Do you want to change your life by building better habits?
PSLs are in full swing. Pumpkin mugs are back in stock at Target. And fall, in all it’s beauty and majesty, is upon us.
Autumn is a time of growth, change, and shedding old habits for new ones that bring us joy and fulfillment.
In this post, you’ll find a list of 6 habits that you can focus on to fuel your growth in this season of change.
So whether you pick one, two, or all six of these, these habits will add immense value to your life and help you grow this season and beyond.
1. Assess your environment and prime it for success
Your room and your space is your sanctuary: it is where your ideas develop, and where you should ideally feel comfortable. It is a place that should allow your creativity to flourish.
You don’t have to be a perfectionist, but schedule some time to do some light decluttering, spruce up your space with some new fall candles or reuse ones from last year, get new bedding, fold your laundry while you listen to an engaging podcast, and just keep your space clean and organized.
Once you start implementing this, you’ll realize it does wonders for your mental health and producivity too!
Now if you struggle with this, please know you are not alone. But like any other habit, you don’t need to be a perfectionist when it comes to keeping your enviornment clean and tidy.
Try this: pick a task. It can be any boring task you’ve been putting off that has been taking up space in your head.
Have a list yet?
Here’s mine:
Doing the dishes. Folding piles of laundry. Organizing my desk.
Now set a 5 minute timer and just go at it. You’ll be surprised at how much you can get done, and the momentum you build.
Remember: practice over perfection. The more you do it, the more likely you are to keep doing it. And that is how habits are formed.
2. Take care of your mind (and your thoughts)
Research conducted by the National Science Foundation suggests that 80% of our thoughts are negative. Yes, let’s allow that to sink in for a second.
Now, if our negative thoughts were just visitors who passed by our mind and left us mostly unbothered, this wouldn’t be a huge problem.
But when we simmer in the thoughts, confuse them with reality, and let them dictate our behavior– that’s when we have a problem.
Try this exercise to challenge your negative thoughts:
- Identify the thought
- Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is there substantial evidence for my thought?
- Is there evidence contrary to my thought?
- Am I attempting to interpret this situation without all the evidence?
- What would a friend think about this situation?
- If I look at the situation positively, how is it different?
- Will this matter a year from now? How about five years from now?
Practice intentional self-care when you need it most.
Related: 16 Simple and Restorative Ways to Practice Self Care
3. Set (or reset) your goals
Setting goals can feel like a complex thing that all the productivity gurus on YouTube keep nagging you to do.
But I promise you, it doesn’t have to be complex. Nor do your goals have to be these huge, overwhelming, impossible mountains you need to climb.
Your goals are unique to you. They are based on your values, your standards, your environment, resources, and so much more.
It makes sense that you should be the one to think deeply about what you want to work on.
It’s more than okay to take inspiration from others, but be careful of falling into a mindset of comparison.
That being said, here’s a simple step-by-step process I follow to set realistic and time-specific goals, where I can measure my progress and revisit them in due time.
1. Identify three key “buckets” or areas in your life that you want to work on and grow in
These can be relationships, career, faith, health, creativity and personal growth, etc.
2. Make a list of goals that you want to achieve.
Once you’ve identified what is most important to you, make a list of the goals you want to accomplsih.
Don’t worry about the number. These can be short term or long term, we’ll narrow it down later.
3. Prioritize
You may have a list of 10 goals at this point that are all in different areas of your life.
Prioritize 3-5 that are most important to you. Be realistic in what is important to you now.
It may be that you may not have the resources to work on a goal now, and can revisit it in the future.
4. For each of these goals, dig deeper.
Make sure they’re specific and realistic goals– instead of saying “I want to lose weight”, say “I want to lose 10 lbs”.
Now, set a time- “I want to lose 10 lbs by December 1st”. This will help you track your progress and allow you to revisit your goals.
5. Once you know your goals, break them down into actionable steps you can do daily.
For the goal of losing weight mentioned above, this could be asking yourself what days you will exercise, what meal plan you will follow, what time you’ll exercise, what kind of exercise you will do, etc. Get clear on the details.
6. Revisit short term goals every 6-8 weeks.
Schedule time in advance on your calendar to review your goals and progress. Remember the key principle- progress over perfection
4. Schedule your days
This one is heavily related to the point above. On top of your goals, your daily schedule will also involve your habits.
Scheduling your day can be as simple as writing your to-dos on your paper planner or a digital planning app (e.g., Notion, Google Calendar, Todoist)
However, I would encourage you to go beyond your daily to-dos and schedule in the habits you want to build into your daily schedule. At least until it becomes a part of your life.
An easy way to do this is to divide your day into the morning, afternoon, and evening. Now you can reflect on what morning/evening habits you are trying to build.
For example: If you struggle with tidiness, start by trying to build a habit of making your bed. It sounds silly, but put it on your schedule. Do it again and again until it becomes a part of you.
Remember, small changes go a long way.
By having a schedule for your day and blocking out time for certain tasks and activities, you’ll be better able to keep track of your responsibilities, habits, and progress.
Also, it will also help you be more productive because you’ll know exactly what you have to get done and when.
After all, the research is clear: we are more likely to do something if we write it down. So simply putting “work out” on your planner increases your chance of working out that day!
5. Get creative
Many of us spend a lot of time doing the same things that often bring us little to no joy.
Spending excessive amounts of time on social media, binging mindless entertainment, comparing ourselves to others and drowning in negative thoughts are all examples of that.
But all of us are constantly learning and in need of new challenges.
It’s important to recognize this inner need for learning, creativity, and growth, and make time to do things that spark joy within you. This can be anything that keep you learning, growing, and active.
Do you have ideas floating around in your mind of skills you’d like to learn or hobbies you want to take up? Have you always wanted to be a baker or a blogger but felt you weren’t good enough?
Again, you have to ditch the perfectionism. Pick something you’ve always wanted to do- it can be something small, and do it this fall. Do it for you.
6. Schedule in time for fun and pleasurable activities
Just as it’s important to schedule the not so fun parts of your day, it’s equally important to schedule in downtime and time to focus on things that bring you joy.
Try to ensure that these activities are not work related, even if it is work that brings you joy.
Schedule time for the interests, hobbies, trips and ideas that fall through the cracks.
Write a list of what you want to experience this fall. Always wanted to take a trip to New England? Put it on your calendar!
Or.. if you really don’t have the luxury to do that right now, plan something more lowkey, like going to a pumpkin patch with family or friends.
If you want some inspiration, you can check out this list of 100+ simple, pleasurable activities here.
So there you have it. If getting your life and goals in motion are on top of your to-do list this fall, I hope this post offered some inspiration to steer you in the right direction.
Good habits build confidence, capacity, and resilience, so make it a priority to take care of your habits this fall. You got this!
Leave a comment with the one habit you’d like to focus on building the most down below, and come back and see how far you’ve come in a few months! 😉