I first learned about the impact of good habits and daily routines on productivity from Tim Ferriss and Leo Babauta. I’ve been working on implementing many habits in my life for the last ten years. I remember reading so many blog articles and watching YouTube videos to learn about them, and to this day, I continue to do so. The majority of these habits are common sense that we are told as kids and teenagers we should do, but it wasn’t until I started practicing them regularly that I started seeing the benefits.
These are some of the habits that are important to me:
Meditation. I try to meditate first thing in the morning, after waking up. I don’t always manage to do it but for me this habit is very important, it helps me have a more focused day and lower any stress. I meditate for 20 minutes using the Headspace app. I’ve been using this app since 2014 and it’s the app that taught me how to meditate. Another app that I used in the past is Calm, but for me Headspace works the best.
Make my bed. I once read that making your bed first thing in the morning gives you a sense of accomplishment. Here are some links that talk about the benefits of making your bed:
Healthy breakfast. Most days I start with a healthy smoothie. I learned about its benefits when I read the book Revive by Dr. Frank Lipman and then I found this article to help me create different recipes: The Perfect Smoothie Formula.
Review goals. About four years ago, I created my bucket list, with all the items I wanted to accomplish in my life. I spent two days thinking about all the things that were important for me. I constantly review and update my bucket list, which is divided in six parts:
- Things I want to do/accomplish (ie. run a marathon)
- Things I want to have (ie. my own house)
- Places I want to visit, for this I checked a list of all the countries in the world and chose a list of the ones I want to visit first.
- Things I want to learn
- Activities I want to experience (ie. see the aurora borealis)
- People I want to meet/say thanks to, I have a big list of people I want to meet/say thanks to. It is a list of people that have inspired me, that have taught me many things and have helped me become a better person without knowing.
At the beginning of this year, I chose some goals I wanted to accomplish in 2019 for the following areas:
- Finances: Income, Give (Donate)
- Exercise
- Living Environment
- Relationship
- Family and Friends
- Work
- Learning: How many books I wanted to read
- Career: Which certifications I wanted to get
- Mentoring
- Blog
- Travel and adventure
Then I divided those goals in quarters and then months.
At night I review my goals and define actions for my To Do list, and then I review this list in the morning. Constantly reviewing my goals help me keep focused.
Exercise. Exercise has been the most difficult habit I’ve implemented in my life. I’ve tried and failed many times trying to get this habit to stick. I know all the benefits but I still struggle. Currently I’m exercising 3 times a week as I’m training for my first 10K. Here is a blog post on how I’m working to become a runner.
Reading. I love reading. This is one of the habits that I never felt I had to work on. For me it’s something I enjoy very much. Reading allows me to learn about my many interests. The majority of the books I buy are in Kindle version, and only the ones I love the most I get them in paper version. The reason for this is that I often move to different cities and I can’t have many paper books at home.
For a few years now, I’ve been tracking the books I read with the app Goodreads. This app allows me to keep a record of what books I’ve read and which ones I want to read. It also helps me to discover new books and see what books are being recommended by my friends and the community.
Daily Journal. This year I started journaling every night. At the end of the day, I write a very short paragraph summarizing what I did during the day and I classify each entry as a “daily journal” or as an “accomplishment”, if I reached a goal or milestone. I can’t wait to review this journal at the end of the year.
Arabela Navarro 