Building good habits and breaking bad ones isn’t easy. It takes time, patience and persistence.
Start by understanding where your habit
comes from, what triggers it and what you need to do to change it.
Along with motivation and willpower you can use technology to help you.
Firstly, set your habit goal and then set up a way to track your progress as you build and strengthen your desired habit. Whether you use an app, a simple spreadsheet or pen and paper is up to you.
There’s no right or wrong tool, it’s how you use it that matters and there are plenty of habit apps out there. Many are free (up to a point), some are paid only or pay for added functionality.
While some are Apple or Android only,
others have a website to log in to for the bigger picture or additional info. Choose ones that sync across multiple devices so you can keep track on your mobile, laptop or computer, or smart watch.
They have pretty good free options to get you started and on the right track to building good habits.
Here are a few of my favourites or one's I've used in the past.
Productivity Apps
ToDoist - track your tasks and actions on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Create ‘projects’ for your work and personal
life. Set priorities, reminders and use repeating tasks so you can build regular habits.
It's quick and easy to create new tasks and integrate with your calendar, email and messaging systems, so saving you time. Share and allocate tasks to other people.
Well worth upgrading for the added
features and to integrate with other apps and devices - such as your Calendar, email and messaging.
Pomodoro style apps. There are several of these classic Pomodoro style timer apps. Read more about the Pomodoro technique here.
Apps vary from a simple on/off timer to apps where you allocate your Pomodoro bursts, to specific projects and analyse your productivity e.g. FocusKeeper,
BeFocused.
There are apps with web and desktop versions, like FocusBooster, so you can put the distraction of the phone to one side. Great for motivation and staying focused.
Strides - a goal and habit tracking app. You can create and build up to 3 habits with the free version by using their preset habits in different categories - Health, Fitness, Productivity, Money etc. or creating your own. Use streaks so you can track your habits and set target dates and milestones for your goals. Habitify is a similar, simplified version.
Health and Fitness Apps
If you’re not wearing the latest smart
watch to track your every move, use one of the many health & fitness apps to get you focused and on track.
MapMyWalk/Run/Cycle - a family of apps that essentially do the same thing to track your runs and cycles. Join up with friends to keep you motivated. All under the banner of and syncs to 'MapMyFitness' online.
Strava - track your walk, run or cycle. This now includes other water and winter sports so you don't need to use a different app. Similar to the one above but I mainly use it for my longer more significant walks, runs or cycles. Join groups, connect with friends when you’re out on the same ride and give each other kudos.
Most fitness apps will sync to your fitness or health tracker as well, so you don't have to manually update them.
Couch to 5k. Give one of the C25k apps a go if you want to build up your fitness and get into running from a standing (Couch) start.
I used the original Zen Labs C25k app to get me from a non-runner to my first 5k and then a half-marathon a few years (or decades) ago. I also used it again more recently to get me back into exercising more regularly.
Mind & Mental Wellbeing
Lumosity - brain training. If you think your memory is failing, you’re having difficulty problem solving or finding it hard to focus, exercise your brain. Yes, your brain needs exercise just like the rest of your body and the more you use and challenge it the better it gets.
The website has additional games and puzzles not yet on the app and new ones are added every now and then. Similar apps are Peak and Elevate.
Current medical research shows that as we age we might be able to fend off dementia and keep our brain active by problem solving, doing word or number puzzles.
Insight - meditation app with thousands of guided meditations from many different styles of meditation as well as present timers for your own customised meditation.
Connect with thousands of other meditators around the world, join groups of interest, learn about the different types and styles of meditation. Start a meditation habit.
Duolingo - learn a language. I’ve mentioned this one before. The power of a streak can be very motivating to keep you coming back and building a good habit around learning, meditation or mental challenges. I’ve hit over 1100 days! Little and often definitely works as does connecting and competing with others.
Keep it simple
Gamification - or earning rewards and points, building a forest or growing a flower, keeps you motivated. The digital equivalent of ticking something off your to-do list and
getting a gold star!
Set
reminders to keep you focused and give you a nudge when you need it.
The best, most effective apps are usually the simplest without a busy interface or too much distraction.
Last but not least, the simplest of all is pen and paper. Many paper journals have a habit tracker section, so you can add and track your habits by day,
week or month. My current journal has space for up to 7 daily/weekly habits.
It’s easier and quicker to keep track of on paper instead of across several different apps and devices.
Join me in tonight's Masterclass and understand your triggers and the 'do’s and don’ts' to make those habits stick.
