Tag: habits

5 Habits for 2026 you can start small now

Here’s the thing: habits do not form overnight; it is years of commitment and discipline. Some say it only takes 21 days for a habit to build, but I beg to differ.

Try it. Get a habit as simple as reading a page of a book per day for 21 days. Then, get distracted, for example, by going to the beach for a week. Prolly for some people they can keep doing what they’ve been doing for 21 days and successfully destroy a bad habit through a good one. But not me, and I bet you are too.

I had been doing Duolingo for 2 minutes every day for 90 days in 2023, and I stopped because of a month of traveling that brought me back to day 1 of Duolingo. Fast forward to now, and I am in my second year of doing 2 minutes of Duolingo every day (but I still struggle to converse straight in Spanish. LOL.).

What I can say is that, to some people, habits are built for more than 21 days, probably to some, less than that. But, if you are like me, who needs more time to get a new habit in your system, try starting now before we count down to 2026. Here are five simple habits that you can start small now and might be beneficial for you:

1. Reading a page of a book per day. This can enhance your vocabulary. Imagine if the book has 210 pages, it 7 days, you will finish a book instead of nothing in a year.

2. Walk outside for 10 minutes every day. You do not need to compete with your friend’s Strava, you only need to move your body a little each day, and your body will thank you. In a week, your walk totals to an hour!

3. Sleep and wake up at the same time of day. If you’re sleeping at 11pm and waking up at 8am, that is fine as long as you are consistent. You keep your 8-9 hours of sleep for a week!

4. Do not grab your phone 10 minutes after waking up. Use a traditional alarm clock to wake you up, then, brush your teeth, stretch, or whatever as long as it doesn’t involve touching your phone for 10 minutes. In a week, it is 70 minutes less of screen time!

5. Meditate for a minute. Focus on your breathing for a complete minute. Do not touch your phone and avoid any form of distractions during those 60 seconds. You just gained 7 minutes of focus in that week and about half an hour in a month!

Being intentional: defining the changes you want to make

If you will go through the posts I made in the past months you’ll see at least 2 of day 1 of XX. Like, I really wanted to create good habits for my future self and the future generation but I keep failing. It took me a year to create the Duolingo habit and that’s one for the books. One thing I realized that keeps me going back to the old habit is not being intentional and forgetting my intents when things become difficult. Because I do not remember my intents, I just let my flight instinct kicked in and escape the things I needed to do.

Today, I wanted to define the intents of my long overdue good habits that my present self have been long imagining that my future will thank me. Generally, the intent was to build a good routine that will unleash the potential I have in me but I needed to be more specific.

To have a healthy body:

  • exercise for 10 mins in the morning
  • shower everyday
  • intense exercise at least once a week
  • avoid sweets
  • avoid oily and salty food
  • avoid highly-processed food
  • sleep for 7-8 hours everyday

*ask yourself:

before 5pm everyday, have I exercised or showered today?

each Friday, have I done any intense exercise this week?

before buying or taking that food in your mouth, is this very sweet, salty, oily or highly-processed? If yes, say NO to it FIRMLY.

To have a healthy mind:

  • meditate everyday for 5 minutes first thing in the morning
  • focus work for straight four hours – remove distractions
  • read a full journal article everyday
  • read non-academic book for 15minutes everyday
  • meditate for 5 minutes before going to sleep

*ask yourself:

before scrolling mindlessly in the morning, have you done meditation?

what is keeping me distracted?

should I protect this work hours?

have I read a journal article today?

did I use any of my 15 minutes to read something not related to acads?

before going to sleep, have I meditated?

To have a healthy work-life balance:

  • work with intention, attention and focus for at least 40hrs a week
  • talk to family and friends at least 2-3x a week
  • give yourself a mindful rest on one of the weekends not thinking of anything
  • if you work your best, treat yourself on a vacation without feeling guilty

*ask yourself:

today, have I worked at least 8hrs intently with my full attention and focus?

this week, have I talked to a friend? my bf? or family?

what am I thinking while I am resting?

did you do your best for this month/s?

