Don’t Take a Break. Have you ever gotten burnt out on something, taken a break, and the break ends up being a lot longer than you’d planned? Maybe several months instead of one week? If you want to keep the skill, don’t take a break. Downsize your goal. Make it small. James Clear recommends that you come up with a 2 minute version of any habit you want to form, and do it every day. Master the art of showing up.
In His book, “Atomic Habits”, he shares the story of one of his readers who used this strategy to lose weight. He went to the gym 5 days a week for 5 minutes. That’s it. He basically just showed up at the gym. After the habit became automatic, he made it a little longer, a little longer still, and so on. Over the course of 6 months, he lost 100 pounds.
I did this with piano. I practiced an average of 15 minutes a day for 9 months before I started playing in church. Seth Godin decided to write a little bit every day on his blog. And over 20 years later it is so well known that his blog is the first Google result for “Seth’s Blog”. Small steps can make big impacts over time. That’s why I launched the Daily Tidbits series where I’m writing at least one paragraph every day. It’s spur of the moment writing. It doesn’t necessarily have a high production quality, but every day I’ll be shipping some new piece of writing into the world.
What new habit do you want to form?
What small step will you take every day to make that happen?
See you tomorrow,
Josh
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
5 responses to “Don’t Take a Break.”
Thank you, Josh. I am struggling with exercise. I am going to try the 5-10 minutes everyday. I thinkbthis is a great plan for my prayer life as well.
You’re welcome. Thank you for the comment and thanks for reading!
Your post is quite timely for me. Thanks for sharing. I have been told that I need a total knee replacement and that it is vital to build up strength in my legs prior to surgery in order to help the new knee. Losing some weight is also important. When I look at the big picture, from the point of view of a senior overweight woman who never excercises, it is daunting. My goal is now 10# before surgery (no date set so maybe more!) and riding the bike at therapy for 15 min 2 times a week in addition to the other excercise the therapist has assigned me.
You’re welcome. I’m glad God used it to help you!
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