Own your Habits, Own your Time

When you woke up this morning, what did you do first?Did you go to gym or check your email? What did you say to your kids on your way out the door? Which route did you drive to work? When you got to your desk, did you deal with email, chat with a colleague, or jump into writing a memo? Salad or hamburger for lunch? When you got home, did you go for a run, or pour yourself a drink and eat dinner in front of the TV? According to Charles Duhigg, one paper published by a Duke University researcher in 2006 found that more than 40 percent of the actions people performed each day weren’t actual decisions, but habits.I am incredibly fascinated about habits - how they are formed, maintained and why we break them. We can recognise that our actions today will shape who were are tomorrow: an insight that helps set ready-to-realise intentions, like learning a skill, switching careers, or landing your dream job.I have recently finished reading 'Better than Before' by Gretchen Rubin who investigates habits in remarkable detail backed up by research and real case studies. I wanted to share a list of thought provoking questions in her book to help provide a better understanding of who we are and offer a fresh perspective on ourselves in order to best tailor our habits to our unique nature.

• At what time of day do I feel energised?
• What activities take up my time but aren’t particularly useful or stimulating?
• Would I like to spend more time with friends, or by myself?
• Do I have several things on my calendar that I anticipate with pleasure?
• What can I do for hours without feeling bored?
• What daily or weekly activity did I do for fun when I was ten years old?
• Do I spend a lot of time on something that’s important to someone else, but not to me?
• If I could magically, effortlessly change one habit in my life, what would it be?
• If the people around me could change one of my habits, what would they choose?
• Which one of my existing habits, which would I like to see my children adopt?

There’s no magic formula - not for ourselves, and not for the people around us. We won’t make ourselves more creative and productive by copying other people’s habits, even the habits of geniuses; we must know our own nature, and what habits serve us best.

"Tell me with whom you consort and I will tell you who you are; if I know how you spend your time, then I know what might become of you."- Goethe, Maxims and Reflections

Here's to owning your habits,Warm wishes,Lori