My Favorite Habits of 2022

A few days ago I stumbled upon a list of goals I’d made early in 2022. I’d only accomplished 2 of the 15 goals which was a little depressing,  but a couple of things became clear quickly:

1. As my future self, these were not goals that I really cared about. 

2. 2) I hadn’t even glanced at this list for the past 12 months. Out of sight, out of mind. (Dear future self, this is worth paying attention to!)

So, in an effort to not feel like the kind of guy that doesn’t accomplish goals he’d set for himself, I spent some time reflecting on 2022 in a more positive light. I took some great trips, made progress on my novel, started working again, exited a toxic business partnership, spent more time with my wife, and stayed healthy and fit, just to name a few.

But what seemed most remarkable were the number of new things I tried this year and what stuck as a result of adding value to my life! What follows are a few of those experiments that have become habits.

1. Meditating first thing in the morning.
   I’ve had a sitting practice for a dozen years but I’ve never meditated in the morning unless I was on retreat. Now, I wake up, brush my teeth, and go sit for 1/2 an hour before coffee or looking at my phone or doing any of the other things that get my mind racing. It has become one of my favorite moments of each day.
   It’s also worth noting that I sit for another 20 minutes at night before bed.

2. Drinking 20oz of water first thing in the morning.
   For as long as I can remember, coffee has been the first thing down my gullet in the morning but for the past few months, I have been drinking at least 20 ounces of water right after I wake up. This does 2 things that are supposedly good for me. 1) It rehydrates my body after sleeping for ~8 hours and 2) It delays my first cup of coffee which Andrew Huberman says is good for resetting our Circadian rhythms and maximizing energy.

3. Waking up earlier.
   For me, this is 6:00, but for you, that could be 4:00 AM or 9:00 AM. Historically I’ve always had a hard time getting up early, mostly because I like reading late into the night. But this past year I was in bed before 10:00 PM more often and only read for maybe 1/2 an hour or so which helped me wake up at 6:00 and start my day in a more intentional, less reactionary way.

4. Saying NO to good opportunities.
   I said “no” to a few “good” opportunities this year. This opened up space for me to say “yes” to better opportunities later down the road. This was often scary because as a self-employed person, I didn’t always know where the next payday was coming from or if it would ever come. But I try hard not to let my sense of scarcity make my decisions for me. This paid off handsomely this year!

5. Quit Packing My Calendar to the Max.
   I quit trying to maximize and optimize every-fucking-moment of my life. More days off from workouts. Lowered my annual reading goals. Just sit and have coffee with my wife on Saturday mornings instead of running out the door to do more shit. Maybe I’m just getting old, maybe it’s intentional. Either way, I feel healthier, smarter, more creative, and calmer as a result of not overbooking every minute of every day.

6. Exit toxic relationships.
   This year I got out of a bad business relationship. Yeah, these can be just as toxic and emotionally taxing as unhealthy romantic relationships. I can fall victim to sunk cost fallacy and try to make something work when it’s clearly going nowhere. This year I spent way too much money and energy on a business that was never going to make it. Getting out and letting go of the investment made so much room for presence with my wife and family and friends as well as opened up new space for thinking about what kind of work would be most fulfilling to me…coaching people one on one.

7. Started using a workout app.
   Takes all the guesswork out of my fitness routine. I just show up and follow directions. It has a timer and videos showing me all of the exercises. $30 a month. No brainer.

8. Started using the public library.
   I love supporting my local book store Parnassus, but this year I wanted to be more thoughtful about the money I spent. I saved about $600 on books. Specifically, I love the Libby app on my phone which allows me to check out books and audiobooks instantly.

9. Let that shit go.
   When talking about my long-held belief of “I’m not enough”, my AA sponsor told me it was time to put that shit down. That I’d been believing it and carrying it around for long enough, and that I could let it go now. So I did.

10. Mindfulness with money and spending.
    I quit being so thoughtless and careless with my spending. If I could practice mindfulness of breath or thoughts, surely I could be mindful of how and where I spent my money. So I started budgeting and waiting to buy things when I could comfortably afford them, and when I couldn’t I just went without which was surprisingly liberating!