Building New Habits
Relevant to my post about success and daily habits, I have resolved to build or strengthen these three (3) areas:
- Work-Life Balance – Spend only 9.5 hours at most in the office
- This means going in and out of the office on time
- Maximise productivity within the official working hours
Honestly, I over stay at work because I like working when everyone else has left. My mind is more focused and creative juices flow. I suppose I can also do that by coming in earlier for my shift, reverse the hours, if you will. I haven’t really tried that.
Another reason for staying too long is that I tend to lose steam towards the end of my shift. I literally drowse and fall asleep without even trying. Sometimes, I struggle to keep awake even while speaking with someone. And it doesn’t matter how much sleep I get the previous night. The doctor I consulted awhile back mentioned that the sleep apnea is probably keeping me tired even while sleeping, translating to not having enough rest. A sleep study would really help me, but I figured I’d try to lose some weight before I go back for medical help (for both the sleeping problem, and the PCOS). So that’s why I’m also going to work on the second habit..
- Sleep 7 hours daily
- Promotes general well-being
- Should give me energy to power through 8 hours of work without drowsing in the middle of the day.
Habits 1 and 2 complement each other. If I am to get 7 hours of sleep daily, and still have a life, I have to stick to a 9.5-hour work-day. Otherwise, all I would do at home is sleep – no chores, no hobbies, no writing. NOTHING. So those are the two that I have already started tracking with my small Kislap. Incidentally, around this time last year, I also tried to sleep better but failed. Here’s how last year’s tracker looked like – Mostly X’s:
Let’s push harder this time around.
- Budget and use CASH
- Revisit current budget categories
- Utilize jar or envelope system for variable expenses
It is really sad that I wasn’t able to sustain the good habits I worked on for so long. Seems that manually tracking expenses is way better for me than the excel sheet on my phone or referring to my credit card bill to examine where everything went at the end of the month. But there is always hope.
Are you working on building any habits? How are you doing it? Do you have tips for sleeping better? Any tips to help me become successful in these three areas?