Habits

They say it takes 21 days to make something a habit that you'll keep (or at least, have a better chance of sticking to it).

21 days ago, I began what I call "Project Life Improvement." I felt like I was simultaneously stuck in a rut (other than our awesome vacation) and that life was just flying by without me being able to appreciate it. There were so many things about everyday life that I wished were different and I wanted to finally take control. But, as I've learned from my new years resolutions, doing too much too soon is a recipe for failure. One small step at a time and maybe I can make this work. June 1 would be the day that I begin to take back control of my own life.

So I started with 2 small things. (Well, really, 3, but I decided 2 was more manageable and I wanted to succeed.) First, I would drink at least 4 cups of water (or equivalent hydration) each day. This sounds so basic, but there were days where I would barely have 1 cup of water by the end of the day, and that is not healthy at all. Second, I would record our expenses in our budget book at the end of each night. Although I always intended to do this, sometimes weeks would go by and then I'd play catch up. Inevitably I would miss something.

How did I do? I'm happy to report that on the water front, I haven't missed a day. I've been vigilant about making it to 4 cups of hydration. Once I finish 4, I don't pay any attention to how much I have total. I just need to make it to 4 since it's not something you can "catch up" on. This seems to be working, so now that I've hit day 21, I hope I can keep it up for good.

On the expense book front, I did miss a day or 2 but I always made it up within a day, which is good enough for me. As long as the reporting is somewhat timely, that was what counted. On the days I didn't do it, I was always conscious about not having done it and needing to do it when I had the opportunity, and that's the mental shift I'm looking for. I'm hoping to keep this up for good also, at least at the same frequency I'm doing it now.

So now... 21 days in, I need to start thinking about 2 more actions to try to implement beginning tomorrow. 2 more small things that, in the aggregate, can go a long way toward improving our lives. There are so many options, since office and home are giant black holes of clutter, my health certainly needs improvement and there are so many tasks that need to be done on a daily basis, but what to choose?