10 Tips to help you change your habits.
10 Tips to help you change your habits. Good planning and healthy habits can keep you on top of your game, keep you relaxed & happy. Here is our tips to help you banish those bad habits for good.
- Commit to it 100% – if you do not intend to give it 100% then you will fail. One of my current bad habits is not getting enough sleep. I know I should have 7-8 hours but I rarely have more than 5-6. Every day I say “ I must go to bed early” but when the evening comes & I haven’t finished all of the tasks that I have set myself for the day I find myself saying “oh I just need to finish this it won’t take me long, I will get an early night tomorrow.” Then the cycle repeats. I know that I need to put more effort in to get this issue sorted by following the tips below.
- Have a written Plan – Simply saying “It’s Monday, a new week & I am going to start going to bed earlier.’ this isn’t enough. You need to write down a plan of exactly what you are going to do. The plan should start with your goal, it should have a start date, an end date and a process of what you are going to do, what obstacles may be in your way, what support you need, how & to who you are going to be accountable.
- Focus on 1-2 habits at a time for at least month. Only move onto the next habit when you have these sorted.
- Know your WHY – what is motivating you, what will keep you going when it gets tough. This is my downfall, ‘my why’ isn’t significant enough. I know I should go to bed earlier but because I don’t get tired, I don’t see any real problem with not getting enough sleep (but it is my long term health that is suffering)
- Arrange some support – there will be times when you are likely to falter, if you have someone who you can turn to for a bit of encouragement & support then they may be able to keep you on track. It could be your partner, parent, best friend, a support group or other people doing the same thing as yourself. Write it into your plan that you will ask for help when needed.
- Have some accountability – someone who you have to report your progress to. This could be your partner, a blog, a work colleague.
- Log your progress – as it can help to keep you accountable (you won’t want to write bad things down). It can serve to remind you of what you are doing, help you see your progress and keep you consistent.
- Identify any obstacles – There are always obstacles, if there wasn’t then we would probably have already changed the habit. Think through & anticipate possible obstacles. Use past experiences or ask others who have also been through the same process. Plan strategies that you can use to overcome the obstacle before they arise. ‘What will you say when you get offered that cake at work when it is someone’s birthday?’
- Identify the triggers that precede your habit & attach a new habit to the trigger. For example in the evening if I have a cup of tea & sit at the computer to answer a few emails, I then lose track of time – the caffeine & bright screen of the computer is keeping me awake. To change I should, drink fruit or herbal tea & read a book rather than my emails after 9.00pm.
- Be consistent – Write your triggers & their new habits in your plan, then when the trigger happens perform the new habit every time. Do not go back if you do the new habit EVERY time then you do not have a new habit.
