Making It Easy: Building Habits/Routines

One thing, and I would argue the main thing, about building habits and routines is that you need to make it as easy as possible. 

It sounds like a simple concept but I think sometimes we get in our own way and make things harder than they need to be. When I say make it easy what I really mean is find even the smallest obstacles or friction points and do what you can to eliminate them.

I’ll give some real life examples so you can see what I mean and hopefully this can spark your mind to think of the small things that might have just enough resistance to stop you from making a habit or routine consistent.

Habit/Routine I’m trying to achieve: Stretching in the mornings.

How I execute/want to execute: Roll out my yoga mat at the foot of the bed 

Friction Point/Obstacle: The area at the foot of my bed is not clear

Make it easy: Make sure the area is clear before I go to sleep, or even set up my yoga mat the night before

I know that I like doing my stretches in that one particular spot, and in the morning I don’t have the energy or capacity to want to clear it out so if it’s messy then the likelihood of me getting my stretches done plummets. I need to make it as easy as possible to roll out of bed and get started on the stretches otherwise it’s easy to let them slip.

Habit/Routine I’m trying to achieve: Nighttime gua sha routine

How I execute/want to execute: Sit in front of my vanity and peacefully do the practice

Friction Point/Obstacle: I need to move my chair from my desk to my vanity

Make it easy: Get a stool for the vanity

Even just the act of moving my chair over part of the room often feels like enough effort that I end up skipping all together. Since buying a stool I have consistently maintained my gua sha routine because it’s so easy to just sit down for a few seconds and do it.

As you can see even the smallest obstacles can create friction when trying to build a routine or habit and should be addressed. I know I used to think the obstacles were too minor but addressing those minor things has had the biggest impact.

I hope this inspires you to look at your practices and search for the friction points that prevent you from doing what you want. I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to leave a comment! See you next month!