Simple Ways to Form Good Habits

English: Exercising outdoors is healthier than working out indoors. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am a lazy person by nature. It is very difficult for me to prepare early, exercise or even exert effort in those things that make me feel uncomfortable. It's really difficult when you are starting to get annoyed of your routine because there are some things you cannot change. Are you frustrated because you want to be an overall better person but you can't seem to be one because of some bad habits here and there? Here are simple ways that can help you form good habits that can improve the quality of your life.

1. Make a list

Make a list of things that you don't like about the things that you're doing, such as eating junk food, sleeping late, eating too much sweets, not exercising, lingering in the social media for too long, etc.

2. Negate the list by forming a good habit that can replace the bad ones

Now, after listing the things that you don't like, negate these things by replacing it with the good habits. For example, if eating junk food is something you don't like about yourself, replace it by a good habit such as eating healthy food or avoiding junk food.

3. In making good habits, be specific!

It is very very (I emphasize) important to be specific in setting good habits for the overall improvement of your life. It is not enough that you say that you will start eating healthy food from now on. For example, you can start being specific in this habit by specifying which times of the day would you strictly eat healthy food (e.g. breakfast and lunch). What happens when you don't become specific? You end up overlooking your goals and habits.

4. Make it visible

Another thing that helped me keep my good habits in check is to always write them in my journal. I always include them in my to-do list, such as exercising, preparing baon, drinking vitamins, tea, etc. The more you make it visible, the more room that you're allowing your mind to remember it.

5. Cut yourself some slack once in a while

Unless your bad habits involve some kind of spiritual conflict or  addiction, you must at least cut yourself some slack or rest once in a while, such as one day a week per habit. This is for you to prevent being burned out or have lack of motivation in work.

6. Dare yourself to do it in 21 days

This is the so-called popular habit dare, which asks you to form habits within 21 days. The only catch here is you have to do it 21 times each day so that the habit will be established. This is somewhat in psychology what they call "conditioning" and this is effective if I will base it on my experience since it worked for me! Now that I formed some habits that I did not use to do before, I feel very uncomfortable if I can't do it in a certain day.

7. If you slip, don't let yourself slip again

If you missed a day doing your certain good habit due to unforseen circumstances, don't let yourself slip again the next day! Push yourself if you have to, so that the habit won't be gone.

I hope you enjoyed this post and do share if you have good tips in forming good habits.

Related Articles:
Do It Yourself (DIY) 2014 Highlights Journal: The Gratefulness Challenge
Changes That Can Help You Have an Organized Life

Related articles

• Tips for a healthy Juice Fast
• Exercis -5 Helpful Things To Do To Start Your Personal Fitness Program
• Healthy Weight Solution - Part 4 EXERCIS
• Moving more: it's that simple. The Human app helps you add 30 minutes of exercis...
• Training Your Brain - Susan Loughhead

Do It Yourself (DIY) 2014 Highlights Journal: The Gratefulness Challenge

Hello everyone! I'm not the natural artsy-fartsy kind of a person so doing something like this is quite an effort for me. But I decided to make this journal in the hopes of reminding myself of the things that I should be grateful about everyday.

I made a 2014 Highlights Journal out of a recycled brown paper (Papemeleroti-ish style) notebook, stickers, scrapbook materials, pens and other coloring tools. The goal of my journal is for me to be able to look back on my year with thankfulness on how God is working on my life. On my notebook cover it says "Trust in the Lord with all your Heart", which reflects the attitude that I want to have this 2014. I started out pretty late in January (around the last week), but I made it a goal to write and doodle everyday from then on.

If you want to make something like this, it's pretty simple. All you have to do is....

1. Find a notebook or a scrapbook that you are comfortable writing and drawing on.

I liked mine to be something artsy and made of earthen materials so I picked a recycled paper notebook. It's your call to look for a notebook that you like to write on. I recommend using notebooks which have no lines so you will be free to draw without distraction. But, whatever, as long as you're comfortable writing on it, is study and you like its design then it's good to go.

