Productivity Tuesday: Maintain Good Habits By Making It Easy On Yourself

In today's episode of Productivity Tuesday, let's talk about habits. We all recognize that we have "good" and "bad" habits. I think many of us might agree that journaling is a good habit. Many of us might also agree that drinking until you puke every Friday and Saturday night is a bad habit (It might be fun every once in a great while, but it takes its toll on our bodies, spirits, emotions, and productivity in a big, bad way). We could list a variety of habits and judge their merit, but the theme that binds them all together is that we tend to do them without giving them conscious thought.

Sure, when you are four, your parent has to remind you to brush your teeth. By the time you are an adult, you've like got that habit down. If you don't do it after every meal and before bed, you at least likely brush those pearly whites when you wake up.

Many studies have shown that repetition builds habitual action. In other words, if you want to make a behavior habitual, repeat that behavior for some time et voila, it will ingrain itself into your routine and before you know it a habit is born.

That works great if nothing in your life changes, and you can develop and maintain a consistent routine. But what happens when life blasts you a curve ball? You have to roll with it and try to maintain equilibrium in the face unexpected change. Heck, even if you knew the change was coming, a disruption to your routine can make all your good intentions go the way of the do-do.

So, what do we do? How do we ride those changes and keep our good habits on deck? We do it by making it as easy as possible to continue our habits regardless of our situations. We facilitate a pattern of behavior by creating an atmosphere where that pattern can continue unimpeded regardless of outside circumstances.

Here is an example. I have a rule that I've mentioned before. Regardless of anything else going on in my life, I am required to at least step on my yoga mat, every, single day. In my world, at my house, that is easy. I know where the mat lives. I know how much time my yoga practice will take. I know how long I can go before the dog requires his morning constitutional. So, I can practice yoga and move on with the rest of my day.

But, what happens when I have to travel like I do this coming weekend? Suddenly, the routine flies out the window. I'm in a different space, different city, and with a different schedule. And on top of that, depending on where and how I am traveling, I might not be able to bring my yoga mat with me. So, I have to plan ahead and make things easy on myself.

I figure out my morning schedule. Will I have early meetings? Great! Then, I set my alarm 30 minutes early to make room for yoga. Will I need to walk my dog because he traveled with us? No? Then, that 30 minutes is bought and paid for because I can now place yoga into that time slot. If I plan it ahead of time, my routine doesn't have to change much at all.

But what happens if I can't take my mat with me? Well, some people buy Yoga Toes. I've tried them, and they don't work for me because my feet slip out of them too easily. Instead, I created my own version of a yoga travel mat. Someday, I might even make these for sale. But for now, this is what my yoga travel mat looks like. Instead of the big, long rolled up tube, I have just a few small strips to carry with me.

It does take a little extra prep time, but that conscious planning ahead of time helps me remain true to my good habits. I look at this planning as an investment in ourselves and in our future. If we keep ourselves accountable to our inner planner, we can maintain positive habits for all the days of our lives. Remember, the habit is an ingrained unconscious behavior. But the prep time to keep that habit going? That's something we can plan and implement. And that's how we thrive!

Forming new habits or letting go of old ones.

I'm thinking right now about breaking habitual patterns. It's too easy for me to get into the habit of *not* writing. So, I've spent part of today figuring out how to get into the habit *of* writing. 

For me, the vast majority of it is a mental state. If I think of myself as a person who writes, who dedicates a part of every single day to the craft and art of writing, then I do it. If I let that slip for even a little, soon, days and even weeks will pass without me having written a thing.

And then, the rest of it is the physical state of getting my butt in a seat and my fingers on the keys. If I can get the mental part down, the physical comes without too much trouble. So, that's the goal. I need to get to the place where my state of mind always reflects that I am a writer. I am a person who writes.

I have three books to finish: FGD2, Symphony in Ex, and the Arbiter (and that's not counting the four other ones I've had on the back burner for the last three years).

I have also decided not to try to write Seoul Song up by its deadline. Instead, I will focus on FGD2. It's the more pressing of the two. 

But still, the important of all of this is that I need to think of myself as a person who sits down and does the work. When I gave up sugar, I became a person who no longer eats sugar. When I gave up commercial soda, I became a person who no longer drinks commercial soda. Once the paradigm shifted, I had no problem with it. But enacting the habit of writing is harder for some reason. 

Perhaps, it is harder to get into because I am trying to form a habit of doing something rather than giving something up. It is a positive net gain in my life and it is a time commitment. It takes no more time to not drink a diet coke than it does to drink one. The same goes for sugar. 

Perhaps all of this trouble is a time management issue. If I can manage my time properly, I will be able to accomplish the other necessary shifts. 

I will look into my time management practices and I will focus on allocating time to writing. As I learn more about this process, I will keep you all updated.