According to international bestselling author and happiness researcher Gretchen Rubin, “Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life, and a significant element of happiness. If we have habits that work for us, we’re much more likely to be happy, healthy, productive, and creative.”
Yes, habits give our lives their very structure. As humans, we have a very limited amount of time, energy, and attention. But building habits allow us to take care of ourselves and our work in a way that helps us reserve these very resources.
How so? Consider the following habits:
- Brushing your teeth
- Having three meals a day
- Sleeping at roughly the same hour every night
- Closing the lid on bottles, jars, and other containers
- Flushing the toilet
Now imagine going through life without the help of these (mostly) universal habits. Imagine needing to mindfully remind yourself to eat three meals a day. Imagine having to think about closing lids or flushing the toilet each time you
Building habits allow us to take care of ourselves and our work in a way that makes the most out of our very limited time, energy, and attention.
We simply can’t be mindful 100 percent of the time, and most of our actions during the day aren’t premeditated (studies show that the average adult makes over 35,000 decisions a day). Our habits enable us to function well without the thinking. And while the idea is an amazing thing to behold, there’s a dark side to the convenience of habit forming: our habits can either be healthy or unhealthy.
You can develop a water drinking habit or a sugary soda habit. You can choose to get some exercise or choose to scroll through social media first thing in the morning. Your habits can easily promote productivity (preparing your workspace when you arrive at work) or procrastination (binging on Netflix for four hours when you get home).
It bears mentioning that an organized life is not only about having an organized home or office. How organized we are is also largely affected by how in control we feel over our mind and body, not just our environment. As such, the role our habits play in maintaining an organized life is enormous and impossible to ignore.
Habits are so deeply embedded in the fabric of our lives that we consistently lean on them everyday without much thought, so make sure you’re leaning on the right ones. Take some time to reflect on the habits you want to build or break. The returns should be worth it.
