The worm has turned. This past week proved pivotal as I implemented key components of Habit Stacking by S.J. Scott and this week’s book Mini Habits by Stephen Guise, who was kind enough to respond to my tweet regarding his book and retweet it on twitter. I highly recommend listening or reading to both of them.
After reading Habit Stacking, I immediately added several routines (morning, afternoon, and evening) to my daily calendar. Much the routine was already in place, but it was time to codify that routine. I’ve tweaked it over the last week, but I’m pleased to say I’ve met every component of my routine for six consecutive days.
The gist of the routine in Habit Stacking was to schedule 15-30 minute blocks to do 3-30 mini habits, all 1-5 minutes in duration and do them in the same order and the same way consistently. He then went on to give possible habits that could be included in the routine and suggested not including anything that would go beyond 5 minutes.
I slightly modified that to include parts of my existing routine in the afternoon (namely meditating and taking a nap) to come at the end of my afternoon routine. In addition, I split up my exercises (which I do anyway) and inserted a couple mini habits between the exercises.
One of the books discussed in Habit Stacking was of course, Mini Habits by Stephen Guise. While the concept of mini habits is something I’m familiar with, the devil is in the details, and doing is different than knowing. Several of the ideas discussed by Stephen struck a chord.
Stephen explained how motivation only sometimes gives you the results you want. And while sometimes may be good enough, I want more than good enough. The consistency of my writing has struggled from this exact precept. At times, I can write 40 page a day, at others, I can go months without writing fiction.
Stephen also talked about willpower, and while different and superior to motivation (in his estimation), it's limited for a variety of reasons. This is where mini habits comes in. By doing small but consistent actions over time, regardless of how absurdly small, they become habit and the primitive sections of your brain take over to make it part of your daily routine.
This is where things get interesting. He explains how motivation wanes due to lack of interest, even when you see results. Willpower will also run out when you are sick, tired, hungry, or have used it for other things. With mini habits, the habits are so tiny, you can do them regardless of willpower or motivation, and once they’ve become a habit, you can turn your focus to other things or add on to those habits.
While one of the mini habits I added was to write one sentence a day, it’s what happens once that habit takes hold that’s important. While the amount sounds small, it’s the behavior that's being ingrained in the subconscious that’s most important. You are of course free to add more than just your tiny mini goal, but if you don’t, you still should pat yourself on the back to give yourself that mental reward. Over time, those small tasks add up to large gains, and the overages that you occasionally, sometimes, or frequently add on to your mini goals add up as well.
As such, I think Stephen may have hit upon the single most effective actionable tip on success I have ever seen. There are many things that can add to one’s success, and you of course need belief in order to take action. But once you take that action, mini habits are the tool that can maintain discipline in the face of all other obstacles. It’s a truly brilliant piece of work.
I must also say, that I’ve had a ton of success. Looking back on it, that success has stood in my way. If I was more willing to set aside my hubris and focus on small but consistent daily actions, my larger goals would be more likely to come to fruition. That being said, I’m sticking with my yearly goals, but I’ve decided to focus (as one of my earlier commenters suggested) on the daily goals. More specifically, the daily mini goals. Below I’m going to list my new daily routines and mini goals, my yearly goals haven't changed, and you can read them on my very first post on this thread from week one.
While I still have every intention of getting the larger goals completed, simply chunking down the larger goals to a single daily amount may not be sufficient in part due to the mental effort to overcome the task of sitting down to write or do a large task even in that smaller chunk.
I can already tell that the mini goals have helped me be more mindful of my tasks and goals while reducing the resistance to taking on each task. It’s pointless to put something on a calendar if you don’t do it (and may actually do harm if you're familiar with NLP), so simply having the mini goal on my calendar instead of the chunked goal will at least get the ball rolling and continue to develop the habit.
On other fronts, I’ve received three replies from authors this week, four if you count Stephen Guise. While I didn’t meet my weekly writing total count, I did write every day, that includes fiction and nonfiction, I also met my routine and all other mini goals. I listened to a whopping 21 podcasts and two audiobooks. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill was the second. It seemed truncated, but was still a classic and must listen/read for those just getting started.
