“Knowing the rules of an art is not the same as having the habit. When we speak of a man as skilled in any way, we do not mean that he knows the rules of making or doing something, but that he posses the habit of making or doing it.” — Mortimer J. Adler / How to Read a Book
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” — Will Durant (paraphrasing Aristotle) / The Story of Philosophy
When you get right down to it, most if not all of our lives are defined by our habits. We are the things that we repeatedly do. I think that the trick is to become more mindful of these habits that make up so much of our world. If habits are our master then we must be the one to choose our habits. More and more I’ve begun thinking of my goals as the byproducts of my habits, instead of them being things that exist apart from my habits.
These are some of the habits that I’ve been focusing on of late. They’ve definitely helped to make my life a bit better and my mood a bit more equanimous:
To Sleep — Perchance to Dream
- I keep to an evening routine.
My apologies to the bard for co-opting a line from his arguably most famous monologue to start things off. (The full quote involves ‘being’ and ‘not being’ and is actually about death and such… It’s somewhat dark.) I thought it was a clever way to talk about the habits I’ve put in place to make sure that I get a better nights sleep. Sleep is something that I’ve neglected for far too long, and is probably the most important habit on this list. Deep sleep restores the body and the mind, and when you don’t sleep well it makes everything in your life that much more challenging.
The habit that’s been helping the most is a collection of habits that have become my evening routine.
Sticking to an evening routine that is consistent and done at the same time every night signals to your body that it’s time to get sleepy, and aids in getting the deep and restorative sleep that we all need to stay healthy and sane.
If I had to choose a most, most important part of this routine it’s been the ‘prep my workout clothes the night before’ part. Doing this eliminates the friction that happens when it’s early, cold and dark and you’ve decided that you want to begin the day with exercise. It’s so much easier to roll out of bed and ‘get to it‘ when you don’t have to think about all the steps involved in getting out the door to the gym for a workout.
For a deep dive into how important sleep is I recommend checking out Matthew Walker’s ‘Why We Sleep‘ and Nick Littlehale’s ‘Sleep: The Myth of 8 Hours, the Power of Naps, and the New Plan to Recharge Your Body and Mind‘. Both of these books have been really influential to me on this subject.
Sweatin’ to the Oldies
- I start the day with exercise.
As I mentioned in last months post I’m currently exercising five days a week. The only times that I’ve been successful through the years in keeping up with an exercise habit is when I’ve done my exercise first thing to start the day. Even if that means sometimes getting up at 4:30 am in order to get to the gym by 5 so that I can get to an appointment or work early in the morning. Getting up that early isn’t always fun and honestly sometimes it really sucks, but I figure that having my body fall apart as I age is even an even worse deal. I know from experience that I if I put off working out to later in the day then I won’t do it. The interesting thing is that I always and without fail feel better when I workout first thing in the day. Even back when I wasn’t getting the proper amount of sleep doing the exercise made the day go a lot better. Dialing in both your sleep and exercise can really supercharge your experience of the world.
Breathe In. Breath Out
- I meditate at least 10 minutes a day.
The mind is a muscle, and it can be trained like any other muscle. I’m a huge fan of Sam Harris, and I use his ‘Waking Up’ app for my daily mediation. My current habit it that I mediate immediately after I get home from the gym in the morning, or right after I get out of bed on a non-gym day. On teaching days when time in the morning is tight I grab 10 minutes on my lunch break. I honestly can’t recommend the Waking Up app highly enough. In addition to the daily meditation feature there is an ever growing number of talks by heavyweights in the mindfulness field. Please do check it out.
Scrub Daddy
- I wash my dishes after I cook.
This might seem pretty obvious to folks out there who are adept at adulting, but it’s something that has fallen by the wayside for me in the past. I’ve picked up the habit from my mom and my aunt of cleaning my dishes as I go while I’m cooking, which makes clean up go that much smoother when you’re finished with the meal. Also, when I get up in the morning I put away any clean dishes that have been in the drying rack overnight. None of this is revolutionary, but as one of my past roommates can attest to it’s something that I haven’t always been that great at. Keeping the kitchen clean and ready to use is one of those necessary first steps to cooking your own food on a regular basis, which is one of those habits that helps in eliminating all of the processed junk from our diet.
(Every Day Is) Hemp Day
- I add 1 serving of hemp hearts to my oatmeal.
On the days that I work away from the apartment I put a little container by my bag. In the morning before I leave I add a serving of hemp hearts to it. I add those to my oatmeal at work. One 3 tablespoon serving adds adds 9.5 grams of protein and 1.2 grams of fiber to my breakfast to start my day. Placing the container on my bag at night is a trigger to remind me to fill it up the next morning. Hemp hearts stay freshest when they’re kept in the fridge, which is why I fill up in the morning and not the night before.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia
- I add 1 serving of Chia seeds to my non-fat greek yogurt.
As part of my evening routine before bed I add a serving of chia seeds to a little container with water and put it in the fridge. In the morning this has turned into a chia gel that I add to my non-fat greek yogurt with berries. One 2 tablespoon serving adds 5 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber to my life.
Smile! (Your Teeth Don’t Suck No More)
- I keep my electric toothbrushes & floss next to my bed and stick to a daily routine of brushing and flossing.
