5 Bad Habits Keeping you from Being Productive

Can you believe it’s been over a year since we all got locked up for the covid-19 pandemic? Now, be honest, how many bad habits have you formed during this time? I know I have adopted many! Some good ones (working out, becoming more organized), and some bad ones, like the ones I’m about to mention in this post.

They say it takes about 21 days to form a habit. But I believe that whoever came up with this was not taking into consideration our human nature. By that I mean that for some reason, we are easily attracted to bad things; whether it is bad relationships, bad habits, etc. If you think about it, how long does it take to make smoking a habit? And even worse, how long does it take to stop that habit? You see where I’m going with this.

Don’t feel bad if you have been struggling to stop the same bad habits for a long time. That is our human nature.

How to stop a habit

There are several ways you can stop a bad habit.

• Clearly define the bad habits you want to quit– the first step in quitting any bad habit is to recognize the bad habit itself. Ask yourself these 3 questions:
  • What bad habit do I want to quit?
  • What triggered this bad habit in the first place?
  • Why do I want to quit this bad habit?

After you bring awareness to the bad habit, then you will understand the importance of your commitment to quitting it.

• Label your bad habits by priority– make a list of your bad habits and focus on 1 or 2 to start with. If you want to quit all of your bad habits at the same time, you will be easily overwhelmed. Take it one day at a time and tackle one bad habit at a time.
• Adopt a new good habit– for each bad habit you are trying to stop, adopt a new good one. Try to find a relationship or similarity between them. For instance, if you are trying to stop eating past 8pm, a good habit to adopt instead can be working out before bedtime or creating your perfect nighttime routine (plan your next day, read, take a bath, drink tea, etc.). Don’t leave the time you would normally do the bad habit empty, as this will be too tempting for you to go to it.

If you have yet to decide which habits you want to break, I have listed a few worth considering. These can be in your short-term list of bad habits to break as they are often overlooked.

Toxic Habits to Break

Looking at the phone first thing in the morning

Studies have shown that about 80 percent of smart-phone users look at their phone within 15 minutes of waking up. There are several ways that this can have an impact in your overall health.

• Increase stress and increase risk of sleeping disorders
• Higher risk of obesity
• Make you feel behind in your day
• Saying you will start working out on Monday

The reason why this does not work is because you need to be specific with your goals. It is one thing to say I will exercise on Monday, it is another thing to say I will complete a 30-minute workout on Monday, January 10. The more specific you get, the more realistic this goal will become.

Wasting hours on the phone every day

Does your phone have that setting where every Sunday, you get a report on how many hours you spent on the phone that week? Mine does and let me tell you it is an eye opener. For this reason, one of my goals is to spend less time on my phone. Read here to learn about some of the effects of having excessive amounts of screen time.

Letting social media dictate what you need or like

Designer handbags, workout equipment, clothes, etc. Social media is feeding all these things to you on a daily basis. It is no wonder that you feel like you need to have them. This pandemic brought about a surge in influencers. The way many are successful is by ‘showing off’. The more expensive they look, the more likes they get, the more companies want them to promote their products, the more they get paid. The downside of this is that they are selling an unrealistic life to many.

A social media detox is a great way to step back and realize that what you have is what you need. Be thankful for what you have.  

Wasting time and energy in things that do not make you happy

We live in an era where everyone has their own agenda. Do not live to impress others, but do whatever makes you happy. Do you like to paint? Do more of that this year. Do you like to sing? Do more of that this year. Stop wasting your time.

Habits can be hard to break; we all know that. But, like I mentioned at the beginning, pick one. Recognize that bad habit and begin working toward changing it. The trick is to have consistency. That means that you tried today and it did not work, but tomorrow you will get up and try again. Do that every day until you no longer have that bad habit. You can be the best version of yourself if you set your mind to it.

Let’s be friends!

Thanks,