"How to be more consistent?"

Practical Tips to Implement Now

Whenever you hear any stories of success in any area of life, you hear about the power of consistency.

"Just be more consistent", people always say, but nobody ever tells you "How to be more consistent?".

Here are a few practical strategies that will help you become more consistent in any area of your life.

1. Make it a part of your lifestyle.

It's easier to do something every day than to do it just a few days. When you make doing something a part of your lifestyle, of your daily routine, it becomes a part of your identity and evidence of who you are now.

Whatever you want to be more consistent on, make it a part of your daily schedule.

2. Give yourself grace about the amount.

When your focus is on making something a part of your lifestyle and daily routine, you need to give yourself grace on the amount you are able to do in any single day.

This simply means two things:

1. Push yourself to take the action and do the thing, daily.

2. Lose the focus on how much or for how long you do it.

This way of looking at consistency allows you to adapt to the unpredictable nature of life without breaking the streak that helps you build a new identity.

If your goal is to make exercise a habit in your life and you want to be consistent in working out, make sure to have:

• A "Perfect Case Scenario", is where you have a full hour to work out at a gym or take an in-person fitness class.
• A "Plan B Case Scenario", is where you do a 30-minute home workout video.
• A "Worst Case Scenario", which may involve doing squats or push-ups for 5 minutes and taking a short walk around your neighborhood after dinner.

3. Apply the Daily 1% Rule

The daily "1% improvement principle popularized by James Clear in his book "Atomic Habits", states that making small, consistent improvements daily compounds to big results over time. Anything above zero compounds, so even a 1% improvement can create a big difference in your life over time.

If you improve by 1% each day for a year, you'll be 37 times better by the end of the year.

For reference, 1% of your day is roughly around 15 minutes of your day, so if you want to be more consistent in any specific area, focus on doing it for 15 minutes daily (you can always increase the amount whenever you feel like it or whenever your schedule allows it). "Grace in the amount, push on the action."

4. Use Your Mornings

Discipline and willpower decrease throughout the day.

As our energy wanes, so does our motivation to do anything, especially anything new that takes effort. That's why it will always be easier to do anything that takes energy first thing in the morning than after a full day of work and responsibilities. Early mornings also tend to be the time we have the most control over in our days, as it is the time less likely to get thrown off course by the unexpected events that life sometimes is made of.

In the beginning, for the first 2-3 weeks, when you are just starting to build the new habit and create consistency, plan to do the new action early in the morning, and it will be more likely that you do it.

5. Set Yourself Up For Success

Use the power of the environment and set yourself up for success.

It is more likely that you will do anything if the environment is set up and prep for it.

• It is more likely you will work out at a gym or on a yoga mat than in your kitchen.
• It is more likely you will write at your desk or in a silent room than in your bed.
• It is more likely you will study in a library or your school than in a restaurant.

Your environment has the power to change your focus and make you more prone to do something.

Make sure you set yourself up for success by preparing beforehand the space, the clothes, and the tools/equipment you will need to do the daily action you want to be more consistent with.

6. Start small and build from there

A mistake we have all made when trying to create a new habit is to go from nothing (zero) to everything (a hundred).

When we are trying to do things we have never done, we think we need to make drastic changes and commit to 2-3 hours of doing the new activity. To make it worse, we often try to take on multiple changes at the same time.

This is a recipe for failure.

Instead, focus on making only one change at a time. Then, start 'small' (set yourself up for success by starting with something that feels "doable" and "easy") and slowly build from there.

• Want to become a morning person? Start by going to bed and waking up 15 minutes earlier than your regular schedule for one week. Then, progressively each week, increase the time until you get to your desired wake-up time.
• Want to learn a new skill? Start by studying or reading about that topic for 5 minutes daily for one week. Then, add 5 minutes each week until you get to a schedule that works for you and that you can consistently keep up.
• Want to build a habit of strength training but have never done it before? Commit to doing it for 15 minutes daily for the first week. Then, increase it to 20 minutes daily for a week, then 25 minutes daily, and so on, until you accomplish a schedule that works for you.

When you are creating lifestyle changes, focus on one new habit at a time until it starts to feel like a regular part of your day.

You don't change your life in one day. But you can slowly change your days, and that, ultimately, is what will change your life.

7. Use the power of accountability.

This is something I use a lot more now than I used to.

A few years ago, I believed that I could change my life by myself without needing to tell anyone or talk about it. The reality, though, is that working on yourself and accomplishing new goals can be very lonely.

As you try new things, build new habits, and pursue new interests, oftentimes, it may feel like you are losing your friends because you are on a different path.

This is a normal part of growth. But it's hard doing things alone for an extended period of time. That's why finding even just one person who is on a similar path as you can make such a big difference to keep going the distance.

Find one friend who is working towards similar goals and looking to also be consistent to be your accountability partner, and make it a point to check in with your progress on a daily or weekly basis.

Something as simple as creating an "Accountability Chat", where you text each other once you have completed your action for the day, can create a whole difference in how you show up and how consistent you are with something.

Disclaimer: When working on building accountability, don't compare yourself and your results to other people's results. It's human to want to do this, but comparing our journey to others is usually a waste of our time and energy that could be better used to take action. If you are going to compare anything, be sure not to compare just your results. Instead, when you are comparing, be a lot more specific and compare approaches, strategies, and the manner of doing things as a way to use comparison as a learning tool to improve your own approach and strategies.

A small tip: If you feel like you don't know anyone who could be your accountability partner, connect with people online who have the same goals or are on the same journey as you (look up Facebook groups, online forums and classes, and any related social media groups), or even work with an online coach or trainer who can support you in your journey.

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