My daily routine and why
“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”
― Gandhi
Most of us have some sort of loose routine we follow on a daily basis whether we’re aware of it or not. Quite a few years ago when I’d first started working, I managed to get my morning routine which consisted of coffee, shower and the walk to the train station to a minimum to allow me the maximum time of sleep before I had to get up. It was so precise I believe my alarm was set for something like 7.07am.
It was a routine but I was instilling good daily habits into my routine. I just got up and left the house in order to get the same train to work everyday. In recent years I’ve been focusing on instilling great daily habits into my routine in order to grow as a person. I believe that by being a striving to improve by 1% every day, I can see huge results over time and become better and healthier person.
So now I’ve got a few daily practices that I’m hoping to ingrain as habits which all focus on improving a specific area of my life, mostly my mental and spiritual well-being.
Let’s delve into habits quickly and look at the research into why they are great.
According to James Clear, author of Atomic Habits:
‘Habits are the small decisions you make and actions you perform every day. According to researchers at Duke University, habits account for about 40 percent of our behaviors on any given day.
Your life today is essentially the sum of your habits. How in shape or out of shape you are? A result of your habits. How happy or unhappy you are? A result of your habits. How successful or unsuccessful you are? A result of your habits.’
From this it’s easy to see how having good habits will lead to better health, more happiness, more wealth, etc… You get the point.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ” — Aristotle
How long does it take to form a habit?
Depending on what book you read, or what link you’ve clicked on in google, you could be led to believe that you can form a habit in 21 days. Or you could be told it takes 66 days. According to the University College of London (UCL) 21 is on the lowest end of a habit-forming timeline. They state that there is no magic length of time for creating a new habit. In fact, the study found that new habits can take as few as 18 days or as many as 245 to form.
So which is it? The answer is that it depends on a variety of factors including what the habit itself is, the person trying to form it, and the environment you’re in. My advice is to start small by trying to form one new habit at a time and focus on consistency. After a month or two, then maybe you can add in another.
‘I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.’ -Bruce Lee
Let’s have a look at my personal daily habits then:
I’ve got a morning and evening ritual. I’d suggest that if you’re new to this, just do one or the other. Trying to do both in the beginning will be extremely difficult to stay on top of.
Morning Ritual
Gym
Most days, I wake up, have a coffee and hit the gym asap. Although it can be tough, especially during the dark and cold winter months, I personally find that hitting the gym first thing means I get it out the way and start my day well and don’t get decision fatigue and head to the pub after work instead of going to the gym. (If you go gym in the morning you can enjoy both a workout and a post-work pint in the same day)
Cold Shower Therapy
Besides being the obvious hygiene thing to do post gym and daily, I always do my usual cleaning in nice hot water. I love a hot shower and will never give them up. BUT at the very end, I brace, and turn the tap to as cold as it gets. I then just try and bear it for anywhere between 10 and 30 seconds. The benefits are well documented and include better circulation, health, recovery and even treating depression. Now, most people balk at just the thought of a cold shower. And I know reading it here won’t convince you. But, the thought of a cold shower is the worst part. The actual cold water. Believe me, it’s actually really nice. It’s now such a habit that I can’t leave the shower without it. I love it.
Journaling
I’ve literally spent years trying to get into consistent journaling. If you’ve read any self-help books, or follow any podcasts by life coaches / gurus, then you’ve definitely heard of the benefits of journaling. The best one I’ve found so far is the one by MindJournal and the beginner journal titled: ‘This book will make you stronger’. It’s designed for men and will talk you through your 31 journal entries. I’d recommend listening to some specific podcasts on journaling.
Gratitude and Day Planning
I used to plan my day in the morning but now I plan the bulk of it in the evening before and just review it in the morning. My day planner also has a gratitude section so I fill this in and also complete any blanks that got missed the night before.
Mediation
I used to be quite an angry person. Maybe not angry, but I got annoyed at stuff easily. The world, people, the news, etc. I would get in to long discussions with people about politics and have angry conversations in my head about what I’d seen on my facebook news feed. Then I started Headspace, a meditation app and have been doing it everyday since. I’m now so calm, relaxed and absolutely love the time it gives me to clear my mind and get all zen. I highly recommend it. I won’t go on about the benefits here as you can find them in numerous other places. I will just say it’s great and I love it.
Read
I try and read at least one chapter in a book everyday. This is a part of my ‘read 52 books every year’ thing that I do.
Evening Ritual
My evening ritual is a lot newer. My day planner journal (my best self) has a section where I can reflect on any lessons learned during the day, celebrate any wins and give gratitude. I also plan the next day and tick off my habits tracker checklist.
I’ve got a few other things that I do daily and weekly that are more about hitting my goals then really being habits. One example is I’m trying to get my golf HCP to single digits so I’ve got a weekly habit of hitting the practice tee and working on my short game and hitting fairways. I also have a few habits that aid my progress in the gym such as doing some stretches.
In summary, if you want to make changes in your life, be it learning a new skill, a new language, getting fit or working on your mental health, it all begins with habit. If you can create a daily practice, you’re setting yourself up for success. Every day that I manage to complete my daily ritual, is already a win and I start off the day much better than I did when I just got up and got on with it. And planning it all out really helps reduce the decision fatigue we all experience on a daily basis. So start instilling good habits in your life. And maybe try and get rid of the bad ones.
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This article was written by Stuart Munnich. If you’d like to know more or receive notifications for future articles, please head over to the Agoge Project Website or subscribe to updates right here!