Moving forward, I'll be using the new daily routine, mini habit, and additional weekly mini habits goal format with the yearly goal still in place. Let me know what you think. For those of you that read my blog who have goals and habits you want to accomplish and develop, Mini Habits may just get you there. Please leave a comment in the comments section and let me know what you think of the book and if it helps you. I’m curious if any of you are planning on trying out a mini habit or two of your own!
Audiobooks
Mini Habits by Stephen Guise
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Book in progress Invasion by Sean Platt and Johnny B Truant
Podcasts
EoFire episodes 1376 & 1440-1447
The True Performance show by Ziglar episodes 426-429
MWF motivation episodes 8 & does your motivation suck
Should I be writing episodes 303-304
The Skeptics Guide to the Universe episodes 591-594
Morning Routine
Record dreams
State positive affirmations
Check body weight
Floss, Brush, & mouthwash
Drink water
Write in my daily goals journal
Clean up one thing on computer desk
Read daily/weekly goals
Review daily calendar
Workout set A
Add to master document
Add one Japanese word to list
Workout set B and stretch
Eat breakfast & drink coffee
After Work Routine
Look at routine & daily goals
Look at today’s calendar
Floss, Brush, MW
Review show notes.
Review and/or add Japanese word/s
Meditate 5-15 min (depending on time)
Nap 15-25 min (depending on time)
Additional Ab exercise (M,W,F)
Evening Routine
Read Japanese book (one paragraph in Kanji)
Review calendar
Review daily goals
Daily reflection & checklist
Review tomorrow’s goals
Review tomorrow’s calendar
Review Life document (Sunday’s only)
Say affirmations
Read fiction 2 pages.
Additional daily mini goals
Write fiction 1 sentence
Write nonfiction/blog 1 sentence
Read article on improving writing
Contact 1 publisher or write 1 sentence of a marketing plan
Take 1 action towards creating/improving a business
Additional weekly goals
Contact one author/business person
Visit one new location
Try one new app or software
After reading Habit Stacking, I immediately added several routines (morning, afternoon, and evening) to my daily calendar. Much the routine was already in place, but it was time to codify that routine. I’ve tweaked it over the last week, but I’m pleased to say I’ve met every component of my routine for six consecutive days.
The gist of the routine in Habit Stacking was to schedule 15-30 minute blocks to do 3-30 mini habits, all 1-5 minutes in duration and do them in the same order and the same way consistently. He then went on to give possible habits that could be included in the routine and suggested not including anything that would go beyond 5 minutes.
I slightly modified that to include parts of my existing routine in the afternoon (namely meditating and taking a nap) to come at the end of my afternoon routine. In addition, I split up my exercises (which I do anyway) and inserted a couple mini habits between the exercises.
One of the books discussed in Habit Stacking was of course, Mini Habits by Stephen Guise. While the concept of mini habits is something I’m familiar with, the devil is in the details, and doing is different than knowing. Several of the ideas discussed by Stephen struck a chord.
Stephen explained how motivation only sometimes gives you the results you want. And while sometimes may be good enough, I want more than good enough. The consistency of my writing has struggled from this exact precept. At times, I can write 40 page a day, at others, I can go months without writing fiction.
Stephen also talked about willpower, and while different and superior to motivation (in his estimation), it's limited for a variety of reasons. This is where mini habits comes in. By doing small but consistent actions over time, regardless of how absurdly small, they become habit and the primitive sections of your brain take over to make it part of your daily routine.
This is where things get interesting. He explains how motivation wanes due to lack of interest, even when you see results. Willpower will also run out when you are sick, tired, hungry, or have used it for other things. With mini habits, the habits are so tiny, you can do them regardless of willpower or motivation, and once they’ve become a habit, you can turn your focus to other things or add on to those habits.
