I haven’t kept a habit journal for the last six months. Prior to May 2021, I had kept a habit journal on and off for the prior 18 months (more or less), dating back to when I read Atomic Habits by James Clear in January 2019.
I got out of the habit of keeping a habit journal because my habit journal eventually got to the point that I was only tracking my exercise routine. I had reached a point where I had enough guardrails around my exercise program and I didn’t need the journal any longer to keep me on track. So, the habit faded away.
However, as I approach December 1, 2021 with the intention of blogging 100 days in a row, I’m reminded of the value of a habit journal as a source of orientation and a daily reminder. More than once my habit journal is what jogged my memory and reminded me to publish a blog post during the last blogging challenge I completed.
It’s time to bring the habit journal back.
December 2021 Habits
For the month of December, I’m going to focus on the habits that form the bookends or guardrails of my daily routine, and carve out some space for a daily blogging habit.
- Up before 7 AM, 7 days a week
- 60 minutes of cardio (running or spinning), every weekday morning
- Blog daily, 7 days a week
- Complete my workday startup routine, every weekday morning
- Workout and stretch, every weekday
- Complete my workday shutdown routine, every weekday at the end of the workday
- Get to bed before midnight, 7 days a week
Those are the building blocks of a healthy and productive week. I’m pretty good at maintaining some of these habits, but struggle with some others (particularly the workday startup and shutdown routines). Having a plan for how I’m going to get in my daily blog post feels like step 1 in successfully completing this continuous blogging challenge.
Featured photo by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash
Yeah buddy, here we go!