My favourite habits and the habits I want to quit

I recently listened to Atomic Habits a book by James Clear and he suggested doing an audit of your habits. I thought it might be interesting to bring you along on my audit. Maybe you could do a similar thing. It is a great way to get things clear in your head, to motivate yourself and to “be present” rather than just doing things without thinking about them.

Good habits

I do an exercise class (crossfit – which includes a strength program and some conditioning) about 5 to 6 times a week.

The food I eat is mainly healthy. I try for protein with every meal and snack, fresh foods rather then processed and lots of fibre (including vegetables).

I spend a lot of time outside.

I walk a lot (well over 10,000 steps each day).

I read books and listen to audio books to relax.

I only drink about once a week – when I am out or at the end of the week. Usually I have one drink.

Bad habits

Even though I eat healthy foods I eat too much (as in portion control can be a problem).

I have a melatonin before bed to make me sleep better way too much. This is only supposed to be a short term solution.

I have too many sweet treats. I would like to limit these a bit more.

I find it hard to relax – I constantly feel like I need to be doing something productive.

I don’t stretch enough or do anything like massage to help my body recover better.

I “snack” too much when I am bored or happen to be in the kitchen. I am not hungry.

I look at my phone too much.

Making small changes

Once you have identified your good and bad habits think about how you might tackle each of the bad habits. You might also want to take steps in future to solidify the good habits. Choose one habit at a time and nail it.

For example my bad habit of edating sweet treats. I could decide how many sweet treats are allowed and gradually reduce the number. So I could start by saying I can have 2 treats a day. After a couple of weeks on 2 treats I could cut it down to 1 treat on weekdays and 2 on weekends.

For portion control I could target breakfast first. I could measure my oats into a measuring cup and not have any more.

For looking at my phone I could take social media apps off my phone.

The important thing is not to take on too much at one time. Treat this as one habit at a time. Do not progress to tackle more habits until you have succeeded. If you do not succeed you might need a different strategy.

How does this process seem to you? Yes – it is slow. But if you tackle one habit every few months and succeed – you will be doing well and the changes will be sustainable.