I am grateful as we reach the end of the year to have some extended time away from conference calls, although not fully disconnected from texts and emails.

I set this time to read the hefty seven-hundred page ‘Promised Land’ by Barack Obama and to strengthen by writing and running habits, which have coughed and sputtered over the past few months.

There are times where habits are easy.

For instance, I have read fifty-five books this year, becoming an all-consuming habit. But it is not only the act of reading which I have built into a practice. It is the fact that as Hank Green mentions in one of his podcasts “I want to want to read”. Therefore, I am consuming reading vlogs, tracking my reading progress on Goodreads, and love looking through the aisles of any bookstore I come across.

Reading has become my world and when I compare it with the habits that have veered off course, it is clear I am not immersed in the running or writing world. During marathon training, I was watching running vlogs, reading about training and nutrition, and I was spending on running shoes, always up on what the latest releases were.

Therefore, you need to enjoy the ecosystem of the act and not just the act itself. Targets then become easier to achieve, as practice has more context and meaning. Consequently, less brute force willpower is required.

It is why, when you start a habit, you should do it for the enjoyment alone. As Ryan Holiday says it is that it is this joy that will leave you feeling invigorated and mentally refreshed. Then spurring you on to research, make mental notes to engage more consciously with the pursuit that allows momentum to build over time.

Do not set lofty expectations.

Take the example of Derek Sivers. From what I understand, he is by nature competitive and pushes himself to achieve audacious goals. However, it was on his daily bike rides that this mindset began to shift.

Derek used to ride flat out along Venice Beach and no matter how much effort he put into his ride he could never break forty-three minutes to complete the route. This became so draining that his appetite for cycling ebbed away, with increasing bouts of procrastination until he resolved to saddle up.

One day it got to the point where he resolved not to go flat out and just enjoy the ride. And so, after the leisurely ride enjoying the views, the sound of the surf and the feel of the sea breeze against his skin. To his surprise he completed the route in forty-five minutes, only two minutes shy of his personal record.

Was the extra effort worth it for two minutes?

My answer, not all the all the time. In many cases you can achieve 90% of the results with 60% of the effort. This is where the concept of heart rate training comes from. Consistent 60-70% efforts are a better improvement indicator over time, then continual concentrated bursts of intensity.

You heart rate at the same effort will begin to improve, your movement economy will get better. When the occasion comes, you decide to push, performance breakthroughs will ensue.

Therefore, initially, do not set any expectations or goals. It is these expectations that inhibit the activities restorative effect, and place habit forming in jeopardy. Let the practice develop day by day and enlist others where you can. It is so easy for a few miss-steps can have your habit drifting off into the ether.

It is at these times having someone along on the journey will give you that support and obligation to continue on with the practice. If you are unable to do this, then rely on routine. Find quiet times during each day and be consequent with these slots and build your habits into them.

There are other pitfalls.

As you continue with your practice there will be times you will not feel motivated to get out the door or switch over from email to your word document. But you are never going to have the feeling of inspiration every day.

Do not think too much.

It is these times in between that procrastination can manifest, and nagging feelings come to the fore. Just move forward with the next step and before long you are immersed, and enjoyment will follow. By being present, you will not be thinking too much about that next mile or what to write in the next paragraph.

Before you know it, the time has flown by and you will have accomplished the daily goal and be basking in its achievement. Glad that you powered through that moment of inertia at the beginning.

There is a lot of self-talk for me in the article, but I hope you can take some of the points with you on your habit-forming journey. Don’t be too ambitious, do a little every day, and start with enjoyment and not with result. I still don’t know where I am going with this blog. But wherever it goes, it grows a little every article and I learn a little about myself with every word.