Epi Files

My article 24 Daily Habits has been an amazing success, so I thought I would follow it up with another 12 Daily Habits that I try (I’m not perfect!) to do and that you may consider incorporating into your life.

1. Stretch: I was inspired to write 24 Daily Habits by my discovery of the benefits of exercising everyday. Every so often I can’t find time to exercise, but at the very least I stretch. Some benefits of this include: reduced muscle tension, increased flexibility, and increased energy levels (from the increased circulation of blood).

2. Write: I normally spend time each day writing articles for this blog. I find writing very therapeutic as it allows me to clarify my thoughts and feelings about a number of issues. If you don’t have a blog, try keeping a journal or writing a long email to a good friend each day.

3. Listen to Music I Love: its a simple pleasure we often take for granted. If ever I want to relax, get pumped, or simply just have fun its quite likely I will put on some music to accompany my mood. I rarely listen to the radio though - I want to choose the tunes!

4. Exercise My Brain: exercising your brain is as important (if not more!) than exercising your muscles. In the past year I taken to Sudoku and Kakuro as ways to stimulate my brain and have fun. Other suggestions are crosswords, quizzes, and brain teasers.

5. Sharpen My Memory: this could come under the above habit, but I think it is worthy of its own heading. I haven’t always been kind to my brain in the past, and I recently started to notice how this was affecting my memory. Each day now I try to sharpen my memory with simple techniques such as remembering names and telling stories (ie recalling events).

6. Drink Plenty of Water: drinking plenty of water each day is essential to good health. Among other things, water flushes toxins out of vital organs and carries nutrients to cells. I try to take a water bottle with me wherever I go.

7. Drink Green Tea: I love my cup of coffee first thing in the morning, but when it comes to the afternoon I find that coffee over-stimulates my brain and makes me edgy. Instead I drink green tea in the afternoon which still contains caffeine (important to help me make it until 5pm!), but does not give me the negative effects of an afternoon coffee. There are also many health benefits to green tea which you can read further about here.

8. Under Promise, Over Deliver: this is a great way to impress people. The last thing I want to do is make promises which I won’t be able to keep.

9. Smile: ….. and the world smiles with you. Well not always, but I find that a smile is a great way to break down barriers with people.

10. Celebrate My Successes: I find its so important to take time each and every day to celebrate my successes. This doesn’t have to involve opening a bottle of bubbly (or in my case cracking open a beer). A mental pat on the back will often do. If you need some ideas I recommend reading 75 Simple Pleasures to Brighten Your Day from ZenHabits.

11. Meditate: as part of my routine of winding down each day I try to spend 10 - 15 minutes meditating. Benefits of meditation I have noticed include relaxation, energy, and perspective on my life. This article from PicktheBrain has some good tips on getting started.

12. Have Fun: one of my life philosophies is that we should enjoy each day. I consider many of the habits I have listed in this article to be fun (eg sudoku, listening to music, and celebrating my successes). Importantly, though, I always try to have some spontaneous fun each day.

We first make our habits, and then our habits make us - John Dryden

I have previously written about how the habit of Exercising Every Day has helped me tremendously. Doing something every day is such a powerful way to form a habit that I thought I would make a list of 24 habits that are worth doing on a daily basis.

Note: I have divided these into morning, day and night although some could obviously be under different headings.The Morning

1. Wake Early: I am a big fan of waking at 5am and spending time working on myself before going to work. I have written more about this habit here.

2. Exercise: when I had the goal of exercising 4 times a week I found it was very easy to tell myself I will exercise tomorrow instead. Setting the expectation of daily exercise removed this as a potential excuse and I have since reaped the benefits of this daily habit.

3. Review or (even better) Rewrite Your Goals: each day I try to get closer to achieving my short, medium and long term goals. Starting the day by reviewing or rewriting my goals means that I have better awareness of them throughout the day. As Robin Sharma says:
With better awareness you can make better choices and when you make better choices, you will see better results.

4. Read and/ or Listen to Motivational Material: in the morning a whole day of endless possibilities lies ahead. I motivate myself to play my best game by reading and listening to inspirational books/ audiobooks.

5. Visualise the Day Ahead: I like to take a few minutes to shut my eyes and visualise what I want happen in the coming day. It’s amazing how often my desires become reality when I do this.

6. Write a “To Do” list: I like to write out a list in my diary of the important tasks I need to do that day. As they are completed I put a line through them. So simple, yet so effective.

7. Check the News Headlines: I think it’s important to have an idea of what is happening in our community and the world. Also if don’t at least check the main stories, I find it is easy to feel left out of conversations throughout the day.

8. Take a Multivitamin: I try to eat a well balanced diet, but taking a multivitamin daily reassures me that I obtaining the proper amount of vitamins and minerals that I need (**Update: see comments).

9. Tidy Up: a cluttered house can lead to a cluttered mind and fuzzy thinking. I find it’s best to stay on top of things by tidying up each day.

10. Take Time to Look Good: it’s a reality of life that people judge us by our appearance. I take a few minutes each morning to ensure I go out into the world looking the best I can.
The Day

11. Put First Things First: Many people have their day controlled by tasks that are urgent , but not necessarily important. Examples include interruptions, some email and some phone calls. The habit of putting first things first is about organising and executing your life around your deepest priorities.

12. Connect with Nature: I find spending time outdoors in nature is great for my sense of wellbeing. I have written about this here.

13. Blog: blogging makes me think and write - two things that I can’t get enough of each day. I have written more about the benefits of blogging here.

14. Snack Well: I substitute the chips, candy and chocolate with fruit, vegetables (carrots and celery are great to chomp on) and nuts.

15. Be Proactive: being proactive means showing initiative and taking the responsibility to make things happen. Whenever I want something to happen, I ask myself: what can I do to make this happen?

16. Ping a Friend: I try to send a quick email or text to a friend each day. It’s a great way to stay in touch with friends when I am extremely busy.

17. Save: I save at least 10% of each paycheck. A great way to find the money to save is to break it down to a
daily amount, for example $10-15. By taking account of the Latte Factor I find it easy to save this much.

The Evening

18. Have Family Time: on a typical workday I won’t see much of my partner and son, so I believe it’s important to, at the very least, be there most evenings. Family time is about quantity and quality.

19. Floss: This is essential to reduce tooth decay and gum disease. Why wouldn’t you want to have the best smile possible?

20. Wind Down: I try to switch off the computer and the TV about 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime and let my brain have some down time after a long day. I sleep far more peacefully when I do this.

21. Review My Day: I find this is a great way to hold myself to account for taking action throughout the day. Did I get closer to achieving my goals? Did I complete my to do list? Did my day go as planned? If not, why not?

22. Read: I love to read and do so continuously throughout the day. I find it is especially good to read just before to going to bed. Just makes sure it’s a relaxing book, and not one about nuclear physics (see habit #20).
23. Say I Love You to My Family Members: don’t just assume that your family members know you love them. I say these words to my partner and son at least once per day.

24. Go to Bed At A Reasonable Time: the first habit of this list (waking early) begins by going to bed at a reasonable time and getting a good nights sleep.