WEGO Health: What good habits, (health or otherwise,) do you have? Do you have a routine that you follow every morning? Are there any bad habits you wish you could break?
I’m terrible at creating habits. And it doesn’t take much for me to get out of a really good habit. Before I got sick last May with another flare I was doing really well at taking my vitamins every day. And then I got terrible at taking them. I’m still terrible at taking them. I’ve tried medication dispensers. Reminders in my cell phone that I will look at and then forget to take my vitamins. Now, I just carry my vitamins around in my purse so I always have them with me. This has helped a little bit.
I really need to get better at taking them. I have a vitamin D deficiency that is making me pretty fatigued. And it can take a couple of months for it fully take effect. A friend recommended an app called HabitBull that helps you to create new habits. I’ve been using it but I haven’t fully utilized the app to it’s full potential. Which I am going to start doing. I have another reminder set in my phone to help me to take my vitamin D. I need to remind myself that if I don’t take it I’m going to continue to feel fatigued and exhausted all the time.
Another good habit that I used to have was keeping a food/symptom journal. I used it to try and figure out what foods didn’t agree with me and how my IBD symptoms are progressing. I really should start it up again. I’m going to start using Evernote to keep track of food and symptoms. It has a lot of powerful features when it comes to tags and searching notes. It’ll make it easier to find patterns. I already use Evernote to keep track of my workouts when I go to the gym(which I also need to get better about doing). It’s nice to be able to keep track of my progress and to be able to remember where I left off if I haven’t worked out in a couple of weeks.
A good habit, well more like hobby, that I have is that I read a lot. And I mean a lot. I can finish a 350 page book in a day if it’s a really good book. I’ve read 29 books so far this year. I read almost every day. I might go a few days without reading but I don’t normally go more than a week without touching a book.
I also write pretty much everything down in my planner. Stuff for work, doctors appointments, to do lists. It’s nice to keep my life organized like that. I got a new planner this year that I like a lot called Passion Planner. It’s nice to have a full size planner with to do lists in it and room to write notes! I’ll definitely be getting another one next year.