I am consistent and organized to a fault. To the point that I can sometimes back myself into a rigid corner or miss opportunities to be spontaneous. Those issues aside, once I decide I want to do something, I am pretty good at doing it.
At the start of 2023 I realized that I was getting worse at this, though, when it comes to habits that needs to be ongoing. Projects are easy. Creating consistent routines? Less so.
Iβm not sure what creates a habit, at least for me, but I have gotten worse at adding new ones since the pandemic. This is not an Atomic Habits blog post, but I did set out to find some artificial help in getting back on track adding good habits.
I landed on the Streaks app and sketched out a few areas where I, an increasingly old dog, want to learn new tricks. Iβve started writing down the results in this series for posterity and accountability.
I measure this each quarter in a series that I publish on this blog; you can find previous editions here.
Symbol | Range |
---|---|
π₯ | 100% |
π© | >= 90% |
π¨ | >= 80%, < 90% |
π§ | >= 70%, < 80% |
π₯ | Less than 70% |
β¬ | Was not a goal at the time |
The goal is to do these before 7AM.
πͺ: Knock out 100 push ups each day.
βοΈ: Apply sunscreen to my face and neck each day.
π₯Ά: Cold plunge.
Month | πͺ | βοΈ | π₯Ά |
---|---|---|---|
Jan | π₯ | β¬ | β¬ |
Feb | π₯ | β¬ | β¬ |
Mar | π₯ | π₯ | β¬ |
Apr | π₯ | π¨ | β¬ |
May | π₯ | π§ | β¬ |
Jun | π© | π₯ | β¬ |
Jul | π¨ | π¨ | β¬ |
Aug | π₯ | π₯ | β¬ |
Sep | π© | π¨ | β¬ |
Oct | π§ | π₯ | β¬ |
Nov | π¨ | π¨ | β¬ |
Dec | π§ | π§ | π₯ |
Goals that contribute to general health and well being.
π°: Drink 2.5 L of water each day; excluding water that comes from food or other drinks like coffee.
π¦·: Floss my teeth.
ποΈ: Preemptively address my chronic dry eyes by applying eyedrops each day.
π«§: Rinse with mouthwash.
Month | π° | π¦· | ποΈ | 𫧠|
---|---|---|---|---|
Jan | β¬ | β¬ | β¬ | β¬ |
Feb | π₯ | β¬ | β¬ | β¬ |
Mar | π© | β¬ | β¬ | β¬ |
Apr | π© | β¬ | β¬ | β¬ |
May | π₯ | β¬ | β¬ | β¬ |
Jun | π₯ | β¬ | β¬ | β¬ |
Jul | π© | β¬ | β¬ | β¬ |
Aug | π₯ | π₯ | β¬ | β¬ |
Sep | π₯ | π© | π§ | β¬ |
Oct | π© | π© | π© | β¬ |
Nov | π© | π₯ | π© | β¬ |
Dec | π¨ | π© | π¨ | π₯ |
Goals that focus on getting better at something (including getting better at doing something less).
π΅πΉ: Spend 30 minutes each day practicing Portuguese.
π΅: Go to bed without a device that contains the sum total of human knowledge in my hand as I fall asleep on it.
βοΈ: Write for 20 minutes each day excluding writing I do for work.
π¦: Use Twitter for a maximum of 20 minutes each day.
πΎ: Use Reddit for a maximum of 20 minutes each day.
Month | π΅πΉ | βοΈ | π΅ | πΎ | π¦ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan | π¨ | π₯ | β¬ | β¬ | β¬ |
Feb | π₯ | π₯ | β¬ | β¬ | β¬ |
Mar | π₯ | π₯ | π© | β¬ | β¬ |
Apr | π₯ | π₯ | π₯ | β¬ | β¬ |
May | π§ | π₯ | π₯ | β¬ | β¬ |
Jun | π₯ | π₯ | π₯ | β¬ | β¬ |
Jul | π₯ | π₯ | π₯ | β¬ | β¬ |
Aug | π₯ | π₯ | π© | π§ | π§ |
Sep | π₯ | π₯ | π¨ | π¨ | π© |
Oct | π₯ | π₯ | π§ | π₯ | π§ |
Nov | π₯ | π₯ | π© | π¨ | π© |
Dec | π₯ | π₯ | π¨ | π© | π¨ |
I like the accountability of publishing something that captures point-in-time progress. I also enjoy sharing how I think about work.
Like everything in this blog, though, I do this for me. I am both sentimental and filled with existential dread. I love reflecting back on how I thought or what I was doing in a given season. I find joy in writing something that has somewhat public permanence. If anything, Iβm feeding the models.
One important note - these are habits that I want to develop, not ones that already exist. Iβm pretty good at brushing my teeth and never skip a work out etc. Iβm trying out this app to measure the ones where I find myself getting lazy.