Starting New Habits Early

Happy Christmas season, friends!

The holiday season is full steam buuut we’re also just fully thinking about getting a jump start on our New Year’s goals with starting some new habits now. 

Okay, fine, fine. Yes, you might have 27 people coming to your house, and Aunt Doris sleeping in the living room makes getting an early workout in hard, but there are small intentional changes you can start now, even in the midst of the chaos of the holidays. Keep reading for some of our tips and tricks for making big changes feel more attainable. 

Pick One Thing

Start small. Really. Make your bed every day. Take your CBD at 8 pm every night. Empty and reload the dishwasher at 9 am right when you’re done with breakfast. Now. Do this one thing every single day. Make an alarm for it if you need to, and just do that one extra goal daily. New habits don’t have to be groundbreaking feats of human strength (although adding a daily workout is a great habit to add), but just add something in and then build on top of it. 

Stay Consistent

Consistency is key to everything, and you can see benefits in every aspect of your life if you apply consistency. Want to get in better shape? You’ll need to eat well consistently, maintain a good workout routine, and get back on track if you miss a day or two. Resolutions can be hard if you give up after missing a day, and focusing on an 80/20 approach may be the most realistic and attainable way to meet your goals. 

This approach makes things more manageable for most people. Imagine you set a goal of going to the gym 5 days per week for an hour each day. An 80/20 approach would allow some flexibility where you aim to go for 5 days per week, but maybe only hit 45 minutes of your workout time because of life, or you end up working out 3 days per week for 60 minutes because of work or appointments, rather than giving up if you can’t make 5 days per week for an hour each day. 

With CBD, an 80/20 approach would look like aiming to take CBD twice per day, 7 days per week, but allowing for flexibility if it doesn’t always happen. Did you miss an evening dose? That’s okay - just take the regular amount in the morning, and aim to start the routine up again the next evening. The 80/20 approach is great with eating plans or diets, where you focus on eating well 80% of the time, and then 20% of the time go out to eat, enjoy a dessert, or eat something you wouldn’t regularly eat in your normal diet. 

80/20 allows for some flexibility, provides consistency, and can help you reach the goals you’re setting for the new year. It can be a wonderful way to start habits realistically without being too hard on yourself if you miss a day, skip a workout, or eat a cookie (or three). 

Wrapping Up

As you’re in the midst of Christmas chaos, remember balance, intentionality, and getting started with small habits that can lead to big changes. Things are busy this time of year, but with a little bit of work, you can set yourself up for success in the New Year. 

A Special Sale

To celebrate new habits, a new year, and new ways to better yourself, we’re offering 20% off our entire site January 1-14 using code habits. Don’t miss out!