Hey Reader,

​

Today, I want to talk about how bad habits will steal all your time. This is an updated version of a post I made on Reddit!

Bad habits are like slow leaks in a tire. You won’t see the damage right away. But they'll slow you down and leave you stranded. You can fill your tire with air, but it will eventually deflate again.

When I had bad habits, I was constantly putting out fires that I created for myself. It felt like the world was stacked against me, but I was actually doing the stacking. Here are a few examples:

• Pulling all-nighters because I procrastinated
• Canceling on friends because I double-booked myself
• Looking for my keys because I didn’t put them back,
• Redoing things because I couldn’t understand my notes or forgot that I did it,
• Spending an hour on a task that should have taken 5 minutes
• Not getting enough sleep because I was stuck on my phone. I fell asleep while driving quite often

I spent my time reacting to my bad habits instead of propelling myself forward.

Habits have Compounding Effects, Good & Bad

As we age, our habits become who we are.

As James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, says,

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

For example, my cousin Phil always brought smiles to everyone’s faces with his jokes. Unfortunately, Phil had unhealthy eating habits and became severely overweight. His life became infinitely harder.

• He couldn’t workout
• He couldn’t fit in a normal-sized car
• His legs and feet became so swollen that he couldn't fit into most shoes. He always had to wear flip-flops.
• One Thanksgiving, he broke a chair by sitting in it. He was embarrassed

During COVID, Phil passed away. His habits took his life. They became impossible to defeat.

Not managing your ADHD likely won’t be life-threatening unless you fall asleep and hit a sign lol.

But it will lead to an unfulfilled life. Here’s how it’ll go,

You’ll

• Say, “I’ll start working on it [Gym, business, etc.] next week,” but never start it.
• Stop setting monthly and yearly goals because you never reach them
• Lose faith in yourself
• Stop dreaming because what’s the point
• Watch others achieve the dreams that you set for yourself.

A recipe for low self-esteem.

So, understand your habits and tackle them before they become your prison.

Since developing better habits, I’ve

• Been consistent in the gym and got my abs back
• Stop needing my ADHD medication.
• Stopped having anxiety that everything's doomed.
• Gained the trust of myself, my friends, and my family
• good years instead of good weeks or months
• Built ScatterMind to $10k/mo

Good habits save you time and solve future problems. Plus, once you have the formula, you pick up habits faster.

Understand your mind & take action

Similar to trauma, I wasn’t aware of most of my bad habits. The habits I was aware of, I avoided. So I struggled to make a change.

Unfortunately, you won’t always FEEL like changing. But “just do it” also doesn’t work for us. So, here’s how I’ve made it easier.

Learn how your ADHD manifests, and then explore tested frameworks.

Here are my learnings:

• ​Driven to Distraction - ADHD Awareness & Self-Acceptance
  • I’m not broken, just different.
  • Things that work for others won’t always work for me
  • I need to play to my strengths even if it’s abnormal

• ​Deep Work - Optimizing Productivity
  • If I want to improve, I have to measure myself
  • Focus on impacting my actions rather than the results
  • Review my actions & results regularly and make adjustments
  • Give myself time limits by timeboxing tasks otherwise I’ll waste my time
  • Give myself deadlines to generate urgency and create pressure
  • Don’t let my phone waste my time

• ​Atomic Habits - Habit Building (Do the inverse to break a habit)
  • Make things obvious
  • Make things attractive and desirable
  • Make things easy to do
  • Make it rewarding

• Other
  • Break things down so they’re so easy they’re impossible to NOT do
  • If it takes less than 2 minutes, do it right then
  • Do a little every day instead of 1 day for 8 hours - It's easier to avoid doing 8 hours of work
  • Start with easy things and then use that momentum to work on harder things
  • Put everything into your calendar, and you’ll never forget anything
  • Don't sleep or work next to your phone
  • Write down your bad habits, then come up with a solution

This is a lot, so here are the habits I’d start with:

• Make my bed every morning → Easy to do and teaches consistency
• Review my day → Identify improvements, and iterate on my solutions.
• ​Progress tracking —> Accountability & feedback

Don't sit by and watch your life blow by you!

Your habits will make or break you

• Small habits create massive ripple effects.
• Your habits have compounding effects
• You’re not lazy. Your systems are broken.
• Change doesn’t start with motivation. It starts with awareness.
• Don't face things head-on. Make them easier so you have momentum
• You can build a life you trust.

Reply and tell me how I can help you manage your habits

​Song of the Week​

​