Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Forming good habits aka life hacks

Now, I'm not a pro at life, but I have formed a few good habits over the past few years that I've stuck with and that have had a huge impact on my life. The blogging community is all about sharing tips & tricks that work for us, and learning from those around you, so here goes!

Here are some of the best habits or life hacks I've developed over the past few years:

  1. Max out my retirement. I've actually been doing this since I got my first full time job (or a few years thereafter. Can't remember. It was *a long* time ago. ;-)) Because of that early start, it doesn't even feel like my money. It gets deducted, and is gone. Poof. Not saving isn't an option. now, I realize this isn't an option for everyone, but the earlier you can get this started, the better off you'll be due to compound interest, of course. I've actually upped my game on this over the last two years, and used a January bonus to max out my 401K in the first month of the year. Again, super challenging & I'm lucky enough to have this bonus, but it's great to get it out of the way earlier on in the year.
  2. Stop using electronics (at least) an hour before bed. This is probably the most life changing of any of my good habits. It started about a year ago, when I realized that every night I was struggling to fall asleep & never sleeping well - I'd have anxiety dreams during the short time I was able to sleep. I now stop a minimum of an hour before bed. This has multiple good results. I get in more reading, it stops me from working so late, and I get amazing sleep. I also get to bed much quicker than I used to. Seriously, try this. If you are using a laptop or a tablet or phone before bed (or, maybe TV, although that was never an issue for me), try it & see if it gives you better sleeping habits.
  3. Get a minimum of 8.5 hours of sleep a night. I can't achieve this when I travel, but stick to a consistent sleeping schedule every other day. I go to bed around 9:00 pm most nights, and wake up around six. I do this even on the weekend. Staying consistent helps me fall asleep easier. Sleeping is particularly critical for me, as it helps me keep my lupus symptoms in check. 
  4. Track my fruit & vegetable intake. This is a virtuous cycle. If I track, I work harder to get more fruit & vegetables into my diet. When I eat more F&V, not only am I generally eating healthier, I'm also less hungry (all of those foods typically fill you up, at a lower calorie cost), which enables me to reduce my calories, helping me lose weight.  
  5. Prep meals on weekends. When our kids were first born, we spent *a lot* of money on dining out. We weren't good budgeters back then either, but I'd estimate a minimum of 5x what we are spending now. Mostly on takeout, quick restaurant meals, etc. We had a big turning point when we started to prep protein on the weekend. Protein is the critical path for us, as it takes the longest to prepare. You may find that full meals is easiest. Because I have lots of varied taste buds & levels of health in our house, we prep the protein on weekends, plus make larger dinners than be served as leftovers during the week. A few "protein prep" meals would include: browning ground beef for tacos, grilling beef or chicken kebabs, grilled chicken breasts, hamburgers, etc. We freeze all of the protein, and then defrost it quickly & are able to make an easy weekday dinner. Options would include: tacos (chicken or beef) & quesadillas, pasta with chicken, rice & beef, etc. This has saved us so much time & energy (not to mention money) over our previous methods! 
  6. Push yourself. It's hard to quantify this, but I do try to look for opportunities to push myself out of my comfort zone. I've embraced this a bit more as I've gotten older. Recent examples include: moving to another state, leaving my long time employer (17 years), international travel (although not by choice, but have embraced it as much as I can for work), running, biking to work (a total fear of mine). I don't love all of it, but pushing myself means I'm looking for opportunities to improve my life and getting over my fears, and it can be pretty powerful. 

I'm sure you have your own amazing good habits - please share! I'm always looking for inspiration on how other people manage their time, lives, money, fitness, etc. 

8 comments:

  1. When I'm not at work, I strove for a zen life. I like to focus on relaxing and minimizing the everyday chaos. I try to make this a priority. For instance, after dinner tonight, I gave myself a pedicure and my daughter a manicure and pedicure. I also did her hair in rag curlers. I think its the little things like that that take the chaos out of working full time with kids.

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    1. You are amazing - that's even better than what I have in mind. A much more systematic approach to your entire life. Love it! I'm going to think about how I can work this in.

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  2. Unfortunately, I am in a time of chaos. I really to intact these type of things, but they feel too strained and too canned for all of us. I do have a great morning routine that sets me up for a good day, but the rest is up in the air. I hope to make this better with all the changes that are going on.

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    1. Everybody has their own system & methods for success. I find that some habits require a great deal of support (i.e working out or weight loss) for me to make happen. Others, like sleeping, I can just integrate easily into my life with minimal to no pain. I'd rather double my retirement savings than try to manage my eating more closely, but unfortunately, the two don't even out. ;-)

      Wish you luck during your stressful time! Sounds like a great morning routine is the secret to success for you.

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  3. I like your list. I do keep a fruit veggie count, but I really need to start the no electronics 1 hour before bedtime.

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    1. It's crazy how much it's improved my sleep. I can't believe it took me this long to make it happen!

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  5. Spectacular list and tips! As always you are an inspiration. I like the last one in the list the best. That's a really great area to work at. It helps keep life vibrant while growing yourself at the same time. (I left out words in my last comment. It made no sense)

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