habit

One simple way to disrupt bad habits and increase intentionality

Sarah · Aug 13, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Recently, a colleague was going to Airdrop a file to me. As we both stood there, she opened her phone…and immediately opened Instagram.

Her muscle memory was so programmed to go straight to Instagram that even though she intended to open her photos, she didn’t.

What habits do you do without thinking that lead to mindless spending of your time?

Social media is a big one. Instagram (and any other social media) are not bad in and of themselves. But social media is notorious for mindless time suck.

This also applies to non-digital areas of life. Maybe you walk into your house and immediately walk to grab a junk food snack or drink. Maybe it’s straight to the couch instead of a walk or a workout.

Is it possible to change these habitual routines – without endless charts or complex systems?

(I love charts and complex systems as much as the next person, but I don’t find them nearly as easy to implement as I’d like to think they are.)

What’s the solution? Disrupt your bad habits by rearranging your environment.

Three ways to rearrange your environment

Rearrange all the icons on your phone. You can’t automatically click on Instagram if Instagram is in a different spot. Maybe even delete most of your apps and see what you miss.
Rearrange where physical files and folders sit on your desk. Rearrange the icons on your computer. If possible, move your desk or sit somewhere different temporarily.
At home, rearrange the contents of your fridge or kitchen cupboards. Set the TV remote in a different room. Put your workout clothes front and center in your closet or drawers.

Rearrange all your phone app icons to disrupt mindless, habitual app usage.

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I rearrange icons on my phone at least once a month. There are quite a few I’ve deleted (some repeatedly) that end up back because I do intentionally use them. There are others I’ve never missed.

What can you rearrange today to increase your intentionality?

Two simple secrets to reading with intentionality

Sarah · May 5, 2016 · Leave a Comment

I set a Goodreads Reading Challenge goal for 2016 to read 100 books. This isn’t that far off from the number of books I would read without an official reading challenge – the big difference is that I’m also challenging myself to be more intentional with my reading.

I’m a big fan of mindless fiction – 90% of the time I would pick fiction for a relaxing escape over a movie or TV shows. (I recognize this choice puts me in a minority.) I’m also a fan of non-fiction, and I tend to be in the middle of several non-fiction books at once, as different types of non-fiction fit different moods.

In past years, I’ve been a sucker for books free on Amazon Kindle, which means I have read way more horrifically horribly written fiction than I should have simply because it’s free. In the last year, I’ve worked to be much more intentional with my fiction, either paying for Kindle books or getting books (both hard copy and eBooks) from the library.

I’m a huge fan of Anne Bogel’s ModernMrsDarcy.com, her daily Kindle Deals emails and her new-ish podcast, What Should I Read Next. I credit Anne with the majority of my expanded reading horizons in the past two years. Thanks Anne!

So…what have I read so far in 2016?

The Stats

I finished March exactly on track at 25% of my reading goal with 25 books read. I ended April with 31s books read, just shy of the 33 books read needed to stay on track.

Of those 31 books, 13 were non-fiction and 18 were fiction. At the end of March I was at 12 non-fiction and 13 fiction, which is a significantly higher ratio of non-fiction than I would have guessed (go me!). Then April happened, and the higher fiction ratio is fairly reflective of the stress (and escapism) of my month.

Favorites

My favorite book of Q1 was (still is!) The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. When I started reading The Power of Habit, I loved it. You know the books that come to you and just the right time? This was one of them. In a random coincidence, I purchased this book as a Kindle deal last August, but hadn’t gotten around to reading it until February and March. I had no idea that Duhigg’s new book, Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business released in March.

I did order Smarter, Faster, Better immediately after I finished The Power of Habit, but I haven’t managed to read it yet. It’s on my to-read list for ~~April~~ May, but the way this month is going, it’s looking like it will may end up a June read.

I also started the Outlander series, which I’m loving. As of today, I’m finished with the first three in the series and waiting on my library request for the next. It would be good for my productivity if this doesn’t show up for awhile. I’m a huge sucker for historical fiction and credit the old Gilbert Morris House of Winslow series that I read with a percentage of my understanding of US history.

Of the fiction I read, The Girl You Left Behind was my 2nd favorite after the Outlander series). Ironic, since I wasn’t a huge fan of Me Before You, which is the only other JoJo Moyes book I had read prior to this year. I also read After You, which I did like more than Me Before You, and in a sense, it redeemed that book for me, although I still like The Girl You Left Behind best of the JoJo Moyes books I’ve read.

Intentional Reading

I mentioned that I’m being more intentional about what I’m reading this year. Two keys to reading intentionally are:

Plan ahead for what you what to read. I do this by keeping a running to-be read list in Goodreads. You could use a sheet of paper, a note in Evernote, a special notebook, post it notes, or any other creative solution. With a running list, I’m able to quickly scan my to-be read list for a book that fits my mood and is available. I also use this to reserve books at the library – many new titles can take several weeks, or even months to become available.
Abandon books quickly if you’re not into them. I used to be terrible at always finishing books, even if I hated them. Now, I give a book at least a chapter to give it a fair shot, but quickly abandon after that. I’m also finding that many times it’s just not the right time for a particular book. If you have a book that you started and abandoned a year or more ago, pick it up again. You might be surprised.