You are free to use this template. Write your answers everyday on a physical paper to remind you of these habits that you are trying to create.

12 simple 2024 New Year’s Resolution

I am a firm believer of setting goals as high as the Mt. Everest. However, setting simple good habits can make a big difference and can help us attain our big goals. Below activities may look simple but incorporating it to your daily routine will create a huge difference in your life.

1. Get up at the same time

Whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, it is important to have a consistent time to wake up. You will have to assess when you usually wake up and will initially have an alarm clock and you will eventually notice that you will not need an alarm clock anymore.

2. Make your bed

Making your bed is like a switch to the brain that tells it that you are ready to start your day. If this is not in your routine yet, you can begin by organizing your pillows then next day your blanket and later on you will see yourself doing this automatically.

3. Meditate

This will help you relax and breathe properly. Start small – you can try 30 seconds on the first day then add 30 seconds everyday until you reach a number of minutes that will fit your lifestyle. Do this after you get up and before going to bed.

4. Exercise

Strengthening the body will give you more energy in a day. Try easy exercises first like 5-minute stretching and then increasing the intensity everyday. Look for exercise that you enjoy doing for longer time.

5. Hydrate

Our body is made up mainly of water and therefore hydrating will make our body happy. If you are drinking on average per day of 5 glasses, add one more glass every other day. Or have a container that can monitor how much water you drink in a day.

6. Read

Reading is an exercise for the mind and soul. Grab a book and start reading for straight 5 minutes do not go beyond that even if you get excited. The next day make it 10 minutes and then add more until you find the duration that will make you read everyday.

7. Cut sugar

Your internal organs will thank you now and tomorrow. Slowly, you can stop drinking soda. Then, reduce eating sweet candies and chocolates. Or, changing your milk tea intake from daily to weekly to monthly or even once ever 6 months..

8. Less salt and fat

Your internal organs will also thank you if you start doing this. Start by removing the crispy yummy chicken skin of your fried chicken or reducing eating in fast food. Avoid areas or restaurants that will tempt you to have the good tasting evil salty and fatty food.

9. More fiber

Your tummy and butt hole will love you. LOL. If you are craving for sugary, salty or fatty food, grab an alternative that is high in fiber. Sugary food – get fruits. Salty food – cucumber with vinegar and a pinch of salt. Fatty food – make your own fries with potatoes cooked in an air fryer.

10. Reduce screen time

In this past-pacing tech world, we get afraid to feel left out if we are not scrolling through our phones. But, it is not healthy for our brain and eyes. Start by setting your phone to limit your usage of the apps by half or your usual usage then reduce that time by 10% every week.

11. Journal

It will make you track your life especially your emotions. Allocate 5 minutes of writing in the morning what you are grateful about and then another 5 minutes at night of what happened to your day and what you learned. Increase this time by 1 minute everyday until 15-30minutes.

12. Rest

If you get up at the same hour, try to go to sleep at the same hour as well and your cells will be thankful. Try not to look at any bright screen 30minutes before sleeping. Go to bed at the initial time you set and close your eyes and relax. Your body will tell you that you are not sleepy but, do not give in. You can count if there are so many things running in your mind. Aim for 7-8 hours of undisturbed sleep.

December 6: period (is an excuse)

During this journey of creating better routine, you will find yourself looking at excuses to justify getting back to day 1.

In my case, I usually use my period days as an excuse to stay in bed and not do anything. Some people may say that it’s part of a woman’s life. We suffer every month with abdominal pain and fatigue and it’s normal. For some, it will be extreme and you have to be self aware to that. And I am aware that I can still push through during this very challenging moment of changing my life and I use my period as an excuse.

If you find yourself starting to make excuse, drop it. Keep moving! Do not break what you have built for 6 days. Rest but do not stop. I experienced that each time I gave in to the excuses for days, I end up going back to day 1 of building these good habits I am aiming.

If today, you feel that this journey is tiring, still persevere. Each day will become less difficult as it becomes part of you. And always remember why you started when excuses are trying to conquer you.