There’s something to be said about being consistent with something, right? I mean, that’s where habit-forming theory comes from: if you do something regularly, it becomes engrained in you and, over time, you become better at it (or it becomes a part of you really).
For most of my adult life I really believed this to be true and, as a result, struggled because I am/was really bad at creating habits, which comes from also struggling with consistency.
It’s not that I am not dependable, but in all fairness, I really dislike doing something I am not motivated to do. The “push through the pain” usually doesn’t bid well with me.
However, this doesn’t mean I don’t get stuff done, I am not good at things, or I can’t keep a steady / regular job or practice. It just means I need alternative ways of doing so and finding ways to keep myself motivated consistently (see what I did there? 😛 ).
Since I discovered Elizabeth Filips YouTube channel, I’ve started to cut myself more slack when it comes to all these things. Her videos really resonate with me, and her approach to her own motivation and task management is one of the best discoveries I’ve made since I learned about Multipotentialies / Scanner people (and how I am one of them).
As an aside, this is the video that got me hooked on her channel:
Don’t get me wrong, though: I do need organization and planning in my life, and I can tell the difference between a day that started with planning and any other day when it comes to work productivity. However, there’s a line that separates that from everything else like setting hard goals (a post on its own), setting and following habits, etc…
So, how to keep consistency when it’s something you struggle with?
Well, the first thing I like to think about is why / if I really need it in my life. Will being consistent make me happier or miserable?
In my case, I have some things I really want to be consistent with:
- Keeping the house moderately clean and tidy
- Weekly planning and reflection
- Reading
- Going to bed earlier
- …
After quite some trial and error (mostly error, to be honest), I found some ways to trick myself into being more motivated:
- Getting a friend to do stuff with me: I have a friend with whom I have a weekly meeting for reflection purposes – it’s both fun and super insightful every single time. I have no problem with being consistent with this anymore, and it’s been such a great victory
- I started using Habitica: for some reason, there’s something about using it that makes me extra motivated to cram 20 min of exercise into my day, or take just 10 min to tidy up the chair or do a quick reading Pomodoro before I go to sleep. I can’t explain how it works, but so far, it does!
- For house tasks, I started getting audiobooks that fall into the guilty pleasures’ category (in my case, mysteries or adventures around witchcraft or alchemy) and I only allow myself to listen to them while I am cleaning or cooking. The time I’ve spent in the kitchen since I started has increased exponentially!!
Do you have any tricks like these?
