Too many changes = zero new habits

A couple of months ago I told you I had formed a habit of making my bed every morning. It’s a habit I was able to form rather quickly, unlike many other habits I’ve attempted over the years. 


Imagining I was on a roll of some sort, I added four new habits to integrate into my life. Truth be told, it was partly because my new planner had a habit tracker with four slots and I just decided if that was the standard (whose standard, Monica???) then surely I could manage it. And you know what? I haven’t gotten any of them to stick.


When I formed the bed-making habit, it was the only one I was working on. I’d just had a baby and didn’t expect much from myself in terms of world-changing personal growth. I’d also internalized a practical need for it, since baby and I spent a lot of time on that bed.


These other four habits are disparate and a little arbitrary, not to mention the fact that they are FOUR instead of ONE.


So instead I am looking at my life and what’s ahead and asking myself, what’s the next thing I want to integrate? What ONE thing?


And I’ve decided that one next thing is brushing my teeth first thing in the morning. Not after breakfast, not before I leave the house, but right away, per my dentist’s recommendation. Even though it seems like such a small thing, I haven’t been able to master it while trying to implement three other things. Now that I have a focus, I will pour my rewiring efforts into this one thing, and I’m confident that I’ll have a new habit in three weeks.


What’s the one next habit you’d like to form?


Until next week,
Monica