Oh boy! If this isn't a topic about me! Somehow I have this reputation amongst people that I have all the good habits and I am very particular about them. To that, I would say, "Haha! Good one! That's really not the reality!".
When it comes to maintaining good habits, no one has failed more than me. The thing is I keep trying! I make different systems, I try things in different ways, Or I keep trying the same way for a while. But the failure doesn't stop at least in some of the habits.
The weird part is sometimes we know the solution but somehow just can't put it in action. I am sure most of us go through it. For me, the good habit that I always fail to keep is waking up early. I just can't do it! Not because I am not an early bird, it's because I never can sleep early. The reasons? Pending projects, socializing, Movie nights, and whatnot. Guess what even this blog is being written at midnight.
The concept for this blog came to me when I was going to sleep at 2 am one day. I just thought to myself, What different should I do to make sleeping early possible! Today while I write this blog I have a solution, the solution is not pretty. But I feel it has to be done.
People who know me personally know that I am a grade-A people pleaser. It's just who I am. The reason why I usually stay up late is that I need to do something for someone, most of the time it's not even related to me! The other time is movie nights which I really need to stop as well. Most of the people around me are those who stay up late. For most projects, I have a deadline at the end of the night. So now you might see the direction this is heading!
The biggest hurdle in keeping good habits is how we design our surroundings.
Weird conclusion? let me explain!
I have a friend who unlike any other is super punctual and follows all her routine activities. She is an early sleeper and wakes up at 5 am every day and starts her day in the way she wants. She practices meditation, exercise, reading, and much more! She has been doing this for the last 2+ years. Also, the most important thing is that we work together. She has way more responsibilities than I do but she still manages to come through with everything!
We all know that we won't be able to contact her after 10:30 pm. We just know!
She is never asked about it otherwise because what she skips with sleeping early, she picks up and delivers before anyone else is awake! This is what is to be understood from her scenario.
We need to design our lives according to the habits we want to have. Our whole day should be spent according to that. For example, If you want to exercise regularly, and you feel the best time for your workout is at 6 pm then you should make sure your work is done before it or can be compensated after the workout is complete.
This again brings us back to the concept of conscious living. Living each moment with an understanding of time and activities that need to be done. This is not like work productivity, because productivity is not just work-related, this also counts for Me-time. My friend is spending 3-4 hours with herself, reflecting, relaxing, and evolving.
For me, I need to design my days according to my sleeping time. A few people will be kinda mad at first but if I show them results they have no reason but to accept it. If I have a deadline of midnight, I should not waste my evenings and push it to the final moment.
This little realization has proven to be very powerful for me and I will definitely work towards it from now on.
If you go through something similar, I hope this helps you in some way. All I will say is if something doesn't work when it is related to a good habit, Don't give up. Try different ways to approach it, try to have a wider perspective on it like I talked about in this blog. Sometimes some habits are difficult to keep because the present design of your life doesn't suit it and definitely, it won't. Because changing that design was the reason to do all this in the first place! Think about it!
See you all next week!