⏳3 things I learned about habits

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Dear steward,

I’m not a very disciplined person by nature, but I’ve followed the same morning routine habit for 10 years.

Here are 3 lessons I’ve learned about habits during that time:

1. The right environment makes habits easy

  • Having a “home gym” area
  • A spot for Bible reading
  • A dedicated work desk

Having the right space lets you slip into the habit more easily.

2. Find a way to make it fun

You can make a game out of nearly anything.

  • Track your habits on a calendar
  • Create milestones when you hit 10 days in a row, etc.
  • Reward yourself as you become more consistent

The more you can make learning a habit feel like play, the easier it will be to stick with it until it’s automatic.

3. Eliminate bad habits by replacing them with good ones

This is just the put-off/put-on principle from Ephesians 4:22-24.

“put off your old self… put on the new self”

Don’t just stop a bad habit cold turkey.

Replace:

  • Unhealthy eating with healthy eating
  • Bad financial habits with good ones
  • Binging Netflix with reading books

Sometimes you can actually hijack the cue for a bad habit and use it for a good habit.

For example, imagine what would happen if every time you felt the urge to check your phone you had trained yourself to pray first.

The habits you do today are creating the person you’ll be tomorrow.

P.s. If you’re interested, I also teach a course on how to build Christ-honoring morning routine habits.

✨ New on Redeeming Productivity

🧑‍💻The Roundup

The Moments that Matter (2 mins)

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve stopped trying to recognize which moments matter. We’re tempted to think that we know, and we often try to capture and post them. But we’re really poor judges. We may know which images may get likes, but we don’t know what moments matter most, even though they’re humble and ordinary.”

(Darryl Dash / Dash House)

On Choosing Digital Tools and Why Churches Should Cancel Their Livestream (13 mins)

A thought-provoking reflection on how we judge the tools we choose to use.

“My contention is that everyone uses tools, and I hope, with Berry’s help, to show that everyone is shaped by their tools. In the church sphere, your tools may be older and proven like hymnals in the pews or the large bell that hangs at the top of the tower above the narthex. But for most of you, you’re dealing with the use of technology in church settings, digital tools for spiritual growth. And there are questions.”

(Joe Holland / Sola Eclessia)

Does Bionic Reading actually work? Test for yourself! (8 mins)

I couple of weeks ago I mentioned Bionic Reading, a new service that promises to help you read faster. One of my favorite companies, Readwise, did an experiment to see if it actually increased reading speeds. And you can actually participate in the study too.

(Readwise)

A Roundup of Habit and Routine Tracking Methods & Tools (3 mins)

One of the best ways to keep a habit going is to track it. This is a great roundup of tools and methods for doing just that.

I’ll add one more to the list: Here’s a habit tracker I made for the POWER Mornings course.

(Joe Buhlig / The Sweet Setup)

🖋Quote of the Week

Do not keep a record or an account of your work. Give up being book-keepers. In the Christian life we must desire nothing but His glory, nothing but to please Him. So do not keep your eye on the clock, but keep it on Him and His work.

– Martyn Lloyd-Jones,

Resurfaced with Readwise.

👍 Something I Like

Mail the Gospel

My friend Dale Partridge has launched a new resource to help you do just as the name suggests—mail the gospel to someone! This is a really neat project. I highly encourage you to check it out.

Here’s a video Marci Ferrell did in which she talked to Dale more about the project.

🤠 Pardners*

  • I use Freedom every day to block distracting apps and websites across all my devices so I can get more done.
  • Protect your soul with screen accountability software. Try Covenant Eyes free for 30-days with promo code “ROSE”
  • Redeem your commute by listening to audiobooks from Audible. Listen free for one month.

Pardners are paid classifieds or affiliate links that support Reagan’s Roundup. To enquire about placing a classified ad in Reagan’s Roundup, simply reply to this email.

⌛️That’s all for this week

Hit reply to send me link suggestions for future issues or just to say hey.

I’ll see you next time!

– Reagan

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