Taking action to build habits

[Action]

I'm going to write a journal here tracking the implementation of daily habit(s) into my life.

These habits are designed to improve myself in various areas of my life.

Backstory

I am a 29 year old male, in the past I have tried doing several things (for example meditation, exercise, social exercises) for a period of time.

But I find myself losing focus over time when doing this. So my habits got very inconsistent over time.

That's why I read up on building habits, and gained insights into the process.

I will do things differently now compared to the past:

• I took a week to write down a detailed plan on how to do it (possible obstacles, why I want to do this habit, how to setup my environment etc.)
• I will focus on only building 1 habit at a time (in the past I felt like I needed to do multiple at the same time. I will choose to start with meditation.
• I will link my habit to a trigger: waking up. Yes, this is Pavlovian .
• I will start with a very small amount of time: 5 minutes. Therefore increasing the likelihood of doing it consistently, and creating a stronger bond with my trigger.

Why this topic?

• In order to be able to share my success (positive reinforcement) / failure (negative reinforcement) with other people.
• To hold myself accountable to other people.
• Get support also trying to better their lives by implementing

I will start reporting daily starting tomorrow on whether I will do the action (meditate for 5 minutes) to build my habit.

[Psyche_92]

Goodluck!

[willybilly30]

I like this journal. I have tried to start to many habits at once as well, So, much i want to do but, I just don't have the motivation for a long list yet i guess.

I read once that everyone has a motivation meter inside, it gets lower the more you do and so, focusing on one thing at a time is great

I think i will take a week to write things i want to do, why, make plans  and possible obstacles 

Can you explain the linking triggers like at bed time? I don't know i am not fully getting what that is.

I would like to learn more cause it seems like you have some hang ups i have had.

I thought about exploring why i want to do the habit..like smoking...i mean what am i getting out of it? Why do i need a cigarette with my morning coffee...that sort of thing.

I don't know seems to make sense i mean there has got to be something i get out of it. 

Great Journal can't wait to see where you go with this. 

[Action]

Day 1

Did 5 minutes of meditation after waking up.

It was quite easy to do.

Will answer the other posts in this topic soon.

[Action]

15 hours ago, Psyche_92 said:

Goodluck!

Thanks!

 

3 hours ago, willybilly30 said:

I like this journal. I have tried to start to many habits at once as well, So, much i want to do but, I just don't have the motivation for a long list yet i guess.

I read once that everyone has a motivation meter inside, it gets lower the more you do and so, focusing on one thing at a time is great

Hi Willy, thanks for your reply! This is not actually motivation, but rather willpower. If you have used up willpower during previous tasks, you are less likely to be able to exercise willpower for new tasks. In the beginning any change requires willpower, after it has become a habit, it should become "automatic". So that's why it's more important for me now to just build a really strong habit instead of trying a lot of things at once and failing over time.

See the following wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_depletion

3 hours ago, willybilly30 said:

I think i will take a week to write things i want to do, why, make plans  and possible obstacles 

Can you explain the linking triggers like at bed time? I don't know i am not fully getting what that is.

Bed time is not a trigger for me because I tend to go to bed at different times, depending on my evening activities, weekday / weekend etc. However, everytime I go to bed I always brush my teeth before going to bed. So brushing my teeth could be a trigger to link a new habit to (for example after I brush my teeth I will do X for 5 minutes).

3 hours ago, willybilly30 said:

I would like to learn more cause it seems like you have some hang ups i have had.

I thought about exploring why i want to do the habit..like smoking...i mean what am i getting out of it? Why do i need a cigarette with my morning coffee...that sort of thing.

I don't know seems to make sense i mean there has got to be something i get out of it. 

Great Journal can't wait to see where you go with this. 

Smoking can indeed be a very hard habit to break usually there are a different triggers causing you to smoke.

[d0ornokey]

If you backslide, focus on recommitting as fast as you possibly can. The faster the better

[Action]

8 hours ago, d0ornokey said:

If you backslide, focus on recommitting as fast as you possibly can. The faster the better

Thanks, that's a useful tip!

Day 2

Did 5 minutes again after waking up.

I noticed my mind was very unfocused, but I still did it.

Edited August 21, 2018 by Action

[Wisebaxter]

Hey man, keep going with this and don't beat yourself up for losing focus - that's exactly why you're doing this stuff, to train your focus. You'll get that monkey mind tranquillised in time, don't worry. It's all trial and error so enjoy the process and don't expect results too fast. Hope it's going well

[Action]

17 hours ago, Wisebaxter said:

Hey man, keep going with this and don't beat yourself up for losing focus - that's exactly why you're doing this stuff, to train your focus. You'll get that monkey mind tranquillised in time, don't worry. It's all trial and error so enjoy the process and don't expect results too fast. Hope it's going well

Thanks for your advice. I'm usually good at beating myself up :), but what happened in the past doesn't really matter. So I have to remember that.

 

Day 3

Did 5 minutes of meditation after feeling quite tired waking up. But could get my mind more focused relatively easy today.

[Psyche_92]

5 hours ago, Action said:

Did 5 minutes of meditation

Aim for at least 20 min.

[Action]

17 hours ago, Psyche_92 said:

Aim for at least 20 min.

No thanks, it's more important for me to build the habit at this moment. Then I can easily increase the amount of time doing my habit.

Day 4

Did 5 minutes of meditation again after waking up. Felt no resistance against doing it.

[Action]

Day 5

Did 5 minutes of meditation today.

During my session I noticed my mind quite distracted with things I got to do today and planning them etc.

[Action]

Day 6

Did 5 minutes of meditation once more.

Getting easier to do it without much conscious thought.

[Action]

Day 7

Did 5 minutes again, thereby finishing a complete week of doing meditation for 5 minutes. Therefore, I feel safe to increase the amount to 10 minutes for next week.

[d0ornokey]

@Action FUCK YAH  progress

[Action]

10 hours ago, d0ornokey said:

@Action FUCK YAH  progress

Thanks!

Day 8

I did 10 minutes of meditation today.

However I didn't do it immediately after my trigger. I have a throat infection, so first I got some water and called in sick before meditating

[Action]

Day 9

Did 10 minutes of meditation.

Still feeling quite sick :(.

[Action]

On 29-8-2018 at 1:44 AM, Maximus said:

Interesting blog

Thanks!

Day 10

Did 10 minutes of meditation again. Slowly getting better from my illness.

 

Edited August 30, 2018 by Action

[Action]

Day 11
Did 10 minutes of meditation.

Starting to feel easier doing the habit.

[Action]

Day 12

Did 10 minutes of meditation.

On the upside, I've nearly recovered from being ill. But somehow my brain was feeling very foggy this morning during meditation.