A wise woman asked me to think of this:

“Where might a small change in my routine or habit create more energy?”

I opted for drinking a 23-ounce aluminum bottle of water every day at or near 7:00 a.m. consistently.

This is a question I think everyone should ask ourselves when we’ve reached a plateau.

And hey, I was excited to think that a shot of espresso in a tiny cup could lift fatigue.

It can be hard to change or break negative behavior. The book Atomic Habits is out of print however it’s likely available as an e-book or to check out of the library.

At the end of this James Clear guide is a two-page summary of the specific ways to replace an old habit with a new one.

Atomic habits I think are the ones to shoot for before things reach the point of requiring a drastic overhaul of everything all at once. Which is an impossible feat to accomplish.

Engaging in micro-habits to begin with if you ask me is the way to sustain the lifestyle and spark your motivation to continue.

This is where filming and living life in a slow beat production counts. To rush, cut corners or take shortcuts is a halfhearted approach guaranteed to be shoddy and precarious.

In the long run it’s always wise to take the long view if you ask me. Using the 90-day action plan in the book Changeology: 5 Steps to Realizing Your Goals and Resolutions could be the start of long-lasting or forever-lasting behavior change.

What if what you and I want to do is start something new and not replace an old habit? What if there’s nothing you want to change only a habit you want to add?

I like Google’s AI response. Per Google:

To start something new without replacing a negative behavior, focus on adding positive actions via habit stacking (linking new to old habits), starting incredibly small (micro-habits), changing your environment to support the new, and using mindfulness to build awareness, making it about growth rather than removal, with supportive plans and celebrations for progress. 

I wasn’t a fan of using Google until its first responses turned out to be excellent AI information that I could really use.

A small change is like an atomic habit. If we can micro-dose our happiness in tiny joy “snacks” each day as one expert calls them why not micro-dose the goals we have in smaller steps in the form of daily sub-goals?

More on these ideas coming up in a review of National Get Organized Month in January.

First coming up here a review of a new cookbook that if I remember right has just come out this fall.