Introduction
Each story has a beginning, and the same applies to habits. It’s not as if you wake up one day and decide, “I am going to adopt 20 habits today and master every one of them.” That sounds a bit unrealistic. You need to start somewhere, perhaps with just one or a few habits. At the very least, you need to experience what it’s like to build new routines that serve as replacements for your old ones.
In the following paragraphs, I will share my brief journey into the world of habits, spanning from 2016 to 2020.
I included five years in this article because there wasn’t a wealth of data or much to say about each year. This will be different when discussing the years 2021, 2022, and 2023, which I will delve into more deeply in upcoming articles.
With that said, let’s delve into how I ventured into habit-building as a powerful force for shifting my focus from trivial matters to more important and substantial ones
Year 2016: A Journey through Reading and Self-Improvement
Sometime around 2016, I immersed myself in reading, primarily focusing on thriller novels, such as the works of Dan Brown, or some intriguing novels related to computers and technology. These types of stories can completely engross you in a world far more captivating than the mundane day-to-day activities.
The next natural step was delving into self-help books, which are readily available everywhere. They have beautiful and enticing book covers that call out for your attention, saying, “Hey there! READ ME! I WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!”
Well, I won’t deny it—I succumbed to the temptation and acquired some of these books. I even set a goal of reading 100 books in a year (though I must admit, I was more ambitious than necessary, as I only managed to read six books).
Regardless of the outcome of the reading challenge, I have learned some interesting ideas, although I didn’t implement all of them. I did, however, adopt some productivity techniques, including the Pomodoro Technique and different planning methods.
But it wasn’t merely about the results; it was also about cultivating the reading habit, which was interesting to me. As a child, I read and consumed many short stories, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading historical and geographical textbooks at school. I always had a curiosity to learn about different countries and their history and cultural heritage. Then, with the advent of the internet era around 2007, I began googling questions and topics I wanted to learn about. I can confidently say that I’ve read more articles than I can keep track of
To sum up, I practiced three habits (reading, the Pomodoro technique, and planning) sporadically throughout the year. However, there was no organized data to reference regarding my habit performance, and if there was any, it has likely been lost due to my inexperience in keeping collected data intact.
Year 2017 : Transitioning from Screen Addiction to few other activities
Starting in 2017, I found myself completely glued to the PC, and I wanted to break free from the screen and do something more productive, or at least different. That’s when I realized one should probably start cultivating good habits and eliminating the bad ones in a more structured way.
The thing I noticed that started making me more aware of my actions and the need for change was when I discovered that I could use the OneNote app as a digital repository, thanks to a YouTube video from Actualized. This allowed me to collect what I learned and create my own personal Wikipedia of sorts. I believe my first habit that I wanted to address was reducing the frequency of masturbation for an extended period. This was followed by me journaling digitally for the first time, I suppose. The entry looked something like this (with some editing needed).
I started toying with meditation as well and end up performing 10 meditation sessions, 10 minutes each.
| Date | Meditation session Time (m) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 05/12/2017 | 10 | Done |
| 06/12/2017 | 10 | Done |
| 07/12/2017 | 10 | Done |
| 08/12/2017 | 10 | Done |
| 12/12/2017 | 10 | Done |
| 13/12/2017 | 10 | Done |
| 24/12/2017 | 10 | Done |
| 25/12/2017 | 10 | Done |
| 26/12/2017 | 10 | Done |
| 27/12/2017 | 10 | Done |
When it comes to reading, I read 7 books this year, which one extra book compared to last year.
