<aside> 💡 This article is part of a series entitled #29 Organisation for creatives

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Habits are any action you do automatically and are therefore the domain of your unconscious mind. If you are looking to change your life, they are one of your most powerful tools.

The fact is that what we do is ultimately who we are. You can talk about writing all you want, you won’t produce a book any faster than someone who isn’t talking about writing. The characteristic that all writers share, possibly the only one really, is that they write.

Runners run.

Painters paint.

Fish swim.

That last one doesn’t work. I went too far. Pretend I didn’t say that.

The point is that you need to move your actions from the torturous motivational circus of your conscious mind into the calm, moonlit pool of the habitual. So that the desired action (which in my case is currently writing) just becomes something you do every day. Everything I’ve learned about habit creation, I learned from James Clear in Atomic Habits. It’s one of those life-changing reads for me. Short, easy to understand and even easier to implement.

Here’s something from the book you can action straight away. If you want to acquire a habit - set a time, location and duration for it. It makes it so much easier. So this is what I’m currently telling myself.

Every weekday, at 9am, I’ll be in my office, sitting at my desk, with a bowl of matcha and I’ll write for 30 mins. When I’ve done that, I’ve fulfilled my promise to myself.

The beauty of this is that it leaves no room for manoeuvre. Your contract with yourself is clear. The short duration is particularly important. Most days I go way over 30 minutes, but it’s psychologically important to know that you only need to spend 30 minutes to keep the habit going.

Have a go. Let me know what you think.