Self improvement is one of the best things we can do for ourselves, right? I mean… SELF – IMPROVEMENT. How could that not be good? I’m not much for new years resolutions but I do keep a list of self improvement goals. As I master one habit I want to be able to replace it with a new ‘in progress’ habit. And I know better than to think I’ll remember when I feel like I’m ready to work on something new.
A self improvement list is essentially a to-do list of self improvement. It’s important because you need actionable steps to reach your goals. General wants of a better life don’t set you up for much actual improvement. But if you have a list to jot down the idea to keep a gratitude log for 30 days the chances of you actually doing it increase.
It may have broad goals like eat healthy. But I try to focus in a little more. So instead of eat healthy maybe you would try ‘plant based lunches Mon-Fri’. Or instead of bedtime routine you could list ‘nightly cup of tea and 30 mins reading’. Because creating specific goals with numbers attached are much easier to measure success or failure.
Every month you can just refer to your list and pick maybe 3 things to work on. It doesn’t have to be month but I generally find 30 days to work on something adequate to determine if I’m going to stick with it or if I need to try something else. Don’t try and do more than 3 at a time. It may even be too much depending on what you pick. Know what you’re capable of.
Set up some kind of system to measure if you’re doing what you said you would in the beginning of every month. That might mean a bullet journal spread to track habits or creating a meal plan and setting aside a day to prep all those plant based lunches. Either way you need a plan to decide if you’ve been successful or not.
Momentum has a way of building so you may find that if you’re really killing those 3 that you’ll want to pick more before the month is up. And it would be ridiculous to waste motivation when it shows up so here’s what you do…
If you’ve checked everything on your list and all is sunshiny and wonderful in the world and you think how easy it would be to add ‘spend 15 minutes training my dog everyday’… Do it. But don’t keep track of it. Don’t distract from the original steps you were working on. But absolutely do more when you feel like it. The trick is to cultivate enough self discipline to do at least the steps you’re working on even when you don’t feel like it.
So what will be at the top of your self improvement list? Let us know in the comments!
