If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you read the book, ‘Better Than Before’ by Gretchen Rubin. I read the book and saw Rubin speak at the Central Library in downtown Seattle, and both were enlightening experiences.

Here are my top takeaways from the book:

• Having habits can make life easier and will therefore make us happier! Simple, right?!

• Habits are important because they allow us to make a decision once and then never think about it again. For instance, most of us don’t even think about wearing seat belts, but we wear one every time we get in the car because putting it on is a habit. I’m hoping that (eventually) I’ll be able to do this with bedtimes. Fro a while I was going strong at being asleep by 11pm (and I felt great) but I’ve been slipping lately. I’m really trying to establish these types of habits in my life, though.

• The key to successful habit formation is not a one-size-fits-all approach. We must know a lot about ourselves so we can figure out what types of motivators work for us, and what types do not.

• For instance, there are four tendencies that people tend to fall into: Upholders, questioners, obligers, and rebels. (Take this quiz to see which one you are!) I am a questioner. This means that I tend to only do things after I question why I should do them and if it makes sense to me. I don’t simply do tasks because someone expects me to if I don’t think there’s a valid reason.

• I am an abstainer, not a moderator. I actually didn’t know anyone could even be a moderator! Gretchen used the example of those people who keep a chocolate bar in their drawer, and are able to just have a little bite of it each day when they have a chocolate craving. I have never understood ‘those’ people. If there’s a chocolate bar in my drawer and I’m craving chocolate, I’m eating the entire bar – no questions asked. However, it’s fairly easy for me to say that I’m just giving up something forever. As in, it would be easier for me to give up chocolate entirely than it would be for me to only nibble at a chocolate bar each day. I guess this is why it was so easy for me to become vegetarian (technically pescatarian) overnight! I haven’t eaten meat since I decided 5 years ago that I just wasn’t going to anymore. I couldn’t eat meat in moderation, so I gave it up entirely. I don’t know why, but abstaining for me is easier than moderating.

• I am a sprinter, not a marathoner (ironic, since I’ve always been a long-distance runner). I work best under pressure and with looming deadlines, and I almost never work ahead of schedule. This is probably why I almost never have blog posts written ahead of time and why I preferred to wait until the last minute to complete work tasks when I was in the corporate world. I can see why working ahead on tasks is probably a better strategy, but something in my brain prevents me from actually doing it! I love the energy and adrenaline of waiting until a task is almost due to complete it. I also blame this part of my brain for making me chronically 5-10 minutes late, but that’s an entirely different issue.

• Even though some people do really well with goals, it’s still difficult to turn these actions into habits. This one was mind-blowing for me, because I’ve often wondered why I find it so easy to train for a marathon, but then once the marathon is over I somehow lack the motivation to continue to workout, even though I’ve always loved running. Well, it makes sense, really. Some people have an easy time striving towards a goal, but they aren’t developing good habits in the long run (no pun intended), and once the goal is complete they lose their motivating factor to keep up the hard work. I’m someone who constantly needs goals to ensure that I do things, because it’s difficult for me to form habits just for the sake of having them.

‘Better Than Before’ was an easy book to read, and while some parts (in my opinion) were more interesting than others, I got through the book quickly and learned a lot – both about myself and about habit formation. I will admit that a month (or so) after reading the book, I haven’t necessarily established that many new habits; however, I am working on it, especially when it comes to a bedtime and my general weekly schedule. I also recognize the importance of establishing good habits for Clara’s routine and life, and that has certainly been enlightening.

Overall, I recommend you read this book ASAP – I guarantee you’ll learn something useful!

* This post wasn’t sponsored, I just wanted to share an interesting read with you! However, I did use affiliate links for Amazon.

Have you read this book? What did you think?