WEEK 34 - the importance of playing by your own rules
I’ve been noodling on the way high performers streamline some of their decision making processes by creating habits that have become so routine that they turn into “rules” for their daily life.
For instance, people in the tech industry often talk about having a “uniform” of the same clothes or type of clothes that they wear every single day. Other high achievers might have a very specific breakfast that they eat every morning or a strictly regimented work routine.
The reason this kind of thing is so effective for high performers is because faithfully adhering to these kinds of habits frees up resources - both physical and mental - for other kinds of work.
Of course, that really only works if the habit is always in place. Basically, the habit has to become a “rule” for living so that the task (whatever it is) becomes mechanical and requires little to no brainpower.
When I was thinking about this for myself I initially had a hard time coming up with examples from my own life. But that’s not because I don’t have those things in my life, more because I tend to get a lot of creative inspiration out of spontaneity in my decision making. Even when something is a regular practice in my life, I tend to not make it a rigid routine because if I do I lose some of that creative potential.
However, there are two really obvious things in my life that are totally habits-that-have-become-rules.
The first is a weekly phone call with my dad that we started because texting back and forth got difficult. Scheduling calls - and blocking that time out on my work calendar - felt so strange at first! But it was such a great way to ensure that I got that quality time with my dad every week that I kept it up and it has become one of my rules for living: Monday mornings from 11 to noon are for my call with Dad.
My other example is eating vegetarian. Initially that was something that I was trying out to see how I liked it, whether I could sustain it, what my body felt like on that kind of diet, etc. Committing to the vegetarian habit and making it a “rule for living“ has meant that my decisions in grocery stores and restaurants have become much more automatic.
I think one of the really important things to note about this concept is that it’s gonna look different for everyone. Eating the same exact thing for every breakfast would absolutely not work for me because I get a lot of joy and even some creative inspiration out of choosing and preparing new food on a regular basis.
So just be aware that the habits that you see often used as examples for this type of thing might work for you, but they also might not work for you at all! Coming up with your own habits as rules is its own exercise in creative thinking.
Your assignment: Create art about a habit (or rule) in your own life.
Thought starters: Consider the kinds of habits that have become routine or even “rules” in your life. That’s what we’re focusing on this week.
It doesn’t need to be a creative habit! And if you can’t think of any, that’s OK too. Instead, create art about something that you *wish* were a habit in your own life.
This might seem like a “rule for success” kind of prompt, but the focus is not on success for this one. Instead, try to think about things that free up your resources - mental or physical - so that you have more to spare for the work you truly love.
Caption ideas: As a creative, it’s always interesting and insightful to learn about the practices of other creatives. That learning process often sparks an interest in me - either to try their practice out for myself or to figure out how to tweak it to make it work for me.
So, please, share details about your habit! What made you try it out in the first place? When or why did it become a “rule for living“?
Bonus: Is there anything you would do differently around an existing habit, now that you’re thinking critically about it? Or is there something that you would like to try to incorporate as a “rule for living” in your daily practice?
---------------
Don’t forget to tag me @homsweethom and use the #HOMwork & #HOMwork2021 hashtag when you post on Instagram. I love looking through your excellent creations and sharing a few of my favs every week in my IG Stories before the next assignment is posted.
