Habits that Make Me Happier

Confession: Inside of my head, there is a rebel teenager with a touch of angst sitting on one of my shoulders. She mocks the typical, embraces the extremes. She definitely doesn’t like being told what to do, and most certainly shuns routines. Routine is boring, and life is too short for that. To her, routine and boring are in conflict to excitement and happiness. Imagine her surprise when she sees evidence that routine and habit can increase happiness!

Effective uses of routine have done wonders for my health, my wealth, and my happiness. For a deep study of routine and habits, and how they can improve your life, I highly recommend The Power of Habit and Atomic Habits. Both dive deeper into the cognitive benefit of habit formation.

Personally, I find tying small habits and routines around larger personal goals massively effective. While making huge change in a short amount of time sounds appealing, I haven’t been overly successful with that approach. Rather, creating small habits I repeat daily, weekly, and monthly gives me more long-term success.

Here are some of my favorite, constant high level goals. I think of them more like goal “themes” than anything. To these, I typically tie specific goals on a regular basis so I can measure progress. And there are routines I’ve tied to each that help me maintain happiness in each “goal theme.”

Goal Theme: Improve Physical Fitness

Habit: Morning Exercise Monday – Saturday

I’ve been a consistent exerciser for almost a year now. My specific routine has varied drastically over the past 10-11 months. But the pattern has been the same. Early on in my physical fitness journey, I decided morning exercise was the best for me. So I allocated time regularly throughout the week to dedicate towards exercise. I even have a calendar where I plan and track my daily workouts. Here’s what this week looks like

1. Monday: 7am run 2-3 miles at a local park; 10:30am yoga class
2. Tuesday: 9am lap swim for 45 minutes; 10:30am body flow class
3. Wednesday: 7am run 2-3 miles at a local park
4. Thursday: 9am lap swim for 45 minutes; 10:30am yoga class
5. Friday: 7am lap swim for 45 minutes; 10:30am body flow class
6. Saturday: 7:30am hike 6-7miles at State Park with *intense* hill this week!

Habit: Drink 2-3 Large Water Bottles Daily

My reusable water bottle holds about 32 ounces of water. To support all of this exercise, I drink 2-3 of these bottles daily. I tote a water bottle around the house and when I’m out. I’m rarely without it. And I notice my physical performance drops when I don’t get enough water

Habit: Drink Protein Shake After Every Workout

When I first started training, I’d hit a wall daily around 2pm, without fail. At first I just took a nap or drank cups of coffee to push past it. But after a couple weeks it became a real issue, and frankly a deterrent to continue training. I brought this up to my hiking group buddies, and all of them recommended the same 2 things: water and post-workout protein. Since hydration seemed under control, I started bringing protein powder with me to each workout and, right after I completed, added water and drank. The change was pretty immediate. Sure, I get tired in the afternoon every once in a while, but nothing like the debilitating energy crash I used to experience.

Goal: Build Passive Income

Habit: Create and Track Passive Income in Budget

This one might seem obvious, but worth stating. What gets measured gets improved. Part of my monthly income and expense report separates passive income streams. This lets me monitor each one, so I can understand gross and net income. Watching these numbers change and grow over time is vital, and the basis for building specific and measurable goals down the road.

Habit: Join a Local Real Estate Group and Attend Meetings

Back when I chose real estate as my passive income and investment vehicle, I joined a couple groups to aid this journey. One is specific for real estate investors, and the other is focused on the multifamily industry, legal issues and property management. Both have been vital to my growth and success in this industry. And every month, I check each association’s calendar of events and choose at least one from each to attend. Even when I’m busy. Even if the meetings look boring, or not relevant, I always choose at least of from each to attend. Like clockwork, after I refresh and analyse that monthly income and expenses report (mentioned above), I log in and look for classes.

To be honest, sometimes I regret a class, or a meeting. However, plenty of times a class that I wasn’t looking forward to teaches me something critical, or helps me think about my business in a different way. I get to meet other people in my industry and make connections. I can meet vendors and keep a stack of names handy for when I need them. I’ve watched others in the industry stagnate without regular involvement.

