What are your biggest takeaway from last year?

We have entered a new year and, it is time to review our last year again. So, let's get right into it.

What was your biggest takeaway from last year?

The biggest thing I learned is CHANGE.

Specifically, I learned to make micro changes in my habits to be more productive and have a healthy relationship with my mind and body.

Things change.

Seasons change.

Our dreams change.

So why not make some self-improvements?

It was a hectic year. Correspondingly, my habits were changing to accommodate my extra work hours. To make adjustments for this, my timing for other activities shifted or got reduced significantly. It made me realise where I was lacking and coerced me to change my habits.

But where to begin?

It's easy to say, I need to change but how? Where to begin?

Now that I look back at last year, I think the first part was to realise that 'I need to change'. The second was to find the 'what'.

"The hardest part for me was to become self-aware. "

Some of our bad habits are glaring, like waking up late or spending the majority of our free time on the phone. What I had to identify was that minor practices are overlooked in unexpected areas.

Initially, these were my steps to write a blog.

⦁ Write my thoughts on a piece of paper.

⦁ Research to get more data or other views.

⦁ Take these down on Word.

⦁ Arrange them.

⦁ Copy it on my blog post. Check again.

⦁ Post.

What can I change to be more efficient?

Arrange my thoughts on the paper itself.

Or, after writing my thoughts down, I can research and arrange them in my blog post. So, what did I learn - Make productivity by removing the unnecessary steps and making them more routine.

Another hurdle of this change is coming out of the comfort zone. This is one of the places where the system becomes more important than the goal. Change is the only constant. I was so attuned to my pattern that I rejected sudden adjustments.

The process

So, what to do? What to change but not willing to do so. Well, after a lot of trial and error, I learned something.

"These changes do not happen in one day. It is a culmination of conscious and patient effort till we do it unconsciously. "

My phone had 7 alarms set from 7 am to 10 am at an interval of 30 mins. Initially, I attempted to make a massive change in my action. I tried to change my waking time from 9:30 -10 am to 7 am. Our behaviour always catches up. My body had a hard time adjusting to this new timetable. Naturally, it was a failed mission. I felt tired and exhausted all through the day. Next, I tried waking 15 -30 minutes earlier which was more acceptable. I tried to wake up around 8:30 -9:00. After I got accustomed to the new timetable, I tried waking 30 mins earlier and so on. These small changes seemed insignificant and time-taking initially but were practical in the long run. These minor adjustments in my habits were life reforming.

I made minor adjustments slowly in other aspects of my life. It had a compounding effect. There were also some setbacks now and then. Whereas now, I feel more confident in identifying the flaws in my habits and improving them.