Budgeting 101 for Minimalists
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Kara Walker. What does a lawn mower in the kitchen, eight can openers that you don’t need, and a relative dropping off keepsakes you don’t want (but don’t know how to tell her) have in common? A waking nightmare for minimalists! There is so much freedom from […]
My Ten Non-Negotiable Daily Habits (and How I Stick With Them)
I am fascinated by the topic of habits, especially daily habits. They are the underlying, oftentimes unconscious architecture of our lives. Habits are difficult to change because they are so deeply engrained in us. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits and one of my favorite writers about habits, paints the picture perfectly, “The task of […]
Five Things I Learned About Habits from Exercising for a Year Straight
What does it take to maintain a daily workout habit for a year? Many people want to make exercise a priority, and according to one study, “doing more exercise or improving my fitness” was the top New Year’s resolution for Americans for 2021. I’ve always been fairly consistent with exercising in the morning before my […]
Heard of SMART Goals? Try SMART Habits
If you’ve ever read a book or listened to a podcast on productivity, you have likely been introduced to SMART goals. Developed in 1968 by Dr. Edwin Locke and then expanded upon in 1981 by George T. Doran, SMART is an acronym for the ideal characteristics of successful goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. […]
5 Ways Minimalism Helps You Maintain Healthy Habits
There is a reason that most New Year’s resolutions fail. Behavioral change is hard. In fact, the book Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts–Becoming the Person You Want to Be describes it this way: “Adult behavioral change is the most difficult thing for sentient human beings to accomplish.” Yet every January, like clockwork, we tell ourselves that […]
5 Ways to Cultivate a Present Moment Gratitude Practice
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives. Many families have a tradition of going around the table at the Thanksgiving meal to name something they are grateful for that year, while others may incorporate gratitude in a more structured way as part of their morning or evening […]
My Morning Routine and Three Tips to Start Your Own
I have a strange snoozing habit. When my alarm goes off on my iPhone, I allow myself a glorious 9-minute snooze. When it goes off again and I still feel like I can’t move out of my cozy bed, I give myself a certain number of Mississippi’s. “You can have ten,” I tell myself. One […]
What 30 Days of Meditation Taught Me
I recently read an article by one of my favorite authors on the subject of habits, James Clear. It was about using the Seinfeld Strategy to not “break the chain” of an action. If there’s a goal that you have, or a healthy habit you want to establish, do it every day (if even for one […]
Do Goals Make Sense?
When you hear the word goals, what pops into your head? New Year’s resolutions never kept? The acronym SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time- bound)? Do you think about all the things that you’ve been wanting to do but seem impossible to do with limited time and energy? Do goals energize you or depress […]
My 54 (and growing?) Habits for a Healthy and Happy Life
I’ve been thinking a lot about habits lately. Part of this is due to the fact that I am a full six months into my Sea Change program through Zen Habits, which focuses on one area of habit formation every month. It’s $10 a month and totally worth it! So far we’ve focused on meditation, […]