Building habits does not have to be difficult. You can read about the science of habits or the power of habits all you want. It won’t get you there unless you suck it up and simply get started.
I’ve heard that it takes 30 days to build a habit. The other day a guy told me it takes 21 days.
The truth is that it it’s not about the number of days at all.
To initially imprint a habit in your mind you need five unique experiences. This creates a pattern record in your brain. The determining factor of whether you maintain it or not really depends on the context in which you perform and the complexity of the task.
So how can you build a habit in the next five days?
Strategy: Start super tiny.
Step 1. Define a small action that you can start doing each day. It must be easy to repeat. Let me give you a few examples.
Take one multivitamin in the morning.
Drink a full glass of water as soon as you wake up.
Do 10 pushups before going to bed.
Step 2. Write it down somewhere you can see it each day. like your bathroom mirror or your wardrobe.
Step 3. Create a tracking system for yourself. could be in your phone or on a calendar
Step 4. Mark each time you complete the task that day. Go for five in a row.
Step 5. After 10 days, review how you feel and see if you should continue, adjust or stop that habit.
Make it something super easy that is almost impossible not to complete. Ideally you want to choose an action that is in line with your direction/goal for the year.
Simple as that.
Need more info about habits? check these out
Dr. BJ Foogs has a website dedicated to tiny habits – http://tinyhabits.com
Mark Manson has a free ebook on habits – http://markmanson.net/habits
James clear also has an ebook on habits – http://jamesclear.com/habits
Attituning: Mind
Wake up, Roll over, and….
I wake up and turn off my sleep cycle app. It asks what my mood is and then takes my pulse. However, I am learning that this action is creating a context where I start the day off wrong. The worst thing to do in the morning when you wake up is check your phone. This article explains why.
Feel the flow
Whether you call it flow or getting in the zone, we all know that feeling where time disappears and we are in tune with what we are doing. We are present. The challenges is that this state of flow is not easy to trigger. I’ve gone through some trial and error trying to find ways to trigger flow. Fortunately I also found an interesting slideshare that outlines 17 flow triggers.
Fear of labels
I hate it when people ask me, “what do you do?” Millions of thoughts run through my mind trying to calculate which role I should introduce. You see, I have many different things that I do. In that moment in time I want to say the right “thing” that will be strategically beneficially. Underneath, I have a fear of being labeled in the wrong way. How do you deal with that question?
Attituning: Body
10% of your daily calories in a cup
Alcohol is fun when we are consuming. The after effects can be much more than just having a bad headache the next day. According to this infographic, alcohol has an impact on your body fat and weight. I think I will consider trading those pilsners for more time planking.
Warm those berries
I saw that the east coast of the US was hit pretty bad with a storm. Over here in shanghai we’ve been battling sub-zero (Celsius) temperatures. If you’ve got a blender and a few of the right ingredients it might be time to make a warm smoothie. I think I’m going to try the pumpkin smoothie.
Attituning: Location independence
Is enough really enough?
“Being location independent means that you don’t have a boss or a corporation telling you what to do, but it also means that you have to make your own decisions on how to spend your time. ”
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