I am a creature of habit. I am one of those people who sits in the same place in our conference room for our management meeting every month. My friend and I have a regular lunch place where they know us and our usual orders (well, they used to until the last time we went and we realized that all of our usual people had left their jobs!). When I find a routine that works for me, whether it is my morning routine or my cleaning schedule, I stick with it for a long time.

Throughout my lifetime I have adjusted my routines based on new habits, research, interests, or time needs. Over the last 15 months I have committed to daily meditation using the Calm App. I’m currently on a 189 day streak, and I’ve only missed 3 days in the last 460 days. It took a long time for this to become a daily habit and I am proud of the work I put in to create the habit. I do feel that I am able to use my breath for focus, attention, and calming when I need it, and my mind appreciates the work to slow down.

Another habit I have been working on for the last 2 months is daily writing. My book club has been doing a 3-month study of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. The goal of the book is to unlock creativity in whatever mode that might be for each person. I’m working on my writing as well as my photography. However, no matter what mode your artistic or creative side takes, everyone who follows the plan is expected to write 3 pages, handwritten, in a journal every day. These are called Morning Pages and are meant to help unblock stuck artists. The requirement is to fill the pages, even if you are just writing, “I have nothing to say” over and over again.

When I first began this, my hand would cramp up, because it wasn’t used to writing so much by hand. I purposely picked a journal that didn’t have big pages, so that my 3 pages a day would feel possible, and yet my hand needed a lot of coaching to continue in the beginning. Then my brain needed to learn to work with me. I have added Morning Pages into my morning routine, but you would be surprised how long it sometimes takes to fill up 3 whole pages. Some days I set a timer and just force myself to keep my hand moving no matter what. Other days I take time to reflect on what happened the previous day, and to write what my plans are for the day ahead. Once in awhile I have a great breakthrough, reflecting on a problem in a relationship or something I’ve been stuck on for awhile. Sometimes my handwriting is so sloppy I couldn’t read it if I tried! Only once so far has the book asked us to go back through our writing and reread, looking for common themes.

I find it valuable to reflect on my habits, because it’s good to give myself credit for the work I put in to create these habits and fun to look back and realize how far I’ve come. Building worthwhile habits takes times and is not always easy. I have other habits I’m trying to build, with less success so far, and habits that I have quit over time because the effort wasn’t worth my time. Knowing the reward you are getting from a habit is important for consistency and motivation. When looking for some tips or reminders, here are a few habit-building thoughts I stumbled upon:

• 3 -3 -3: It takes 3 days to get through the initial difficulty, 3 weeks to make a habit a routine, and 3 months to make it a deep part of our lifestyle
• 21-90: It takes 21 consecutive days to make a habit and 90 consecutive days to make it a lifestyle change
• 4 laws: 1 Make it obvious 2 Make it attractive 3 Make it easy 4 Make it satisfying
• 2 minute rule: Atomic Habits recommend starting with something that only takes 2 minutes