How was January? New Year, new goals or is there a step before that?…. I’m convinced there is, see what you think.
We are told that it takes around 66 days on average to change or create a new habit. I’m not sure that I subscribe to this linear view, it can take much longer and its different for all of us of course. it depends on where we are starting, what the change is and what it means to us. In the past I’ve found that my energy and commitment will ebb and flow, one day I am right on it, and the next day I can be a tad lax. I am sure you know that feeling.
I think most of us make a start all guns blazing and then, just about now actually, we find that we are not doing quite as well as we hoped and it’s so easy to give up. We feel as if we have failed. We feel disappointed, despondent and for some even a sense of shame.
So, if you have committed to something new for 2025 and perhaps it’s not going so well, keep reading.
I’m a serial goal forgetter and yet I have found a way that helps keep with the plan but it requires a pause first, a bit of preparation.
I genuinely believe that to add something new or different to our already busy lives or to even stop something, break a habit we no longer want, we need to spend some time making space for that new thing, that difference that we want to bring into our lives.
So in this newsletter I am inviting you to get genuinely interested about the why we are seeking a change, not just the what we want to change.
If you have made a commitment, started and its going well, great, keep going! But keep reading and have a go at this exercise in parallel, it will make your commitment stronger.
If you are struggling, just know that making a change isn’t simply flicking a switch. Time to let that illusion go and give yourself a break.
I hear and read, do this and get fit, add this to your day and you’ll be more able to cope with whatever comes your way. Often at this time of year it’s about health, join a gym eat better, move more, read more. The list goes on.
It’s a simple rule but true…… when you are packing there is a point where the suitcase is under so much pressure that the zip breaks and your dirty pants are all over the airport floor.
If we want to take on more, another activity, another goal, another… well anything to be honest, we need to create space. Some space to take a look at the thing we want to start or stop. Look at it from all sides and get to know what it actually means for us and perhaps what that change can mean for others too.
It sounds silly now writing those words, obvious right… maybe not so.
So, I’m taking a different approach again this year, I created space to get some structure to the writing I am doing, space that didn’t exist before.
I invite you to do the same for the thing that you want to change or add to your life.
Using the Catch it, Crack it, Hack it method I’ve developed, you can do it too.
To do more of something else we need to make space for that to happen and we need to understand what fills our time already.
Here I am saying create space, then giving you some homework! Stick with it, take a bit of time, find a quiet space, perhaps take your thoughts for a walk or for a long bath and work through these 3 simple steps to help you to focus, refocus or just give yourself a fighting chance of giving it your best shot.
So, Lets get on with it- first steps
Catch It
What is this new thing you want to do and why is it important to you?
When do you see yourself doing it, I mean when during the day? – be clear here.
How much time do you have to free up? Again be specific here, for example if its going to the gym, do you need to travel? Get changed? Estimate the real time it takes.
Do your own time and motion study. Beak your day down into 30 min slots and note what you are doing. Get specific here, get it out in all its shameful glory! (45 mins, wordle, checking Facebook, insta gravy and Linked In this morning!) I would suggest keeping this ‘diary’ for a couple of weeks. The act of focusing on how we are spending our time might change those habits in a good way anyway. Try it, I found it very helpful.
You might also want to note the time you wake up and go to bed.
Crack it
If you have 3 highlighter pens or similar, mark/rank each of those activities you have captured. These are the headings I use (you may want to choose your own.)
Essential, have to be done.
Important to me to keep doing.
If I am honest, I am wasting time and they could go or be reduced.
Lay your records/notes out in front of you, what is it telling you?
Add up the time spent in the 3rd category (If I am honest, I am wasting time and they could go or be reduced)
Look at category 2 (important for me to keep doing), would you like to spend more time doing the things in here?
Are there any activities in section 3 that you want to move to section 2- I moved wordle from 3 to 2! I like wordle, its good for my brain. I kept Insta, Linked in and Facebook, but reduced the time and decided on 2 slots during the day and moved them to essential as using social media is part of my work, checking through day and getting lost scrolling isn’t.
Is there an opportunity to change the proportions of time you have through the day?
Is there something you could delegate or ask for help with? (scary one for me but worth considering!)
Do the sums, look at the time you have in the day, this is where recording wake up and bedtime comes in handy too. Could you go to bed earlier and get up earlier for example?
Hack It
Create your pie. I love (and hate) those fancy spending analysis pie charts that you can get in banking apps these days, I really want to know how much a month I have spent on eating out!
Get a sheet of paper and a plate, draw round the plate or something similar and divide up the pie into slices, you might want to do two pies, one for what your 2-week exercise has shown you and also one for how you want your ‘new’ day to be.
Start with your first ‘pie’ as is, what noting the time has shown you.
I would suggest that you divide your ‘pie’ into 24 sections (24 hours), use your 3 categories and visually create a diagram of your time, writing in the things that go into each section.
For example, you might shade out 8 hours as essential – sleeping. 1 hour essential travelling, 1 hour reading (essential to me) 30 mins faffing about wondering what to wear (wasting time)
Ideally you would create an ‘average day’ if you record you activities over a couple of weeks you will get a real feel for where you are spending your time and so this exercise or creating the ‘pie’ should feel quite intuitive. You might want to create one for a weekend too.
You can go into lots of detail here, but you don’t have to – getting a sense of it will work just as well, it has for me.
If you are cleverer than me you can do the same thing with a spreadsheet and creating a fancy chart but I like the discipline and the benefit we get from the act of physically creating something.
Studies in neuroplasticity show that writing things down can clarify our intent, enhance our commitment and a number of other benefits that when we are talking about a personal change can only help, so give it a go.
You will end up with a visual representation of a day, perhaps a weekday and a weekend.
What is this showing you, do you have sections in your day that could be shrunk or even let go?
Are there essential sections that you want to expand or rebalance?
How big is the 4th category (the new thing you want to do), how much time will it take or do you want to expand something that’s already in your day?
Now stand back, take a look, what needs to shift?
Hopefully you get the idea and the act of analysing how you currently spend your time and creating an image of how you intend to spend your time and fit the new activity or goal into an already busy life... or pie will bring benefits and help you to create the space you need to transition into a Fruitful February.
