These Are the Things I Struggled With When Creating New Habits
We felt suspicious that there was something really important we had forgotten to do.
This year I made it a goal of mine to create habits that set my mind and body up for success so that I feel good and have more energy and balance in all areas of my life. I started by introducing small yet effective changes to my daily routine, these included:
- Sticking to a consistent exercises schedule
- No social media during the week
- Having a rotating meal plan
- Going into the office every day to separate work life from my home life
- Planning my outfits
- Implementing non–negotiable tasks e.g. unpacking my bag at the end of the day, putting away my clothes, preparing my day the night before
It has been 7 months since introducing these habits and the results have been incredible. Not only has it freed up my time, but it has given me a boost of consistent energy and a feeling of fulfillment. I enjoy reading and learning about people who have introduced habits into their lives and the incredibly positive impact it has on their overall well-being. I also enjoy it when people outline the challenges they come acrossand how they face them. I was surprised to find that there were some unexpected difficulties that I had to approach during the introduction of my new habits and I am sure there will be more to come. These difficulties do not impact my overall satisfaction with the changes I have made in my life but I think it is important to share them.
Have I forgotten something?
There will be times when the habits I have created are so efficient that I am left feeling like I have forgotten to do something. Last night after dinner had been cooked, consumed, and tidied up my partner and I looked around the beautifully tidy kitchen and then checked the time and realized we still had so much of the evening left to enjoy. We then felt a bit suspicious that there was something really important we had forgotten to do. In reality, our habits and routine were simply so efficient and automatic that we didn’t realize how much time we were saving. Once we had gotten past the almost guilty feeling we got to enjoy a long evening of reading and relaxing.
Is there something I could be doing right now?
I mentioned above an almost guilty feeling when my habits and routines had created a lot of extra leisure time for me. I struggled at the beginning and used the opportunity to do more productive activities during my leisure time. This was ok for a while but I soon realized that I was starting to feel pressure around my additional activities and guilt when I did not have time to participate in them. I had to go back to the purpose of why I wanted to introduce these habits into my life and realized it was not so I could cram more productive activities into my day. It was so I could have more time to relax and recharge, so I took a step back, and eventually the guilty feelings elevated.
Why don’t they understand?
Introducing new habits to make my life easier and more efficient has been addicting. I love the feeling of taking an overwhelming task and transforming it into something easy for me and I want everyone to be able to do this. When I first started to see and feel the positive impacts of my habits I would get frustrated when I saw people not implementing easier ways of working into their lifestyle. However, nobody needs unsolicited advice on their lifestyles, everyone is different in the way they work and live their lives and what works for some is not going to work for others. It is not that I was looking down on people, I was more wanting them to live their best lives. When it comes to building good habits and routines I will only offer personal advice when people ask for it. I try to be very careful when writing articles to highlight that this is my take and what works for me will not necessarily suit everyone and that is ok.
If you are creating new habits this year, I hope they are going well for you and that you are feeling good.
