Enhance your existence and surpass your contemporaries with these 10 straightforward strategies.
The phenomenon of habit formation has risen to prominence in recent years, largely due to the influence of Generation Z’s emphasis on personal growth.
This trend has been further fueled by the proliferation of new literary works, the most renowned and my personal favorite being Atomic Habits.
Predominantly, this shift signifies the desire to regain control of one’s life. For ages, individuals have been existing on autopilot, conforming to societal norms and performing necessary tasks, without any awareness of how time is being utilized.
Due to a growing acknowledgement of the importance of mental health, examining the sources of psychological challenges became inevitable. And thus, tracking habits has emerged as a critical tool for understanding how we navigate our lives.
The Impractical Habits Phenomenon
The surge of interest and discourse around habits has stimulated substantial research into various high achievers, including celebrities, CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors, and anyone with even a hint of fame or following.
From the abundance of podcasts, books, and YouTube videos, a whole array of routines and habits emerged that are not only unachievable and impractical but may also induce anxiety and physical stress, negating their very purpose.
Here’s what you really need to know:
Waking up at 5am isn’t a necessity unless it suits you
You don’t need to follow every prescribed ‘must-do’. The crucial task is to listen to your mind and body, and cherry-pick only those habits that align with your needs and deliver some form of benefit.
Elevating My Life: 10 Transformative Practices
Today, I aim to share an assortment of practices that have personally helped improve my life. These are carefully selected from a myriad of popular habits and have been effectively integrated and adjusted in my routine.
The sequence in which they are presented holds no significance. So, without further ado, let’s get started:
Maintain excellent sleep habits.
In my own pursuit of personal growth, I was striving to improve various areas of my life: physical fitness, interpersonal relationships, and diet. Yet, I always seemed to put addressing my sleep habits on the back burner.
My choices typically favored enjoyment and leisure activities such as socializing, watching Netflix, going to the movies, reading, and partying over prioritizing enough sleep.
My fitness and dietary goals were reaching a standstill when I transitioned into dog ownership. For those of you who are dog owners, you’re no doubt aware that dogs usually fall asleep early and are early risers. This lifestyle change nudged me to leave gatherings sooner, prioritize restful sleep, and get to bed earlier since my furry friend woke up at the crack of dawn.
Here are some crucial lessons I learned from this experience:
- Set a schedule that encourages going to bed and waking up earlier, aligning with your body’s natural circadian rhythm
- Aim for a minimum of 7 hours of sleep, ideally 8, but no more than 9 hours
- Ensure you wake up at the conclusion of a sleep cycle, typically every 90 minutes. Hence, adjust your alarm to coincide with these 90-minute increments
- Maintain a slightly cooler temperature in your bedroom compared to the rest of your house
- Create a dark environment in your bedroom while you are asleep
Engage in daily physical activity and exercise
Numerous pieces of research highlight the positive influence of physical activity on both the mind and body.
From my personal training journey, I identified several key advantages:
- Self-discipline
- Relief from stress and anxiety
- A sense of purpose or a goal
- Release of dopamine
- Increased energy
- Enhanced motivation
My fitness regimen involves 3 or 4 sessions of strength training lasting no more than an hour each, a weekly boxing class or swimming laps, and a daily walk of 10,000 steps.
Drawing from my personal experience and the research of experts like Andrew Huberman, I would recommend carrying out these activities in the morning, prior to work. This can effectively maintain high energy levels, prevent afternoon fatigue, reduce over-reliance on caffeine, elevate your motivation throughout the day and uplift your mood.
Remember to incorporate these sessions into your routine whenever possible.
Refrain from having your coffee immediately after you rise, ideally wait for about 1-2 hours.
Indulging in a cup of coffee is likely a part of your daily dawn routine, and it serves as your reliable source of vigor. I utterly share this sentiment and the thought of abandoning coffee is out of the question for me.
But, it’s important to beware of excessive caffeine intake as it could have adverse effects. To prevent the call for another cup at noon or in the latter part of the day, have your initial cup about 1-2 hours post waking up.
As beautifully delineated in Atomic Habits, every habit arises from a cue. Typically, our morning alertness signals it’s time for a coffee. To incorporate or eliminate habits, you need to experiment with these cues.
For instance, my morning alarm acts as a reminder for dressing up and hitting the gym. Post my workout, I get ready for my workday. At 9:00, booting up my laptop serves as my trigger to savor my coffee. Since I usually wake up around 7:00-7:30, I have a 1 to 2-hour window before my coffee indulgence.
Employ daily task lists for your day-to-day planning.
Regardless of whether you choose to do this at dawn before your day commences or at dusk, when your day wraps up, it’s an immensely useful strategy.
The most significant advantage I’ve noticed is that it alleviates a hefty amount of mental strain, leaving me feeling more relaxed.
This is primarily because we are incessantly striving to recall and not overlook our to-dos. We impose this pressure on ourselves to avoid missing anything. Hence, jotting them down, organizing them in advance allows us to simply relish the journey and tackle the subsequent task.
