2020 — Start The Year Off Right By Hacking Your Habits.

This year will be better than the last. I’ll put all my effort and energy into becoming the best me. I’ll do the things that I’ve always wanted &I do them with poise and confidence.

I’m sure those, along with a number of other mantras will be spoken by many as we all step foot into 2020. We’ll hit the ground running, so to speak.

However that optimism and willpower will run dry for far to many and they’ll find themselves slipping back into their “old ways”. Discouraged, disappointed and confused they’ll wonder why their resolutions disappeared and they found themselves back where they started if not a few steps back.

Habits. Habits. Habits. I can’t say it enough or consistently enough. Habits are what shape our lives, our futures and the challenges we’ll face along the way.

Show me someone that lives a life without effort on building & shaping their habits & I’ll show you someone who’s constantly starting and stopping projects.

Even as I write this I’m becoming bored with the concept that those out there do not understand the simplicity of habits and continuously overcomplicate their lives.

So, I’ll offer my 2 cents to those who don’t know how to mould their world and shape their future.

Start off by setting 1 goal, break it down into 3 steps and understand what triggers you to go into motion and the action taken once triggered. Simple.

Examples.

Say around 8–9pm you find that you naturally shut down for the day, sit on the couch or in the bed, turn on the tv and watch 2–3 hours of netflix to unwind and end the night.

That right there is a habit.

Now lets insert a goal and reshape that habit to work for you, not against you.

Goal Examples.

• Have more direction throughout the day
• Lose 10 lbs
• Start writing a blog
• Improve your understanding of a subject or topic
• Start or scale a business

I think those are a good start. So pick one for the example and lets keep moving forward.

Say you want to have a smoother, more organized day with direction and clarity. Only you’ve downloaded apps, followed programs and cant seem to get on track.

We’re going to use your existing habit of watching TV and incorporate your goal within it.

Next time you find yourself walking to the bedroom or living room or wherever your TV is, become aware of what you’re doing, then make an effort to do grab a notebook or your phone and pull up notes or reminders (which ever you prefer). Plop yourself down, turn on the TV then stop. Before you search for your TV show or whatever you’re about to start watching open up the app or notebook and begin writing.

Write out the things on your mind and make them little individual bullet points like below:

• Pay utility bill
• Call jim about the proposal
• Take bro to daycare
• Send email to the lender about the title work
• Check in with bill about the furniture
• Update landing page with new information for the brokerage

You get the point. Jot them all out. Once you complete your “Mind Dump” start prioritizing them for the following day.

If you have an assistant start composing an email with all the little things you want them to do for the day and when to update you once they are complete. If you do everything yourself then prioritize them based on their urgency. Non urgent items always seems to be overlooked and can be delegated or just discarded, don’t waste your time on meaningless things.

Now, once you’re finished organizing, delegating and planning you can find your show and enjoy.

Congrats, you’ just hacked an existing habit, slipped in a little goal and set yourself up for success without making major changes in your life.

That little note writing session likely took all of 15–20 minutes and you managed to clear your mind of all the things you needed to do and structured the next day in such a way that you’ll actually win. You’ll actually be able to accomplish your tasks and will find your day to be clearer and you’ll find yourself gaining a sense of control.

Now the trick is to make sure you don’t cut out the note writing and day planning for the next 20–30 days.

Your mind will be fighting against you because you used your willpower to incorporate the notebook and your mind will use the power of a habit to convince you not to disrupt the status quo, ie. watch TV while doing nothing.

Use your will power sparingly and when it matters. It will run out, like gas in a car. Treat it like gold and give yourself the best chance of success by incorporating your goals with your habits.

Cheers,

Ronnie G.