I’ve built a life structured around daily habits. Habits help remove the challenges that I would otherwise face to reach my goals. I like to imagine my goals as being on the other side of a wall. Habits are steps that I stack on top of each other, which eventually become tall enough to allow me to climb over that wall and get to the other side. I have multiple habits that I do every single day to reach my goals. One of my main goals, though, is progress. I want to continually grow, learn, and become my future self. Here are the top five habits I do every single day in order to grow.
5 Habits I Do Every Single Day to Grow
- I prioritize the top 2-3 tasks for that day. Every morning, I wake up and sit down with my planner and morning coffee. I write down specifically the top essential tasks that would catapult me forward the most. I used to write down a whole to-do list (to be honest, I still do) but I focus on the top few that would have the most impact on what I am trying to achieve. I like to tackle these tasks early in the day when I have the most energy. All other tasks get pushed back to make way for these things. The key is to be mindful about how many to choose. If I know I will have a busy day at work, I will only write down 2 things. It makes it way more doable!
- I write for 30 minutes, usually in the morning. Writing is important because it’s the way I organize my thoughts. I do my best thinking, reflecting, and organizing when I write. It is crucial for my personal growth and learning! Finding time to write used to be difficult for me, until I realized that I needed to create the time. I also have difficulty writing when there are distractions around. Even the drop of a needle can cause me to lose focus, which makes it complicated since my husband has been working from home these last two years. I finally realized that what worked for me is waking up insanely early, at the cat’s first meow. Typically, I force myself out of bed around 5:45am, before my husband gets up for work. The coffee helps! The real secret, though, is having a game plan for success. I make it easy on myself by prepping my coffee the night before. I charge my laptop and set it on the table. I go to sleep early. I give myself a time to wake up by (5:45am) and a place to be (at the dining table). I create a routine so my body just goes through the motions. I make it EASY for myself. I now dedicate 30 minutes every day to write.
- I read for 20 minutes. It shocked me to learn that most adults stop reading books after graduating from college. To this day, I still say that reading is my number one super-power. I not only learn from non-fiction, but I also understand people and the world better through fiction. I read self-help books, science books about health and the environment, life-style books about slow-living, autobiographies of famous people, you name it. I never miss my reading. I challenge myself to read at least 24 books a year, but end up reading around 30 books a year.
- I initiate a positive interaction with someone. I have a tendency to focus inward on myself and my goals. Even though I consider myself a giving person, I sometimes find that I have blinders on. When I am focused, I ignore what’s around me. In the past, I have even ignored my own health and body! As I got older, I realized the importance of focusing outward, keeping relationships, and helping others before myself. Every day, I initiate a positive interaction with someone, via text, email, phone call or in person. If it weren’t for the people around me, I would never have gotten to where I am today. I recognize that investing outwards is an important way of investing in myself.
- I reflect on what went well today and what can improve tomorrow. I gratitude journal by writing down three things that went well that day. Then I think about what I struggled with and why. I can either choose to improve tomorrow on what I struggled on, or to improve further on something that went well. It is not the experiences that make us wiser, but the take-away we get from our experiences. Therefore, reflections is a key part to growth!
Of course, the key to creating good habits is setting yourself up for them. I like to choose a planner or journal that would trigger my good habits. One of my favorites is Monk Manual. This planner really outlines an intentional lifestyle. I highly recommend it! And if you liked this post, you may want to check out what I do to become 1% better every day. I have multiple goals and personal growth is just one of them.
To say that I envy the way you do things would be an understatement. I read a book not long ago, Girl Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis, and she mentioned having a morning routine, waking up early, prioritizing the things you need to do and much more. You sound just like that book. She said to focus on one thing, so the one thing I am going to focus is to wake up at 7am. I think 6am would be better, but I have to start somewhere. Great post!