My favourite quote from James Clear’s weekly newsletter:
“Many people have a hard time making decisions because they don’t know what is important.
When you have a clear mission and are completely sure what is important to you, most decisions become easy. Once your fully committed, you don’t need rules for how to spend your time. Its obvious which decision to make. It’s clear what to prioritize.
Many people don’t need productivity or time management advice. They need conviction”
James clear
This week I finished reading the book “The Power of Habits” by Charles Duhigg, who was intrigued to learn more about habits after noticing how soldiers in the U.S military behaviour is very precise because they repeat the same actions everyday, by developing a routine and system. Duhigg’s research shows that our brain is always seeking ways to save energy. Throughout this process we develop regularly repeated behaviors, called habits. Once the habit has formed the amount of time it takes to make a decision is slowed down, ultimately saving the brains energy. If one chooses to create, or change the habit the formation process begins again. Importantly I learned that habits are formed by what is often called the habit loop. Habits are fabricated by 3 components, the cue, the routine, and the reward. These are necessary steps in providing the motivation in creating and changing our habits.
Cue~ The cue is an event that pushes the brain into autopilot, where in the brain chooses the habit to use in that moment. Cues can be a variety of things an environment, time, feeling, etc.
Routine~ The routine is the action that is followed or experienced it can be emotional, mental, physical, it is how the brain recognizes a habit after an action has been repeated.
Reward~ The reward is what determines whether an action qualifies as a new habit. Usually the reward is a pleasant physical feeling in the body, and your brain remembers this feeling.
By breaking down this process Charles Duhigg insists that one will be able to break bad habits, and create new ones. Although I noted that Duhigg highlights it is easier to change old habits, than create new ones. Additionally it requires patience, time, and willingness from someone to create positive changes to their habits.
After finishing this book I think I have the appropriate tools to create, and change some of my own habits. I will be following these 4 steps to reach my habit goals.
First: One must identify the the routine that forms the habit.
Second: One must replace the negative award, with a positive one to reinforce your new habit.
Third: Tweak or develop the new healthy habits cue.
Finally: Execute your plan! Do not spend time dwelling on past mistakes, or have an all or nothing mindset. START NOW.
Now it is time for to execute my plan, I developed the list of habits I want to change/develop.
Habit #1- Go to bed at a reasonable time/ Develop solid sleep schedule
Getting enough sleep is crucial to my performance, and overall health. I want to consistently get 7-8 hours of sleep a night so that in the morning I can go to the gym, or begin working on school work. I am already an early bird, but I know I will feel much better if I consistently get my 7-8 hours.
Once I am ready for bed, I often go on my phone, and begin scrolling which too often leads me to stay up, and not be able to fall asleep. Instead, I am going to replace my screen time with 5 minutes of meditation once I get into bed.
Habit #2- Meditate for 5 minutes, daily
In the past I have tried to incorporate meditation into my daily life, and have failed. In order to develop this habit I have decided to include it into my bed time routine, replacing screen time with meditation. To remind myself of this habit, I will have a timer set on my phone every night at 9:30pm using the app Habit, to mediate for 5 minutes before bed.
Habit #3- Include fruit or vegetables with every meal
This habit will ensure I am getting the proper micronutrients I need in my diet. As a reminder I will have 3 timers set throughout the day using the app Habit, that I downloaded from the app store to remind me to incorporate fruits and veggies with my meals.
For those whose are interested in James Clear’s weekly newsletter here is a link to his website:
