10 Essential Habits

A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. (Wikipedia). 

Developing good habits is essential to success. Habits help to maintain the things you need to take care of and to work towards goals. In the case of habits effort makes effortlessness. You have your routine recorded somewhere , like on a task list - written down, so that it isn't swimming around in your head.

Willpower is limited - you can only make so many decisions in a day before you tire out. The more you practice a daily habit the less willpower you will have to use to get started and go all the way. Practice makes perfect! 

Having a block of time, like an hour a day to work on a goal is much more efficient than procrastinating for weeks and then pulling an all-nighter, or not getting anywhere at all. 

On average it takes about 66 days to form a new habit, but it could be more or it could be less; just know, you'll get there as long as you keep trying. Below are some suggestions for habits that you might want to take on. 

Meditate. 

Meditation is a check in with yourself, a way of balancing the mind, silencing and understanding thoughts and deepen your breathing. It can help to combat stress, bring peace and enlightenment and calm the mind and body. 

The simplest meditation technique is to sit with your eyes lowered or closed and follow your breathing. There are many different meditation techniques originating from Buddhism, Zen and Taoism. You can even join meditation groups in the community, Other than traditional meditations there are many guided meditations on You-tube and the like and some of them are fit for a certain purpose like reducing stress.

 The Google 'Balance' program is a life-long meditation tutor that you can tune into on a daily basis that is pretty good - it helps you form a better relationship with your internal thoughts and meanderings. It's well researched and very calm and soothing. 

Morning Pages.

Morning pages are explained by Julia Cameron in 'The Artist's Way' and her other books. They consist of three A4 pages of stream of consciousness writing first thing in the morning. (Maybe just after meditating). The morning pages help you to express yourself, understand yourself and free you from the inner critic. I personally use my Samsung Ultra with a stylus to write my morning pages, so I just practice it for 10 minutes. This saves paper, storage and makes for easy reference. 

Clean the house. 

To save your house from being chaotic, clean the house every-day and deep clean in sections once a week. Shine your sink; wipe the benches; sweep the floor; mop; load the dishwasher, hoover, make the bed, clean the bathroom and toilet, work on your spare room for 10 minutes; do a load of washing and put things away - too easy, right? 

Cleaning  gets rid of germs, dust-mites, grime, waste, bad smells etc. Not only that but your house will look fit for a queen. Even if you can't afford the trendiest furnishings on the market, a clean house will look attractive and inviting. 

To deter pests and combat germs, try to keep your kitchen, dining  and coffee-table immaculate. Have a morning cleaning routine and an evening cleaning routine. Never leave dirty-dishes out. Sweep the floor every night. Use a hand-held vacuum cleaner near the coffee-table. Wipe the dining room table down and vacuum underneath. Put baits down at strategic places around the house. In the evenings when you're on your way to bed, Using a mask, goggles and gloves attack the kitchen surfaces and problem areas with a surface insecticide. There is nothing worse than pests!

Exercise.

You must exercise as much as you can. Exercise should incorporate Weights, moderate activity, peak cardio zone and yoga or stretching.  You need to do 3 sets of weights 3 times a week. You need to do moderate activity and within that reach your peak cardio zone for 20-40 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. You should always stretch or do yoga as soon as possible after intense activity. 

There are a lot of theories on how much exercise you need but I would say at least an hour a day. You can build up to nearly 2 and a half hours a day which is what our ancient hunter's and gatherers would have done. 

Exercise burns fat, tones muscles and is excellent for our mood, energy, mental health and general well-being. It's even good for the skin as it increases blood flow to the periphery of our body bringing with it nutrients and oxygen. Exercise can help to prevent diseases such as cancer, hearth disease and dementia. 

Goals

Work on a goal. Write your goal down. Work on it every-day or at least 5 days a week. If you can set aside a couple of hours at the same time every-day that might invite the muse in. Consistency, perseverance and grit will help you to achieve your goal. You can dream big but at some point you will have to take action!

Plan

Make plans. Write a to do list every night for the following day. Plan your day and do things according to a schedule. Set daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and five year goals. You should be able to take one bite of the elephant each day, the weekly goal incorporates checking in on how you did and changing things up or tweaking things so that they work better. The monthly goal is a milestone is also a check in and maybe a celebration of how far you've come. The yearly goal is what you've achieved in a year and an appraisal of how far you've come and again, a milestone. The five year goal is a culmination of all your work and marks the end of your journey of achieving something great!   

Gratitude

It only takes five minutes to write in a gratitude journal each evening. Write about five things that you are grateful for today. It's positive and can help to change your outlook from seeing the glass half empty to seeing the glass as half full. And we know optimism is good for us right?

Socialise

Check in with a friend, or chat to people online, Humans are social animals, socialising is excellent for your mental health. Keep on developing your people skills and get out there and get busy. 

Do a good deed.

Every so often do something kind for someone. Pay for a stranger's coffee, share your umbrella, give a homeless person a cup of tea or even some cash, donate something to a charity, give someone a gift, offer to clean up someone's house, do something for your spouse or children, Take a small gift when going visiting people; help someone across the road; do some work for someone who is ailing. 

Sleep Hygiene

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise! Lack of sleep is a common problem in Western society. However enough sleep can really help you to function at your best. Sleep hygiene basically means to go to bed and get up at the same time every-day. 

One thing you can do to get to sleep easily is avoid caffeine after about 4 pm. Another is not to exercise too close to bed-time. There a certain herbal teas that help you to sleep such as chamomile, valerian & lavender.  Some people might be prescribed medication to help them sleep. Other people might be prescribed medication to help them wake-up. A couple of other things you can do is once you go to bed, shut your eyes tight until you fall asleep; or practice progressive muscle relaxation for a few minutes; or follow your breathing until you fall asleep; or just relax and don't worry if you're not falling asleep straight away, just chill! Keeping busy and getting into a flow state during the day can help you rest easier.  

If on the contrary you are a long sleeper one of the best things you can do is be in bed by Half-Past Eight in the evening, early mornings can be so blissful. Eating right, exercising in your peak cardio zone and looking after your well-being and mental health can contribute to having more energy during the day. 

So here we have 10 ideas for developing habits that will ensure your success in life. Do you think you could at least do some of these? Are there any habits of your own that you would like to develop? Can you see that practice leads to ease in your activities? Can you see where you will be in five years if you consistently follow these habits? I hope you found this article helpful and it leads to being more organised and thus more joyful in your life!