I have a lot of bad habits. We all do. And while Admiral McRaven instilled in me the need to make my bed every morning—which I do, most days—I haven’t done much else to course correct on some of my other bad habits.

It’s not so much that the habit itself is bad, it’s the lack of discipline that’s the problem. If I can’t discipline myself to drink three bottles of water per day, how am I supposed to discipline myself to take on the more diffictul tasks of life? 

That’s why I’ve decided to start publicly tracking a couple habits I want to change. Not because drinking less than three bottles of water is bad, but because I want to give myself a few little victories to savor everyday. These little things, in aggregate, will be much bigger victories when it comes to becoming more disciplined, more organized, being a better steward of my time, and setting achievable goals.

After all, it’s all about the little things in life right?

So here we go, the four habits I am focusing on right now are as follows:

Not spending money on take out food

Drinking more water

Avoid eating after 8pm

Avoid eating sugary sweets

You may have noticed a theme in these four habits—they all relate to food. Guilty as charged: I have a food problem. I spend a lot of money on food. I spend a lot of time preparing food. I spend a lot of time reading about food.

And while food is my greatest passion in life, my relationship with food isn’t exactly healthy. I’m addicted to sugar and more often than not, I spend beyond my means. I’ve always been an emotional eater; it’s a problem I’ve been cognizant ever since I started counting calories and keeping food diaries in the seventh grade (true story).  If I want to change my relationship with food I figure I have two options here: continue to let my food problem imprison my mind and my wallet…or confront it head on.

Going into 2019 I want to simplify my life and really, truly accomplish some goals. To do that, I need to change my habits—I need discipline. And if it takes forcing myself to drink three bottles of water per day, so be it.
I’m attaching my monthly habit tracker below. Follow along to help keep me accountable or copy it into your own Google Drive to start tracking some habits you want to change going into the new year.

 Habit Changing Matrix