I've added a total of 10 habits to my June habit tracker because they have been adding a lot of value for me in May and I want to imbibe these for the long term.
Feel free to join me if any of these habits strike a chord with you!
Watch my June Setup video to know more about how I use trackers in my bullet journal:
So here is the list of all the 10 habits and a few helpful tips and resources about them:
1. Reading:
I've incorporated reading into my night routine. I read a little before I go to bed everyday. Even during the day, I take out about half an hour to one hour to read. I read two books simultaneously. This is something I started during quarantine. One of the books is a fiction, a lighter read, while the other is a non-fiction, somthing I can take life lessons from. This system has proved to be so helpful for me. I feel like I can get through books faster, and make the reading process more diverse and enjoyable by starting two books at the same time.
My current reads:
Non-fiction : The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod: https://amzn.to/2LTvmGY
Fiction: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie: https://amzn.to/2X1yM0J
2. Journalling:
I've always journalled, for about 3-4 years now. But it has mostly been occasional journalling. Whenever my mind seems to overflow, I turn to journalling. And it has helped me out so much. Journalling is my favourite form of self-help. Hence, an effort to make it more consistent. And I've been pretty good at it lately. I've included that in my night-routine as well. The mind feels so much more quiet and calm after a good outpour of thoughts onto paper.
If you want to start or journal more often, you can try and specify a time and place in your routine for it in order to follow through.
For example, I journal at my desk every night after I change into my pyjamas.
Here are some resources to get you started with journalling:
3. Working on my thesis:
Well, let me be completely honest here: I had added this habit to my May habit tracker as well. But I only worked on it about once in the whole month!
But that's okay. I needed some time off academics since I had just come out of my earlier semester. But now that I've had about a month off from my academic work (well, sort of), it's now time to get things going.
My goal with this is just to set things in motion, start some reading and research about it before I actually get to my thesis in my final semester.
How can you apply this to your life?
Well, the goal is to keep an eye out for bigger projects/ things that are coming your way and to be prepared for it. If you have a dissertation/ thesis/ final project/ internship or a big life change that you know is coming your way, the intention can be to take time out in your current life to work on it as much as is feasible to your current routine. That way, we are helping out our future selves in this moment.
4. Exercise:
This has honestly been the hardest habit for me to form because I'm not very athletic and I don't really enjoy sports. But I'm glad I didn't give up and kept trying out different exercises and routines till I finally found something I enjoy.
Now I do dance workouts/ routines from Youtube that are pretty beginner friendly. I like working out alone, but being accountable is also important. So following along a Youtube video with some good music is my recipe for loving my workouts and being consistent with them!
So I'm encouraging you to find your ideal setting and routines for your own workouts.
Here's my fitness playlist on Youtube, if you want to join along:
5. Learning something new:
I love doing this, I've always loved doing this. That's how I've learned to blog, to make and edit videos and all of the stuff that I can do decently. And I love learning especially outside what I'm supposed to learn for my degree. That helps out in so many ways.
My plan is to add some form of learning in my everyday life throughout my life. Whether it's learning about my own profession to improve my skills or something completely different; as long as I quench my curiousity, that's all that matters!
Currently I'm learning about world history and European history. It's a video based fun course on Youtube hosted by John Green! Could I really ask for more?
6. Meditation/ quiet time:
Honestly, even this one has been a little hard for me to follow through. Sitting by yourself in utter silence is really hard.
But I've found my way about it. Since I'm not a big fan of guided meditations or anything too spiritual (as of yet atleast) I decided to form my own process for it. Every morning after I brush my teeth and stretch for a little bit, I sit in front of the window, from where I can view some greens. I stare at the mango tree outside my window for a couple of minutes.
For the actual meditation part, I simply close my eyes and try to focus on my breath. Nothing too complicated.
Sometimes, I do my 'smiling' meditation. I keep a big smile on my face as I sit in silence for a few minutes. This keeps me cheerful for the day, and I could really use that!
So even you can get started with simple routines. Decide what's good for you and easy to start with.
7. Daily review:
This is something I started since May and frankly I'm amazed at how easy it was for me to follow through with it. I have my own ' update' routine at the end of each day where I make a note of my activities and habits throughout the day and other such things. I won't go into much detail because I'm still developing this system for myself.
The point here is to have some sort of a review with yourself about how you spent your day and if it was in alignment with how you wanted to spend it. It works wonders on how you start to go about your day as you start doing this more often.
8. Doing my laundry:
I have been responsible for my own laundry, like ALL of it, for almost about a year now. And this I believe is a step up in your adulting game, seriously. At first, it was a little hard, and I did have an overflowing laundry basket quite a lot of times. But with practice, this has now become an ingrained part of my routine. I do my laundry related tasks pre and post showering, so that I don't forget them at all. And it actually works.
Since I don't own a washing machine, I wash all my clothes manually. And the best way for me to avoid heaps of unwashed, dirty clothes is to do a little laundry everyday.
9. Waking up early-ish:
Now, I don't have plans to get up at 5am or 6am or even 7am for that matter. Right now it's anywhere between 8- 9:45 am for me, which is working. My aim is 8 am, as often as I can.
And this is mostly for the 'feel good' vibes more than anything else.
I've always risen early, all my life, so I've developed the tendency of being a morning person. I love how it feels when I wake up reasonably early and end my day around midnight. I have gone through the upturned sleep cycle in quarantine and I've enjoyed a few of those days, but on most days, I just feel sluggish when I wake up late and don't find the same energy in myself as I do when I wake up earlier.
Also, waking up earlier means I get more hours of sunlight, which affects my willpower to be productive, considerably. I like the day better than the night.
10. Going outdoors:
Being inside the same space and being indoors for most of the time can affect you negatively, and it surely has its effects on me from time to time. My goal is to spend atleast 30 mins being outdoors, in whatever way possible. I like to be outdoors during sundown because I've spent my entire childhood like that, and these associations don't fade away so easily. So better use them to our advantage for our own wellbeing right?
The ways in which I spend time outdoors is hanging out with friends, reading a book on a bench, going for a walk, going for a drive and things like that. Sometimes I even take my work downstairs! And when the weather or pandemics or other factors make it hard for me to leave my house, I spend some time in my balcony or near a window, soaking in some sunlight.
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