My best accomplishment of the year is doing the no-fap challenge where I managed to not do it from the 30th of October, 2017 till the 2nd of February 2018. It was refreshing experience where I practiced some self control and gained some clarity of mind and less dreamy state overall.
| Days | Date | NoFap Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30/10/2017 | Done |
| 2 | 31/10/2017 | Done |
| 3 | 1/11/2017 | Done |
| 4 | 2/11/2017 | Done |
| 5 | 3/11/2017 | Done |
| 6 | 4/11/2017 | Done |
| 7 | 5/11/2017 | Done |
| 8 | 6/11/2017 | Done |
| 9 | 7/11/2017 | Done |
| 10 | 8/11/2017 | Done |
| 11 | 9/11/2017 | Done |
| 12 | 10/11/2017 | Done |
| 13 | 11/11/2017 | Done |
| 14 | 12/11/2017 | Done |
| 15 | 13/11/2017 | Done |
| 16 | 14/11/2017 | Done |
| 17 | 15/11/2017 | Done |
| 18 | 16/11/2017 | Done |
| 19 | 17/11/2017 | Done |
| 20 | 18/11/2017 | Done |
| 21 | 19/11/2017 | Done |
| 22 | 20/11/2017 | Done |
| 23 | 21/11/2017 | Done |
| 24 | 22/11/2017 | Done |
| 25 | 23/11/2017 | Done |
| 26 | 24/11/2017 | Done |
| 27 | 25/11/2017 | Done |
| 28 | 26/11/2017 | Done |
| 29 | 27/11/2017 | Done |
| 30 | 28/11/2017 | Done |
| 31 | 29/11/2017 | Done |
| 32 | 30/11/2017 | Done |
| 33 | 1/12/2017 | Done |
| 34 | 2/12/2017 | Done |
| 35 | 3/12/2017 | Done |
| 36 | 4/12/2017 | Done |
| 37 | 5/12/2017 | Done |
| 38 | 6/12/2017 | Done |
| 39 | 7/12/2017 | Done |
| 40 | 8/12/2017 | Done |
| 41 | 9/12/2017 | Done |
| 42 | 10/12/2017 | Done |
| 43 | 11/12/2017 | Done |
| 44 | 12/12/2017 | Done |
| 45 | 13/12/2017 | Done |
| 46 | 14/12/2017 | Done |
| 47 | 15/12/2017 | Done |
| 48 | 16/12/2017 | Done |
| 49 | 17/12/2017 | Done |
| 50 | 18/12/2017 | Done |
| 51 | 19/12/2017 | Done |
| 52 | 20/12/2017 | Done |
| 53 | 21/12/2017 | Done |
| 54 | 22/12/2017 | Done |
| 55 | 23/12/2017 | Done |
| 56 | 24/12/2017 | Done |
| 57 | 25/12/2017 | Done |
| 58 | 26/12/2017 | Done |
| 59 | 27/12/2017 | Done |
| 60 | 28/12/2017 | Done |
| 61 | 29/12/2017 | Done |
| 62 | 30/12/2017 | Done |
| 63 | 31/12/2017 | Done |
| 64 | 1/1/2018 | Done |
| 65 | 2/1/2018 | Done |
| 66 | 3/1/2018 | Done |
| 67 | 4/1/2018 | Done |
| 68 | 5/1/2018 | Done |
| 69 | 6/1/2018 | Done |
| 70 | 7/1/2018 | Done |
| 71 | 8/1/2018 | Done |
| 72 | 9/1/2018 | Done |
| 73 | 10/1/2018 | Done |
| 74 | 11/1/2018 | Done |
| 75 | 12/1/2018 | Done |
| 76 | 13/1/2018 | Done |
| 77 | 14/1/2018 | Done |
| 78 | 15/1/2018 | Done |
| 79 | 16/1/2018 | Done |
| 80 | 17/1/2018 | Done |
| 81 | 18/1/2018 | Done |
| 82 | 19/1/2018 | Done |
| 83 | 20/1/2018 | Done |
| 84 | 21/1/2018 | Done |
| 85 | 22/1/2018 | Done |
| 86 | 23/1/2018 | Done |
| 87 | 24/1/2018 | Done |
| 88 | 25/1/2018 | Done |
| 89 | 26/1/2018 | Done |
| 90 | 27/1/2018 | Done |
| 91 | 28/1/2018 | Done |
| 92 | 29/1/2018 | Done |
| 93 | 30/1/2018 | Done |
| 94 | 31/1/2018 | Done |
| 95 | 1/2/2018 | Done |
| 96 | 2/2/2018 | Relapsed! |
Year 2018: More reading, journaling and sleep schedules experimentation
In 2018, I made 46 journal entries out of 365 days, which amounts to a 13% success rate. I’m certain that I was also working on productivity and planning during that time. However, based on what has been recorded, journaling was, by and large, my first documented habit, one that I continue to practice to this day.
