I have encountered hundreds of tips, tricks, and hacks in my years studying self-development. I have also gone through phases of going all out, trying everything, right through to clearing everything out, and simply going by feel.
I found that my habits have changed with me. You need different things at a certain time in your life, so you adapt and change. That’s O.K. – that’s growth.
Looking back, here are some of the ones that stuck around – in one form or another. Try one or two next week, tell me how it goes!
Here are 10 tiny habits to take next week to the next level:
1. (Some) food is fuel
If you’re looking to free up time in your day for a side project, training session, or just me-time – automate your busiest meals. List the ingredients, systemise buying and prep. Get the nutrients in, and go.
This gives you time to focus on the meals you really want to savour. For yourself or with the family. When you have the time, take the time to make things from scratch, not just open a can. Toast a productive day and enjoy the experience.
2. Energy Awareness
Become aware of what gives you energy and what drains it. Look back at your calendar this week. Which events drained you, and which gained you energy? Labelling it makes it easier to spot patterns. Then, see how you can improve your overall energy score. Either batch draining tasks – set aside time for email or phone calls. Or tweak it – change a sitting meeting to a walking meeting. Or remove it – do you need to do this? Can you delegate?
Action = Energy.
3. Write down your thoughts on paper
Morning or evening, or both. Whatever works. Call it a Brain dump, journal or stream of consciousness. Whenever, whatever form. It creates mind space.
Writing frees up the working memory, so you can get on with the important stuff. It also clarifies your good ideas, and makes you see unseen connections.
4. Protect flow time
Flow is when you’re working and time stands still. Your most creative work. Protect It. Because its fragile. Like a small flame, you need to feed it and coax it; it can easily go up in smoke. Make an appointment for yourself, remove distractions. Set a goal of time or output (i.e. number of words, 60min block). Envision the outcome. Disappear into the work. Then, deal with the word when you resurface.
5. Automate – Don’t repeat
If you’re doing something more than once, automate it. Template, system, habit. Remove active mind space from it. Go through your day, and if you did the same thing yesterday, take 5 minutes to template it. How can you do this without thinking, assuming you can’t delegate it?
6. Turn off phone notifications
Sure there are things or times when you need to be available. The world has its demands. But rarely is that 24/7. Consider a period of time during the day where you turn off all notifications. Even just for a short while. I started doing this a while ago on my evening walk with my dog. I used to listen to music or podcasts, but I became steadily aware of a feeling of ‘always-on’. I stopped taking my phone on my walks and it has made a big difference. You don’t notice the mind space your phone takes up until it’s absent.
7. Frame the frog
Every day, there is something uncomfortable you need to do. Phone clients, put yourself out there, and promote yourself. Things you avoid. Lean into the discomfort of good things for you, and framework them. You know you must do it, so make it a habit. You know it gets you closer to the goal, so setup your actions so you don’t have to think about it. You get over the discomfort by repetition only.
8. The earlier you get to bed, the better sleep you get
Studies have shown that the amount of sleep before midnight that counts most towards your sleep quality. Getting 8 hours is great, but getting as much of those 8 before midnight is better. Going to bed earlier means you wake up early and have time for yourself when everyone else is asleep. Yes, you can train yourself to sleep earlier. What groundbreaking, extremely focused work do you do after 8pm? Read a book. Go to sleep.
9. Working from home? Set an appointment to step out of the office
Gym, walk, go work in a coffee shop, just get outside. Get some sunlight, see people, get perspective on things, step away from the emotions in the inbox, make space for ideas, unplug.
10. Make time for non-digital hobbies.
Read a paper book. Make something with your hands. Unplug the digital life. Power down. Try a Digital detox every day. Get bored – it’s good for you.
Until next week. Go Create.
Whenever you’re ready, here’s 3 ways I can help you:
- Healthy Horizons Framework: A pack of 4 coaching sessions that gets you a sustainable healthy lifestyle fitting into your busy life and hitting your goals. I share the personal system I have created over the past 10+ years to automate the healthy habits to get you there.
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