Habits make you.

Habits make you.

by writershilpa

It’s the first day of a brand new month, and a good day as any, to begin something new. So, why not do something that I have been trying to work on, but failing successfully for so long now?  My mind was as wide awake last night at 1 am, as it is at 8 am, as I lay in bed, ruminating on the need for something new, something different.

My Geminian nerves get restless if something new and exciting isn’t happening every now and then. I get bored with the little things in life. No, I don’t cast away those boring little things, I just push them to some far corner of my mind and look for something to replace them with; something that challenges me, makes me work hard and changes me in its own little way.

So, as I lay thinking about this much-needed change I wished to bring, a line from an Instagram post flashed in my mind. A blogger friend, Vasantha Vivek shared it–a digital detox tip:

“Stay away from your mobile before 9 am & after 9 pm everyday.“

 

These words just popped out of nowhere last night and I almost sat up! Now, that is the kind of change I needed! Since the longest time, I have been trying to break this particular habit of mine, but in vain. I would just give up after a week, or so, and then repent. But, what good was all that repentance when I wasn’t doing anything about it?

So, last night, I decided, that, this is it, enough is enough.  This is what’s been bothering me, and I am going to get it out of my system, altogether. How wonderful it felt! And, today being the 1st of a new month, I felt I needed something new to feel good about.  A good change that would, definitely, help me.

So, today, my phone stayed far away from me till 9 am and after 9 pm and also in between.

Do you wish to know how well I succeeded?

Today, I finished my chores before the usual time.

I finished writing a new article.

I worked on a blog post for the next week and prepared a Pinterest image for the same.

I began reading a new motivational book.

And, finally, my eyes felt less tired as I did not strain them by staring mindlessly at my phone.

So, thank you, Vasantha, if you are reading this!

 

Life was really so much more peaceful and less distracting before these damned smart phones invaded our world, isn’t it? And, we, the idiots, just let ourselves get all carried away, and now, look where it’s landed us!

But, as I said, any day is a good day to break an old habit and work on forming a new one.

TIPS TO FORM A NEW HABIT:

1. Think about the one habit you really wish to change.

2. Write it down in your journal.

3. On a page, write the date you decide on beginning the change. 

4. Mark the date that comes 21 days later (a habit normally takes 21 days to change).

5. Make conscious efforts to make sure you follow the change you have decided upon.

6. Make an entry in your journal everyday about how you fared.

7. Be mindful about how you behave, the activities that you do.

8. At the end of a week, see if there is any improvement. If there is, reward yourself to motivate yourself to keep going.

9. At the end of 21 days, see if you have been successful in breaking the habit for good.

10. Celebrate your victory!

 

 

It does need a lot of work, and patience, to keep working on yourself so that that old, annoying habit doesn’t return and ruin things for us.

I plan on working on it, working on myself and coming back a month later to read this post and write a new one about how I kept my word to myself, so, help me God!

it takes about 21 days to form a new habit. I plan on waiting for 31 days to see how well I succeed. I know, I will succeed!  I quit drinking coffee! Yup, it’s been more than a month now, and it feels so good!

So, do visit Metanoia on the 1st of next month to see if I do succeed!

Do you wish to join me in bringing about a little change in yourself? Maybe something similar to what I have decided–changing the relationship we have with our stupid phones?  Do let me know and we will work towards it, one day at a time, one step at a time. 

Love,

SHILPA..

 

Like it, Pin it!

It is difficult changing old habits. But, it helps to form new ones for the sake of your health.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

174 thoughts on “Habits make you.”

  1. What a coincidence I did that too! I made it a point to stay away from the cell phone after 10:00, at max 10:30 and I have succeeded in doing so. There are some more habits that I have to form and break, your post has me all charged.

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    1. I wrote this post to charge myself up, Aparna. I so needed to get away from my phone and from all the encouragement I am reading here, I am sure I will be able to break this bad habit, for life!

      Thank you for visiting!

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  2. Digital detox is a dream for me. I have tried it so many times but all in vain. However, what I was trying to do was avoiding digital devices on the weekends and it turned out to be a failure. I will surely try this one as suggested by Vasantha (one of my favorite bloggers) but from the next month.

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  3. I never had the habit of chatting over Whatsapp or Messenger but updating the social media handle every now and then is just so addictive. 🙂
    This habit is good. Great indeed. Wishing you success. 😀 😀

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  7. Old habits die hard. This has been my plan for a long time. My ph is away from me during the day time…But night time is the only time I get to access my phone. Waiting for my munchkin to grow up so that I too can choose to stay away from the phone.

