I have previously quoted:

What gets measured gets managed.

I have also written about how I wake up early and have a good business mindset, and this is all true but I have found myself drifting away from my priorities.

I still wake up at 6 AM but that dedicated time has shifted into watching YouTube videos and they aren’t even relevant to anything, I may as well spend that hour in bed.

The gym routine is getting better and I’m trying to bring more super foods into my diet, and a general clean up. Believe it or not I used to be a gym addict! So look out for a blog about that soon.

You can take this as far as you want to and track every waking second with some apps, accounting for driving, conversations and even toilet breaks.

I however will not be monitoring that closely. I have opted in for a few methods the first step was to download an app, now this can be tailored to you. For myself; I didn’t want to spend 20 minutes of my morning to plan my day.

My aim was to ensure I could write a quick list of things I need to get done and then action them throughout the day. I recommend two:

The first app I have used for years, it’s great for collecting notes, and it does have the ability to make lists, but I find myself getting distracted with all the other thing’s it’s good for, I mainly use it for blog ideas, elaborating on things in larger notes and the main ‘note’ I have on there is a collection of screenshots from my gigs.

“A nail is driven out by another nail; habit is overcome by habit.”
― Erasmus

Another reason why TickTick is a great app; It comes with a calendar (with a simple swipe down) so you can plan lists for multiple days (something keep can’t do) so I now put all of my gigs on TickTick then add onto the description option (also at a swipe) all the relevant details for the venue and timings, so after the gig I can just tick it off.

It’s also fantastic for habit-building, something I’m obsessed with. The ability to re-wire what you do and essentially who you are. People define themselves by the things they do, then people form an opinion on that thing then apply it to that person e.g:

Claire eats apples, I love apples therefore I love Claire.

The reason I like habit-building is that you can write down everything you want to be and then you can set about changing it by being consistent.

There’s a reason why January is the busiest time for fitness gyms and December is practically empty. Everyone wants to get healthy in the new year but nobody wants to carry it on, opting instead for warmth and chocolate while binge watching pre-Christmas TV shows.

If you have been one of these people I would guess you took on too much too fast, in these blogs I have identified how taking out one thing can change so much. In 2018 I upped my water intake with no other intentions or expectations and I started to feel fuller, I lost weight and started running again. Because of… (pick excuse) I have to get back to that place again, only this time I’m ensuring my results by making them my habits instead of a ‘quick diet’.

So what one’s could you include? I would advise something small and easily achievable, this will ensure you are using the app and have one thing to tick each day. For me this would be a cold shower or meditation.

Cold showers, you really do get a sense of achievement, and dispite what people say it’s actually scary! I have had at least 40. A quick google search states the following benefits:

Increases Alertness.
Refines Hair and Skin.
Improves Immunity and Circulation.
Stimulates Weight Loss.
Speeds Up Muscle Soreness and Recovery.
Eases Stress.
Relieves Depression.

Meditation was something I have always wanted to try, but the idea of sitting on the floor with my eyes closed seemed strange. Now you don’t need candles or incense or any special music to be playing, you just go into a room, sit on the floor and quiet your mind. I have found this highly effective to deal with anger, I don’t get violent or punch walls or anything but when I find myself being annoyed it used to run around my mind and wind me up, distracting me from other more important things.

Through this, I read into why people do it and where it all comes from, I won’t go into on this blog but my point is it’s something new. It’s a small change to your life that could easily bring the biggest impact. I know you like lists of benefits so here you go, this is what meditation can do:

Reduces Stress. Stress reduction is one of the most common reasons people try meditation.
Controls Anxiety.
Promotes Emotional Health.
Enhances Self-Awareness.
Lengthens Attention Span.
May Reduce Age-Related Memory Loss.
Can Generate Kindness.
May Help Fight Addictions.

So with this as your start, get to work on writing down things you want to do. My friend at work has quit social media for 3 days, I think that’s cool, you could try adding that to your habits and build on them, maybe no socials on Sunday?

“A man who can’t bear to share his habits is a man who needs to quit them” ― Stephen King, The Dark Tower

You see if you build enough habits you become an improved version of yourself, or better yet a designed version of yourself. I will cover more on this in the future but for now make one change today.

-Josh Maddocks 2019

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Organise Your Life.