KEYSTONE HABITS

Good Habits Falling Apart? Don’t Overthink It — Make One Change!

Review your keystone habits and make one change for each.

Have you ever felt your good habits were slipping away? Recently I realized I was failing at three out of four of my essential keystone habits.

1. I was gaining weight.
2. My exercise habit was failing.
3. I hadn’t published an article on Medium in 20 days.
4. My morning meditation was the only habit intact.

One of four is not good. I needed some habit repair.

I used to think keystone habits were essential habits. But thanks to Charles Duhigg, I now know they are so much more.

Some habits have the power to start a chain reaction, changing other habits as they move through an organization. Some habits, in other words, matter more than others in remaking businesses and lives. These are keystone habits . . . Keystone habits start a process that, over time, transforms everything. — Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit

My four keystone habits are:

• Morning Meditation
• Writing
• Moderate Eating
• Daily Exercise

How Keystone Habits Work for Me

Example. My morning meditation habit ricochets through many areas of my life. It improves my concentration, which improves my writing, which improves my self-confidence, which improves my ability to take on weight loss and exercise challenges.

All four keystone habits are linked and have a ripple effect on one another. If you tweak your keystone habits just right, they‘ll cross-pollinate and become prime movers in your self-development.

My usual approach to a problem is to get on my horse and ride off in all directions! Make elaborate plans, write down overly optimistic resolutions, and maybe deep clean my office while I’m at it. I’m sure you’ve been there.

This time, I’ve decided to stop procrastinating, look carefully at each keystone habit — Change One Thing — and get on with my life.

Morning Meditation — My Best Keystone Habit

Here are some benefits of morning meditation based on my experience. I have been meditating 173 consecutive days, one hour per day. My meditation habit is now solid as a rock. Here’s what I've learned.

You’ll gain improved concentration and focus, which is excellent for anyone from beekeepers to Walmart greeters. You’ll be able to focus and hold your attention for more extended periods, even as angry bees and customers buzz around you.

You’ll become more creative. You’ll be able to see patterns in one area of life and apply them to other areas.

You’ll see similes and turn them into metaphors. Your creative solutions will surprise you.

Creative ideas bubble up so often I keep a notebook next to my meditation seat. You’ll develop a beginner’s mind, and you’ll see more possibilities.

You’ll develop an immense and unyielding degree of patience and conviction, especially in the face of problems or difficulty. Patience will become your superpower.

There are many more benefits from daily meditation, but concentration, creativity, and patience are the most important for me. Here is an article from NIH with a list of the many convincing studies on the benefits of meditation.

The One Thing I Changed — I Shortened My Morning Meditation To Concentrate More on Exercise

I’ve been doing 75 minutes of meditation every weekday morning and an hour a day on weekends. That’s a lot. I shortened my meditation time to repair my flagging walking habit.

Habit Stacking. Now I do a half-hour of meditation first thing in the morning, followed immediately by a four-mile walk. I moved my walking, which I did on an irregular schedule, to immediately after my meditation so it can ride the coattails of that solid habit — habit stacking.

Exercise Your Body AND Your Mind

Exercise in the morning, Your energy will be fresher, and there is less chance of something coming up that will force you to cancel or shorten your workout.

Exercise alone. Your exercise time is yours alone. Creative ideas may arise. Solutions to a problem you’re working on will sometimes magically appear.

Exercise Seven Days a Week. Do some exercise every day. Maybe four days of intense workouts and three days of lighter work. Exercising seven days will allow you to lock in your habit. Just be careful you don't overdo it and injure yourself. Don’t exercise hard seven days a week. You’ll pay the price for that.

The One Thing I Changed— I Scheduled My Walks

I had been shoehorning my walking sometime in the afternoon or early evening. I had less energy at that time, and unforeseen obligations or wine time would often interfere. My walking goal was 10,000 steps per day. I often fell short.

The solution was to schedule my walk right after my morning meditation, at 7:00 AM. My meditation habit is solid, so I habit-stacked my walking onto it. I meditate, have a quick breakfast, and do my 4-mile walk, the same time every weekday.

As a result, I was able to up my daily steps goal from 10,000 steps to 15,000 steps a day. Surprisingly it's easier now to meet the higher steps goal. Starting earlier in the day is the key.

Cross-pollination. Exercise = sharper meditation mind, and more calories burned for weight loss. Exercise = more writing idea creation during my walks. It’s all connected!

Writing

Writing makes you smarter. It organizes and clarifies your thinking and builds self-discipline.

Writing is free schooling for curious humans.

I had a big fear of writing. I don’t have many followers yet, but I’ve noticed many of them have not written anything on Medium. I was one of them for a year. I feared exposing my ideas in public. I was worried about what people would think of me. Poor me!

Now that I’m finally writing and publishing, my fear is mostly gone. And I’m slowly honing my craft and getting better every day. When I hit Publish, I feel good!

Writing clarifies your thinking about what’s essential in life. It helps you set your priorities and discover what you value. Writing is free schooling for curious humans.

The One Thing I Changed — I Wrote This Article

If you’re blocked, don’t procrastinate. Don’t clean your desk, sign up for a writing course, or plan out your succession of future posts. Do this:

Write one article and publish it. Even if it’s not very good, you’ll feel better, and the next one will be easier.

Cross-pollination. Writing improves my self-esteem, making it easier to stay with my diet and weight loss regimen. And, of course, writing ideas blossom during morning meditation.

Eating Moderately

I don’t know about you, but for me, being overweight sucks! I avoid mirrors and store windows when I walk. Swimming is no fun. I hate trying on clothes. But I’m doing something about it.

The One Thing I Changed — I’m Logging My Food and Counting Calories

I had stopped logging my food and calories as I used to.

With today’s weight loss apps, logging everything you eat and tracking your daily calorie count is easier than ever. I use Lose It! Some prefer My Fitness Pal. Both these apps are available for all phones, PC, and Mac. (I have no affiliation or association with Lose It!)

I always do better when I log my meals and calories immediately after I eat. It helps me stay mindful of my consumption and makes sure I don’t forget what I ate.

A recent study found that keeping a food diary doubles weight loss. Logging your food is a powerful keystone habit.

Cross-pollination. Of course, losing weight improves my exercise. (I have less weight to carry.) It enhances my blood and energy flow which helps my meditation and exercise. And it revitalizes my mind, which sharpens my writing.

Final Thoughts

Take a close look at your habits and identify your keystone habits. Then tweak them to gain maximum synergy. And Do One Thing!

1. If you want to improve your meditation habit, Sit down and meditate for 10 minutes right now. I’m sure you’ve got ten minutes to spare.
2. If you want to exercise more, don’t think about it — just do it.
3. Do you want to write? Write one story and publish it today. F**k what anyone thinks about it.
4. If you want to lose weight, log everything you eat for a week.
5. Read The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

Thanks for reading — and helping me be a better human.