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.
⏰: Don’t hit the snooze button.
💪: Knock out 100 push ups each day.
👁️: Work out before breakfast. Otherwise I sit down, eat, start reading email and then the time crunch becomes a huge stress if I want to work out before I need to get into the office.
🦷: Floss my teeth.
🫧: Rinse with mouthwash.
🐦: Avoid social media before 10AM.
| Month | ⏰ | 💪 | 🏃 | 🦷 | 🫧 | 🐦 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | ⬜ | 🥇 | ⬜ | 🥇 | 🥇 | ⬜ |
| Feb | ⬜ | 🥇 | ⬜ | 🥇 | 🥇 | ⬜ |
| Mar | ⬜ | 🟧 | ⬜ | 🟩 | 🟩 | ⬜ |
| Apr | ⬜ | 🟨 | ⬜ | 🟩 | 🟩 | ⬜ |
| May | 🟧 | 🟩 | ⬜ | 🥇 | 🥇 | ⬜ |
| Jun | 🟩 | 🟩 | ⬜ | 🟩 | 🥇 | ⬜ |
| Jul | 🟥 | 🟨 | ⬜ | 🥇 | 🥇 | 🥇 |
| Aug | 🟨 | 🟩 | 🟧 | 🟩 | 🥇 | 🟩 |
| Sep | 🟨 | 🟧 | 🟧 | 🥇 | 🥇 | 🥇 |
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.
🚰: Drink 3 L of water each day; excluding water that comes from food or other drinks like coffee.
🌄: Prepare for my morning the night before.
☀️: Apply sunscreen to my face and neck each day.
| Month | 🕗 | 🚰 | 🌄 | ☀️ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 🟩 | 🥇 | ⬜ | 🥇 |
| Feb | 🟨 | 🥇 | ⬜ | 🥇 |
| Mar | 🟥 | 🟩 | ⬜ | 🟧 |
| Apr | 🟧 | 🥇 | ⬜ | 🟨 |
| May | 🟨 | 🥇 | 🟩 | 🟩 |
| Jun | 🟨 | 🥇 | 🥇 | 🥇 |
| Jul | 🟧 | 🥇 | 🟥 | 🥇 |
| Aug | 🟩 | 🥇 | 🟧 | 🟩 |
| Sep | 🟩 | 🥇 | 🟧 | 🟩 |
✍️: Write for 20 minutes each day excluding writing I do for work.
🇵🇹: Spend 30 minutes each day practicing Portuguese.
| Month | ✍️ | 🇵🇹 |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 🟧 | 🟥 |
| Feb | 🟥 | 🟥 |
| Mar | 🟥 | 🟥 |
| Apr | 🟧 | 🟥 |
| May | 🟧 | 🟥 |
| Jun | 🟧 | 🟥 |
| Jul | 🟥 | 🟥 |
| Aug | 🟥 | 🟥 |
| Sep | 🟥 | 🟥 |
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.