Humans are creatures of habit. The research shows ~45% of our daily activity are habitual, performed automatically without much thought. Or as Fyodor Dostoyevsky puts it: “It seems, in fact, as though the second half of a person’s life is made up of nothing but the habits they accumulated during the first half.”
So the habits we are doing every day, intentionally or unintentionally, are actually our lives. And building the right habits in the present helps you to do more of what you want in the future.
If you strive to get 1% better every day, you’ll end up 37 times better in a year.
I start my day with a Morning Ritual, a sequence of habits that help me to be more productive through the day. I make my habits visible, appealing; I stack them very close to each other, and do them first thing in the morning. I use a habit tracker to record my progress without breaking my streak.
It’s not perfect 365 days a year, but I make this effort. I roll with the punches, and quickly get up if I fail.
If you are looking for ultimate advice on how to make good habits stick and break the bad ones, I recommend you to read “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. This is my favorite book. No water. No BS. Practical advice backed by research.
Your habits are how you embody a particular identity.
When you make your bed, you embody the identity of someone who is clean and organized. When you study, you embody the identity of someone who is studious.
What identity are you embodying today? Who are your habits helping you become?