Habits – Use them to your advantage…

January sees us start the year in a flurry of intentions and resolutions and, sometimes, as February rolls around, these good intentions start to flounder and fall by the wayside. I love goal setting (you’ve probably noticed!) and, for me, the best way to stick to my resolutions and meet my intended goal, is to break it down into daily actions and stick with it until it becomes a habit.

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”

John C. Maxwell

This can be for little or large goals. One of my current goals is to clean my side of the closet; I spend only 5-10 minutes every day sorting it out, until I reach the level of cleanliness and order that I desire. This habit will undoubtedly spill over into other areas of my life, once I’ve finished the closet, and bring this clarity to my work desk and home.

A more complex goal for me this year has been to focus on my health and nutrition in particular. Last year I had begun a fasting regime, but according to recent research by Dr Peter Attia, I was not getting enough protein for my age and activity level. I have since begun implementing a small habit of substituting 100g of carbohydrates with protein, this changes my macro-nutrient balance without impacting my diet massively and so it is easy to stick to. I am curious to see how this changes my energy, sleep, blood sugars, and strength in my search for longevity!

The new habits I am forming, by executing them daily, will then become part of my regular routine.

Habit forming can be used with a goal to improve your body, mind, or business. Using small daily habits can cause exponential changes and improvements in relatively short time periods.

These daily habits can look like:

• Gratitude journal to recognise the successes in life
• Mindfulness or meditation practice or breath work
• Daily exercise even if just for 15 minutes such as 15 MIN BEGINNER CARDIO Workout (At Home No Equipment) or

• Clearing your emails into folders or deleting them
• Writing daily to do lists to keep yourself from procrastination
• A walk break into every working day
• 10 minute free mind journaling every morning to let the ideas flow
• Sticking to the set meeting time limit
• Arranging walking meetings with staff members to gather ideas or brainstorm rather than sat around a desk
• Reading educational material, even just one page a day
• Cold shower or plunge

Best wishes