Whether he wants to or not, my husband reads all my Wellbeing bites blog posts before I hit publish. Last week he read my post on daily habits for productivity and said “I like it babe, but are you actually going to be doing any of this new habit stuff?”

“Yes I fucking am,” I said. “And I’m going to share what happens on my blog next week.”

In one moment of defensive marital banter, I was committed.

So here I am.

Firstly, let it be known that I didn’t try and implement all 6 productivity-enhancing habits in the first week – I’m not a total idiot. (For those that missed it, the 6 habits were: green exercise, mindful eating, meditation, 8 hours’ sleep, conscious breathing, digital disengagement). But 2 or 3 new daily habits? How hard could it be?

Turns out it’s pretty fucking hard when you have anything else going on in your life. Here’s my ‘habits week’ in review.

Habit 1: Meditation
Day 1 – The app is broken! Fuck, the fucking app is broken! I can’t download the bloody meditation. I can’t meditate without Andy (voice of Headspace). This is a disaster! The universe is trying to tell me something… Ah, it’s working now.

One 10-minute meditation later and I feel like a new woman. And this week I’ve managed my 10-minute meditation on 4 out of 7 days. I am my own hero. And weirdly, I’ve been able to deal with the week’s bumps and glitches more effectively.

Habit 1 won. Screw those few days. I’m focusing on the successes and giving myself a big pat on the back for this one.

Habit 2: Digitally disengage
Day 1 – I’ll just check Facebook quickly. Just the Wellbeing bites page. Ooh what’s that? Green smoothie recipe. I’ll try that. That can be my mindful eating thing for the day. I am so good at this habits thing. I’ll just have a look at the Zen Habits blog for a bit of inspiration…

Two hours later and I’ve done no work. Nothing.

Day 2 – I pack my lunch, laptop and phone into a backpack, get on my bike and ride out to the middle of nowhere to write a blog post I’ve been procrastinating on. No internet. No distractions. An hour later and the post is written.

I escaped the digi-dungeon, got shit done and got a bit of exercise too. I’m all over this habits thing.

Habit 3: Mindful eating
Day 1: My kids are not having fish fingers again. I will pick them up from daycare early and while they play quietly and happily together I will whip them up a beautiful meal full of vegies and nutrients. I will be a domestic goddess and nourish my family.

I am prepping healthy ingredients. All is going well. Then the toddler hits the preschooler. I tell the toddler off. He has a huge tantrum. As I’m wrestling him to the other side of the toddler-proof gate, the preschooler tugs at my leg mumbling about tummy ache. I barely register. He runs off to the loo. I hear crying. I walk into the bathroom. There is shit everywhere. He didn’t make it. The preschooler is sobbing. The toddler is still screaming. I don’t know where to begin. I start by having a cry too.

Fifteen minutes later my husband comes home. I’m wearing nothing but knickers and  rubber gloves. The smell of poo fills the air. The kids are clean(ish) and watching telly. “You look nice,” he says. “My clothes are covered in shit,” I say. “Please pour me a large glass of wine while I scrub the last of it out of the grout. We are having fish fingers for dinner by the way.”

What I learned
I learned that starting a new habit is hard work. You can’t be half-arsed about it. If know you can’t commit, don’t do it. If you can, make yourself accountable to someone and set reminders.

Most importantly, I learned you can’t be too hard on yourself. Sometimes shit gets in the way. Sometimes it will hit the bathroom walls. Start with 1 or 2 habits and make your goal more achievable. Cut yourself some slack, celebrate the wins (no matter how small) and laugh at the glitches.

When you’re trying to implement new habits, you may get stuck. It may get messy. But you can ride the shit storm.

I’ve shared my story with you (perhaps even overshared a tad). So come on – share your own shit. How are you dealing with forming new habits?

‘Don’t worry it’s only a cloud’ drawing by sam brown, explodingdog.

Why don’t you make subscribing to Wellbeing bites  your new habit? It’s low on effort and calories. You’ll get tasty morsels like this by email, which will help make sure you don’t get sucked into a digital void. And I promise – no shit.