Plan, Habits, Routine
Yesterday, I was in the kitchen talking with Juliette about the results of her swim meet on Saturday. She got second in first place in her two relays but second and third in her other three events. I pointed out how close she was to first, that she had added time the last two weeks, and asked her if she wanted to get first place.
She said yes, but she mentioned that another girl would always beat her. This other girl swims year-round, is taller, leaner, slightly older, and more muscular, but Juliette touched the wall split seconds behind her, and I made sure she knew that.
I mentioned I would fully support her in waking up early any morning and practicing at the junior Olympic heated pool at our community center, which is outside of our front door and next to the elementary school.
I suggested she wake up at 6:30 AM, but she complained that it would only be 30 minutes, and then proposed 5:30 AM. One hour wouldn’t be enough for me to work, so we compromised on 6:00 AM. I added a new writing project to my table, so here we sit at 5:58 AM while I attempt to bring you a blog post about plans, habits, and routines.
Luckily, I can bring my computer poolside, so that is where we will go. Catch you at the pool.
Hi, it’s me Jo, over in my iPhone notes, live journaling.
Juliette didn’t want to wake up. She said she didn’t get sny sleep, and told me it was “too hot.” Someone had set the temperature to 78 so I bumped it down to 74.
She still didn’t want to wake up, so I told her I didn’t get good sleep and I still woke up. I also said she was going to regret it, we had made a plan, and I stopped working out/writing to support her.
She rolled out of bed. She is brushing her hair and can’t clothes, and I am throwing on some shorts, then grabbing us towels.
“It is 6 am, what are you doing?” As I proceed to take pictures of her.
Okey, I am back.
We walked to the pool to find out my fingerprint wasn’t working, and we saw three other swimming leave prior to us arriving. Arg.
The morning struggle perfectly illustrates one of the biggest hurdles we all face when trying to make a meaningful change — our deeply ingrained habits and routines resist being altered. Our minds and bodies crave the comfortable inertia of following well-worn patterns. This resistance highlights an important reality — lasting change is difficult because it requires rewiring the habits and routines that currently govern our daily lives.
However, the ability to deliberately reshape our habits and routines is also one of the most powerful tools we possess for personal growth and achievement. By strategically installing new habits and routines aligned with our goals, we can gradually become the version of ourselves we envision.
So where do we start? The first step is getting crystal clear on your specific goal or intention. What tangible outcome are you working towards? Anchor yourself in the deeper “why” (your purpose) that underlies this goal to tap into your motivation.
From there, reverse engineer a step-by-step plan to progressively build towards that outcome over a realistic timeline. Be ambitious yet not overzealous — setbacks are inevitable, so allow room for adjustments. Spell out the incremental milestones to achieve along the way.
With your plan charted, identify the key habits necessary for consistent execution over time. A habit is simply a behavior or routine of behavior regularly practiced until it becomes second nature. Introduce new habits one at a time backed by a reasonable system to reinforce them through repetition.
Finally, interweave those habits into a sustainable routine that become your intentional default pattern. Routines are the structured regimens, practices and rituals that habituate recurring behaviors into your typical day, week or life cycle. Design routines that eliminate decision fatigue around desirable habits.
The real beauty emerges when your clearly defined goals, backed by a systematic plan for installing new habits, reinforce optimized routines calibrated for continual growth and achievement. Rather than laboring through constant willpower battles, the intentional redesign of your habits and routines allows positive compounding to take over.
With patience and diligence, the very cycles that once made undesirable patterns feel so stubbornly entrenched begin reinforcing the evolved habits and routines you’ve consciously constructed as your new norm. This is the path to real change.
Free Worksheet(s)
Find a free printable worksheet here (color with photos) and here (black and white with no photos).
With love,
Jo
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