Nature Abhors a Vacuum

Over the last three months I've been using a habit tracker. If you've read anything by James Clear (Atomic Habits) or Jon Acuff (Finish and Soundtracks), you may be familiar with their ideas of tracking the things you want to do to stay focused and productive.

I tracked three small habits from October through December and raised my productivity exponentially, so much so that my husband commented I'd been more productive than he'd seen me in years! 🤯🤯🤯 Hmmmm -- I'm not sure what to do with that! 🤔🤔🤔🤣🤣🤣

My first three small habits were to 1) plan my day, 2) Make $10/Save $10 -- (as an entrepreneur in sales this was actually quite effective!) -- and 3) Contact three people in my business.  Super small, doable habits.

Because I was planning, things that usually slipped through the cracks actually got done including seriously purging/organizing a storage room, selling or repurposing furniture that was no longer needed, and selling excess "stuff" at a barn sale. And because of the accountability of tracking my habits, I very seldom missed a day! 

So with the success of those three, I've decided to add three more small habits for another 90-day cycle. The idea is to select small somethings that will move the needle forward toward my goals. I want to develop systems that will serve me well, especially when I don't "feel like it" -- the most common deterrent to my productivity.

James Clear writes,

"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."

I want to be sure the habits I select are my "safety net" -- that they are going to move me forward, even if only incrementally, on days when the goal seams impossible or too far away.

I also want my habits to be trampolines! Activity -- systems! -- that "bounce" me back into productivity and progress toward my goals. Goals are useful for direction. They don't move me. Habits are the systems that keep me moving in the direction of the goal.

So... three new ones.

Two were easy to identify -- a steps daily goal for my health, and a budget daily practice to keep me on-target financially... but what for Number 3?

Why do I need a third one? Because nature abhors a vacuum, and I cannot stand a tracker with three columns that only have two that being used!!! 🤦‍♀️🙄🤣

After days of over-thinking, I landed on affirmations -- three short statements that affirm my mindset for my goals -- that I will read/write daily for the next 90 days.

Ancient wisdom declares, "The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways." (Proverbs 14:8)

What small habits can you implement to fill the vacuum -- the space between where are you and where you want to be -- today?