I’ve always been a person who reacts to life and takes the safest, easiest route possible. Let me elaborate, I’ve worked hardest on things I was good at or enjoyed, all the other things fell off my list of considerations. Turns out this is an unsatisfactory method of living and I’ve been trying to be less complacent.
This year I am working to change one small habit each month. I have big goals that I’m still breaking down, but really, I just want to end the year feeling like I’ve grown towards these bigger goals, and took care of my health and heart.
They say the best way to make lasting change in your life is by improving small habits. Make the change so subtle that you almost can’t say not to it; like drinking water first thing in the morning, or eating a favourite vegetable each day. So I’m two months into my year of changing #onesmallhabit and here is an update. I’m hoping you will start March 1st and join in with us!
January \\ read books at night instead of social media \\
January came and went and I never gave much of an update on how this small habit change went.I chose this habit to help me with my goal of reading a book a month. At first, it was difficult because I really love being alone at the end of the night and catching up on social media. I have a lot of online friends I care to follow and it seems like I don’t catch little breaks in the day to peruse their Instagram. But I stuck with it and found myself reducing my social media time at the end of the night, but not getting rid of it all together.
The other hurdle I had was… I was falling asleep so quick when I read non-fiction. I love non-fiction, it puts structure around all the wild dreams sloshing around in my brain. Then I read Sarah mention that she sticks with fiction at night, so I started doing that. I re-read the Birth House. Reading books to completion had been a thing of the past for me, so this was worth celebrating! I started reading All the Light We Cannot See, but haven’t been able to stick with it. Now I can’t put down Some Girls – I just wish I had it on kindle too to read it in bed. I’d love to hear your book recommendations, feel free to send them to me!
When I look back and realize how much I’ve read in the past couple months with this one little change, it really opens my eyes to the power of doing one little purposeful thing in your daily routine. Even if you are a person who thrives on binging productivity.
One small habit, month one: NAILED IT!
February \\ yoga every morning \\
I have this goal of ‘fitness’ which I know is about as vague as the location of my floor mop. My vagueness allows me to alter this goal into anything I wish, like the fitness slacker I am. Yet, I am a slacker who enjoys yoga….but first thing in the morning?
If my month two habit-changing performance was being rated by a panel of judges, there would be nobody holding up a card with a 10.0 on it. Perhaps the cards would be a doodle of a hot buttered toast, a paper airplane and a 1.4 – for pity sakes.
Mornings are a sacred time for me. I wish I meant that in a beautiful, cozy, healthy way. No, they are more sacred like the fear an unarmed person has while walking past a bear den when the frost has gone. To think I would put daily rituals into place that would make mornings any more involved than me coming into the living room, turning down the lights and cocooning myself in blankets on the couch…well, I think my whole family is relieved I’ve stopped even attempting to bring out the yoga mat before my face muscles could move into a smile shape.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a handful of mornings I did some sun salutations. Mostly I uttered to ‘Habit Planning Shawna’ things like, ‘you don’t know me at all!’ I may not have stretched in the morning, but I realized I already have the habit of a little yoga session most nights. That habit is in rotation and I was naive to think I could add any intentional physical exertion to mornings before I even master mornings.
So….one small habit fail has already happened by month two. Something about turning failures into lessons, blah, blah, blah.
March \\ morning bullet journal time \\
I recently started using a paper planner, in place of my pile of random notebooks. It is this rad system I realized I was already doing a little chaotically. It’s called the bullet journal and I’m in love with it! (post is pending, you can be sure).
However, I am quick to acknowledge that this may be a great method of organizing, tracking, brainstorming, but a system is only good and useful when it is USED.
So March, I’m gonna spend that sacred morning time where I huddle close to the kitchen counter waiting for the toast to pop and lemon water to work and I will use my bullet journal. Not like a to-do list (because that really just becomes a list of ‘things that I could do, but maybe I’ll just write down what I do get done instead, then cross it out for the sense of accomplishment‘. I know you feel me there.) I will do some brain dumping, pick some priorities for the day, reflect back on my focus to make sure I’m working towards the bigger picture. Simply just track things to see what is working in my life and what isn’t.
I’m hoping it will also help me with all the work I’m doing online, offline and at home – as it is a place to regroup and prioritize what I can get done in any given day (leaving ample schedule time for waffles and netflix, obvi).
So…….
What are some of your goals this year? Go ahead, make some, don’t let another month go by without asking yourself what you want out of it! What are small little changes could you make to help you move towards them? We don’t all have to be up and downward dogging like our body is even bendy before 10am – but let’s think of the little daily habits that build up over time.
Join me on Instagram with #onesmallhabit and let me know what you are up to for the month of March!
Love Shawna, Your Nerdy Girlfriend who is learning to adult, one small habit at a time
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