Eight years ago, I never would have imagined I’d follow a set of habits daily. Back then, I didn’t think habits mattered, you know.

I started my work-from-home life in 2015 since I wasn’t getting any luck finding work. I remember waking up, eating breakfast, then working until I was done with my tasks. Then, I didn’t have anything enriching after work. I rested. Repeat the cycle.

That has been my life until 2022. I rarely read and didn’t learn anything. Technically from 2013 to 2019, I was in my fangirl phase.

I was OBSESSED with EXO during these years, and my life also revolved around them. I couldn’t find the time to educate myself. All I did was scroll mindlessly for new updates and wait for new album releases and concert announcements.

I’m not saying that this is wrong. I realized after 2019 that the fangirl life wasn’t for me anymore. I was done with it. After that phase, I needed a new fixation.

Unfortunately, nothing came up. Sure, I binged shows or watched movie franchises. But none of them were as magnetic as K-pop was. It broke me a little bit to know that I’m not holding on to something.

Eventually, I gave up the idea of being fixated on one thing and decided, “screw it, let’s practice daily habits”. Not gonna lie, this was sparked by me forgetting if I drank my meds or not. LOL. Then, because of the Habits app, I was more open to adding other activities that could benefit my life and well-being.

My current habits haven’t been the same since I started. I changed the time of my activities like putting meditation at the end of my day along with writing a daily journal entry. Before, I had read at the start of my day, but I got lazy so I moved it in the evening along with listening to a podcast. It was my way of de-stressing after work.

But one thing is for sure, I knew that some habits had to stay in the morning. It was my way of “working for myself”. I thank Loewhaley for the concept of working for yourself before working for others. It’s a philosophy I now follow to avoid stress and anxiety.

Anyway, I will go into detail about my daily habits. And if I inspire anybody to do the same, then omg noice!

Disclaimer: I am in no way promoting the products or apps that I mention lol. It just so happens I use these apps or products.

Read Daily Stoic

Every morning since January 1, 2023, I’ve read The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holliday. It’s a quick read about what virtue or lesson you can learn and apply during the day or to your life. Let’s be real, I don’t (LOL). 

It’s nice to get the Stoic perspective on how to behave or change your mindset about certain concepts. My plan is to reread this in 2024 and to try and absorb Stoic teachings. I don’t agree with some of its ideas or arguments, but it’s worth learning about it.

Special thanks to the amazing and wonderful team leader who recommended this book to me. Thank you, Karen!

Recite Affirmations

I was introduced to affirmations when I had a session with my psychiatrist. She advised me to recite affirmations in front of a mirror. This was a suggested method for improving my self-esteem.

I tried this for a couple of days and bailed. I hated the idea of looking at myself in the mirror and reciting positive words.

But, 7 or 8 years later, I’m reciting them again.

I don’t recite them in front of a mirror, but I do it in my head. I repeat one affirmation 10x and recite two more to complete this habit.

Solve Simple Math Exercises

I’m not gonna lie, I like math. But arithmetic only, although if there’s trigonometry, I wouldn’t mind since I excelled there.

Anyway, I noticed a deterioration (okay, this is an exaggeration) in my mental math ability. And I felt terrible because I was great at it. Or at least, I was fast enough to add, multiply, subtract, or divide in my head. And, I have a fear of getting dementia or Alzheimer’s. 

(Okay, I’m not sure if doing simple math exercises every day will help with your memory, but I hope that will help. Edit: mental exercise can reduce your risk along with other healthy things)

So, I started small with Sudoku. I know it’s not a simple math exercise, but I found a Sudoku app involving arithmetic. I love solving the daily challenges. And it challenges my brain from time to time.

Then, I found this game that was like a crossword but for numbers. It’s not that difficult though. But sometimes it involves some thinking on where to add them to complete the puzzle.

Finally, this was a new addition to my daily habits. The game’s called Number Sums. I can’t explain it but I hope the screenshot would suffice lol. Basically, the numbers should add up based on the outer numbers on the upper row and left column hahaha.

