Happy New Year! Now that 2016 is behind us, right now is a good time to reflect on the things we would like to change about ourselves and put our resolutions into motion to create a lasting change in our lives. We should focus on the things that bring the best out of us.
Learning How to Habit Stack
I read a book recently that I believe is essential in creating successful resolutions, especially those tricky ones everyone fails at every year (i.e. diet and exercise). That book is called Habit Stacking. S.J. Scott offers 97 different ideas on how you can stack habits you would like to make permanent.
He shows how easily things can be done by analyzing the actual ‘habit’ we are trying to instill, creating a specific (and short) time frame with which to complete that task. He even shares additional ideas on how to spearhead getting each job done.
[You can download this book as part of the Kindle Unlimited program for free. Details are in the banner below.]
The way each habit is broken down, you can see how easy it is to apply those principles to your own life. For me, I saw how I could break down a blog post so that I would be willing to write more. The book gave me ideas on how to manage my time throughout the day to be more productive and to reward myself (check emails, play Candy Crush Soda, check social media, etc.) after completing each job. In other words, the book teaches you how to focus on getting the task at hand done by offering a reward after the task’s completion.
In this day and age, we are always distracted by so many things around us. It is difficult to concentrate on getting things done. Scott helps you see how you can create positive habits in your life by showing you how he does things.
One habit I thought was spot on for those who put diet/exercise as their resolution is to do one thing at a time. Don’t start off big (like trying to run a mile in the first week when you haven’t worked out in 5 years). Start off small. Do one push-up. The next day, do two push-ups. Each day, add one more.
Run one block. Go back home. The next day, run a block and a half or two blocks. Or if that progression is too much for you, do one block a week, adding another block each sequential week.
The whole purpose of starting off small is to create a lasting habit. It is easier to give up in the beginning because it seems too difficult when we are trying to make up for lost time on the treadmill after going through the great exercise famine. If you start off small and see how easy it is, you are more likely to create a lasting habit each day/week. You’ll feel more motivated to do more and maybe add an extra 5 push-ups at the end of your workout.
The whole purpose of breaking down each resolution to its bare minimum is so you can see just how easy the task is to complete. The easier the task looks, the more likely you are willing to create a lasting habit to make your resolutions a success.
I highly recommend reading the book. It will give you many ideas on how you can break down each of your resolutions so you can accomplish each and every single one.
PW Resolutions
I probably make this resolution every year for the site, but I definitely need to write more. I had to sit back and try to figure out what I really want this site to be about. I had to think of my niche audience. Truth of the matter is my niche audience is the film industry and lovers of books, especially those looking for book club questions.
I plan on expanding on that more with more interviews from filmmakers and authors. I will be sharing my 52+ books journey for 2017. So far, I’m on book #2. I will couple the journey with book reviews, book club questions (since that seems to be a popular search item on this site), and author interviews (if possible).
I’ll be sharing more tips that I uncover (like saving money, all natural beauty remedies, etc.) and ways to make your life easier. There will be recipes, travel and fashion posts. I’ll even share my own resolution journey.
This year, my main resolution is to complete my novel. It is time to put all of the finishing touches to it. As of now, it is a 3-book series.
I meet with publishers in May and June, but on a different manner (which basically determines all of the “IT” books for 2017-18). I’ve established good relationships with a few major publishing houses, so we’ll see how things go and which route I will take.
Over the course of this year, I will be launching a few campaigns. I’ll leave that as a surprise.
All in all, I have a lot of plans for PW, as well as for my writing career. I’m thankful I read Scott’s book last month. He’s helped me figure out how to get everything I want to do done from here on out.
Give the book a read, I think it will definitely help everyone re-define how they can accomplish their own goals. Dreams are always difficult to accomplish, especially if it seems too hard.
Break down each of your goals so that you can figure out all of the different tasks you need to complete. After you’ve broken them down, work on each task in order. You’ll find that it may be hard at first, but if you keep at it, finish each task, reward yourself, then start on the next task…pretty soon you’ll find you have reached your goal.
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