Habit: Make Annual Investment Goals and Plans

Every year, I take stock of my capital and potential capital and plan my investment strategy from there. Will I sell off certain properties for profit? Renovate and raise rents? Entertain third party property management? Choose to invest in a new rental property? I find this is one of those few areas where annual goals are best. You’re not easily swayed by environmental factors… like a global pandemic 😉 In December I make a plan for the following year, and quarterly check up on progress. Here’s an example of 2020 plans:

1. Q1 2020: sell 2 local properties
2. Q2 2020: finish renovations on 8 unit, turn and raise rents
3. Q3 2020: refinance 8 unit property
4. Q4 2020: purchase next multifamily property with profits from 2 properties and refinance

My plans really are that simple. Sure, I try to estimate things like profits from properties sold, cost of renovations, plan out target rental income and how much I can cash out from a refinance. Oh, and what I can afford to purchase in Q4 2020. But I also recognize these numbers can change and I’ll need to adapt as I get information.

Without a plan, I could stagnate and not grow investments the way I’d like. Or be too aggressive with acquisitions and not have money needed for repairs and maintenance.

Goal: Minimize Expenses

Habit: Make a Meal Plan and Grocery List Weekly

Without fail, every week I sit down with my partner and talk food. We discuss any cravings and new dishes we want to try. Think about any obligations or long days we’ll have that would require advance meal prep. From this I create a meal plan that covers our meals and snacks. And from there, I develop a grocery list based on what we have and what we need.

This sounds simple, but returns some serious compound interest. Because we take a look a the upcoming week and our commitments, the food discussion turns into a scheduling discussion. For instance, last week we had to travel to a property 2 1/2 hours away (and back) for business. We needed food for the road, and wanted a pre-planned dinner ready when we got home since neither of us would want to put in a lot of effort into dinner. I also knew that I had a four hour class another day that week, and we had leftovers from having some friends over the week before. All of this helped me plan meals and coordinate schedules. I even cleaned the car just for the road trip.

In spite of a busy week with a 6 hour drive in one day, we stayed on budget, I didn’t miss any workouts, and my car finally got vacuumed.

Habit: Plan Free Activities

Boredom is an easy path towards reckless spending. So I try to stay busy with fun things that happen to be free. Or free-ish. For instance, a couple days ago I broke up the workout routine and, instead of running at my local park, went to a state park for a trail run. After the run, I changed into my swimsuit and made my way to the river for some relaxation. And, after cooling off in the river and enjoying some late morning sun, I grabbed a meal I packed the night before and enjoyed a late breakfast with my Mom at the park. We made a long morning of it – making good use of that state park pass!

I regularly lurk online for free classes and tutorials of interest. Right now, I’m learning about gardening. I’ve taken 2 free classes online, and registered for 2 more. Thanks to my library, I have books on the subject, and have been making a plan for next year’s landscaping and gardening changes.

We like to have friends over every couple of weeks. It helps me keep my house clean, and keeps our social circle intact. Entertaining friends can get expensive, but it certainly doesn’t have to be! Being socially proactive keeps those invites coming and keeps us entertained without spending crazy amounts of money on dinner and a movie.

Now, I’m not a fan of over-scheduling, so I don’t overdo it. But I do advocate keeping yourself active mentally and physically. Finding free activities is a great way to do that.

Goal: Optimize my Environment

Habit: Clean the Kitchen Every Night Before Bed

Okay. This one isn’t life changing. And you’ve probably heard it before. As someone who cooks at home all the time, I cannot emphasize how important it is to keep the kitchen clean.

Here’s the thing. If you don’t keep it clean, it will be a struggle to cook. So cooking will be a chore or, even worse, you’ll break down and order out. That bowl you use to make cookie dough will be dirty. Your favorite pan will be dirty and you can’t make pancakes in the morning. Or, heaven forbid, you wake up and your coffee pot is dirty, and there’s a stack of dirty dishes in the sink between you and delicious morning brew…

Ideally, you’re cleaning dishes as you go, or loading the dishwasher throughout the day. But life happens and things can pile up. Do yourself a favor and, after dinner, load up the dishwasher and wipe off those counter tops. Before bed, start that dishwasher. Sleep even sounder knowing the machine is working for you.

Habit: Put Dishes Away Every Morning

I enjoy french press coffee. Have for years. To me, nothing beats the taste of this coffee delivery method. It does, however, have one drawback. You need to wait for the kettle to boil before you can pour and begin your brew.

Since America doesn’t have the electric kettle power Europe enjoys, there’s really no reason to have a separate electric kettle. So I fill up a stove top kettle every morning and, while I wait for it to boil, I put the dishes away. By the time I’m done – or close to – the kettle’s ready. It takes maybe 5 minutes. I can’t be sure, to be honest.

I haven’t had coffee yet.

This sets up the day nicely. Now, after breakfast, I can load rinsed dishes directly into the dishwasher. Dishes are already put away and easy to find.

Now that I think about it, maybe keeping that kitchen clean is life changing 🙂