Read

I admit, I wasn’t a big bookworm back then, even now though. That’s why my writing sounds like I’m an elementary student LOL. But yeah, I wasn’t fond of reading. I knew though that you had to read every day to learn new vocabulary and empathize with characters.

I started reading again when season 4 of The Crown premiered. I was intrigued by Princess Diana, and it prompted me to buy Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words. It took me a while to finish the book as I had a one-chapter-a-day goal. It wasn’t heavy, emotionally and mentally, but there were triggering and sensitive themes. 

Anyway, I credit this book for starting my reading journey.

I make an effort to read one chapter a day, regardless of length and my mood. If the book was interesting enough, I read two chapters or even more, depending on the pace or plot.

I know you didn’t ask, but here are my book recommendations in case you want to read something interesting:

• Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
• This is How You Lose the Time War
• Daughter of the Moon Goddess
• Sex With Kings
• The Song of Achilles (omg fuck, I remembered the ending and it made me sad again HAHAHA)
• Invisible Monsters: Remix

Listen to Podcast

Back in 2018 or 2019, I swore I would never listen to podcasts. At the time, it was weird. I don’t know why. Maybe, I didn’t like the idea of listening to people talk for more than five minutes about one topic. Like, how the fuck do you do that? But things turned around in 2021 or 2022 that changed my mind about podcasts.

I wanted to educate myself on different topics. Honestly, I wasn’t sure where to start. But my go-to topics were history and science. I found great ones recommended by many listeners. However, listening to these repeatedly got boring. I added Greek mythology to my listening list, stories about women, mental health, and language.

I don’t listen to all of them, but I follow some podcasts for future listening.

If you want to listen to any of my favorites, here are my recommendations:

• The Happiness Lab
• Womanica
• Let’s Talk About Myths Baby
• Curiosity Daily
• Unexplainable
• History Tea Time
• No Stupid Questions

Meditate

When I was in high school, I remember the religious retreats we had to attend so we could finish the year or graduate LMAO. One memorable activity in those retreats was meditation.

Honestly, I fucking hated it.

I just couldn’t fathom the idea of closing your eyes and imagining a waterfall, chirping birds, and the blowing wind to calm you the fuck down. Plus, I am not a fan of sitting or staying still. I’m so used to squirming and looking around. Maybe it’s a manifestation of anxiety. Or, I just hated the fact I couldn’t be alert.

However, I had to incorporate this new habit into my life because my anxiety was through the roof, especially during the pandemic. It was so hard to cope, honestly. And it wasn’t enough to exercise or binge-watch something to decompress or relax after a workday. I gave meditation a go around 2021.

I stopped after a streak because I didn’t seem to need it or I was too lazy to do it.

But when I downloaded my habits app, I wanted to include meditation as a regular practice. At the time, I didn’t see the benefits yet. But meditation was supposed to calm you down and help you be present.

I’ve come to accept the effect of meditation in my life eventually. I noticed that my inner thoughts weren’t as intrusive anymore. Plus, I noticed I wasn’t as anxious as I was back then. I feel a sense of calm and I do feel patient at times.

And I’m happy to follow a 3-minute or 5-minute meditation session before going to sleep. It calms me down, and I don’t worry about work or other stressful things.

Write A Daily Journal Entry

I have to admit, I don’t do this habit daily. I skip days but I note memorable things to add to my journal. It’s a habit I’m trying to do daily just so I can write about my day, whether it was eventful or not.

Final Thoughts

Oh dear God, just writing these two words makes me think I’m writing a blog post at work, but I’m not creative enough right now to think of a funny or cool sign-off.

Anyway, I think following a daily routine of enriching habits will help me “find my flourish.” Or, if not, then I’m not going to stop doing any of these. I enjoy doing MOST of these activities, and they help me improve and become a better person.

Oh do you any of these as well? Or do you have anything to recommend, please let me know! I’d love to hear from you.

In my next blog, I might go for a Seth Godin-style post regarding happiness. But knowing me, I’d probably ramble hahaha. But I have something else in mind, and I’d rather not say anything for now. Knowing me, I tend to say something and then not finish it LOL. Anyway, thanks for reading this ❤ Till next time!