The days I watch my nephew I have created a bad habit during his nap where all I want to do is eat. He naps around noon so I am usually tired from the morning and the thought of having some time to myself causes me to freely indulge.
If I wasn't eating I was zoning out reading blogs and browsing Pinterest. Though I allow myself this luxury from time to time, I always left feeling like I used up my precious non-baby productivity time. And then I read the following about how habits are formed and realized it was time for a change:
I decided that in order to break this unconscious habit I needed to change it. Instead of continuing to eat past lunch or zone out online, I found I needed to find something that was both relaxing but also productive. I was reminded that I needed to work on some digital photobooks so I grabbed my laptop, popped in New In Town, and got to work.
I also realized that I did not need to force myself to do something hard in order to break this habit. I didn't have to use this time to get everything done yet I felt that way if I wasted nap time. I wanted to use the time to feel semi-productive but also allow myself the time to rest while my nephew slept without overeating or completely zoning out. I needed some sort of balanced plan.
I usually start my mornings around 6 or 7 am and I get my work out done in the morning as well as tidy up the house and get any household chores done so that I can have nap time to myself. Finding something productive but enjoyable was just the cure I needed to breaking my nap time habit.
To read more about habits, check out this article on Goop, How to Break a Habit...Or Start a New One or this post by Donald Miller, How Having a Little Grace Toward Yourself Contributes to Success.
// Do you have a habit that needs to be replaced with a new one? How have you handled breaking old habits in the past?
