Creating New Routines and Habits in 2022
Today is the third post in my Planner Organization Blog Series and we will be working on creating new routines and habits in the upcoming year.
I originally planned on posting this two weeks ago but I ended up with a terrible case of bronchitis and was in bed for almost a week. Thankfully I feel much better now and have been working to get caught up on everything.
In the first post of this series, we talked about How To Choose and Set Up Your Planner for the New Year. Then, the following week we worked on Planning and Scheduling Your Year.
Creating New Routines and Habits in 2022
Setting Up Your Environment for Better Habits
When you are trying to develop good habits, your environment can make or break whether you succeed. If you want to give yourself the biggest chance of success make sure your surroundings are at their optimal settings.
Keep your environment clutter-free.
There is nothing worse than trying to focus on good habit development than having to fight through a wall of clutter. If you are looking to be more productive, it won’t help if you are spending most of your day looking for where you put things. Clutter has a negative psychological effect on people. It limits your space.
It’s not just physical clutter that’s a problem. Virtual clutter can be just as problematic.
If you are spending lots of time wading through emails or searching your disk for files that you saved weeks ago, this is just as limiting as sifting through papers on your desk.
There is even such a thing as phone clutter where people spend too much time talking on the phone.
Organization is going to be a big help in reeling in all of your clutter.
Come up with a good system for both your physical and virtual assets. You can even look at solving your clutter problem as developing a new habit.
Another important aspect of your environment is mental. If you are stressed out, this is going to take away from your ability to develop good habits.
You’ll focus on what is stressing you out and it will become your central target. Without taking the proper measures to reduce that stress, it will be difficult to make any progress with your new habit development.
There are several ways to reduce stress. The first is to take steps to resolve any situations that you have control over which are causing you to be stressed.
If your bills are getting out of hand, try taking on some extra work to make that more manageable. For stress that’s caused by something out of your control, consider such activities as exercise and meditation. While these won’t take away those stressful situations, they will make them much easier to manage. Both of these activities have been proven to help your mind and body reduce the effects caused by stress.
8 Steps to Help you Succeed
What if I told you that you could achieve success easier with smaller, more manageable habits?
After trying and failing so many times to create the new, more positive habits you crave, is it any wonder that by now you’re probably a little gun-shy about the process? But the truth is, most attempts at forming new habits fail, simply because you’ve tried to bite off more than you can chew.
Using small habits instead, you approach your life in a new way, by taking charge in tiny bite-size chunks. Meaning that not only is change possible but so is the ability to become that person you always knew you could be.
How do you create a small habit successfully?
1. Don’t try to change the world overnight. Start with just one new habit and then go from there.
2. Make a commitment. Not every habit is created equal, and some take longer to embed in your mind than others. But, one thing is true. The longer you perform the same activity day after day, the more success you will have in creating that habit.
Decide right now that you’re going to give this new habit at least 3 – 4 weeks to give it a proper start. Studies show that it takes a minimum of 21 days to form a new habit.
3. Link the habit to something that already works. If you have a successful habit already in place, ask yourself what small thing you can attach to that habit.
For example, you might already be brushing your teeth every day. How hard would it be to add flossing to that routine?
4. Keep it small. Knowing that most habit formation fails because you’re trying to do too much too soon, then make a point to keep the changes very small.
Mini-habits have a much higher rate of success than trying to create a great big change.
5. Have a disaster plan in place. Knowing that things are going to go wrong from the start helps you to be ready when they do. Can’t jog today because it’s raining? That’s ok, you’ve got an entirely different workout in place as a Plan B.
6. Grab a friend. The best way to keep on track, especially when building habits, is to use your network. Have an accountability partner or use social media to keep you honest.
7. Reward yourself. Celebrate every little milestone with a reward, something that makes sense and will encourage you to keep going when you’re lagging.
8. Redefine yourself. Accept that this is the new you. The habits you’re building are going to change who you are – hopefully for the better. Embrace the new identity.
By following these steps, you not only will succeed when applying small habits to your life but over time you’ll see some amazing growth and development as a person. That’s pretty exciting, especially when you consider how little you had to do to get there.
Next week is the final post in the series and we are going to work on setting your goals for the new year see you then!
I’m so happy you stopped by today, thank you!
BEFORE YOU GO:
Here are a few more planning posts you might find helpful:
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