Your Habits Make Your Routine
Copyright 2018, LURN, Inc.
Page 1
As Shane just explained, your daily activities contain thousands of habits, most of which you do without even thinking about doing them. As an example, think about your commute to work. Most of us drive/bus/bike/walk to our job without even thinking about all the things going on under our control and outside of it. How many times have you driven to work only to realize you have no idea how you got there? You don’t remember if you coasted through every green light or you hit every red light. You don’t remember what the morning hosts on the radio were chatting about or even what you talked about with your kids. You just...drove. It’s like magic, only it’s not. Your routine consists of habits, many of which you do unconsciously. Though we manage to get through our days with a little more conscious thought than when we drive (we hope!), it’s not by much. It’s this unfocused energy that we need to harness. As you might have guessed, this change won’t happen quickly or with a big, thunderous ‘aha!’ moment, either. In order for you to live out your perfect day you’ll need to slowly add new habits into your daily routine. However, since we can’t add more time to our day, you’ll need to replace some of your current habits with new ones. These new habits will propel you towards your goals. Based on your perfect day, let's say you want to add reading, meditating, exercising and piano practice into your daily routine. Currently, you somehow manage to get to them a few times a week but you really want to fit them in more frequently. In addition, you’ve decided each of these activities should be done for 15 minutes leaving you feeling fulfilled at the end of every day. Looking at how you’re currently living leaves you with a few options. Maybe you’re sleeping eight hours a night but you could live your life productively with seven. This leaves you with an extra hour to fit these new activities into your day. Maybe you still need a full eight hours, what then? Are you watching a few too many hours of TV at night? Is there another activity you’re doing that you could do without (or at least limit)? Replace one of those with your new endeavors. You could even combine the two solutions by taking an hour off your sleep and TV watching. When you schedule them doesn’t matter as much as fitting them in. But, maybe adding four new habits (at 15 minutes each) is a little too dramatic. Enter tiny habits.
Copyright 2018, LURN, Inc.
Page 2
Page 1
As Shane just explained, your daily activities contain thousands of habits, most of which you do without even thinking about doing them. As an example, think about your commute to work. Most of us drive/bus/bike/walk to our job without even thinking about all the things going on under our control and outside of it. How many times have you driven to work only to realize you have no idea how you got there? You don’t remember if you coasted through every green light or you hit every red light. You don’t remember what the morning hosts on the radio were chatting about or even what you talked about with your kids. You just...drove. It’s like magic, only it’s not. Your routine consists of habits, many of which you do unconsciously. Though we manage to get through our days with a little more conscious thought than when we drive (we hope!), it’s not by much. It’s this unfocused energy that we need to harness. As you might have guessed, this change won’t happen quickly or with a big, thunderous ‘aha!’ moment, either. In order for you to live out your perfect day you’ll need to slowly add new habits into your daily routine. However, since we can’t add more time to our day, you’ll need to replace some of your current habits with new ones. These new habits will propel you towards your goals. Based on your perfect day, let's say you want to add reading, meditating, exercising and piano practice into your daily routine. Currently, you somehow manage to get to them a few times a week but you really want to fit them in more frequently. In addition, you’ve decided each of these activities should be done for 15 minutes leaving you feeling fulfilled at the end of every day. Looking at how you’re currently living leaves you with a few options. Maybe you’re sleeping eight hours a night but you could live your life productively with seven. This leaves you with an extra hour to fit these new activities into your day. Maybe you still need a full eight hours, what then? Are you watching a few too many hours of TV at night? Is there another activity you’re doing that you could do without (or at least limit)? Replace one of those with your new endeavors. You could even combine the two solutions by taking an hour off your sleep and TV watching. When you schedule them doesn’t matter as much as fitting them in. But, maybe adding four new habits (at 15 minutes each) is a little too dramatic. Enter tiny habits.
Copyright 2018, LURN, Inc.
Page 2
