Are you a get it done type of person? I am. I love nothing better than setting up a task and checking it off as done. But as a busy working dad, life can get pretty complicated, especially with the growing demands of home and work. True life balance is challenging, and there are many priorities vying for our attention. In the early years of juggling working from home and raising my son, life was frenetic. And, the more the more I took on, the less that was actually accomplished. It lead to a frustrating and exhausting experience.
Habits are an important part of managing work/life balance. Through my son, I learned that children are beings of routine, and thrive in the constant habitual routines that run their day. Essentially, once you lock down the daily habits that are needed to tend to their needs, then you will be a more confident and effective self-manager. To better get things done throughout the day, I utilized habit forming as a means of slowing down and focusing on the tasks that needed to get done. Habit forming is an essential tool I used to help me keep on track and build productivity in and out of the home.
In the early stages of a child’s life, their world is very robotic, as their naps, meals and playtime all happen at repetitive daily intervals. As they fall into habits so too does the parent. Habits are very useful; if you integrate a motivating habit in your daily routine, then it will assist you in overcoming other more challenging tasks in other areas of your life. At the core, if something is a habit, then you don’t have to think about doing it, you just do it.
I offer the following 3 techniques to get you started:
1) Accountability and Commitment
Make a decision on what you want to get done and commit to it. Then, to help motivate you to accomplish your task, spread the word and make yourself accountable. Start with telling friends and relatives about it, involve your spouse or personal community and share it. This way the more people who know about it the more you will be encouraged, motivated and dedicated to doing it. It is important to note that there is no sense of making a commitment if you are not 100% intentional about it. So decide, commit and stand by your decisions.
2) Create a Habit
So now that the decision is made, and you are ready to start, then decide exactly what the habit will be and when you will do it. Set a self plan or personal scheduler, to get the habit going and on a consistent schedule. To begin, keep it simple. Whip out a notebook and a pen and get to scheduling. In our every changing world of fancy tech tools and social media outlets, nothing beats some old school tools. Simple tools are cheap, reliable and force you to focus. Smartphones are good options as well but can be distracting as you’re constantly fighting the urge to check emails or the various notifications that pop up on screen.
The simplicity of a blank page forces the mind to focus on one concept at a time, in a linear format. Personally speaking I found using a notebook to journal all of my daily tasks quite helpful. My daily notebook was where I chronicled everything that made up my working/daddy day. From getting up, to making the bed, to brushing my teeth and to helping pick out the outfits for my son, all is written out in a nice list that I check off as done. Now life can get pretty busy fast, so choose tasks that are doable and easy. One habit that I use to start off on the right foot is making sure my bed is made every morning. Yes, yes I know, making your bed really? This is a simple task but when it is done, it allows me to mentally check it off, and motivates me to get the next task completed. I utilize smaller habits to motivate me to get the the bigger ones done. But once the habit is created, stick to it no matter what.
3) Life is made up of Small accomplishments
This is when being creative comes into play. In our daily life we accomplish so many small tasks but rarely acknowledge them. As I mentioned above, I utilize making my bed as a start to prepare me for the larger tasks ahead. I then proceed with other daily tasks, eating breakfast, laying out clothes, helping my son get ready for school, replying to emails; all done in a linear, rhythmic pattern, to move me forward. Too often we focus on the mistakes and failures of our lives. Little thought is given to the small successes and accomplishments throughout our daily routines. The reality is we usually achieve much more than we think in the course of our life. Personally speaking, I know these activities serve as tangible reminders to direct my mind to where I want it to be, which is to slow down, think things through and get things done.
Is habit forming something you are actively working on? What creative tools do you use? What tool connects who you are with the new habit you are creating?
Let me know,
Ed Munoz