What are you reading? I’d love to know! Share your reads in the comments, friend me on Goodreads and we can share what we’re reading in real-time.

On goal-setting and habit formation

Sarah · Jan 18, 2016 · Leave a Comment

As we’re rapidly moving through January, I’m realizing anew the distinction between between goals and habits. Do you distinguish between the two?

A new year, new goals

With the dawn of the new year, I sat down and contemplated my goals for the coming 12 months (more to come on that!). For the month of January, I pulled out a sub-set of goals to accomplish this month that will set me on the path to achieving my annual goals. I have also been working on being more consistent with setting weekly goals.

January’s goals include a financial goal (both earning and spending), social goals, reading goals, organization projects, and a few professional goals.

I love to cross off the goals, and get frustrated when I don’t complete all the goals I set for myself.

Goals vs Habits

Recently, I have realized that several of my goals each week are really the practicing of habits. There are several general things about my lifestyle and homemaking that I would like to change – habits that I would like to form. There are also several specific things that I want to accomplish – goals to achieve.

I can’t write make the bed every morning immediately after waking up on a goal list and realistically expect to cross it off each week. Maybe you have more discipline than I do, but I’m not going to hit that 100% of the time at this stage in life. However, even if I didn’t fully meet the goal, I have likely made significant progress. If I shift my mindset to forming the long-term habit of doing exercises twice a day, I am more likely to celebrate my forward progress rather than get discouraged for not fully meeting a goal.

Practically, this realization has led me to separate “habits I’m practicing” from “goals to accomplish” on my weekly, monthly and annual goal sheets. (Although, I can’t really call them just goal sheets any more, can I? What would you call them?)

Practicing habits

Typically, habits and goals are tied together. For example, practicing a habit of exercise will help me achieve a goal of losing weight.

It’s true that changing seasons of life (hello, small children, new jobs and moving!) can derail some habits. However, when I work tore-establish old habits, the previously held habits seem to fall back into place faster and easier than the habits that are brand new to me (I’m sure there’s a scientific study somewhere to back this up).

Getting back in the habit of getting up early in the morning, and showering first thing have fallen back into place fairly quickly. The habit of carving out a set amount of writing time daily has not.

For January, the three habits I am focusing on are:

Make the bed first thing every morning. This only takes a minute or so to do, but creates a whole new atmosphere in bedrooms. I am also working with my kids to “make” their beds every morning.
Focus on the positive. I have a terrible ability to see what’s left to be done and not see what has already been accomplished. I’m using a 5 Year One Sentence Journal to focus on the positive.
Read 10 minutes of non-fiction before I read fiction. I’ve always been a big reader, but my reading tends to be mostly fiction. One of my goals this year is to increase my ratio of non-fiction to fiction books read. One way I’m trying to do this is to make a habit of reading 10 minutes of a non-fiction book before I dive into fiction.

One of the most productive habits I developed way back in 2014 and have continued is to consistently use Evernote to store key information. I find Evernote Premium to be well worth the cost, and highly recommend checking it out. And, if you use this link, you can also get one-month of Evernote Premium for free. Work smarter not harder!

Don’t put everything you need to do on your to-do list

Sarah · Oct 2, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Yesterday we created a to-do list.

Today, I’m advocating that you should NOT put everything you need to do on a to do list.

What?

Yes, you heard me right.

Save time and increase brain space by not writing it all down.

Many time management and productivity professional tell you to start by writing everything down and setting up elaborate systems to track.

This can quickly get overwhelming. Yes, you need to write down all things taking you brain space so that you have a simple checklist to follow.

But what about the to-dos that don’t take up brain space? Things you do automatically. Habits. This are the ones that don’t need to be written down.

The catch: What those automatically completed items (aka habits) are varies from person to person.

Take the ever-popular “Morning Routine.”

Have a morning routine, yes. But the only pieces that need to be written down are the ones you’ll forget and need a reminder to complete.

I’ve read multiple “morning checklist” posts that talk include taking a shower, getting dressed to the shoes, etc.

For me, taking a shower and getting dressed is always going to happen. Writing it down is simply an added step.

Now, if I’m looking to give myself kudos for checking each and every thing off a list, great. But that’s not streamlining my morning and saving time.

Exercising in the other hand, is one that I can never quite find time for. This should go on my to-do list.

Additionally, a to-do list should the essential checklist of things that would cause major issues if not done, and have potential to be forgotten. For my morning routine that includes checking to make sure that I have my wallet and work computer. (I’ve left the house without one or both more than once!)

I have enough other things that need to be done (or that I want to do!) that checking off the habits increases time and complexity.

Need to start using a regular to-do list? Enter your email address below to get the Evernote Weekly To-Do List Template (and other Evernote templates!). The template is a guideline that you can adapt to make effective for you.

What are some essential items on your to-do list? What “normal” items won’t go on your to-do list?

This post is part of 31 Timesaving Tools, Tips & Templates, read the rest of the posts here.