We are now in the middle of January, and you’ve possibly decided on your New Year's plans or goals, and are hopefully ready to launch yourself into the year. We all know how it goes, you’re determined to keep the pace but by the end of February, you can hardly recall what it is you had purposed to do - at least for the majority.
You don’t have it until you habit
The success of your plans will be heavily determined by your habits. Your habits need to be inclined in support of your plans, otherwise, you plan in vain. So let’s look at some habits that you can start practicing daily in order to achieve whatever you desire in the year, and possibly habits you can get rid of that will help you in the journey.
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Write it down
In this digital era, most of us don’t like writing and prefer to rely on technology. Nothing replaces the good old habit of handwriting; Writing things down has been found to be the key to effectiveness. It helps you free up your mind, by thinking on paper, to better organize your thoughts. If you don't write things down, your mind spends more time “paper shuffling” and this creates its own anxiety. Writing things down is a powerful habit. Buy a notebook and write down your goals
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Visualize the end goal
Unless you have a mental picture of where you are going or what you want to achieve, you might end up anywhere (else). It is important to know exactly what you want to achieve - if it is to fit into a size 12 outfit, then picture that, if it’s to get a promotion, picture exactly the kind of promotion you want and to what position. If it’s to become healthier, picture yourself having achieved that and keep that image. To make it more tangible, you might want to incorporate a vision board - this is a picture or image of that which you want to achieve. Keep it in your notebook or in your phone and refer to it every now and then, to keep you on track.
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Remove time wasters - one at a time
We all have one major complaint; there’s not enough time to accomplish everything we want. We all have 24hrs in a day - both the successful people and the failures. When you look at the way successful people spend their time, you’ll notice that they don’t waste a lot of time watching memes and Netflix (okay, maybe just a little). We also waste a lot of time doing unnecessary things like catching up with our many friend groups in the different apps on social media. And most of these catch-ups are memes and jokes that add no value.
Another time waster is the office gossip, catching up with your favorite tv shows, procrastinating, and spending an unnecessarily long time doing minimal-impact work. Look critically at your daily schedule and see how much time you can save. You don’t need to remove all of them at once, start with one or two things and build up.
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Replace time wasters
In order to effectively get rid of these time wasters, you’ll need to replace them with habits you aspire to acquire. TV time can be replaced with reading a few pages of a book or journaling. The social media catch-up can be replaced by learning a new skill, the office gossip can be replaced by a positive habit like learning something new or taking a walk around the block while you make that most needed phone call that you keep postponing. You might also need to decide which work is of low impact and deprioritize it or delegate it.
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Stop Procrastination
Procrastination is the thief of time and the killer of dreams. So why do we procrastinate? When you have an idea to do something, start on it today, not tomorrow, for tomorrow might never come. If you are a victim of procrastination, several books have been written on how to overcome this habit. Visit your local bookstore or amazon and get a book to help you stop procrastinating. Do you have a new idea you’d like to try? Start today.
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Start with one step
Even the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. When your goals are too big and scary, you don’t need to worry about the how, you only need to worry about what first step you need to do toward that direction. Is it by changing your thought patterns? Do you want to act like the person you want to be? Start today, not after you’ve already attained it. Do you want to write a book? Start by journaling a few lines a day.
Miles Munroe used to say that if you want to become like someone you admire and want to be like them, start imitating them from the simple things like their walking style, and start reading the books that they read. At times that is the one step you need to start on.
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Keep accountable
Even the best of us can talk ourselves out of a good idea through negative self-talk, procrastination, or negative speech from others close to us. I recall last year, I shared with a few close friends about my new schedule for self-improvement, and at one point when I was slackening, one of them asked me “I thought you nowadays do this during lunchtime”. This slapped me back into my schedule and has helped me maintain the momentum.
Find a way that will keep you accountable - either by mentioning it to a friend, or getting a mentor or a coach if you’re able to invest in one.
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Create a schedule
Turning any good thought into a habit is easier when there’s a set time of day or week when the action is done. Do you want to read your book just when the news headlines are over? That’ll be your queue to start reading, schedule a time of day or week for each activity you want to do, and keep to that schedule continuously for a period. They say a habit takes an average of 60 to 90 days to form.
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Keep Going
Another killer of our dreams is when we give up too early. Nothing comes without persistence, and that persistence perseveres beyond our feelings. Every now and then you’ll question why you’re doing this in the first place, especially when you seem not to be seeing the results after a short while. The difference between those who make it and those who don’t is persistence. Keep going even when you don’t feel like it. After establishing a routine, don’t allow yourself to be swayed by momentary feelings that come and go according to seasons, remain steadfast and you shall surely make progress.
I am determined to succeed this year and I plan to follow the process. I hope you will too!