Yes, I was reading books and I aimed to read 50 books this year, I failed to reach this goal, perhaps It wasn’t exactly a daily habit, as far as I can recall But at least I have managed to read almost 5 times what I read last year, it was 32 books to be exact.
. The same goes for planning, which was even worse in our case. I have some copies of the Passion Planner with more blank pages than filled ones.
Another habit I have data on and wanted to change is my sleep schedule. It was crucial for me to bring an end to the spiralling chaos of my sleep patterns, as it was adversely affecting my performance at university.
But, of course, since I was emphasizing the concept of saving more time, I found that polyphasic sleep was more aligned with my goals. So, I jumped into some extreme forms of sleep schedules, such as “Triphasic Schedule” which is about sleeping for 1.5 hours every 6.5 hours, resulting in 4.5 hours of sleep every 24 hours.
The sleeping idea sounded amazing in paper, and I thought, it can give me plenty of time to study and learn new things.
However, in just a couple of days, it had proven to be a completely disastrous experience. The third nap, which consists of 1.5 hours, is supposed to be taken at 16:00, and there are times when my classes finish at 15:30. Can you imagine rushing through transportation just to get home and be 10-20 minutes late? It was frustrating
I only managed to sleep on this schedule for 18 days, by that day I overslept for 10 hours! That’s when I knew I can’t continue sleeping like this anymore.
Year 2019: Mixed Habits Progress – Reading Flourishes, Journaling Lags
As I entered 2019, I continued with journaling, but to my surprise, I only managed 16 entries for the entire year, which equates to a 4% success rate. It wasn’t particularly impressive, but my commitment to developing habits had not yet fully taken hold.
I have a foggy idea of what I was up to during that year; all I know is that I have spend countless hours reading books, resulted of completing 40 books a year.
that’s equivalent the total amount of read book in both 2017 & 2018. I didn’t record time I spend reading on daily basis which could have been an interesting data to have.
Another habit I experimented with more, it was some meditation techniques here and there, but I didn’t document any of the experiences. I do recall using the Headspace app for meditation. Additionally, I attempted another polyphasic sleep schedule, but I failed to adapt to it.
Year 2020 : Experimenting with 8 habits
In 2020, at the beginning of the year, I began practicing the Wim Hof method, taking cold showers, and attempting to meditate, all while continuing my journaling habit and my reading. So, that’s a total of Five habits.
This year I couldn’t keep up with the same amount of books like last year, 12 minus books that is to say, 28 books in total.
Starting with my best-performed habit, journaling:
I managed to journal for 15 days in just the first month of 2020, which is almost equivalent to the results from the previous year.
In February, I had a perfect streak. Below, you’ll find my results for each recorded month
| Month | Results |
|---|---|
| February | 29 |
| March | 28 |
| April | 3 |
| May | 24 |
| June | 24 |
| July | 26 |
| August | 12 |
| September | 2 |
“That’s 148 days of journaling in 2020, marking the first time I reached such a milestone in my journaling journey.
Speaking of the Wim Hof Method and the breathing exercises, I managed to practice it for almost a month (for some reason, I didn’t include the 8th of February). I’m not sure if I completed it, but regardless, we can consider this month almost perfect, with a score of 27 out of 28.
