By the Numbers

Here are some things you can do to start working towards better habits:

1. Stop looking at your phone 1 hour before going to bed.

2. Wake up early.

3. Make your bed.

4. When you wake up, perform a movement 15 times. Does not matter what it is, just do that movement 15 times. Push-ups, sit down and stand up, burpees, jumping jacks, stand on one foot and raise each knee 15 times, hold a plank 15 seconds, reach to the floor then reach towards the ceiling 15 times - something.

5. Get a change jar. Every coin you see, pick it up. When you get home put it in the change jar. At the end of the month, take that change to the bank and deposit it in your savings account. Don't have a savings account? Save the change jar up until you hit the amount required by your bank to open the savings account.

6. Set aside some amount every time you get paid. Can be $1. Can be $100. Just something. Put it in your savings account.

7. When your savings account hits $500, put $100 in something that earns interest. Search Nerdwallet.com for solid ideas on how to invest your money. There are a plethora of investment options and it can be overwhelming when you first get started. The important thing to remember when starting out, doing something is better than nothing and only invest at risk levels you are financially comfortable with.

8. Read 1-3 pages of a book. Shoot for everyday but even once a week is a good start. Read them before going to sleep. Read them when you wake up. Just 1-3 pages of some type of book.

9. Figure out one goal you want to accomplish and write it down. Does not have to be "climb Everest", but it can be. Maybe you want to lose 100 pounds; start with 10. Maybe you want to learn welding, start with a goal of looking at what classes are available. Break your goal down into what you would do FIRST to get to that big goal and make that FIRST thing your current primary goal. Give yourself a day/time to do it. "I will research classes at the local tech school on welding on Thursday at 2:17PM." Make your goal A) attainable and B) timely and C) precise.

10. Clean something. Does not have to be the entire house. The bathroom. The dishes. Something every day.

11. Set aside 15 minutes 3 days per week that you will focus on movement. Does not have to be a super hard workout. It does not have to be in a gym. For 15 minutes, stop whatever you're doing and do 3 pushups, 3 squats, and 4 standing knee raises (2 each leg) in a circuit for 15 minutes. Sound too simple? Try it quickly with little to no transition time for resting. Still too easy? Increase each movement by 1-3 reps. Can't do pushups on the floor? Do them on your knees. Still can't push up? Do them against a wall. Can't do squats? Sit on a chair, couch, or bar stool and then get back up. Can't stand on one foot and raise your other knee? Sit in a chair and raise one knee at a time.

12. Try eating this meal three times per week: 8 ounce grilled chicken, 1 cup roasted broccoli, and half a cup of jasmine rice. Hate chicken? Replace it with tuna, steak, salmon, lentils, black beans, or turkey. Hate broccoli? Try roasting cauliflower, brussel sprouts, or asparagus. A little olive oil, salt, and pepper - roast at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Can even roast your protein with your veggies.

So those are 12 items you can start this week to gently kick off a journey of change. You don't have to try them all on one day. Spread them out. Maybe a few on day 1, 2, and 3, then some of the others on days 4, 5, 6, and 7. Building good habits takes time and forcing them into place is like crash dieting - they won't often last.

I intentionally started this article with the lifestyle changes. The reason is simple: I want to help someone get their life on-track, not be forced to read my life story and THEN find the simple lifestyle changes somewhere near the very bottom after like thirty adds. If you get to here, your efforts will still be rewarded. I'll still save my story but give the overachieving readers a little extra tidbit to further help them on their journey. So here's the post-credit scene you watched the entire movie for: Did you now TikTok pays you for your content? True story. Do a little research and see for yourself. May take some time but when I tell you every little bit counts, think about how compounding interest works.

Keep your chins up friends.