I have a couple of habits that I want to build - sleeping 8 hours a night, reading every day - and yet some days I find it so hard to maintain the willpower to get anything done!
In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg touches upon the idea of a keystone habit as a habit that, once you complete, can start a chain reaction with your other habits.
For me, if I go to bed earlier (and as a result naturally get up earlier) I find it takes a lot less willpower to tick off all my habits for the day. With the added bonus of feeling productive and happy as I head into work!
Do you have a keystone habit? I'm interested to know!
Top comments (7)
I use Insight Timer and make certain to meditate every single day.. I've been doing this for 590 days as of this morning and it's had a very big and meaningful impact on my life. I started with 5-10min first thing in the morning and have found 15-20min to be ideal lately.
Wow, impressive! Do you have a coffee beforehand or do you wake up naturally without an alarm clock? I'd be a bit too asleep first thing in the morning for that.
Many people do it in the evening..I'm naturally a morning person but it does take some getting used to; the fewer stimulants I have the easier it would be to quiet my mind. I wake to an alarm at 4:30, use the bathroom and then sit for 15-20min before making coffee. Often times it'll take 5-10min to settle my thoughts and slip into a comfortable state of mind.. it's really refreshing. The benefits are countless personally and professionally.. I'm way more patient, focused, forgiving, etc.. I don't get rattled easily, and it's more likely that I can recognize myself heading toward a bad train of thought before I get too far into it.
Insight Timer is free..you should give it a shot.
I think you've inspired me to give it a go, I'll try out Insight Timer, thanks!
Well, I'm actually doing the same thing, get sleep earlier -> get up earlier -> mind more clear to complete everyday tasks.
When I found your post, I remembered the everyday task wich I didn't do yesterday... that's how I build habits xD
Yeah I'm not 100% on following this habit, there's definitely days where I stay up a bit too late..
Sounds fancy! Making a cup of coffee is the first thing I do when I get out of bed too.