While one of the mini habits I added was to write one sentence a day, it’s what happens once that habit takes hold that’s important. While the amount sounds small, it’s the behavior that's being ingrained in the subconscious that’s most important. You are of course free to add more than just your tiny mini goal, but if you don’t, you still should pat yourself on the back to give yourself that mental reward. Over time, those small tasks add up to large gains, and the overages that you occasionally, sometimes, or frequently add on to your mini goals add up as well.
As such, I think Stephen may have hit upon the single most effective actionable tip on success I have ever seen. There are many things that can add to one’s success, and you of course need belief in order to take action. But once you take that action, mini habits are the tool that can maintain discipline in the face of all other obstacles. It’s a truly brilliant piece of work.
I must also say, that I’ve had a ton of success. Looking back on it, that success has stood in my way. If I was more willing to set aside my hubris and focus on small but consistent daily actions, my larger goals would be more likely to come to fruition. That being said, I’m sticking with my yearly goals, but I’ve decided to focus (as one of my earlier commenters suggested) on the daily goals. More specifically, the daily mini goals. Below I’m going to list my new daily routines and mini goals, my yearly goals haven't changed, and you can read them on my very first post on this thread from week one.
While I still have every intention of getting the larger goals completed, simply chunking down the larger goals to a single daily amount may not be sufficient in part due to the mental effort to overcome the task of sitting down to write or do a large task even in that smaller chunk.
I can already tell that the mini goals have helped me be more mindful of my tasks and goals while reducing the resistance to taking on each task. It’s pointless to put something on a calendar if you don’t do it (and may actually do harm if you're familiar with NLP), so simply having the mini goal on my calendar instead of the chunked goal will at least get the ball rolling and continue to develop the habit.
On other fronts, I’ve received three replies from authors this week, four if you count Stephen Guise. While I didn’t meet my weekly writing total count, I did write every day, that includes fiction and nonfiction, I also met my routine and all other mini goals. I listened to a whopping 21 podcasts and two audiobooks. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill was the second. It seemed truncated, but was still a classic and must listen/read for those just getting started.
Moving forward, I'll be using the new daily routine, mini habit, and additional weekly mini habits goal format with the yearly goal still in place. Let me know what you think. For those of you that read my blog who have goals and habits you want to accomplish and develop, Mini Habits may just get you there. Please leave a comment in the comments section and let me know what you think of the book and if it helps you. I’m curious if any of you are planning on trying out a mini habit or two of your own!
Audiobooks
Mini Habits by Stephen Guise
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Book in progress Invasion by Sean Platt and Johnny B Truant
Podcasts
EoFire episodes 1376 & 1440-1447
The True Performance show by Ziglar episodes 426-429
MWF motivation episodes 8 & does your motivation suck
Should I be writing episodes 303-304
The Skeptics Guide to the Universe episodes 591-594
Morning Routine
Record dreams
State positive affirmations
Check body weight
Floss, Brush, & mouthwash
Drink water
Write in my daily goals journal
Clean up one thing on computer desk
Read daily/weekly goals
Review daily calendar
Workout set A
Add to master document
Add one Japanese word to list
Workout set B and stretch
Eat breakfast & drink coffee
After Work Routine
Look at routine & daily goals
Look at today’s calendar
Floss, Brush, MW
Review show notes.
Review and/or add Japanese word/s
Meditate 5-15 min (depending on time)
Nap 15-25 min (depending on time)
Additional Ab exercise (M,W,F)
Evening Routine
Read Japanese book (one paragraph in Kanji)
Review calendar
Review daily goals
Daily reflection & checklist
Review tomorrow’s goals
Review tomorrow’s calendar
Review Life document (Sunday’s only)
Say affirmations
Read fiction 2 pages.
Additional daily mini goals
Write fiction 1 sentence
Write nonfiction/blog 1 sentence
Read article on improving writing
Contact 1 publisher or write 1 sentence of a marketing plan
Take 1 action towards creating/improving a business
Additional weekly goals
Contact one author/business person
Visit one new location
Try one new app or software
This post first appeared on OwenSage.com - Roy Huff, MS, MAEd Owen Sage, please read the originial post: here
