I got a wonderful newsletter yesterday from my friend Warren King (I've spoken about him many times and see my other blogs by clicking here) or visit his website. The newsletter was about "keystone habits" which I had not heard about, but after a quick google search and the purchase of a book (I will know more very soon!) I am intent on finding out more!
Keystone habits are habits that once adopted tend to produce a landslide of other positive changes. I think that Warren King re-capped it best in his newsletter:
"Studies over the last decade show the impact of fitness on people’s
daily routines and they have found even exercising infrequently as once a
week, start other unrelated patterns in their lives, often unknowingly.
People who exercise start eating better and become more productive at
work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family.
They use their credit cards less frequently and feel less stressed. it
is not clear why taking time for fitness is a keystone habit that
triggers widespread change.
Another such habit is eating family meals. Studies have shown that
families that habitually eat dinner together seem to raise children with
better homework skills, higher grades, greater emotional control and
more confidence.
Guess which habit is correlated with better productivity, a greater
sense of well-being and a greater facility with following a budget? It
is making your bed each morning. Since finding out about this I have
been making my bed diligently, and keeping to my budget!
The last one is keeping a food journal. A 2009 study asked 1600 obese
people to write down everything they ate at least one day per week. This
helped them to identify their patterns and set up plans for healthy
alternatives. Six months into the study, the people who kept daily food
records had lost twice as much weight as those who didn’t. "
I love the three keystone habits that Warren King uses, they are easy and result in fantastic positive changes in your life. I for one... will be making my bed from now on! (I am excited to see if it has an effect on my kids.. when they start to make their beds each morning!)
The book: The Power of Habit - Why We Do What We Do in Life and in Business by Charles Duhigg
visit the website of Warren King L.Ac and sign up for his wonderful newsletter!
more references to making your bed... on Apartment Therapy
good luck and remember MAKE YOUR BED!
