Lessons on Starting a New Habit/Task
What one year of journaling taught me about grit
Last month, I completed one year of journaling.
One year is a good time to reflect and understand what went well and what could have been better. It is a milestone that calls for a pat on the back.
But first, here is the back story.
I didn’t start journaling just like that. It was a decision I took to alleviate the pain and agony I was going through. It was an experiment.
When nothing goes your way, the best thing to do is: try whatever you think might work.
I did the same.
I had heard a lot about journaling and its benefits. People who practiced daily journaling talked highly of it. But it was not before I plunged into a negative spiral due to stress at work, I started writing.
I tried finding refuge in journaling.
One day, when I was in a gloomy state—mentally exhausted and physically tired of never-ending work and no appreciation, I reached for the diary that lay in my drawer for years. I had finished work for the day. It was 10 PM. After dinner, I opened the notebook and started scribbling.
I finished writing. I felt better.
I slept.
The next day I forgot to write. On day 3, I picked the diary again and wrote a few pages.
Before I started writing again, I had already missed journaling for 3 days. Since I wanted to pursue it seriously, I wrote consecutively for two days only to be inconsistent again. I didn’t write for the next 10 days.
In all, out of 30 days in November, how many times did I write?
Just 5 days.
December was a crazy month. We had new product launches. Old wine in a new bottle, if I may say so, or when you throw in a few features here and there and present a product in a new avatar.
Have you heard these lines:
Better than ever!
Stronger and more power with 10x speed.
xxx now with the power of herbs.
We were doing the same.
In December, I didn’t write even once.
The New Year came with new hopes and expectations, but nothing changed for me. I was still slogging, cribbing, making excuses, if I leave this job, what next? Amidst all this, journaling stayed. In January, I wrote only six times. February was no better. I managed to write only four days.
March was equally bad but April was worst. I wrote only once.
Things were not steady at the office and they reached a boiling point. After months of non-stop high-priority tasks (everything was urgent and important) the burnout was evident. I preferred mental wellness and sanity to the hospital bed.
I decided to leave.
I had picked journaling again. This time more seriously. In May, I fared better. I wrote seven days out of 30. In June, I managed to write for 11 days. July 14 days. August was the best month.
For the first time, I believed I could write daily.
It was not easy though. I pushed hard. Making sure, I do not miss a single day, no matter what. But I failed. I managed to write for 24 days. It was better than my previous attempts.
I was determined to make journaling a daily habit.
Did I perform better in the coming months?
Yes, I did. The next two months were the best. I didn’t miss much. I was focused and consistent. In September I was like a madman, a missionary, a devotee. I didn’t miss a single day of writing.
It was 30/30.
In October my score was 30/31. I still remember how bad I felt when I missed writing on October 26 all because I didn’t plan my day well.
November was a perfect 30/30.
What did I learn?
On healing and alleviating pain
Journaling can cure you. I felt better.
It is good for brain dumping.
Gratitude journaling is the best if you seek mental peace.
On starting a new habit/new task
If you try, nothing moves.
If you try a bit harder, you may see some leaves rustling.
If you try long enough, you experience movement.
There are only two keys to achieving your goal—start and persist.
Unless you start, you won’t persist. And unless you continue, you won’t achieve.
It takes 100 degrees to boil the water. We quit before the water comes to a boil.
Challenges I faced
There were many.
I don’t have time.
What to write.
When to write.
Why write.
Starting a hobby is easy. Continuing with it for days, months, and years is difficult. I started journaling to try and get my sanity back. Every time after a long and taxing day, when I wrote, I felt better.
Strategies that helped me
I tried hard to be consistent but nothing seemed to be working unless I learned about:
Reducing friction
Making it obvious
Setting time & place
Reducing friction
It is about how you make a habit comfortable. Our brain is like a lazy person. It wants things on a platter. The moment it feels a task is hard, it tries to escape.
I was in the habit of locking my diary in a drawer. So, every time I thought of writing, my brain resisted. The first thing I did to reduce friction was to place the diary and pen on my writing table.
Making it obvious
We want to read that book, learn that instrument, stop eating junk, become healthy but we fail. Because both book and instrument are not in sight and that junk in kitchen is easily accessible.
Setting time and place
When building a habit, be specific about time and location. For example, in the case of journaling, I would say: I write for 10 minutes at my writing desk at 6 AM every day (yup I read Atomic Habits). This helped me immensely.
I was obligated to write at the time and place of my choosing. I had to do it.
Originally published on Medium | Pic Credit: Martine from Pixabay