In the past couple of weeks, I have been creating some new routines and habits for myself. Some of these are motivated by New Year’s resolutions, and others happened more organically. They have all helped me to reset and get motivated.

When creating habits, I think it is important to reflect on goals and what you want. Habits are much easier to maintain when you realize the why behind them. Here are the top four habits I’m working on and how they are working for me:

Habit 1: Creating manageable to-do lists. Before this habit, I would write to-do lists longer than hours in the day. It was overwhelming and impossible. I realized that if I gave myself more manageable task lists, then I could leave each day satisfied with everything checked off. Planning my weeks out ahead of time has helped me to do this.

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Habit 2: Reading to relax. Reading for enjoyment is something that sometimes gets lost during the busyness of academic semesters. I just began reading The Book of Moods in downtime. It feels good to read because I want to rather than because I have to for an assignment.

Habit 3: Drinking coffee at home. I created this habit when I realized how many coffee-runs I was going on. I’d much rather save some money and practice my barista skills at home. This isn’t to say that I never visit my local coffee shops; I’m just more mindful of the frequency.

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Habit 4: Getting active each day. Since I work from home and attend classes online, it has been hard to get much movement in my days. I notice I feel a lot better and a lot more energized when I do some cardio or yoga in the morning. I really enjoy and would recommend Blogilates workout videos.

What habits will you create? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments or on Instagram. Let’s chat!