We’re almost half way through September and I thought it would be a good time to update this post! I originally wrote this post in December 2017, after realizing I hardly even tried to accomplish any of the goals I set in January. I am happy to report that I have done much better this year! I think the secret to my success is in creating better habits that can contribute to my long term goals instead of focusing on big resolutions.
After realizing how badly I had failed to work towards any of my goals in 2017, I felt a lot of emotions. Sadness, hate, resentment, fear, disappointment. Once I stopped pitying myself and making excuses, I decided to figure out how to make some real changes. This is when I decided to work on creating some good habits.
In 2018 I focused on creating new good habits and improving some good habits I already had. These included keeping my house tidy, doing yoga every night before bed, cleaning my van regularly, and consistent meal planning. I’m excited to start thinking about what changes I want to make in my life over the next year. That’s the cool thing about habits. When you put energy towards creating a few good habits, and it becomes easier to create more good habits. On the other hand, if you put energy towards bad habits, it becomes easier and easier to sink into those bad habits and let them take over your life. So let’s focus on those good habits!

How To Create New Habits In Three Simple Steps

The first step in creating new habits is deciding what you want to do. Whether its breaking a bad habit or initiating a new good habit, you have to start by making a decision to do better. To do this, we are going to look at the bigger picture briefly. Where do you want to be in 5 years? What do you need to do 2019 to bring you that much closer? For example, one of my big 5 year goals is to turn my passion for blogging into a business that can support my family. To do this, I need to start dedicating real time to my blog and business. So one habit I can work on is waking up early in the morning so I can start my day and get some work done before my kids wake up.

Ok, now I have my three habits selected. First step down. The next step in creating good habits (or breaking bad ones) is to remind yourself to get it done. I have created these little cards to tape around my house (and car) to remind me to get each of these habits done each day. There are two cards to list all three habits on, I’ll tape one on the mirror in the bathroom and one on my computer. There is also one card for each individual habit. I’ll put the car cleaning reminder in my car, the kitchen cleaning one on the fridge, and the laundry one on my laptop. I couldn’t decide which color to do, and like my daddy always says, I’m an over achiever. So you get 6 different colors in one download!

The final step to initiating a new habit is making it a part of your routine till it becomes a habit. I want to clean my car out weekly, but really its something I need to do actively everyday as well. I will put it on my weekly schedule (hey, google calendar) to do a thorough cleaning but I will also grab a few things to take inside each time I come home. My reminder card will help me remember to do this! Cleaning the kitchen each night before bed is definitely an every day thing. Seeing the card on the fridge will be a perfect reminder. Finally, part of my morning routine is opening my computer to get some blog work done. When I see the card taped to my computer it will be easy to take a few minutes to start a load of laundry before I get started. Then throughout the day as I get on my computer it will also remind me to switch and fold that load.

What habits do you want to make or break in 2018?

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