Daily Habits

[Peter S C]

As many of us know, success in life is largely dependant on the cultivation of positive habits. In fact, I have read that 95% of what we think, feel and do is determined by our habits.

A big idea that I have discovered is to make my habits daily. When I had the goal of exercising 4 times a week, I often made the exuse I will exercise tomorrow when it came time to go to the gym, go for a run, etc.... Making exercise a daily habit eliminated this excuse and I have since reaped the benefits.

I have written a list of 24 Daily Habits on my blog that I try to do each and every day.Apart from exercising, a couple are:

• Review my goals. Or, when I'm especially motivated, I rewrite them.
• Ping a friend, ie send a quick text or email. It's a great way to stay in touch during those busy days (which can turn into busy weeks and busy months) when time is limited.
• Floss. It's one of those things that is so important for healthy teeth and a great smile and yet is easy to not be bothered.

I'm interested to hear from people as to what habits they consider an essential part of their daily routine.

[Shamou]

Great thread Peter S C...

Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

And the followings are excerpt from, "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People" by Stephen R. Covey...

"Habits are like a cable. We weave a strand of it everyday and soon, it cannot be broken."

"Habits can be learned and unlearned. But I also know it isn’t a quick fix. It involves a process and a tremendous commitment."

"The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don’t like to do. They don’t like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose."

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[Peter S C]

Thanks Shamou.

"The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People" was one of the first personal development books I read (which is a few years ago now) and it is one I continue to refer back to. Quite simply, it's a classic.

A couple more habits I think should be daily:

Wake early: I have been awake for just under an hour and only now is the sun starting to rise. I love this time of the day and believe it is the best time to work on myself.

Read the News Headlines: firstly, let me say I don't think it's good to read or watch too much of the news (it can be quite depressing!). I think it's important though to have an idea of what is happening in our community and the world. At the very least, it means we can contribute to conversations on current events.

[llong]

Nice articles!

I added an entry to your blog.

[justJeff]

Celebrate your successes, in a small way, each and every day. It doesn't have to mean opening a bottle of bubbly, even a mental pat on the back works.

[Amarena]

I have read all the 24 daily habits and I believe that you are right. I’ve just noticed that I rarely think of my goals seriously or write down the “to do” list, even if I truly think that it can actually help. About the news part, I tend to look at some stuff, but they always have some terrifying horror piece of news. What to do about that? Maybe just accept it.
And now I’ll try to save what’s left to save from “go to bed at a reasonable hour”, because it 00:26 AM and I don’t want to do any more “sleeping experiments” today.

P.S.: I’d make a 25 daily habits, by adding “pray”, but I know that religion is something private so I’ll only add it to my list of habits. Thank you for sharing!

[aabukar]

Originally Posted by Peter S C

Thanks Shamou.

"The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People" was one of the first personal development books I read (which is a few years ago now) and it is one I continue to refer back to. Quite simply, it's a classic.

I remember the first time i read the seven habits ... actually i accidently found the "living the seven habits" book on my dad's book shelf and it simply changed my entire view to the whole world .. this was also years ago and until now i refer to this book along with the classic one "the seven habits" , the 8th habit and the principle centered leadership ...what can i say .. i just became a fan

regarding my daily habits ...
1. before starting my work .. on everyday i check my emails ... forward nice emails to my friends to keep in touch.
2. check this forums ... even if i am too busy i would just check the titles of the threads ...

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Peter S C

[*]Floss. It's one of those things that is so important for healthy teeth and a great smile and yet is easy to not be bothered.

Heh, that's one of the habit I have listed for this coming August 30 Day Habit trial! I have flossed in the past, but I want to make sure I'm doing it consistently twice a day.

7. Check the News Headlines: I think it’s important to have an idea of what is happening in our community and the world. Also if don’t at least check the main stories, I find it is easy to feel left out of conversations throughout the day.

That is actually one habit that I am programming out of my life. My day flows much smoother when I don't have to deal with the negativism of the "news".

[Ilya]

I've stubled upon the similar idea in the past. When I try to adjust some area of my life, I "daylify" it. I add it to the watchlist - I've borrowed this idea from Franklin's memoirs, I think. Then I practice this thing until I get the desired behavior. Sometimes it takes days, sometimes it takes weeks. When I like the result, I take the habit from the list, but keep it used as often as it is needed.

[Peter S C]

Originally Posted by seeker5

That is actually one habit that I am programming out of my life. My day flows much smoother when I don't have to deal with the negativism of the "news".

I won't deny the news is depressing and I can see why you would want to avoid the negativism of it. I do too. But I also like to know what is happening in the world. I try to balance these two conflicting objectives by just checking the headlines and, on the occasion something catches my eye, I read further.

Most of what I read, though, I would consider interesting and/ or inspirational material. As you allude to, its so important what we fill our head with.

[Peter S C]

Originally Posted by Ilya

I've stubled upon the similar idea in the past. When I try to adjust some area of my life, I "daylify" it. I add it to the watchlist - I've borrowed this idea from Franklin's memoirs, I think. Then I practice this thing until I get the desired behavior. Sometimes it takes days, sometimes it takes weeks. When I like the result, I take the habit from the list, but keep it used as often as it is needed.

The reason daily habits have been on my mind again the past few days is a great article I came across called "Jerry Seinfeld's Productivity Secret" at Lifehacker.com. Its a simple idea (these are often the best right) but I can see how it would be extremely effective. From the article:

He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.

He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. "After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain."