Hello and welcome to 4-Minute Friday where I share, in four minutes or less, the latest things I’m doing to enhance my health, save money, and make day-to-day life easier and more enjoyable.
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Strategy for Habit Building:
We’ve all experienced the difficulty in establishing new habits and the discomfort of breaking old ones. I’d even venture to speculate that the majority of you reading this are in the process of doing one of the two right now.
If this is you, first and foremost I would urge you to immediately purchase the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. I’m nearly halfway through and it’s been an absolute game-changer.
One idea James Clear proposes which I’ve personally benefited from is an idea he terms “habit stacking” and it’s something we do unconsciously every single day.
Let me explain.
We use the restroom and most (hopefully all) of us wash our hands immediately after. We wake up and brush our teeth. We sit down on the toilet and take out our phone. When we get on our phone, we go to a specific social media app. When our boss leaves our office, we mumble less-than pleasant words under our breath.
These habits have been paired together in a manner which requires little cognitive effort to do them without fail.
Clear writes… “No behavior happens in isolation. Each action becomes a cue that triggers the next behavior.”
We can leverage habit stacking to our advantage.
Think of a couple of habits you currently do every single day. And now think of a couple of habits you’re striving to adopt to positively impact your health and well-being (or for another reason).
It takes a little creativity (not much really) but think of ways in which you can pair items on the first list with items on the second.
It will look something like this.
After I pour myself a cup of coffee (current habit), I will go on a 10-minute walk outside to get morning sunlight (new habit).
After I make dinner, I will put all the dishes away instead of letting them sit overnight.
After I lay down in bed, I will put my phone out of reach so I’m not tempted get on social media.
After I walk through the door from work, I will immediately put on my workout clothing.
As with anything new, there will be some friction in the beginning, however, with a little time and effort these habits will become engrained, and less discipline will be required to maintain them.
What I’m Doing More Of: Experiences
The time-old adage of spending money on experiences rather than physical objects is something I’ve consistently heard but it hadn’t resonated with me until recently.
Rather than splurging on “stuff” that only lasts temporarily, I’ve found it much more meaningful to put money towards activities where the memories will last a lifetime.
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to see one of my favorite artists, Zach Bryan, as well as comedian Shane Gillis. Side note, if you aren’t familiar with Shane’s content, don’t watch at work or where young ears can hear – fair warning.
Yes, these experiences were relatively pricey, however, they were an absolute blast and sharing them with good friends is something I’ll talk about for the rest of my life.
If you needed that extra push to go see a musician coming near you or to book a trip with a few friends, here it is!
Who needs the newest Louis Vuitton bag or Rolex anyway…
Premade Coffee I’ve Been Using:
Although a little more expensive than making it at home, I’ve been on the premade cold brew coffee train these past couple of months.
For like $6, you can buy ready-to-drink high-quality and tasty cold brew coffee and I find that deal too hard to pass up.
I get roughly 4-5 servings out of each container which equates to less than $1.50 per serving – significantly less than the $7.50 you can easily rack up at a popular coffee enterprise that shall remain nameless (hint: it ends in ‘bucks’).
There are many quality brands out there that I’ve tried and enjoyed, including Starbuck’s premade cold brew.
However, I picked up one a few weeks back that topped them all… Califia Farms. I drink the medium roast unsweetened cold brew variety and it’s incredible. Although I drink it as is, you can add any cream/milk/sweetener you like!
If you’re going to take my advice, fitness and coffee would be the two subjects I’d start with.
What else?
As we head into Summer, I’m offering a buy one, get one discount until July 1st on my personal training programs. If you have a friend or family member who would benefit from this, reach out to me!
I’ll be releasing a post next week on what a typical “Grocery Haul” looks like for me. I often get asked what I eat in a week so this will be an interesting one!
Experiences > Possessions.
Buy some Barbell Apparel fitness clothing through my link here!
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DISCLAIMER
- This is NOT Medical advice. Consult your medical professional before starting any supplement, diet regimen, or workout program.