On Wednesday, it will be the 1st of May meaning a new opportunity to start new habits. Why not set yourself a couple of habits to get in the routine of doing by the end of May by following the below tips and tricks. I have included below some tips I would encourage to set off your new habits in the right way along with some habit ideas to get your started.
Suggestions:
- Drink more water (this would be 2 glass of water a day or 2 litres a day)
- Read more (try reading a chapter a day and increase from there)
- Learn something new every week (whether this be learning to put oil in your car for the first time or learning a new skill)
- Be more active (try setting yourself the goal of walking every day or reaching 10,000 steps a day)
- Self Care (set the habit of taking care of yourself. Whether this be treating yourself to a hair/face mask each week or sitting down with a hot chocolate and chatting with friends)
- Wake up earlier (why not try and set yourself the goal of waking up half an hour earlier than you usually would to make you more productive)
- Eat healthier (I'm sure this is a habit everyone wants to follow but maybe start of setting the habit of eating 1 of your 5 a day and increase from there)
- Stick to a budget (try not to spend all your money on coffee when you can make coffee at home for half the price - see how much you'll save)
- Allow time for yourself (take time to meditate or do yoga, something that will relax you and make you feel at ease with your thoughts)
Tips for Building Successful Habits:
Start Small:-
Don't put pressure on yourself to be able to drink 2 litres of water a day straight away as you're more likely to fall at the first herdle as you've gone in too quick. Start of drinking 1 water bottle a day and then increase from there. This way you're more likely to stick to your habit as you're slowly building on your habit
Be Consistent before Increasing Habits:-
Following on from the above, you need to be consistent when trying to build habits. Set the aim of reading a chapter a night or day for a week then increase it to reading a chapter and a half, then 2 chapters then 3 chapters and so on. This will allow you to get into the groove of your habit and make it easier to naturally increase.
Get Motivated about Your Why:-
This one is so important as you need to search for why you want to build this habit. Do you want to drink more water to feel healthier in yourself or to improve your skin or do you want to learn something new every week to increase your knowledge and to progress? Working out your why for the habit and holding onto this feeling is important in knowing how to progress when times get tough
Don't Overwhelm Yourself:-
Don't start of with 10 different habits that you need to do and complete each day as you'll just put too much pressure on yourself and get too overwhelmed. Start off with 2 daily habits you want to incorporate into your daily life and build up from there.
Don't Think About it Too Much:-
The more you think about it the less you're going to want to do it as you'll end up talking yourself out of it. Therefore, try and naturally complete the habit without having to really think about it. For example, keep a bottle of water by your desk or in your bag so it's conveniently there for you to drink or leave your current read near your bed so you can pick it up naturally in the morning or at night
Keep Track:-
Keeping track of your habits is a good way to allow yourself to see how you're progressing with your habits and to see if you're doing them every day. Perhaps keep a record on your phone, in a Excel spreadsheet or in a bullet journal. However you'll find keep track of your habits easiest.
You Only Fail When You Stop Trying:-
Yes you may miss a day of reading or you may drink less than what you had set yourself. We all have days like these however it's when you intentionally don't do something is when you stop trying. Therefore, don't be too hard on yourself when you do miss a day and allow yourself to naturally increase your habits again to get you back on track
Most of these tips and tricks I got from Lavindere's video on 'How to Build Habits That Stick.' Check out her video here: https://bit.ly/2XQJ4OQ