Progress is a core part of fulfilment. The only way to make meaningful progress is through consistency. Never miss twice.
First thing’s first. Know (roughly) what you want. Do you want to learn a language? Do you want to read more books? You don’t need SMART goals, but you at least need a direction. You can always adjust course or get more detailed later. The most important thing is starting.
Once you know your direction, the first phase toward meaningful progress is getting into a good routine. The second is protecting that routine.
Phase 1 – getting into a routine
Start with the smallest thing you can and will do toward your new aim. It’s important to build momentum. If you want to learn a language, start with something fun and basic. Examples include Duolingo, a phrase book or a simple video. Get a feel for it. If you want to read more, go to a library, online library or a bookshop. Get hold of a book that looks short, easy or interesting.
Use a visual cue, such as putting the book on top of your phone/shoes/keys/wallet. Alternatively, set a reminder to practice on your phone to keep it at the front of your mind.
Set a time each day when you’ll be free of distractions to do that new habit. I often find the early morning best because most people are still in bed, but do what works for you.
During the ascribed time, you do only that thing. Start with committing to a small amount of time–for example, 2-5 minutes. Allow yourself to be free to stick to it or go over the time. However, don’t set a longer time until the routine is established.
Once the routine is established, you can drill into more detail such as:
- Am I learning this language for a holiday or to live in that country?
- What level do I want to achieve and by when?
- How much time do I want to study per day?
- How do I want to study? (Books, classes, apps, language partner etc.)
Or
- Why do I want to read more books?
- What kinds of books do I want to read?
- How many pages/chapters do I want to read each day?
- How many books do I want to read by when?
- How much time do I want to read per day?
The key is to not kill the joy of doing it. Keep it simple and something you want to do. You might not feel it every day, but it keeps it easy to maintain.
Phase 2 – protecting the routine
Now you’ve set up your routine, it’s important to protect it. It’s much easier to maintain a routine than to restart one. Things that upset the routine include lifestyle changes, being unwell, holidays or other unexpected events.
It’s important to build flexibility into your routine. Perhaps you can’t/don’t do the habit at the usual scheduled time. Is there a secondary time you could slip it in, even for 2-5 minutes? If this is to be for more than one day, how can you ensure you remember to do it? (Calendar? Visual cue?)
The biggest thing that will stop your progress is you (procrastination). So, when the set time comes to do your habit, the only thing to do is to get started immediately. As long as you hesitate or distract yourself, there’s a good chance you won’t follow through. JFDI.
By setting it as a routine, you reduce the cognitive load. You don’t need to think about what you need to do. You do the same thing at the same time, in the same place every day. You don’t need to fumble around finding things to set up. You just do.
If you do miss a day, forgive yourself, don’t try to catch up, but never miss twice. Once you miss multiple days it can be very easy to let everything slide. This is not the approach. Just get back up and start afresh.
Building a visual winning streak (e.g. Xs on a calendar) helps some people see their progress and not want to break it. See what works for you though as seeing broken streaks can also be demotivating for some people.
Be very careful what you say yes to—what you add to the routine. Remember your original aim. Will adding an extra thing to the routine help that aim? Only add in things that well help your original aim. Will adding something make the routine less enjoyable? If so, you’ll be more likely to miss days.
Equally, don’t allow the routine to become stale like you’re going through the motions. To avoid this, keep notes of ideas you have as you follow your routine. These ideas can lead to further action or expansion. This usually comes in time.
For example, reading one book often leads me to read about other topics or read other books. I then explore these as I work through my ‘playlist’ of future reading.
It’s good to (gradually) build a pipeline of possible avenues to go down as you progress through your habit. But always remember the reason you’re doing the habit and regularly reassess whether you’re enjoying it. If you’re not enjoying it, try removing some pressure. What would it look like if it were fun/easy?
The last point is about tracking. Once your routine is established, it can be quite motivating to keep a record of how you’re doing. It also tells you if you’re moving closer to your aim or not. One simple way to do this is to have a short, daily checklist of your expectations for the day. (Did I…?) If you journal, you could add it to your journal. But remember, keep it fun!
By establishing a new routine, you can make meaningful compounding progress without huge effort. By making consistent progress in something meaningful, your confidence and self-esteem will grow and you’ll feel much happier.
What new routine or habit would you like to start?
Why not start today?
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