I believe human beings need structure and daily habits. I know this might not sit well with some people, but we find ourselves reverting to a framework, in so many areas of our lives, subconsciously.
We tend to eat breakfast, whether we are hungry or not, simply because it is ‘breakfast time’. And who decided that cereals are breakfast foods?
So, if we want to improve our health and well-being, is there not something to be said about ‘building’ new elements into our lives? If we do it well, they will sit perfectly into our daily structure, and we won’t even have to consciously think about them.
I also know by trying to change too much in our lives at one time, means we are overwhelmed, and it tends to upset the balance. Before long we have abandoned the new change and revert back to our old ways. What works well for me, is not to change, (it sounds too scary and negative. It also implies that something is wrong to start off with), but to transform. There is a power in ‘transform’ and I think if I start from a place of positivity, things can only improve.
Drinking Water
Let’s take water. I know I don’t drink it enough, and I also know that one of the triggers for my migraines, is thirst. So, why on earth do I not drink enough water? There are a million reasons, but if I build this into the start my day, it will become ‘second nature’ to me. And will filtering into the rest of my day fingers crossed.
I know the most important time of the day to drink water is when we first get up. The brain and the body have been ‘starved’ of liquid for between 6 and 8 hours (depending on how long you sleep for). This is also why we are dizzy when we first get out of bed and stand up. I have heard scientists say that we should drink our first glass of water for the day before we even get out of bed.
So, my new ‘habit’ is to start my day with a glass of water, even before I turn the kettle on in the morning. I want this to become the norm for me. And that’s easy enough.
TED Talks
I adore TED Talks and just don’t watch enough of them. There are thousands of talks which all touch and move us and I want more of that. If I build TED time into my day, I can put 20 minutes aside to watch or listen, learn and contemplate. I also have a stepper (you know that exercise thingy?) that doesn’t get used enough.
My brilliant plan is to combine the two. Every day, before dinner, I am building into my day, 20 minutes on the stepper, while watching a TED Talk. This will tick two boxes for me – more exercise and loads more inspiration.
Reading
I adore reading. And I love learning. I don’t want reading to be a luxury or something I do to treat myself. It needs to be part of my ‘every day’.
There are three types of reading I enjoy. Fiction is something I have started reading over the last few years. I avoided it in the past as a ‘waste of time’. What was I learning from fiction? That’s another blog post for another time, but let’s just say I have changed my mind on that. The second type of reading I enjoy, is to learn – history, specifically. I don’t feel alive if I go to bed not having learnt something. And self-improvement and personal development, plays an important role in my life. So, how do I make all this reading, a habit?
I like to start the day inspired. So, the personal-development reading happens in the morning. I have the privilege of being able to start my day slowly, so for me, I read before I step into my office. That way I can apply what I have learnt into my day.
It is easy to watch too much TV when I am winding down from the day, and then just fall into bed, too tired to read. I have set an alarm on my phone to remind me to head for bed. If I don’t set an alarm, it gets too late to read. I start off reading some ‘learning’ for half and hour, and then some fiction. This unwinds me, takes my mind off the day, and I feel relaxed before I fall asleep to the BBC World Service on the radio.
Becoming daily habits
There is a lot of research and theory into how long it takes for something to become a habit. But for me, it is about making it easy to implement into my life, and then it will be seamlessly ‘woven’ into my day.
I am not aiming to have days ‘controlled’ with structure. But I know that if my day is filled with what I love, I won’t ever feel like the things that mean the most to me, are pushed to the bottom of the list. And when I don’t do what I love, I feel guilty for not embracing what makes me happy.
Ticking lots of boxes….that’s the way to go.
