8 Bad Habits to Change Right Now

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Tweaking bad habits for good

We all have bad habits that need to be tweaked from time to time. As my tagline suggests, I believe it’s never too late to be your best self.

I’m constantly trying to set new goals for myself, but in going through the process of goal setting, I realized I’ve picked up some bad habits that I need to work through, too.

I don’t typically like to write negative-sounding posts, but we all have bad habits that need tweaking. Instead of being in the mindset of negativity, I would like to focus on these areas as opportunities. So, in using the word “bad,” I’m really just referring to things that I can do differently.

For instance, how can I make each day a little bit better? Will tweaking my habits make me happier? Is life going to get easier if I let go of the “bad”? Of course, the answer is yes!

8 Bad Habits to Change Right Now

Hitting the snooze button

This has increasingly become a problem for me. I used to wake up early to get a few things done before work. I’ve recently been staying up later at night and then have trouble waking up in the morning. While waking up a bit later isn’t the worst thing in the world, I miss the feeling of productivity I would get first thing in the morning.

There’s something to being able to accomplish a few tasks before your day really starts. I’ve read so many articles about the importance of being a morning person. While I don’t think there’s anything wrong with not being a morning person, I would like to have the extra time before work to do something productive.

Here’s how I’m going to turn this habit around: Going to bed at a decent time each night. Consistency is key for sleep, so getting to bed around the same time every night will be the first goal. Then, I’ll be setting my alarm 15 minutes earlier every couple of days until it’s easier to wake up at the time I want to.

Spending too much time on social media

As a blogger and in my professional field, I spend a lot of time on social media before, during and after work. I have noticed, though, that I’m spending more and more time on social media than I really need to be. I’m sure we’ve all been there – you go on to check that your post went up or search analytics and an hour later, you realize you’re still scrolling through your feed!

It’s so easy to get sucked into cute puppy videos, hilarious memes, life updates from people you don’t interact with in real life. Seriously, it’s a time suck!

Yet, what do we actually accomplish in that time? Nothing! It’s literally wasted time that you could be using for a bunch of other things.

Here’s how I’m going to turn this habit around: First, I’m moving the apps to a separate folder on my phone so that they’re not easily navigable from my home screen. Then, I’m setting aside specified social media time for my business needs. By designating time for specific tasks, I can stay more focused on what needs to be done and not get sucked in.

Saying I’ll do it tomorrow

Oh procrastination! It has followed me since I was young. I remember I used to drive my mother insane by saving school papers and projects until the last minute. As I got older, I was able to turn this around as I had more obligations to balance.

I typically don’t procrastinate on work projects, but I do put things off at home. Laundry? Tomorrow. Vacuuming? That’s what the weekends are for. Bathrooms? Um, maybe next week?! (Just kidding!)

I have noticed the past year has been a lot of pushing off tasks until tomorrow. But it drives me crazy when I’m not as productive as I should be!

Here’s how I’m going to turn this habit around: First, I’m scheduling specific action steps on my calendar. Tasks are labeled in different colors for blog, gym, personal time and house work. It looks slightly insane that all of my time is blocked off, but I get so much more done when I know in advance how I’m spending my time. I got this tip from Natalie Bacon’s Blog with a Full Time Job course. It’s amazing! And I highly recommend it!

Letting other people control my feelings

I’ve always been a sensitive person and let other people’s thoughts and actions affect my feelings. The past couple of years I have really let situations affect my well-being.

Through reading personal development blogs, listening to podcasts and reading self-help books, I’ve come to the realization that I can’t control how other people act or feel, but I can control my own feelings and actions.

Here’s how I’m going to turn this habit around: Instead of letting negative situations dictate my well-being, I’m working on taking a step back and working through my feelings. This powerful article from Natalie Bacon really helped me visualize how to make this work in my life.

My aha moment was when she said, “Your thoughts create your feelings, your feelings create your actions, your actions create your results and circumstances are neutral.” Read it a few times. I promise it completely changes your mindset!

