While January felt like it was literally the longest month ever, I also secretly loved it as I started it slowly and thoughtfully and then ramped up into all sorts of good routines and the formation of better habits I’m practicing this year.
The Better Habits I’m Practicing This Year
Regular workouts.
I am so happy to be back to my workouts 4-5x per week! I’m feeling stronger and more confident with every workout following a hiatus because of this. And thanks to a collaboration I’m doing with ClassPass that kicked off this month I am doing a huge variety of workouts. If you want to try ClassPass, you can use this link to get a month free.
Daily meditation.
I’ve officially surpassed a month of daily meditation and man, does it feel good. I’ve been less anxious, I’ve been sleeping better and I finally really look forward to doing meditation whenever I can squeeze it in. I use the Inscape app and absolutely love it.
Tracking my water intake.
I am not a pretty picture when I am dehyrated. Bad headaches, chapped lips and irritability are all symptoms I notice pretty immediately when I haven’t been drinking water every day. I finally started using the Daily Water app again and I’m making sure
Reading before bed.
I really wanted to prioritize reading vs. TV this year so I’ve stopped watching TV episodes on my iPad in bed before I go to sleep. Instead, I’ve been picking up a book every night. It’s helped me to fall asleep faster and also finish four books all in the month of January alone! I am well on my way to my reading goal for the year. (And here is my reading list for the year.)
Making my commutes more productive.
I’ve been loving getting back into podcasts when I’m on the subway. I’ve been prioritizing ones that’ll inspire me work-wise this month and been getting loads of ideas as a result.
Going to bed earlier.
My goal on nights where it is feasible is to be in bed around 9:15/9:30 to give myself time to read and be asleep by 10:30. Since I wake up early this has turned out to be an ideal schedule for me for the past several months.
Planning my meals and shopping accordingly.
File meal planning under: What have I been doing all of adulthood? It is a game changer. Many of my girlfriends bought these meal planning sheets after I posted about them and there have been numerous text threads now about how life changing they are. I’ve been using them religiously every week since the onset of the new year and I literally look forward to doing so!
Wearing my bluelight computer glasses.
Last year I got a pair of Warby Parker glasses with a light prescription that would help my eyes when working on my computer or being on my phone for longer periods of time. I also had them made with bluelight to help minimize stress and committing to wearing them each work day has made a major difference in how I feel.
Carving out more windows for productive work.
My typical schedule is to go into Manhattan for meetings and events on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. And on Mondays/Fridays I would stay in Brooklyn and typically work from home. But I finally realized I am not maximizing my workouts when I work from home of late. So I’ve been walking down to my co-working space in Dumbo that’s a 15-minute walk from my house and jamming out work for uninterrupted periods of time. It’s been a much better use of my time and I’ve been reveling in all the productivity I’ve been finding.
Daily To-Do Lists.
This has been one of the most helpful things I’ve been doing this year. My tactic is a play on The Ivy Method but essentially each night I take stock of what I got done that day and assess my To Do List app to see what’s on my docket. Then I pull up my Notes app and write Monday To-Dos and create a list specific to what I hope to accomplish the following day. I try to put it in order of importance but also when it makes sense to get done (sometimes certain things have to be done before I can get to others). Things that are low priority go at the bottom. If they don’t get done, they don’t get done and I feel a lot less disappointment if I haven’t because the day is done and what’s been done has been done.
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By the way, if you’re a fan of cozy cardigans, this new one from Everlane is so great. I love the exaggerated sleeves on it and its ability to be thrown over thinner sweaters or tees. They have a lot of great cardigan styles right now included this one, this one (I have it in Oatmeal) & this one. And they finally restocked this one that I wore here!
Everlane Twisted Merino Cardigan (size M; c/o) + Everlane Shrunken Cashmere Sweatshirt (L) // Agolde Toni Jeans (Size 27) // Veja Sneakers (sized down to size 36) // Celine Belt Bag
p.s. my 2020 goals and priorities and all my travel essentials.
I love seeing little changes add up…it’s so motivating when it comes to keeping the ball rolling. I’m relearning French and it’s far more enjoyable when tackled on a daily basis. I’d love to know which podcasts are inspiring you work-wise, Meghan!
Same!! Love that you’re doing language lessons! And my current favorites are Second Life and How I Built This!
Love the thought of an app to prioritize my to do list… so often I just throw everything on there and get it done in a random order! I’m trying to make myself “eat the frog first” this year and tackle things I don’t want to do in the morning – they’re never as bad as I think they will be! Also blue light blocking glasses are a game changer for me, I notice SUCH a difference in my eyes when I look at my screens without them.