I concede that the unpredictable nature of my work and personal life doesn’t always facilitate knowing what my day will entail. However, the remedy I’ve discovered is to list the tasks I would like to undertake, those that are obligatory and those I’m aware of. Following this, I employ timeboxing to assign specific time slots for each task, with added cushion time for any unpredictable occurrences.
Implement timeboxing as a method to organize your task list.
As previously discussed, timeboxing is a method frequently employed by high achievers, like Elon Musk.
Essentially, it involves assigning each task its own distinct time period. For instance, you could dedicate the hour from 11:00 to 12:00 exclusively to reading emails. During this period, that activity alone claims your attention, ensuring that you carry out the task fully rather than half-heartedly. This approach significantly increases the sense of satisfaction gained from completion.
Contrary to popular belief, multitasking is more myth than reality. We need to embrace the fact that our brain has the capacity to concentrate sincerely on just one task at any given moment.
Develop a personal wellness regimen.
Truth be told, I am grappling with this issue myself. It might be more prevalent among men, as research indicates that they struggle more with maintaining this particular routine.
Nonetheless, the incorporation of self-care rituals both in the morning and at night can have incredibly powerful effects, beyond just the obvious benefits for your skin, hair, and overall wellness.
Starting your day with a period dedicated to self-care serves as a signal that a new day is beginning and provides a prime opportunity to connect it with another habit, like hitting the gym or going for a run.
By preparing yourself both physically and mentally for the day ahead, you’ll find that your productivity levels are given a significant boost, a benefit that is particularly useful for those working from home.
Conversely, an evening self-care routine serves as a marker for the end of the day, subtly indicating to your brain that it’s time to relax and increase the production of melatonin in preparation for sleep.
This routine is fantastic as a standalone habit, but its true power lies in its ability to form a seamless link with other habits.
Steer clear from intense illumination prior to slumber.
By nature, our bodies are designed to operate on a circadian rhythm. Back in the days of yore, these rhythms were synchronized with daylight. However, contemporary lifestyles no longer align our routines with the presence of sunlight, and exposure to the intense glow of gadgets often extends into the late hours of the night.
When darkness descends, our bodies initiate the production of melatonin, a hormone vital for restful sleep. But if you spend time watching television or browsing your phone before bedtime, this disrupts the production of melatonin, leading to sleep disturbances like insomnia or fitful sleep.
Indulge in daily reading
It might sound repetitive, but allow me to elucidate further.
I can’t align with common suggestions that I often find on the web telling you to “absorb a few pages daily”. Such guidance doesn’t stem from genuine book lovers. The objective is not to read merely for the sake of completing a page quota or amassing a tally of books per annum. Instead, the intent should be towards gaining wisdom and self-growth.
A more pertinent piece of advice would be:
Make reading a daily habit!
Simplicity at its best. Continue reading until the concept is clear. Don’t stick to reading 20 pages, as it might merely cover half a chapter, leaving the message unclear. Avoid reading for a fixed 30 minute period, as it may lead to incomplete understanding, covering only a chapter and a half.
Concentrate on one concept. If manageable, one chapter or just one idea that resonates. It could be a single page, but if it provides a complete understanding and that’s all you’re able to achieve today, that’s perfect. You’ve gained something to contemplate and assimilate.
Make it a habit to maintain your diary frequently.
It’s important to note I’m not advocating for daily entries. This isn’t about the conventional “Dear Diary, this is how my day went”. What I’m referring to is the communication of your emotions and the exploration of your inner self.
Write in your journal when you feel the need. Seek to crystallize your thoughts:
- What’s troubling me at this moment?
- Why am I stressed or anxious?
- What’s making me feel positive?
- What am I currently grateful for?
- What has my emotional state been lately?
The objective is to gain a deeper understanding of yourself and navigate through feelings and emotions.
Make meditation a daily practice
Integrating a daily lifestyle practice is something I highly recommend.
Discover the meditation technique that resonates with you the most.
The objective is to welcome tranquility, still your mind, cleanse it from all thoughts and simply be present. Refrain from thinking or doing anything, shift your attention to your breathing or any other focal point.
Meditation can take on various forms for different individuals. It could be a method such as transcendental meditation, yoga, breathwork, or as simple as taking a stroll. Below are a few ways in which I engage in meditation:
- Transcendental meditation
- Breathwork
- Taking a stroll
- Sitting in silence and clearing my mind
- Visualization
- Exercise
- Listening to music attentively
- Showering
It doesn’t have to be challenging. It simply needs to decelerate your pace and stimulate inner introspection, instead of concentrating on external happenings.
The practices I’ve outlined are some of the personal habits that have made a significant impact in my life.
However, keep in mind that life isn’t a race, nor is it a prescribed path that everyone must adhere to. Find what suits you best, and don’t be afraid to try different approaches. Eventually, you’ll discover what resonates with you. Patience is key.
