Sunday Six: Habits to Make or Break

By: Michelle

I read, in several different sources, that the way to make or break a habit is to engage in your desired behavior for 21 days. There are a lot of things that I wish to change about myself this coming year, so I have decided to make a list of habits that I will either acquire or dismiss in the coming 126 days (get it? 21 days x 6 habits = 126)! I do not want to tackle all of them at once, because I am worried that I will not be able to handle changing my behavior in so many ways, so I will tackle them one at a time in the order below:

1. Complete tasks- I am a huge procrastinator, as most of you know! I have started observing people who are very productive, and they all have one thing in common: when they decide that something needs to get done, they either do it right then and there, or, if it cannot be completed on the spot, they either schedule it for a definite time, or take the first steps necessary to complete it. For the next 21 days, I will dedicate myself to completing what I need to do right away!

1.  Wash my face- I want to start washing my face every morning AND every night before bed. Normally I am pretty good at washing it at night, but with my crazy schedule this past month, I had been less than spectacular at scheduling this, and my face does show it!

2. Learn to listen- I have always been told that lawyers always have the upper-hand in conversations because they tend to be very self-centered. I never thought that would be me, but I do tend to change the focus of all conversations onto myself, now that I really analyze my most recent behavior. I will commit to 21 days of letting other people be the stars of their stories, rather than shifting the focus onto myself.

3. Make our bed- For 21 days, I will make our bed every morning. I love the feeling of getting into a freshly pulled-back bed at night!

4. Make contact- I am REALLY bad at keeping in touch with people! For 21 days I will call or write a letter to someone different AT LEAST once per day. The reason why I say someone different is because I talk to my mom 2-3 times a week, and I do not want that to count towards this habit!

5. Do dishes- I am really bad at waiting to wash our lunchboxes until the next morning, and it is always more difficult to clean them. For 21 days I will clean every single dish either right after we eat, or right after we get home from work/school.

What do you want to change about your habits???