Habits that have a significant impact on life - part 2

The second part of my habit list focuses on work, family, and maintaining a good sense of well-being. The positive effects are tremendous and offer starting points for new ones. Let's look.

6 minutes
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In this article, I'll outline my list of small and big habits. In the first part, I discussed how journaling, nutrition, and mindfulness habits have a profoundly positive impact on my life. Now I'll continue with my work, family, and feel-good habits.

Business

2-Minute Rule

All tasks that I can complete within two minutes are completed immediately. If I'm focused and a task pops up (I love distractions), I might even jot it down. At the very latest, in the evening when I'm transferring them to the following day in my bullet journal, I review these tasks – if they still make sense, then complete them immediately instead of dragging them on.

Plan the next day

As part of my evening ritual, I sit down with my bullet journal (see the relevant points under Journaling in part one). An essential part of this ritual is planning the following day. I check my appointments and decide whether I really want to keep them (I write a cancellation if necessary). I transfer tasks from my daily notes to the following day or to my backlog. This way, I can be sure that I don't forget anything and that I keep my commitments and agreements.

Zero Inbox

I'm fortunate enough to receive a few emails. The few emails I do receive, I deal with at the end of the workday or postpone them for Friday. On the last day of the week, I have a window of time to deal with this block so that I can start the weekend with the good feeling of an empty inbox. I don't have an email app on my phone, so I'm free of any disruptions on that channel until Monday.

Appointment Scheduling with Calendly

I find the email ping-pong required to schedule appointments extremely exhausting and time-consuming. Especially since I rarely check my inbox and process emails. Fortunately, there are helpers available to assist with this challenge. I link my personal and professional calendars to the Calendly service and set up times for appointment types, such as "Digital Coffee" or "60-Minute Meeting." To schedule an appointment, I send a link where the recipient can choose a time that suits both my specifications and their own needs. Simple and straightforward.

Validate Assumptions

In my profession as a developer, I often discuss technical solutions with people who aren't tech-savvy to address their professional challenges. The biggest mistake I can make is making assumptions and not validating them. This begins with verifying whether the same terms are understood in the same way and extends to predicting how potential users will behave in certain situations. This pattern of thinking can be projected onto everyday life and has led me to the habit of denying even the obvious (shoutout to Captain Obvious).

Family

No Cell Phone at the Dinner Table

We ensure quality family time at dinner by deciding together that the phone has no place at the dinner table. In my opinion, the same applies to many other situations, but especially in this particular one.

No Cell Phone at Meetings

Building on the above point, I've developed the habit of leaving my cell phone in my pocket or backpack when, for example, I'm out to dinner with someone. What I often observe and don't understand at all is people turning their phones upside down on the table. If I'm on call or expecting an urgent call, okay. But I doubt that's the reason. It's more about the worry of missing something important from someone who isn't there (FOMO). Instead, it's better to be genuinely present and actively listen.

Weekly Meal Planning

As part of our weekly planning, we've made it a habit to plan meals from Monday to Sunday. Thinking about what to cook every day created a tremendous amount of stress in the morning and thus consumed a lot of energy. This small organizational habit makes our mornings feel so much more relaxed.

Pre-cook

Just as meal planning makes the morning feel so much more relaxed, deliberately cooking too much food the day before can make the evening so much more relaxing. Ideally, we incorporate these thoughts into our meal planning and buy more accordingly. If an appointment in the afternoon runs longer, we still have delicious food in the evening.

Feel good

A wonderful phrase to start the day

My daughter and I have got into the habit of holding hands every morning and saying "Today will be a wonderful day" several times. After a few repetitions, even the grumpiest morning mood lifts our spirits, and we smile at each other. This sweetens the day immensely, and I firmly believe that the day will be significantly better than if we didn't do it.

Cold shower

For a perfect start to the day, here's the ideal pick-me-up. After a warm shower, I set the water level to completely cold at the end. This change from warm to ice-cold is invigorating. After about a minute, I'm in a good mood, dry myself off, and any tiredness is gone.

Regular exercise

To feel good during the day, I've got into the habit of using my smartwatch's buzzer ten minutes before the hour. The buzzer occurs when I've walked fewer than 250 steps during the hour. The interruption may sometimes be inconvenient, but the energy boost is worth it.

Say something nice or keep your mouth shut

It's less of a habit than a principle. In times of hate and malice online, and sometimes in real life, I take the approach of saying something nice or nothing at all. Before I gossip or make a (stupid) comment, I hold back my thoughts. Whether it's friendly or complimentary, I hope to please the other person.

The magic of the word "yet"

Whenever I assume I can't do something, I insert the word "yet" into the sentence: I can't do that YET. This makes it clear to me that I actually can't do it yet. But if I want to and start practicing now, I will be able to. This puts it in my hands whether I want to change that or not. In any case, my self-esteem doesn't have to suffer from the realization that things aren't working out right now. And all this with just one small word. A truly amazing miracle weapon.

Creating order in the background

Since my first flat, I've developed the habit of finding a designated place for things and constantly returning them there. This doesn't always happen immediately, but rather as a constant activity in the background. For this purpose, I have designated collection points where I temporarily store items—e.g., on the stairs upstairs or in the basement. The next time I pass by the collection point, I pick up the things and put them away. Thanks to this habit, it's always tidy without me having to spend any extra time on it.

What habits do you have?

Maybe I've inspired you, or you have questions, or you'd like to tell me about your habits.

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