On Consistency and Habits

So here’s a short story about consistency and habits.

At age 39, I found myself facing the hardest test, the final IPPT. (Individual Physical Proficiency Test, a test that every healthy Singaporean male had to take as part of National Service)

In order to pass the test, I designed a 15-minute workout session to train myself for it. Just 50 pushups, 50 crunches, and a set of strength training with weights, all done within 15 mins. Comment below if you want my simple workout routine.

Each evening after finishing the set, I would mark an “X” on this calendar (physical calendars finally had some use to me).

To many, a short workout like this may seem futile to achieve anything, but the true benefit that came out of this plan for me was habit forming.

Even after my final IPPT test ended last September, I continued doing the same set of exercises daily, just like that mandatory cup of black coffee that I need to drink every morning.

And that’s when I realized the habit had formed within me due to the consistency I maintained throughout the whole training period. This habit of a daily short workout will be just as hard to stop now as it was to start in the beginning.

Consistency is crucial to success in whatever you choose to grow yourself in, especially in the content creation industry. Whether you are a streamer, TikToker, or YouTuber, you need a plan, and a calendar of sorts to keep yourself accountable. Need help making one? Read this, there’s a free template in the article made by the content team at Gank. https://ganknow.com/blog/how-to-create-a-content-calendar/#content-calendar-template

One line I remembered from the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, was that, when building behaviors/habits, think about who you want to identify as instead of focusing on what you want to achieve.

Maybe this year, I will start writing again. See if this habit sticks.