Contents

• Willpower Is Not Enough
  
• Why Keep An Online Daily Checklist ?
  
• New Habit Tips
  
• Checklist Options
  
• Jerry Seinfeld Chain Method
  
• Useful Links
  
• Quotes
  

Willpower is not enough

The Transactional Analysis theory of psychology tells us that the reason we are unable to act with the discipline required to achieve our goals is that we have multiple ego-states that pull us in different directions.

Perhaps at a certain time, in a certain mood, you are fully committed to achieving your goal. In a different mood, perhaps merely minutes later, you are not committed and fall back into bad behavior.

If you've ever dieted then binged, worked hard then self-sabotaged or been frustrated with your inconsistent efforts you have seen for yourself that willpower and determination are necessary but not sufficient.

Well if willpower and determination aren't enough what is the missing piece ?

You must add practical support structures in your life that will make it easier for your to do the right thing and harder for you to do the wrong thing.

The Jerry Seinfeld "Don't break the Chain" method

Jerry Seinfeld (the comedian) is just one example of someone understanding the power of daily routine.

He was asked how he became a successful comic and answered that the key to success for him was having good jokes, and the key to having good jokes was simply writing new jokes every day.

He implemented a daily to do list approach. Marking down each day whether he had spent time coming up with new jokes that day or not. He focused on the simple mission of making sure he could give himself a success tick every day.

Useful Links

• Lifehacker - Tips and downloads for getting things done
• Successvibe Forum - Success and Motivation Forum
• Uncommonforum - Psychology and Self Help Forum
• The Happiness Project - Chronicles of a years adventure into happiness
• Dumb Little Man - Tips for saving time and money

Quotes

The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. - Samuel Johnson

All habits gather by unseen degrees - As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas. - John Dryden

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. - Jim Ryan

Why Keep An Online Daily Checklist ?

You can't manage what you don't measure and what you measure generally improves. Even if you aren't ready to change start recording your behaviour and you might be surprised at the result.

Experiment. Commit to recording your progress for a month.

The simple act of recording your behaviour can have a positive effect.

Key Points - Daily Checklists

Try and fill out your checklist at the same time each day.

Accept that you will have some setbacks, also accept that you will not give up and get back on the horse!

Write down why you want to change your life. Remind yourself reguarly what the benefits of changing are and what pain results from not changing.

New Habit Tips

Research tells us that making a new habit stick takes about a month. Focus on a single new habit for a month before trying to add more.

Don't try and discard existing bad habits cold turkey, try and replace them with new healthy habits.

Make a public commitment, tell your friends and family about your new habit. This will make it a little harder for your to give up.

Whenever you notice negative thoughts use a key phrase to reset your mindset. For example, if you ever notice yourself thinking that you can't immediately say "I couldn't in the past, but I can now, and I will."

Checklist Options

There are some advantages to having your daily checklist online but it's by no means the only possibility.

Getting a small pocket notebook and keeping it with you is a great approach.

You may already have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer. Using Excel is a great way to get started with a daily checklist. You can find some information on how to set up a daily checklist in Excel on the HabitMix Blog

Online websites (like ours, HabitMix) make it easy to set up daily checklists.

(Why the tomato ? Why not! :) )

Well, what are you waiting for ?

There is an old saying about saving money, the most important thing is that you do it early and do it often.

A similar thing could be said about using a daily to do list and taking control of your habits. Don't worry too much about how you are going to record your progress, don't even worry too much about what habits you are going to be recording. Pick one and get started today!

HabmitMix provides a free account so you can get started recording your habits on a daily checklist.