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Volume 11, Issue 36: My Atomic Habits

Reading James Clear's Atomic Habits book earlier this year illuminated the atomic habits that I have adopted over the years that changed the trajectory of my life. Atomic means very small. An atomic habit is a regular practice or routine that is small and easy to do. Here are some of my atomic habits that have set me up for success.

  • Atomic Habit #1: Go to bed early

I retire to my bedroom at around 7.30pm to get ready for bed and fall asleep by around 8pm. This habit comes in handy because I like to wake up early and getting enough sleep is important to me.

  • Atomic Habit #2: Wake up early

I love the quite morning when most of the world is still asleep. An early morning affords me the opportunity to spend time with God unhurried and exercise in the wee hours of the morning so that I can have time to read before work.

  • Atomic Habit #3: Week planning

I don't like starting my week without a list of clothes to wear, workouts to do and audio books to listen to. So each Sunday evening I select and note down my outfits for each day of the week, my workouts for the week and the audio books I will listen to.

  • Atomic Habit #4: Meal planning

I have always done meal planning in some form over the years. Currently, I sit down every Thursday evening with a note pad to decide what we are going to eat the next week and list the ingredients that will go into each dish. I then pre-cook the meals on Friday afternoon after my cleaning lady has prepared the ingredients for me. This practice saves me lots of time during the week.

  • Atomic Habit #5: Intermittent fasting

I started with the 16:8 method but switched to 15:9 method in order to eat dinner with my family. I have my breakfast at 9am or later if I am held up, and family dinner at 6pm. I don't follow any diet but I eat mostly whole foods. This practice and working out has helped me maintain my ideal size and look.

  • Atomic Habit #6: Listen to Audio Books

I listen to Audio books or instructional or inspirational podcasts while cleaning, organizing, cooking, working out, in the shower and when getting dressed. I practically use all empty blocks of time that don't require mental concentration to educate or motivate myself while performing mundane tasks.

  • Atomic Habit #7: Time with God

This is the first thing I do every morning when I get out of bed. I study the word of God and pray. It's my anchor. Over the years I found that if I don't do my personal devotion first thing in the morning, it won't get done.

  • Atomic Habit #8: Brisk walking and strength training

This is another of my early morning routines. I used to walk for an hour to an hour and a half every morning and do a longer workout but now I do a challenging walk for half an hour and strength training for half an hour every weekday morning.

  • Atomic Habit #9: Reading and writing

In addition to listening to Audio books, I also read hard cover books and e-books. This is a key daily habit for me. I target to read for an hour each day but I fall short almost half the time. Writing is another key daily habit for me but I miss most days of the week.

How about you? What are your atomic habits? What do you do that have set you up for success? And what is the one habit that you need to work on? I need to work on writing something everyday.

 

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi