Three years ago I created the world’s first ever Happiness Studies major. This year I turned that research into a one of a kind Happiness 101 class at the University of Alabama. This course isn’t just about knowledge acquisition (you will learn about xyz). It’s about behavior change: living a happier life.
For this reason, the science of habit formation is a key part of the course. The textbook is the instant classic Atomic Habits by James Clear. Our “midterm” is a Happiness Habits Project. I invite you to join my students and I in designing and implementing your blueprint for building your happiness habits!
Below I’ll review three key components and then give you a guide to creating your Happiness Habits Project.
Win the Morning
In this video I’ll explain why it’s so crucial to have a morning ritual. Your morning behavior sets your trajectory for the course of the day. Your actions are highly leveraged and they have a large impact on how the rest of your day goes.
Keystone Habits
Next I’ll tell you about keystone habits. These are habits that, like a keystone in an arch, help to hold your life together. You’ll want to identity two or three happiness habits that have a ripple effect into other areas of your life.
Implementation & Tracking
Here’s a key life lesson: what gets measured gets managed. I’ll explain a few strategies to hold yourself accountable.
Putting It All Together
Now it’s your turn. Review the video below then follow the guide below to design your Happiness Habits Project. If you’re still with me, stop for a moment and smile. You’re an incredibly disciplined. thoughtful, and curious person! If you’ve found this interesting and/or helpful (hopefully) please drop your email below for more practical insights from happiness studies every couple weeks.
Review and Guide Video — https://youtu.be/HI0R6nxg7q8
Step 1 – Design your morning ritual.
Draft a daily script to follow for the first 1-2 hours of your day. Get very specific and include the timing. Here is an example
Morning Ritual
- 7:30 — Wake up and get my shit together
- 7:35 – Jog (m/w/f) or hip/shoulder mobility work (sun/t/th)
- 8:00 – cold shower
- 8:10 – breakfast: 4 whole eggs, greens, ¼ cup mixed nuts, apple
- 8:25 – restroom, grooming, etc.
- 8:40 – mind training – visualization and sitting meditation (KEY HABIT)
- 9:10 – coffee
- 9:20 – ready to go and start deep work (KEY HABIT)
Step 2 – Determine your 2-4 key habits. Explain why you picked it. Include an implementation intention. That is a specific statement of when and where you will perform the habit. If you have one or more key habits in your morning ritual that’s fine (for instance I have two shown above). You can make your implementation as a part of your morning ritual or as something separate. Here is an example.
KH1 – Mind Training: Meditation and Visualization
- Why – I picked this because I want to live each day with a high degree of intention and mindfulness.
- Intention – I will do my mind training and visualization on my meditation cushion as part of my morning ritual.
KH2 – Deep work
- Why – I picked deep work because it allows me to experience flow and make progress on important goals.
- Intention – I will do my deep work at my desk at 9:30 AM after my morning ritual (Mon – Fri).
KH3 – Exercise
- Why – I picked exercise because it is important part of health: both mental and physical.
- Intention – I will lift weights at the rec center M/W/F at 5:30. I will do yoga, train MMA, play soccer, or bicycle T/Th/Su at 5:30 at the corresponding location.
KH4 – Writing/Speaking Practice
- Why – I picked this because communication is perhaps the most important universal life skill.
- Intention – I will write at least one page of content or film 1 minute of content (mon-fri) after lunch at my desk.
Step 3 – implementation and tracking
You’ve written out an implementation intention for each of your key habits above. You now need to schedule and track them in whatever way is best for you. The schedule and habit tracker needs to be something you see every day. You can design whatever system you think will work best. I will include a few examples.
Digital options…
- Put the implementation intentions as events or reminders in your calendar. When you complete it – delete the event or hit done on the calendar.
- Another option is to keep an excel sheet which you look at every day to track progress.
Physical Options
- Keep a white board or hanging poster with your key habits and the implementation intentions.
- Keep a journal or paper calendar to track progress.
Step 4 – Live It
You are to track these habits for the next four weeks. (Ideally they will become a part of the rest of your life!) You can experiment and adjust (that is encouraged) at any time to best suit your needs. Your plan needs to be dynamic and work with you not against you. It should evolve as it encounters application in real life.
Your journey is beginning. You must plan and tend to the seeds of happiness and very carefully cultivate them. This is done through your habits. Please share your experience with me through the contact page or on social media. Leave an email below if you want occasional encouragement and interesting learnings from happiness studies.
Yours,
Jackson K.