Take Control of Your Life by Getting Rid of These 6 Bad Habits
You know how exercise gurus and physical fitness experts all say it takes time to build up muscle and lose fat? Well, the same thing can be said for habits. Both good and bad. It takes 21 days to establish a habit, according to studies. Good habits help you take control of your life. Bad habits can make you feel like you have no control. Which would you rather feel?
Today, I’m sharing a few bad habits you need to work on if you want to feel more secure in your life. You may not do all these habits, but I’m sure you do at least one or two. I have. I still have to work hard to overcome some of them. With a little determination and consistency, you can too.
Let’s look at 6 bad habits you need to overcome in order to take control of your life
#1 — Going to bed late
This is one of the hardest habits to break. Especially if you’re surrounded by glowing screens and loud noises. But going to bed at a reasonable time will improve your mood and give you the necessary energy to get you through the next day. If you have a bad habit of going to bed past midnight, it’s time to rethink your sleep patterns.
Are you drinking caffeine too late in the day? Are you staring at a television screen or phone all the way up until you close your eyes? Is there too much noise outside your bedroom window because you live in a city? All of these are fixable.
To take control of your life and sleep schedule, you must first choose a caffeine cut-off time. That means no caffeinated beverage (coffee, tea, soda, etc) after that hour. Instead of watching TV before bed, turn all screens off an hour before and read. A book, a magazine, a manual, whatever. Just get your eyes off the screen. Finally, use earplugs and a sound machine to drown out any noise that’s keeping you awake.
I could write an entire blog post about how to improve your sleeping habits, but for now, we’ll leave it at that.
#2 — Saying yes to everything
While the pandemic made us miss out on a lot of fun activities, you still need to protect your time. That means not saying yes to every single invitation you receive. I don’t mean saying yes to things like bridal showers, weddings, birthday parties, and the like. I’m talking about saying yes every time a friend suggests going out to dinner or a bar.
I understand you might want to make up for lost time, but saying yes to everything will be a one-way ticket to burnout. Not to mention a burden on your wallet. As an introvert, I’m very cautious with what I say yes to. And I’ve learned to overcome my FOMO.
There will be another dinner get-together. There will be another BBQ or night out at the bar. Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, saying no is a powerful step in taking control of your life. It means you’re protecting your time and energy. If your friends poke fun at you for turning down a fun time, ignore them. Saying yes because of peer pressure will only make you resent them. That’s the last thing you want. So say no and stick with it. That, in and of itself, is a testament to your character.
#3 — Multitasking
Ready for a truth bomb? Emails will still be waiting in your inbox. Your to-do list will still be sitting there. The laundry will still need to be folded. You don’t have to check your email while folding laundry. Multitasking is a thing of the past. Once believed to be the only thing to make you productive, it has now been debunked by several studies.
If you want to take control of your life you need to learn the art of single-tasking. That means working on one task until it’s complete or until you’ve done all you can with it. When you multitask, you’re overstimulating your brain. It’s not able to give 100% focus on one thing. This will lead to faster burnout and poor results.
So learn to work on one task at a time, giving that task your full attention. Set a timer and work on that task for 20-30 minutes. Only then can you switch to something else.
#4 — Checking your phone constantly
I’ll be the first to admit that there’s nothing easier than picking up your phone and scrolling through social media to kill time. But when I see almost an hour has passed, I don’t feel so great. Meaning, I know I could have used that time for something productive. I know I’m not alone here.
If you want to take control of your life, your phone is the first tie you need to sever. I don’t mean that literally. But you’ll have to go to some extreme measures. Begin a strict no-phone policy. At a certain time of day, put your phone somewhere and leave it there until tomorrow. If that’s too hard, use your phone’s built-in “Sleep Mode” or “Do Not Disturb” features.
I have my phone set to go on silent from 10:00 pm — 7:00 am. That means any text, notification, or call won’t appear on my screen until 7:00 am. You can select specific numbers to breach the barrier for emergencies, but be very selective. I only allow my immediate family that access. All friends, co-workers, and other family members are locked out of my phone until the next morning.
This allows you to sleep without your phone buzzing or chiming every time a new message or notification pops up. You'll actually get a decent night's sleep. This is another topic I can go on and on about. To save time, read up on your phone’s “Do Not Disturb” features and give them a try.
#5 — Comparing yourself to others
This is yet another bad habit that I still have trouble with. Social media has made comparing yourself to others nearly impossible to escape. Unless you quit social media cold turkey you’re always going to fall into the comparison trap. So how can you overcome this?
Mindset. That’s it. All you can do is shift your perspective. And remember that everyone is on their own journey and they all go at a different pace. It may not be the solution you wanted to hear, but the truth is only you can overcome this habit.
So the best way to take control of your life and stop comparing it to others is to accept that we all face struggles. And that the lives you are presented with on social media are not the whole truth.
#6 — Giving your time to people who don’t appreciate you
One thing this pandemic revealed was the type of people you want to surround yourself with. People we thought we could trust turned out to be negative influences. Relationships changed. Some grew closer together while others shattered. I’m not saying everyone had this epiphany, but I know many people who experienced it. Myself included.
This is a habit you need to constantly work on because new people are always coming and going from your life. It’s up to you to determine which ones are worthy of your time and energy. Spending time with the right people can inspire you. You feel loved, trusted, and capable of anything. Spending time with the wrong people can leave you drained, worthless, and unmotivated.
To take control of your life means being intentional with your time. And the people you give that time to. Remember what I said earlier about saying yes to everything. Don’t overexert yourself by letting negative people suck all your energy away.
Think of the movie Midsommar. At the start of the film, Dani (Florence Pugh) is surrounded by negative people. Her distant boyfriend and his friends don't particularly like her. They keep her around because her tragic past has made her fragile and they feel bad. When Dani is around them she’s meek, silenced, and overshadowed. But as she partakes in the events of the Swedish village they’re visiting, she becomes happier. These people are a family and they comfort her through her grief better than her boyfriend. There’s a lot more to the film than that, but it’s one major thing I took away from it. That the people you surround yourself with matter.
You’re not stuck with your bad habits. You can take control of your life simply by working on eliminating them. It’s not going to be easy and you’ll have some hiccups along the way. That’s fine. Whatever you do, don’t give up! And know that your habits will change as time goes on. So long as you keep the bad habits at bay, you’re going to live a fulfilling life.
And know that I offer a ton of help and resources on my Instagram. So go ahead and give me a follow. I’d also love to know what bad habits you’re having trouble shaking off that I didn’t mention here. Drop them in the comments below and I’d be happy to share some advice.
