Over the last year, we have been given a lot of time to sit back and reflect on our lives and how our habits and decisions shape our lifestyle. Sometimes we are not even making conscious decisions, and instead, we are just living our lives through habitual behaviors. So, there is no better time than right now to reset some of our habits. After all, they do say there is no time like the present. Here are 5 ways you can change your habits now instead of later.
Acknowledge Your Current Habits
First and foremost, you have to acknowledge what habits you already have. Decipher between what habits are good and what are bad. You don’t have to do a full reset on your behaviors, as some might be good for you and your happiness. For example, if you get up at 7 am every day and go for a jog, and you enjoy doing this, that is a prime example of a good habit. These are not the ones you need to worry about.
A bad habit might be waking up ten minutes before you need to start work in the morning. This has become quite a common bad habit as now so many of us work from home. Habits such as that need to be broken! Write down your bad habits as well as your good ones so that you don’t come down hard on yourself. This way, you are making a mental and physical note of the habits you have decided to change.
Know What Habits You Want To Start Doing
It is important to have a solid idea of what you want to work towards. Writing down your goals has been linked to higher success rates of actually achieving those goals. So instead of just making a mental note, make sure you have written it down somewhere to keep you on track! Consider using a notebook specifically for changing your habits, so you can jot things down along the way and be able to look at the progress you have made.
There are many healthy habits out there that you can adopt; take the time to figure out what you want and what is going to make you happy. It is not a one size fits all situation, as what might be a good habit for one person might be bad for another. So tailor it to your needs and not the needs of others.
Stop Procrastinating
This is something we are all guilty of doing! There is no shame in it, but acknowledging it and trying to avoid it will only help you change your habits. Enough with the ‘oh, I’ll do it tomorrow’ mentality! For some, procrastinating can be a bit more severe, and procrastination disorder is hard to overcome, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible. It is about finding the right motivation to help you push through procrastination behaviors. If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it’s that nobody knows what tomorrow will bring, so do what you can today.
Face Your Fears
Sometimes it is just a matter of facing your fears, and as much as a lot of us do not want to hear that, it is the cold hard truth. Fears come in all shapes and sizes and can hold us back from living our best lives. For example, some people are scared of driving; some are scared of going into a gym or trying something new. It can be very invigorating when you finally face up to something that you have been avoiding for quite some time. If you want to go to the gym for a while but have always been too scared of judgment or looking ‘silly,’ as soon as you do it once, you’ll be stronger and stronger forever other times you face it.
Change The Routine
Sometimes we can be stuck in the same old routine, which leads to conducting the same habitual behaviors day in and day out. Changing your schedule and routines can help encourage you to stop making bad habits. It’s okay to experiment with this, too, as you are unlikely to make one change and have everything fall straight into place. Take the time to see what works and what does not, and more importantly, remember to be patient with yourself.
Changing your routine doesn’t have to be scary, extreme, or anything like that. It could simply be waking up ten minutes earlier than you usually do or having one less cup of coffee than usual. Small changes over time will add up, so do not dismiss their importance.
Take this time to invest in yourself and reset your habits now.