Welcome to Day 5 of my Daily Diary, where I intend to record progress on habits I want to develop. You can read the intro post here

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Recently, I’ve been wanting to redesign my life and build some new habits. I recall hearing somewhere, on average, 21 days of continuously doing something was the tipping point when it becomes a habit. There are many great books written on the importance of building productive habits, such as The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

So in my desire to continuously improve on various aspects of my life, I’ve decided to start a daily diary recording my daily actions corresponding with habits I would like to develop. This list may change over time as I work on new habits, but below are the initial actions I will be recording against. To give extra incentive for me to carry through with the actions, I will be recording my daily diary on the Steem blockchain for transparency.

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So this is how I faired on Day 5

Daily Habit 1: Go out for a walk each day with my daughter

Day 1: Completed - took the kids to the park.
Day 2: Didn’t have time to go for a walk. Had a pretty full day today but did spend a bit of time with the kids.
Day 3: Didn’t go for a walk. My daughter was sleeping when I left for work and when I arrived back home it was too dark already.
Day 4: Took my daughter and wife for a nice midday walk in our neighborhood.
Day 5: didn’t go for a walk outside today, but rather went to a shopping center with the whole family and spent most of the afternoon there.

Daily Habit 2: Speak words of life - say more encouraging and thanks giving words each day, and reduce complaining, blame and negativity

Day 1: Needs improvement - Was encouraging when speaking to my wife today, but was a bit harsh with my son when he wasn’t sharing toys.
Day 2: Was much more encouraging in my words today. Was pleased with how I did in this area today, especially after a sleep deprived night with my daughter not sleeping well.
Day 3: Was again encouraging in my words today and didn’t complain or say anything negative.
Day 4: Didn’t say anything discouraging today, and resisted the urge to say something negative or critical when others were being negative.
Day 5: was positive in my words today.

Weekly habit 1: Catch up with friends on a regular basis

Yet to catch up with anyone.
Arranged to catch up with some new friends in a couple of weeks time.

Weekly Habit 2: Give to someone or some cause, or do something for someone

Yet to do anything generous on day 1 and 2.
Day 3: Gave an offering today to a missionary starting a pharmacy near Tibet.
Day 4: Stayed home to support my wife after she got very little sleep last night. Looked after my daughter in the afternoon to give my wife time to rest and have a nap.
Day 5: spent the day with the family.

Summary

Had a very full, but enjoyable day today. Managed to be consistent in speaking words of life.

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