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.
I’m 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. I’ve 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 |
|---|---|
| 🥇 | 100% |
| 🟩 | >= 90% |
| 🟨 | >= 80%, < 90% |
| 🟧 | >= 70%, < 80% |
| 🟥 | Less than 70% |
| ⬜ | Was not a goal at the time |
The goal is to do these before 7AM. This is especially true now that I am a parent. For some tasks that require deeper focus this is my only time when I can focus at all.
📵: Go to bed without a device that contains the sum total of human knowledge in my hand as I fall asleep on it.
💪: Knock out 100 push ups each day.
🛏️: Do not get back in bed.
✍️: Write for 20 minutes each day excluding writing I do for work.
🇵🇹: Spend 30 minutes each day practicing Portuguese.
☀️: Apply sunscreen to my face and neck each day.
| Month | 📵 | 💪 | 🛏️ | ✍️ | 🇵🇹 | ☀️ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 🥇 | 🥇 | ⬜ | 🟥 | 🟥 | 🥇 |
| Feb | 🥇 | 🥇 | 🥇 | 🟧 | 🟥 | 🥇 |
| Mar | 🟨 | 🟧 | X | 🟥 | 🟥 | 🟧 |
Goals that contribute to general health and well being.
🕗: Close the kitchen at 8pm. I am an early eater - left to my own devices I eat dinner at about 6 PM. When I eat after 8 PM I am not hungry - I am scrounging because I am bored. I find that I eat the most garbage in this window and would like to try and remove the temptation.
🦷: Floss my teeth.
🫧: Rinse with mouthwash.
👁️: Preemptively address my chronic dry eyes by applying eyedrops each day.
🚰: Drink 2.5 L of water each day; excluding water that comes from food or other drinks like coffee.
| Month | 🕗 | 🦷 | 🫧 | 👁️ | 🚰 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 🟩 | 🥇 | 🥇 | 🥇 | 🥇 |
| Feb | 🟨 | 🥇 | 🥇 | 🥇 | 🥇 |
| Mar | 🟥 | 🟩 | 🟩 | 🟨 | 🟩 |
Goals that focus on putting down technology.
🐦: Use Twitter for a maximum of 20 minutes each day.
👾: Use Reddit for a maximum of 20 minutes each day.
🌅: Don’t open social media of any kind until after 10 AM.
| Month | 👾 | 🐦 | 🌅 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 🥇 | 🥇 | ⬜ |
| Feb | 🥇 | 🥇 | 🥇 |
| Mar | 🟨 | 🟩 | 🟩 |
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, I’m feeding the models.
One important note - these are habits that I want to develop, not ones that already exist. I’m pretty good at brushing my teeth and never skip a work out etc. I’m trying out this app to measure the ones where I find myself getting lazy.
Don't Return to Bed. This habit made sense when I was a childless bon vivant who could snooze an alarm and sleep until 11AM on a Saturday. Now, I relish 30 minutes of shut eye whenever I can get it.