How productive habits take shape
Habits are something we are all familiar with. Most of us will admit we have bad ones that we wish we could replace. This past year I have consciously tried to be more productive with the things that I routinely do. What I have learned is the old cliche that slow and steady wins the race really is true.
Habits are a fascinating topic. We all have good and bad habits but how many of us have consciously taken note of how they were formed? Our brains are set up automate routines we do regularly and turn them into habits. Unfortunately not all of our routine behavior is as productive as we wish. Once learned, habits are difficult, not impossible, to break. This past year I consciously worked to create a habit of reading more regularly and I succeeded in doing so. I have now consciously set a goal of creating a habit of writing more frequently and it is starting to take shape.
I started this blog to give myself a forum to both express and practice my writing. I've committed myself to submit something everyday to help create this habit of writing. In addition I have started to put myself on a schedule of writing daily to work on my first book and last night something amazing occurred. I had a productive Saturday. I woke up early, I exercised, I performed my daily writing I set out to do. Last night I had a late dinner and had every intention of simply vegging out on the sofa and watching a little television after I finished eating when I had a glimpse into what I thought would be my mindset if I had done so. Although I accomplished what I set out to do for the day, I still felt like I had some energy left in me to be a little more productive and I knew at that point had I proceeded to simply vegg out I may possibly have felt bad for not being more productive. It's like eating that full bag of chips even though you know you're not going to feel well afterwards. I proceeded to write for an hour before retiring for the night and I felt wonderful for taking that course of action. My goal of having writing become habitual is taking shape and this shows that it is possible to make any kind of behavior you wish become a habit. What routine do you want to turn into a habit?
Habits are a fascinating topic. We all have good and bad habits but how many of us have consciously taken note of how they were formed? Our brains are set up automate routines we do regularly and turn them into habits. Unfortunately not all of our routine behavior is as productive as we wish. Once learned, habits are difficult, not impossible, to break. This past year I consciously worked to create a habit of reading more regularly and I succeeded in doing so. I have now consciously set a goal of creating a habit of writing more frequently and it is starting to take shape.
I started this blog to give myself a forum to both express and practice my writing. I've committed myself to submit something everyday to help create this habit of writing. In addition I have started to put myself on a schedule of writing daily to work on my first book and last night something amazing occurred. I had a productive Saturday. I woke up early, I exercised, I performed my daily writing I set out to do. Last night I had a late dinner and had every intention of simply vegging out on the sofa and watching a little television after I finished eating when I had a glimpse into what I thought would be my mindset if I had done so. Although I accomplished what I set out to do for the day, I still felt like I had some energy left in me to be a little more productive and I knew at that point had I proceeded to simply vegg out I may possibly have felt bad for not being more productive. It's like eating that full bag of chips even though you know you're not going to feel well afterwards. I proceeded to write for an hour before retiring for the night and I felt wonderful for taking that course of action. My goal of having writing become habitual is taking shape and this shows that it is possible to make any kind of behavior you wish become a habit. What routine do you want to turn into a habit?
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