Introduction

After reading “The Inner Game of Tennis” and “Atomic Habits” for the first time, I started trusting myself more than ever before. The results came with it too, as I was able to perform well and improve in anything I put my mind to at a rate I had never experienced before. Then, life hit and slowly but surely to mask my true feelings, I started falling back into old habits. These old habits mainly involve self-disparaging comments which at first, were just jokes! I knew who I was better than anyone else, so me saying this things like how I used to should be fine, right? Right?

As it turns out, no. I had proven before that before I was making such jokes as a form of deflection and trying to save myself from bullying. I made the jokes out of my own insecurity because deep inside it’s how I really felt, and it manifested into how I saw myself. From there, my habits got worse, looser, flakier, and now they barely exist. But what better time than now to get back into it!?

This post is mainly for myself and to leave a marker of where I started, and I’ll probably report back again by the end of the year. I want to set 3 habits that I will do consistently every day until the end of the year.

Habits!

1. Read 2 hours a day

Goal

This is a bit one since I have fallen really behind my reading goal for the end of the year, and I don’t want to change it. I want to read 50 novels by the end of the year, short or long. It’s a very attainable goal and I know I can reach it. I just haven’t been reading as much as I used to.

How I’ll get there

I recently got myself an Amazon Fire stick for my TV in my bedroom. I got back into the bad habit of going on YouTube for long periods of time (YouTube addiction is real) and it’s been causing me to spend more time that I’d like to admit either on the couch, on the toilet, and on my phone in general. This is to separate my association with YouTube and my phone so I can have a healthier relationship with it.

I have a rocking chair in my bedroom that I haven’t been using, and I think it’s time I take that bad-boy for a spin >:) (I literally bought it so I could read and I’ve only read a total of like 30 minutes on it LMFAO)

2. 5 minute run every morning

Goal

My walking cardio is honestly peak. I love walking and although I haven’t been doing it as much due to health reasons, walking is one of my favourite pastimes. However, I’ve been wanting to get into running for some years now, but never found myself to do it. Until the end of the year for every morning, I am going to go on at least a 5 minute run around my area.

How I’ll get there.

I normally wake up early but don’t do anything demanding to get my heart racing. Since I won’t be doom-scrolling on YouTube every morning anymore, this leaves me a LOT more time in the morning to exist and be a normal functioning human being. I’ll just take my tired ass outside with music, run around for a bit, and then go back inside to shower. Awesome!

3. Device usage schedule

Goal

Now this is a big one that I have been breaking for some time now. I used to have some semblance of self-control/boundary-setting for when I go to sleep, but overtime that’s slowly dissolved. I still wake up pretty early every single morning, but my sleep has been suffering due to my bad habits and relationship with my phone. My eyes and brain need a break, so after 9:30 (21:30) I will get off my devices.

I also have trouble in the morning with using my phone. My boundary with it used to be better, but lately I’ve found myself checking my messages and socials more frequently. I’ve been trying to find “the video to listen to” while in the shower (even though I can never really hear what they’re saying anyways) and it’s been costing me a LOT of time that could be use actually showering and whatnot. My goal with my phone usage is to only touch it after I’ve done what I want to do in the morning. It’s addictive and distracting, and it’s better to distance myself to sever the toxic relationship I have with it to improve my quality-of-life!

How I’ll get there

I will let people in my life know to keep my accountable for this. I will also set timers and whatnot in order to ensure I stay on top of this. The reason why it specifies mobile devices is because sometimes I watch a YouTube video before bed with my Dad. I have a pretty good relationship with that so I don’t find it to be something I’d want to exploit or anything. I also don’t really watch TV in my room anyways, and the problem stems with my relationship with my mobile devices. After 9:30, it’s e-reader only to go to sleep to and that’s it.

When I go to bed, I will keep my phone in a drawer so it’s out of sight, and I’ll ignore it. If I have a system, I am pretty good at following it. I just haven’t had a system in place for a while so I’ve been trying to rely on “raw willpower” which is never a good idea.

Conclusion

I have outlined 3 habits I want to set and follow every day for the rest of the year. This will all be starting tomorrow, and will hopefully build towards me having a better tomorrow. Thanks for reading :3