Why (Good) Habits Matter

Adii Pienaar -

I'm an avid runner, but in the last 2 months I've been struggling to run consistently.

It started out with a minor injury that I had to rest, but I then took longer to recover from it. As I thought I was ready to run again, I picked up a cold which kept me out for another week. And in-between all of this, I was travelling for about 3 weeks (doing 20+ hour transits up & down to Europe twice).

I'm not telling you that to illicit any kind of sympathy, but this explains exactly why I'm struggling to get back into any kind of routine where I'm habitually running at least every second day.

The thing about habits are that once they're broken, it's difficult to regain them. This mostly applies to good and bad habits. It's also very similar to breaking someone's trust; once you break it, those wounds takes time to heal.

At the moment, I'm wounded.

What I've found recently is that good habits are an integral part of my daily life. Having good habits that works within a certain routine, allows me to balance work & life in a way that makes sense (and keeps me sane).

I've found that even the smallest of habits of helped me get more done and feel better:

  • Wake up before 7am.
  • Eating a good breakfast every morning.
  • Not doing any work after 8pm.
  • Running at least every second day.
  • Putting my iPhone away in a different room when at home.

These habits have become such a part of my daily life, that I actually feel kinda lost without them. I always thought that being infinitely flexible is what I wanted until I had really good habits that I stuck to consistently.

This is why habits matter to me:

  • It focuses my mind to work to the best of my ability.
  • It helps me prioritize the things that are really important (and / or urgent).
  • I can get better at the habits / routines / processes, because I'm doing it consistently.
  • Having many good habits, means I have less time for bad habits. :)

What are your good habits? What do you do on a daily basis to help you cope with the various challenges that get flung your way?