The Small Things
As I skimmed through Intelligent Change’s last weekly email of 2020, I stopped to read their 5 Questions to Ask Yourself at the End of the Year in their Success Corner:
1. Top 5 happiest moments of the past year?
2. What small things have you enjoyed doing the most during your day-to-day life?
3. How have you moved closer to a major life goal?
4. Who has helped or supported you and how?
5. What is the main lesson of the previous year?
I love these questions. There is something about taking a moment to reflect. It helps you focus on the important things and look beyond ourselves.
The second question particularly drew me in -- the one about the small things that I enjoy doing every day.
In moving from working for someone else to working for myself this past year, I needed some structure to my day. Without structure, I can easily fall into traps of extended binge watching Netflix, playing Candy Crush and eating junk food.
I was inspired after reading Atomic Habits by James Clear earlier in the year to start tracking my daily habits. That made me really pay attention to what I actually did every day. I started a list.
I then reviewed each habit to determine whether this was a healthy habit, the kind that makes a difference over time. I love Clear’s description of the power of a habit:
“Habits are like the atoms of our lives. Each one is a fundamental unit that contributes to your overall improvement. At first, these tiny routines seem insignificant, but soon they build on each other and fuel bigger wins that multiply to a degree that far outweighs the cost of their initial investment. They are both small and mighty. This is the meaning of the phrase atomic habits -- a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do, but also the source of incredible power; a component of the system of compound growth.”
From Chapter 1: The Surprising Power of Atomic Habits.
I pushed myself to weed out the unhealthy habits and replace them with new healthy habits.
The following are what I now strive for every day:
Gratitude: I use The Five Minute Journal app from Intelligent Change to write out and track three things I am grateful for every morning.
Physical activity: I made a big change 28 weeks ago and put some cardio back into my life through cycling both indoors and outdoors, yoga and stretching exercises. I even got a cycling coach and enjoy being pushed every once in a while. I have also learned the importance of recovery days.
Connecting with others: I made a discovery late in the year through a coaching conversation that it is through connecting with others that I find inspiration. I think I always knew this innately, but the lockdown heightened my awareness of this need.
Creativity: I need to be creative every day, whether this is through writing, my photography or writing or playing music.
Learning: I have been pushing myself to engage in learning activities every day. My latest is learning French with Duolingo. I also enjoy the Masterclass online series, with my favourites being those taught by Annie Leibovitz, Bob Iger, Malcolm Gladwell and Chris Voss. I will check out Daniel Pink’s masterclass next. I also got a great sale on Adobe Creative tutorials from StackSkills -- it is pushing me to read the manual.
Music: I either enjoy listening or singing along to my favourite artists or sitting down at my piano to write a new song or play an old one.
Meditation and/or rest: My mind and body need a break, even if it is just 5 minutes a day.
Reading: I have become a lot more voracious in my reading, regaining some of the steam I had when I was a child. I used to sneak out of bed at night to read in my closet so my parents wouldn’t see the light (until I burned my arm on the lamp). Now I have Apple Books to keep me company if I wake up in the middle of the night and need to read.
Writing and journaling: Writing is both therapeutic for me as well as an important tool for capturing all that I have learned that is worth remembering.
A daily habits list is also a good way to remember to take medication or drink a glass of water when I wake up.
One note about adding new habits: I found it worked best to add one new habit at a time. Too many new activities made it difficult to see whether one is “sticking” or not. It was also difficult to make any of them stick.
On this, the last day of 2020, I feel good about the changes I have made to my daily life and I know I will be better for it. My goal for 2021 is to keep this going.
As long as I have my coffee every morning...
Photo: Tammy Brimner/TLBVelo Photography