Prioritizing professional life over personal life

There was a long stretch after I started my career where work was my top priority. Even though I was given paid time off, I hardly ever took it. I spent long hours at the office and worked hard to prove myself.

While it paid off in terms of my professional success, I realized it affected my personal life. I didn’t really have much going on outside the office other than working out and seeing my family and friends occasionally.

Now that I’m married, I’ve come to realize how important life is outside of 9 to 5. I thank my husband for opening up my eyes a little, but we’re focusing on prioritizing the important things in life.

Here’s how I’m going to turn this habit around: I’m still dedicated to my job, but I’ve realized how much better I feel when I leave work on time and take my paid time off. So, we’re planning more trips, focusing on spending time with family and friends and asking for help at work when I need it.

Forgetting to be grateful

Gratitude is one of the most powerful ways to improve your mood, refocus your mindset and balance your overall well-being. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget to be grateful. Instead, we’re waking up late, procrastinating, worrying about what others think, etcetera.

When I focus on gratitude instead of negativity, I notice my days are better and I’m happier. It’s no surprise that gratitude has been scientifically proven to improve mental health. As the old saying goes, we should always count our blessings.

Here’s how I’m going to turn this habit around: Each morning, I’ve been writing down my daily productivity list and I start with three things that I’m grateful for. I can tell the difference in my mindset practicing this exercise. When starting the day with gratitude, I definitely feel ready to conquer the day!

Complaining

This one is plain and simple. I’ve definitely gotten really used to complaining. At work, at home, with friends, it’s just very easy to complain.

But it doesn’t make me feel any better afterwards, and that’s a problem. Complaining goes back to the idea of thoughts controlling feelings, feelings controlling actions and actions controlling results. We don’t solve any problems by complaining.

Instead, we are acting like something happened to us and there’s nothing we can do about it. This isn’t true. If a situation is affecting you negatively, you should take action to control the situation.

Here’s how I’m going to turn this habit around: I’m making a conscious effort not to complain. I’ve enlisted friends and family to call me out when I do complain. Instead of looking at a situation as something happening to me, I’m going to decide if I should a) let it go or b) take action. There is no c for complaining!

Having negative self-talk

I recently wrote about how I’m not feeling great about my wardrobe. I’m engaging in negative self-talk when I’m saying that I’m not presenting my best self to the world.

I’ve come to realize that anyone around you can tell you positive things about yourself, but you need to believe this about yourself first. You are the one that controls your feelings and how you feel about yourself is super important.

When I tell myself positive things, like “I’m pretty” or “This dress looks good on me” or “I wrote a really great article today,” these are moments that boost my self-confidence and increase my happiness levels.

But the opposite can be true, too. Negative self-talk can lead to low self-esteem, decreased happiness levels, and quite frankly a bad day.

Here’s how I’m going to turn this habit around: I’m going to practice telling myself at least one good thing every time I look in the mirror. It doesn’t have to be a physical compliment (like, “I’m pretty”) but I feel like making eye contact with myself in the mirror is good reminder to pay myself a positive affirmation.

Putting it into action

I’ve heard a few different theories on making habits stick. Most sources like to say it takes 21 days to make a habit stick but I’ve also read it could take longer. The idea of a habit is repetition.

So how do we make bad habits good? Slowly, over time it will become easier and easier to turn habits around.

As always, I like to write everything down. Then, I create an action plan for each task. Just like goal-setting, changing or creating habits is about executing daily.

Once your habits and action plan are written down, I recommend doing a daily check-in to jot down how each habit is going. Schedule time on your calendar so that you recognize the actions every day.

After several weeks, evaluate how you’re doing. Are these tasks easier? Do you wake up every morning ready to take on good habits? If the answer is yes, keep it up! If the answer is no, what can you do differently to make it work?

Final Thoughts

Most of these bad habits have formed over time, just like good habits will take time to form. Don’t give up making better habits for yourself this year! It’s easy to get sidetracked when life gets busy, but your overall happiness and wellbeing are so worth it!

What habits do you want to change right now? Let me know in the comments below!