The end of the year is very celebratory where you spend precious time with family and friends. It can also be a time to reflect and plan for the new year. What also can happen is the loss of important habits.
Habits and routines are built upon foundations that take time and effort to create. When you miss a habit for one day the foundation crumbles. Eventually if repeated over a long period continuously. The foundation of a habit is destroyed.
To make sure your foundations remain strong you have to continue to the habit no matter the effort.
This article will help you know how to manage your habits when you’re in R &R mode and also how to get your mindset back to kickstart your important habits by starting your day in a challenging way.
Why It’s Important Not To Stop A Healthy Habit
Before New Year I decided to take 2 weeks for myself and my family to go on holiday to relax after a challenging year. I changed my routine, my schedule to do whatever I wanted when I felt like it.
Some days were productive but most days were pure relaxing which was definitely needed.
Then the day came when it’s time to get back to my old routine.
The 1st week didn’t go very well. It was a battle to be productive. On reflection, I was in waiting mode. I was expecting my habits to just reappear and take care of themselves. Without realising I had formed new habits of a sleep routine, doing no exercise and eating whatever I want to name a few.
I had become very comfortable but unproductive.
I wanted to get back to the old habits I had formed that help in all parts of my life. Deep down I knew I had to do it the hard way.
At the start of the second week, I decided to go all-in on the morning routine and make it simple and easy to accomplish.
- Wake up before at 6 am before everyone is awake
- Focus solely on my health
I knew starting your day with something challenging and hard first thing in the morning it will be the foundation to build upon for the rest of my habits and routines for the day ahead.
Top Tips For Being Productive After A Rest
1. Level down
Whenever you take a break or a rest period never ever stop doing what you were doing completely. A habit is much quicker to lose than to rebuild. What you should do is level down. For example, if you work out 3 times a week bring it down to 1 or 2. If you wake up at 6 am move it to 7 am not 9 am.
Levelling down will make it easy to level up when you need to rather than scrapping it all together to rebuild it all again.
2. Make it easy to start
Research has told us that when something is easy to do. It’s a lot easier to be motivated to do it. When preparing to kickstart your habits make sure
- Everything is laid out
- Your environment is primed for productivity
- Set an alarm away from arms reach
- Practice late night visualisation of the day ahead
James Clear writes a great article on this.
3. Make it challenging
Starting your day snoozing your alarm for the 20th time, you finally drag yourself out of bed, you forget to make your bed and you know how this story will go. When it comes to doing anything challenging as the day unfolds it will be super easy to say no. Your mind and body are not primed to go to battle. It’s primed to do nothing productive.
At some point, we have all been there. That’s why your morning is so important. Starting your day with something challenging and hard to do. this could be a cold plunge in the water, a morning 5k run or simply something that you find you have put a lot of effort into. It need not last anything longer than 30 minutes but you have now just awoken your mind and body. The chemicals released have increased your energy, clarity of thoughts and mood. You are ready for more challenges and a productive day is soon followed.
I have experienced both these days one is fulfilling and the other is filled with regret over a period of time.
You are the key to the ignition of the mind and body
Start your day the hard way and make the rest of your day, week and year easier to accomplish.
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