It seems like an obvious thing for a musician to have a good dental hygiene practice, but this is something that I’ve struggled with over the years. I’ve been in the cycle of ‘have tartar build up below my gum line, get my teeth cleaned, promise my dental hygienist I’d do better next time, do ok for a little while, and then eventually fall off the wagon with the flossing’ for way too long. I visit the dentist for a check-up / cleaning and the cycle repeats itself. To help me finally make this a rock solid habit I bought a little marble holder for my electric toothbrushes and dental floss that I keep by my bed at night. One might say ‘why not keep your toothbrushes & floss in the bathroom’, but I’ve found that keeping them by my bedside reminds me to keep up with my dental routine at night. I also started chewing a piece xylitol gum after meals to keep the bacteria nasties at bay.
The Elixir of Life
- I drink At least 64 ounces of water a day.
You and I are made up of about 60 percent water. Approximately 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. Sure, most of that is salt water that we can’t drink but I’m not going to be a negative Nelly and start nitpicking. I guess the point is that water is a pretty important part of our lives and is instrumental to supporting a healthy and happy ‘me and you’.
My doctor recently recommended that I increase the amount of water that I was drinking on a daily basis. In order to make that happen I bought a 32 oz. metal water bottle to use when I’m working at home. My goal is to drink at least 64 ounces of water before 6 pm. Having the 32 oz. bottle makes it something that I can easily quantify. I’ll usually drink one in the morning and one over the course of the afternoon. When At work I have a 16 oz. thermos for Rooibos tea and a 16 oz. bottle for water. I drink one of each in the morning and one of each in the afternoon. One side benefit that I’ve noticed is that my lips rarely get chapped anymore. Not a bad thing!
(Wild) Rice, Rice Baby
- I cook a batch of wild rice once a week.
I use my Zojirushi rice cooker to cook a batch of wild rice once a week, typically on the weekend. This gives me a base for at least a couple meals throughout the week. Wild rice is more nutrient dense than regular rice, and is higher in protein and fiber.
In fact, wild rice isn’t actually rice at all, but a grass. With wild rice you also don’t have to worry as much about heavy metal contamination. Sometimes I’l also cook a batch of quinoa ahead of time, though it’s not as vital because quinoa only takes 15 minutes to cook so you can make it on the stovetop while preparing the rest of your meal. Both of these staples add a lot of nutritional bang for the buck, and I can highly recommend adding them to your diet on a regular basis.
Brrr Baby Brr
- I end my morning shower with at least one minute of cold water.
The benefits of cold exposure have been a hot topic in the health-o-sphere of late. I’m not quite at the point where I have access to a dedicated cold plunge yet, but I’ve been experimenting with cold showers on and off for a while now. Honestly it’s been quite a positive experience. (Though my mom thinks I’m nuts!) The benefit for me has been as much about the discipline it takes to turn that hot water off as it has been about how it makes me feel. It definitely kickstarts my mood into a more happy place, but I also get a lot of satisfaction knowing that I’ve done something that isn’t easy. There’s a great deal of benefit in exposing yourself to things that are hard on purpose. It helps you realize that ‘I’ve done this thing that sucks and survived’, so when something else comes up that sucks you’ve built up some immunity to it if only in a small way.
Read(wisely)
- I spend at least one uninterrupted hour reading a book each week.
I’m in the beginning stages of this habit formation, which is why I’ve kept the bar pretty low. I build this into the early part of my days off when I’m the most alert. I’m also planning to subscribe to the Readwise app so that I can more easily access the notes and highlights that I create in my Kindle.
Get Behind Thee, Satan!
- I lock my smartphone away in a box when I’m doing work.
I found this neat little wooden box on Amazon and keep it on my desk. When I want to do focused work I put my cell phone inside and secure the latch with a little paper clip. It’s a symbolic gesture, but it keeps me from being tempted to constantly check for notifications. Honestly I’ve been surprised at how much better it feels when the little glass and metal distraction machine is hidden away from me. My mind relaxes a bit and I can actually get some work done.
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And here are a few extra ‘healthy habits’ that don’t fit neatly into clever headings:
- I drink a kale / cacao smoothie regularly.
This is dependent on my schedule, but right now I drink it 3-4 days a week. I call it my chocolate salad. Here’s the recipe.
- I write morning pages.
This is a tool that I’ve been using for years. Three handwritten pages of stream of conscious writing. It’s from Julia Cameron’s fabulous book ‘The Artist’s Way‘.
- I turn my clothes the right way out before I put them in the hamper.
That extra little bit of time adds up when it comes time to sort clothes and do laundry.
- When I come home from a day of teaching I do some type of practice immediately after walking in the door.
Even if it’s just a little bit, I pick up an instrument and do some playing. It could be guitar, bass or perhaps trombone. The point is that this small habit keeps me from doing what I used to do which is ‘lie down on the sofa and watch YouTube videos’.
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Those are all of the habits that I’ve been focusing on so far. You’ll find a list of them here, minus the commentary. That’s my ‘Habit’s I’m Publicly Accountable For’ list, and I’ll be updating it periodically as things change.