2. Gather some coloring materials and other scrapbook stuff.

You don't have to spend so much looking for these items. If you have old crayons, leftover coloring pencils, unused fancy paper or stickers, you can use them. But if you'd really want to spend on them, I suggest looking for items on the scrapbook section of your local art shop or bookstore.

3. Have the motivation and inspiration to journal everyday.

Remember, this is not your to-do list, so don't put things here to remind yourself of the things you have to do. You should put here the things you were thankful or happy about, or the most remarkable thought you had during the day. You can also post here your memory verse, lyrics of a song, or a quote that you liked. If you want, you can even paste a souvenir (say, a movie ticket or a receipt) of somewhere you went to that day. Photos are always welcome. But since I'm the on-the-go type, I just preferred to doodle and maybe add some occasional stickers or scrap materials every now and then. Artsy or not, the goal is to remind yourself of the things you have to be thankful day by day.

So far, here is what I made from my 2014 Highlights Journal. Now excuse my drawing skills. I am left handed and have relatively poor fine motor abilities. Hahaha.

This is what I wrote on the first 4 days of my journaling.

You are free to draw/write anything you wish. Just one reminder: Keep it positive!

My challenge for you this year is to make a journal similar to this one and be thankful with all the blessings and circumstances that come your way, day-by-day. Are you up for it? :-)

Related articles

• Planner Love - Categories
• My Haul at my Favorite Store + Scrapbook Essentials Giveaway
• DIY cute journals (passion8!)
• Pretty DIY journals
• DIY Recycled Book Craft

Changes That Can Help You Have an Organized Life

English: Gentaur schedule (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I'm generally a klutz by nature. I always forget things, become late, do my work haphazardly and sacrifice quality of my work for the sake of being efficient. I am good at forgetting to remember and remembering to forget. There was one time I was so absent minded that I locked myself out of my car with the engine running (I have no powerlock), with the spare key inside my handbag, which is also inside the car. Stupid, noh? Haha! I'll save that story for later. 

That is why one of my goals this year is to become a more "organized" person so to speak. What is my idea of being organized? I think an organized person is someone who manages his or her time efficiently to do all the tasks that he or she intends to do within the day. It is someone who can, as much as possible do the things that he placed in his schedule without being haggard or stressed out.

Right now I am learning to be a more organized person and I discovered that there are some changes that I did that helped me become more organized and I thought I would share it to help some people manage their time and resources to feel lesser stress and more productivity:

1. Having a planner helps - I realized that having a planner is such a big help in keeping your schedule. Without a planner, it always feel like anything goes. You will not set schedules or deadlines for yourself if you cannot see your to-do list. Write your to-do tasks in the morning so you will have your mind set with the things that you have to do.

2. Do routines at same time of the day - the reason we forget some of our routines is because we always place it somewhere around the day but don't specify the time. If you cannot specify a time, try to at least make a routine only at AM or PM. For example, putting on eye cream is something you usually forget, then commit to always scheduling putting your eye cream at night.

3. Commit to your schedule - the reason you have a schedule is for you to as much as possible, do it without missing anything. Don't let laziness attack you. Have someone accountable around to encourage you to finish difficult tasks.

4. Check each task finished - when you're writing down your schedule, check each task accomplished. The mere act of crossing out of checking gives you a sense of accomplishment. I use it also with my students in therapy and it helps them set their minds throughout the activity and I notice that their compliance also improves even if they like or don't like what's in their schedule. Checking your finished tasks boosts your confidence to finish all of them.

5. Don't be upset when there are things that you weren't able to do - If unforseen circumstances caused you not to finish your to-do list, then calm yourself (like what I do) because there's always tomorrow, or even later. Being upset will only bring you negative emotions which will deplete your motivation to finish the rest of your tasks.

I hope these tips help! What are other tips you can think of that helps you become organized?

Related articles

• Getting Organized...Like a Boss
• The Simplest Ways To Organize Your Life
• 7 Steps To Organize A Productive Week Easily
• How to organize your life: 11 simple steps
• Manage Your Life