
Ultimately whether you use a calendar, notebook, app, track a little or a lot – it’s just a matter of trial and error until you find the one that works best for you.
4. Choose an Accountability Partner
When we embark on something new, sometimes we resist telling our friends or family for fear of what they will say. This is understandable and while you don’t have to declare your new habits or goals to the world, telling one person that you trust can go a long way in keeping you accountable to achieving that goal.
If you have someone supportive in your life that you can talk to about your goal, they may prove to be the difference during those times when you need a bit of extra encouragement. Another benefit of telling someone your goal is that it can make you feel like you have to now follow through on your commitment otherwise you may feel like you have let them down.
When deciding on an accountability partner, perhaps the best choice is choosing someone who has the same goal as you. This way you can keep each other accountable. Another method is to make use of the many apps out there which allow you and your friends to sign up and keep track of each other.
With my Japanese studies, I have been using an iPhone app called “Habit Share” which allows me and my other friends who are studying Japanese to tick off each day that we study. When one of us ticks off that day as complete, the app will then send a notification to the rest of us in the group to let them know. Interestingly what usually happens is one of us will study first and mark it on the app. Then within the next half an hour the others are usually inspired to study so that they can tick off their progress on the app too.
5. Always plan ahead
Planning ahead helps us map out exactly what we need to do for a given task which is essential because when we have a clear picture of what we need to do, we are more likely to do it.
With my goal of getting into shape, it has helped me immensely to plan out my meals for the following day so that I always know what and when my next meal is. In my case, if I wait until I am hungry before deciding on what to eat, I will just go for the most convenient option rather than the healthiest option that will help me achieve my goals.
For some of my activities, such as studying Japanese, I have found it to be very important to follow a planned ritual that I can do before I start. For example, before I study, I will always make myself a coffee, put all of my devices on “do not disturb” and make sure my workspace is completely clear so that there is nothing there to distract me. Interestingly though, I have found that it is not necessarily the caffeine that helps me focus, it is the ritual of making the coffee that changes my state and puts me into that all-important study mode.
6. Reward yourself
When we take up a new hobby for example, our modern minds usually find ways to justify buying things that we “need” before we start them.
There may be basic things that we need, however it can be very tempting to buy every gadget and gizmo when in reality we don’t actually need them at the start. If we look at running for example, we can quite easily justify buying new workout clothes, a fitness tracker, wireless headphones, the list goes on. When in fact all we need is a pair of running shoes.
When I started running for the first time, I told myself that I couldn’t start until I bought myself some nice jogging bottoms, new trainers and a cool looking hoody. This did give me a short-lived boost in motivation, however for long-term motivation, it would have been much better off setting myself a running target such as running 3 times a week for a month and if I succeeded, to then reward myself with one of these products.
Rewarding ourselves is a great way to motivate ourselves for being consistent. All of these extra things that we buy can often serve as distractions and actually when we reward ourselves for progress, it gives what we buy more meaning.
Think to yourself, what is the most basic equipment that you need to get started and make a point to reward yourself after you have made progress.
Conclusion
Our daily habits while on the surface may not seem that important, if they are repeated over a long period of time - they can lead to the really big changes in our lives. Whatever vision we have for ourselves, we can achieve them. It just takes time, consistency and effort. In my case, I know if I carry on with my current progress, I will be in better shape and will be able to speak better Japanese when things return back to normal and knowing this gives me the motivation I need to continue.
None of us know how long it will be before the world will return to normal, it is quite literally out of our control. However, what we do have control over is how we choose to use this extra time indoors. If we use this time wisely, then we will return to the world a better version of ourselves and hopefully inspire others around us along the way too.
The time is now to start building the right habits to get us where we want to be. Good daily habits create momentum. Momentum leads to consistency and consistency is what it takes for us to achieve our goals in life. Now that we know what to do, let’s get started.