| Date | Status | Number of Pushups |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Feb 2020 | Done | 11 |
| 2 Feb 2020 | Done | 11 |
| 3 Feb 2020 | Done | 13 |
| 4 Feb 2020 | Done | 11 |
| 5 Feb 2020 | Done | 11 |
| 6 Feb 2020 | Done | 14 |
| 7 Feb 2020 | Done | 12 |
| 8 Feb 2020 | NOT Done | 0 |
| 9 Feb 2020 | Done | 13 |
| 10 Feb 2020 | Done | 11 |
| 11 Feb 2020 | Done | 12 |
| 12 Feb 2020 | Done | 15 |
| 13 Feb 2020 | Done | 15 |
| 14 Feb 2020 | Done | 15 |
| 15 Feb 2020 | Done | 13 |
| 16 Feb 2020 | Done | 16 |
| 17 Feb 2020 | Done | 12 |
| 18 Feb 2020 | Done | 11 |
| 19 Feb 2020 | Done | 16 |
| 20 Feb 2020 | Done | 12 |
| 21 Feb 2020 | Done | 10 |
| 22 Feb 2020 | Done | 9 |
| 23 Feb 2020 | Done | 12 |
| 24 Feb 2020 | Done | 16 |
| 25 Feb 2020 | Done | 12 |
| 26 Feb 2020 | Done | 17 |
| 27 Feb 2020 | Done | 18 |
| 28 Feb 2020 | Done | 13 |
In July, I created a table where I recorded all of my habits in one place. I’m certain I used some printed planners, but I don’t think I still have them around (that’s one of the drawbacks of physical planners – if you fail to keep them, your data is lost forever). However, when it comes to the digital documenting , I still have the table of data.
The tracking was only done for 13 days, and as you can see, there were a lot of undone habits compared to the ones that were completed this month. A common issue that prevented me from checking off all the habits was overwhelming myself with eight habits, leading to procrastination. Nevertheless, it was a valuable experience as I ventured into new habits, especially ‘brain training’ using the Peak app, which is definitely worth trying. Now that I’ve mentioned this app, I’ll reinstall it since, if I remember correctly, I have a lifetime subscription.
For the next few months, from August until November, I didn’t have any data (lost probably, not that I fully remember)
I believe we all love good stories, especially those with happy endings. Well, in my case, I managed to document an entire month of a couple of habits in December 2020.
It was the first time I successfully maintained two perfect habits simultaneously for one month period.
| Days | Reading | Meditation | Excercising | Cold Shower | Planning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Done | Done | Done | Done | Done |
| 2 | Done | Done | Done | Done | Done |
| 3 | Done | Done | Done | Done | Not Done |
| 4 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Done |
| 5 | Done | Done | Done | Done | Done |
| 6 | Done | Done | Done | Done | Done |
| 7 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Done |
| 8 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 9 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 10 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 11 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 12 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 13 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 14 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 15 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 16 | Done | Done | Done | Done | Done |
| 17 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 18 | Done | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 19 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 20 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 21 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 22 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 23 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 24 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 25 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 26 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 27 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 28 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 29 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 30 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| 31 | Done | Done | Not Done | Not Done | Not Done |
| Completione Rate % | 100% | 100% | 22.5% | 19.35% | 25.8% |
So as you can see from the table above, I have 5 habits I worked on, two had perfect streak, but the other 3 habits I struggled to keep them, I can’t pinpoint to what exactly is the issue at that time, most likely the planning part wasn’t good, and it’s showing from the the table only 1 day out 4 days was planned in that month which leads to such inefficient results.
But overall getting the success rate above 50% was something to celebrate and at least feel good about, because there is always a room of improvement, right?
What can you learn from this 5 years experience?
There are two takeaways you should take with you if you are new into the habits building world.
First tip , Do not start any habit Without having A documenting habit that accompanies it. Data is crucial; it serves as your initial reference point to assess your past performance and facilitate your own reflections for improvement
Second tip, start small and preferably with just one habit (besides the habit documenting one), so that you make it doable and manageable. It’s not the quantity that matters if you end up sabotaging the habits a few weeks later. Having a consistent plan that allows you to make room for the habit every day is the key to building a substantial list of habits that can become a desired routine you want to maintain.
Wrapping up
Congratulations on reaching the end! As you have seen, starting with habits can be a bit of a chaotic journey, which was the case for me. However, that chaos served the purpose of bringing some order over time, which is what habit-building boils down to: experimentation and continuous improvement.
What about you, dear reader? In which year did you find yourself wanting to build positive habits? And if you haven’t started any habits yet, which one would you like to begin with?
Feel free to leave your comments below; we’d love to hear your story!
