“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.”

– James Clear

A habit is an action that the human mind is accustomed to doing regularly. This action is something that people do often, like washing your hands after using the toilet, brushing your teeth, reading for a curtain amount of time, and thinking of things that you’re grateful for.

For the past seven weeks, my peers and I have been doing planks for 15 seconds and adding an additional 15 seconds every week. We kept a habit tracker and filled it out after every time we did the habit. We started on the 24th of October and ended on the 15th of December. This was a really good thing for my brain and physical strength but didn’t come across like that at first.

Planking for 15 seconds a day for a week seemed like torture. People’s arms were shaking and we kept asking for the time. We had to do this in class as well as outside of class, which added to our lack of enthusiasm. But we found ways to make it better. When I did it outside of class I would have one of my classmates do it with me or eventually I had my family doing it at home too. When I’d do it at school, I’d have friends ask me if I wanted to do it with them. This made us more inclined to continue this habit.

In the first week I had trouble remembering or having a will to do a physically taxing activity outside of class. It was the type of thing you sometimes forget to do on the weekends. Like not changing out of your PJs the whole day. But the longer this challenge went on the better my brain remembered to tell me, “Hey, you have to do a plank for 30 seconds today.” And after a while of that, it was something I did before bed. Sometimes I forgot and then I would make sure to do it the day after.

There’s a benefit to doing a daily habit as well. Getting your body in a rhythm and it gives you a sense of accomplishment. This can boost your mind to feel proud of finishing a task, even if it’s a small one. Although this depends on the person. Personally, I think doing a habit every day got me into a rhythm.

After doing this habit I assigned myself a new one that I get to start. Doodling and writing a bit each day. I love to draw and I feel like it’s something I’m not doing as often anymore, so it’s a must for my creative visualization juices. And writing everyday. I have stories that I’ve been putting off continuing for months (one of them even about a year) so I really just want to find out where I take my characters, what adventures they’ll have, and what problems they’ll face.

Making a habit is a regular task in everyday human life. Maybe try to make a new habit. Like saying what you’re grateful for before you go to bed, or finding something to be happy about and smiling. Tell me what your habit is in the comments section. Good bye!