Strong generalization – we know there are good habits we lack, but we need to pay attention to the good habits and incorporate them into our daily routines. But we simply forget and stop making the right decision. There are also various key things that we want to get rid of because we know that they greatly negatively affect our lives, that is why the importance of checklists is extremely valuable for every person because it is checklists that reliably provide opportunities for learning new, useful habits and elimination of harmful ones.
What are habits?
Habits are actions that we do without thinking. They are controlled only by our subconscious. In short, we don’t know how to learn a new habit or whether we should do it. Usually, a standard habit is a morning class. When you get up, you open the window and brush your teeth. Starting the day by drinking water with lemon can also become your regular habit, it should be included in your checklist. A similar habit, but it is more related to work, is to check Facebook when you need to start actively working. We do not analyze this behavior. When someone asks me why people do this, they usually can’t give a concrete answer. The process of carefully forming habits is the natural order of things. The human mind is constantly analyzing a lot of information, so managing habits with an online to do list maker can take a lot of work and attention on your part. With the help of a checklist, you can find simplifications to leave some tasks for later (they are not too important), forget bad habits altogether, replacing them with useful things. It is possible to form all this with the help of a created checklist, which is thought out, clear, and logically consistent.
Bad and good habits
When you think about yourself and your actions, you are much more likely to identify undesirable behaviors in your daily life than behaviors that are worth continuing. It is easier to sit in front of the computer than to go to the gym. The feeling of well-being after these two activities is very different, but after physical exertion, you feel happy, but after spending time on the Internet, you just feel like you wasted the day. You don’t need to change anything, you can sit down and continue to spend all your free time on the Internet. The simple process of getting ready and going to the gym will get you going, and to make it a reality, you should add to your checklist, “Every Monday and Wednesday, I go to the gym and exercise for one hour.” Of course, you can take the easy way out and stay true to your bad habits for the rest of your life. Fortunately, this is not necessary, you should know that you will have to make a lot of effort if you want to replace bad habits with good ones, ones that will bring you benefit and success in your everyday life.
What healthy habits should you adopt?
This is a purely personal matter. Everyone has different needs and should work on themselves precisely in those areas in which they see themselves in the future. Watch what you do every day, and make a personal, correct decision. Think about what you spend your time on and what hobby would be healthy and useful for you. Here are eight habits that will inspire you. But, of course, you don’t need all of them
Habit 1. Quick cleaning at night.
In the evening before going to bed, inspect your house and remove all unnecessary things from your space. It’s the same at work – before starting the work process, you should carefully clean your desktop, this will encourage you to work productively.
Habit 2. Put everything in its place.
Of course, we start the day by looking for the things we need. They should be in their places, your workspace is cleaned.
Habit 3. Reading a few pages of an interesting book before going to bed.
You can go to Instagram before going to bed. But it is better to read at least 3-4 pages of an exciting book. Thus, you can not only find an interesting book for yourself but also get acquainted with the work of many famous modern writers.
Habit 4. Make the bed.
It is a useful habit to effectively separate day and night. In addition, a made bed is a visually tidy room. The key to having a made bed is that you no longer risk going back to sleep instead of getting up and going to work.
Habit 5. Start the day with a glass of water.
In the morning, the body is dehydrated and needs a glass of water (it is preferable to drink warm water, it is more useful for the body). Everyone is talking about it everywhere, so there is no point in thinking about it.
Habit 6. Morning exercise.
You should remember the importance of morning exercise and its benefits for your body, spine, and other parts of the body. A quick stretch will make you feel more confident and ready for a new day. Plus, it’s also an effective way to wake up, since your body may have already rolled out of bed, but you haven’t lifted your head.
Habit 7. Plan your day, your affairs, and your meetings.
When you’re not used to making a daily to-do list, it’s worth practicing and putting these things on a checklist, because it greatly improves concentration. You don’t forget anything and can focus 100% on the current work.
Habit 8. Active work without unnecessary distractions (social networks, YouTube, Tik Tok).
Finding motivation and inspiration can be a trap. Instead of getting down to active work, we wander the Internet in search of something that motivates us. Are you constantly looking for new ideas for yourself? There is no point in rushing, but the most common pleasure in the world comes from simply facing what needs to be done, the quality of the task should bring real emotions from the work done. What habits should be worked on? Here are some habits you should try to implement:
Get up and go to bed regularly. The latter is especially difficult nowadays, but you need to try and make it your permanent habit.
A few hours before bedtime, turn off the computer and do not put off important tasks indefinitely. How should you develop good habits? A habit can be considered fully acquired only when it is spontaneous and does not require memorization. Therefore, there is no point in trying too hard.
How can you effectively change your habits?
Sometimes, there comes a turning point when we try to free ourselves from certain symbolic shifts from the old to the new, habits and behaviors that annoy us or are simply harmful to us and the people around us. Any behavior can be changed thanks to our brain’s ability to rewire itself and create new neural connections. It is important to do everything correctly. When your plans include quitting smoking, stopping drinking alcohol or using drugs, eating better, exercising, taking care of your relationships, improving some aspect of your life, or starting a business, all of these things should be listed as separate items on the checklist.
What could be the reason that this did not happen earlier? What is causing this now?
We form habits over the years. Often it is perfectly learned, trained behavior that serves us effectively for a long time. We may not always succeed, but each attempt brings us one step closer to success. If you’ve tried this before and failed, you may be missing some key components of successful change. Habits perform different functions. It helps you build relationships, plan your day, beat boredom, fill emotional gaps, and protect yourself from problems you don’t want to face. Forming a healthy habit, written down in a thoughtful checklist, is the moment of habituation, when an event, feeling, person, or thing causes a need to satisfy an action, usually because we want to change it. Bad habits are always bad. To break a habit effectively, it is recommended to practice it continuously until a new habit (behavior) replaces it and becomes the natural first choice, regardless of the situation. Like old habits, new behaviors should lead to rewards. To achieve this state, we must know why we choose this behavior over others. When it comes to neuroscience, we need to create new neural connections. Remember, old things do not disappear anywhere. They are simply replaced by new, useful habits.
Motivation to change habits
Losing a bad habit is considered a loss of something personal because it fulfills our needs to some extent, so the feeling of loss is natural, but it does not mean that this feeling will get worse. After changing toxic behaviors, you may experience depression, sadness, and anger for a while. Note that the process looks like this. In this situation, nothing needs to be changed. Of course, with the right reinforcement and the right work, changing a bad habit into a good one will be quick and easy for you. Checklists provide motivation, which is very important. It comes directly from us. Checklists provide an opportunity to change your habits, strengthen good habits, and sometimes even create alternatives. Imagine a day without unwanted habits. Try to stay in this vision for a while. It is worth mentioning the key benefits you will get from the new behavior, what your behavior and lifestyle will look like after some time, their main appeal, and the factors that led to the change. A constant factor in the fight against habits, including destructive ones, is the balance between benefit and loss. Focusing only on behavior change may not have the desired long-term effect. You have to think of it as a process and define all the characteristics of the process, its beginning and its end. Another good news is that we all have the means to change our habits and learn new ones with a thoughtful checklist to help you achieve your new goals. The process of working with the checklist is focused on developing and teaching new desired behavior.