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  9. Freedom at midnight, isnt it Shilpa! The moment of awakening can happen at the strangest of the situations and at the oddest of the hour!
    I do wish to inculcate the habit of reading for one hour straight any time during the day. But as you said, “failing successfully”, so I am on this count. Someday it will happen, I am sure.

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  13. Oh! I would love to change my relationship with my phone, but cant take this step right now, because I do everything after my kids sleep. That is my primary working time.

    I did start something new this month. My new blog about green living which has been on my mind for a long time. It is as much for me as for my readers to change our lifestyles to more sustainable ones.

    All the best to keep your word to yourself.

    #greenladyreads #MyFriendAlexa #firstgreenstep

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    1. That sounds like a noble thing to do! Changing our lives to make them more sustainable is something that will benefit not only us, but also our planet.We need to keep trying to do our bit. Bravo to you!

      Thank you for the encouragement! 🙂

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  14. I would love to take up this challenge too. I agree that mobile phones and other gadgets make us addicted to them and it’s difficult to not check the updates regularly. Its not as easy as it looks but no harm in trying.

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  17. I know Vasantha, she’s a sweetheart 🙂 P.s. I have this dirty habit of staying awake every night. Thank you for this post and the statement from her post 🙂 stay away from this time frame. P.P.S. I am a June Baby too 🙂 (9th June, what’s your birthdate)
    #vigorousreads #MyFriendAlexa

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    1. Oh wow! Another Gemini!!! My birthday falls a day before yours! 😛
      Glad to have connected, Varsha! I hope you too fight your habit, like I am, and succeed. Wish you the best! 🙂

      Thank you for visiting!

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  19. Sounds great! Agree with you completely that we have become slaves of the technology. We spend more time with the machines rather than people. Hope you succeed in your new habit Shilpa. Let all of us imbibe this good habit.

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  20. It is a great change indeed that can solve many of our problems but I tried it and was only able to do it for couple of days. Just like today I am staying late to complete many tasks that are pending. But I really need to work on implementing it for my own sake

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  23. Developing healthy habits is always difficult in the beginning but if you successfully do it then there is no looking back. You would be the happiest version of yourself then. Cant’s agree more on your thoughts about staying away from the phone before 9 am and after 9pm.

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  25. Good luck with that! Sure a good thing to try. I have no notifications on my phone so that makes life easier. Also, as I hit bed I turn off the data. You are right that there is no right time to make a change like this. 🙂

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  30. 12 hours of no-gadget time does so many wonders to the mind. Also, time management is more effective as we know that everything must end at 9 pm and only begin at 9 am the next morning. Really useful tips shared here by you. Thank you. Keep writing. Looking forward to reading more posts from you. #MyFriendAlexa #MayuraReads

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    1. Oh yes, that’s what I have been realizing since these past few days. The kind of work I finish in all that time I wasted in my phone surprises me and embarrasses me, too. Glad I realised the importance of keeping the phone away.

      Thank you so much for visiting! 🙂

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  33. Yes I too read this post by Vasantha and it had a similar impact on me. But sadly I forgot all about it the next day. Your post has inspired me once again and I shall follow this practice starting today. I am sure it makes a positive difference to your life.

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  37. Healthy habits, once they actually become habits , give us a huge mental boost…There is no feeling like the feeling that I am capable to sticking to something good, even if there are distractions surrounding us! I hope this post will inspire me as well 🙂

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    1. Yes, scrolling through the news feed takes away a lot of our time and we don’t even realise it! Now, it’s 10 days since I began and some times I don’t even want to pick up the phone!I guess that is some improvement!:P
      Thank you for visiting!

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  44. I so need to develop this habit. The no screen habit. Actually I can do with many basic habits, like getting in a routine, less screen time, time management. Gosh there is a lot. N after the baby my life has gone haywire. Bookmarking this post and hoping to return often to stay on track for developing a habit. #LiveItYoungReads #MyFriendAlexa

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  45. This has been such an eye opener, reaching for my phone when I get out of bed and scrolling through social media right before I go to sleep seems like such a normal ritual. But we don’t realise the effects it has on our precious time! Recently I’ve felt as though I need to take my phone whereever I go, to the kitchen, to watch tv etc. Once I started the 9am 9pm habit, I fell off the track soon after. How do I keep going?

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    2. That is the first thing we all do–reach for our phone. I would read about the ill-effects of this habit, I couldn’t get myself to kick my habit. But, some time back, i realised how much of my precious time I was wasting in the mornings. So, one day, I just made up mind that I would not touch my phone till I finished all my morning chores. And, it worked so well! Of course, I do fall off the track sometimes, but I time myself. No more than 15 minutes and after checking any messages, I switch off the wi-fi.

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