Focus for January: Routine

"Routine" is what I am focusing on in January for my Happiness Project. My most successful New Year's Resolutions have always been centered around forming habits rather than achieving goals, as I find that the former tends to lead into the latter.

What I'm working on this month is solidifying parts of my daily and monthly routines that are almost automatic, and folding in a few new habits in as well. My first challenge has been to create a method of accountability. For example, I have a mental checklist of items I want to accomplish every night before going to sleep. The problem with a mental checklist is that if I'm already tucked in before I run through it and realize that something is missing, it's all too easy to convince myself it can wait until morning. I need something more tangible, a physical checklist.

I have always been a huge fan of checklists. A couple years back when my commute was close to an hour one way, I had a checklist in my car that I went over every work morning before pulling out of the driveway (purse, phone, laptop, graded assignments, materials for lessons, etc). It was enormously helpful - and saved me from having to turn around at the first exit to go back for something I'd forgotten.

Then about a year ago I read Atul Gawande's "The Checklist Manifesto." I highly recommend this book, whether you're a checklist person or not - by the end, you will be!

I settled on a mobile app called "Productive," a habit tracking app. I can set up all the habits I want, when and how often to schedule them (beginning/middle/end of month/day), what time the reminders go off - it's pretty sweet. Then I can easily view my record. Once you have a streak going there's motivation to continue it!



Tomorrow I'll begin writing about some of the specific elements of my routine, and why they're important enough to be addressed first in this year-long project!