Thread by @BrianFeroldi

The 16 daily habits that make me smarter, happier, and more productive ⬇️

1/ Planning out my day on paper

Each morning I write out a rough schedule of my day

I WFH, so there are 3 categories

1. Work tasks
2. Self-care tasks
3. Home tasks

This helps me focus and ensure that I have a productive day

2/ Showing affection for my family

I hug & kiss my wife/kids several times each day

I tell them I love them several times every day

It makes us both happier

I plan to do this forever, even if I get eye-rolls as they age

3/ Play a game

Games make me happy & make me think.

I play chess every day

I also play video games with my kids and also play a board game together weekly (Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride)

If you are interested in chess, here are some resources

https://twitter.com/BrianFeroldi/status/1334840318840156178?s=20

4/ Gratitude

Clean water
Delicious food
Healthy family
Working Car

I have SO MUCH to be thankful for

I keep a sticky note on my desk that says "gratitude". Each time I see it, I think of 1 thing I’m grateful for

It makes me happy every time I do it

5/ Note-taking

Whenever I think of an idea, tweet, or story, I stop and write it down IMMEDIATELY

I keep most notes in my phone, but I also keep pencil/paper around the house and by my nightstand

I never know when an idea is going to pop into my mind — and I forget ideas fast!

6/ Intermittent Fasting

I only eat between 12 PM - 7 PM

It’s the easiest ‘diet’ in the world to follow

There are eating hours and non-eating hours. It's so simple!

7/ Tell my kids a family story

Before they go to bed, I end each day with a family story

They LOVE to hear about my experiences as a kid

This is where note-taking comes in handy!

Remembering all of the stories isn’t easy. I keep a running list handy for reference.

8/ Listening to podcasts

I listen to 50+ podcasts

Whenever I’m cleaning, driving, walking, or have downtime, I’m listening to podcasts

Always on 2x speed

Here are the investing podcasts I listen to:

https://twitter.com/BrianFeroldi/status/1380155789785059333?s=20

9/ Watch YouTube

I watch YouTube every night before bed (zero brightness & blue-light blocking glasses)

There’s LOTS of wonderful educational content on YouTube

I love learning about engineering, history, woodworking, & science, in particular.

10/ Socializing

WFH makes socialzing hard

COVID makes it 10x harder

Every day, I make an effort to have an IN-PERSON chat with an adult that I don’t live with

I’m constantly reaching out to friends/family & making plans

It takes effort, but it's 100% worth it

11/ Networking

Slack, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.....

All of these social channels are amazing for networking

I try and converse with at least 10 different people per day

12/ Teach my kids something

How to use a tool
How to cook a meal
The definition of a word
How to invest

It doesn’t matter what the topic is. What matters is that they go to bed smarter than they work up.

13/ Reading

I have books scattered around my house

I always make an effort to read for at least a few minutes whenever I have downtime

14/ Exercising

I keep a pull-up bar in my bathroom. Whenever I walk in, I do pull-ups until it hurts

Whenever I’m watching TV, I’m stretching

I try and build as much exercise into my day as much as possible.

15/ Walking

This is distinctly separate from ‘exercising’

I try and walk at least 1 mile per day, rain or shine

I do my best thinking on walks

16/ Content creation

Each day I tweet out ideas, create a graphic for my substack, and post to Instagram

My mission: To Spread Financial Wellness

Those platforms are essential for doing just that!

Like these graphics? Sign up for free

brianferoldi.substack.com

Just as important as building good habits is eliminating BAD habits

Here are daily habits that I've learned to STOP doing:

🛑Checking stock prices
🛑Complaining
🛑Nail-biting
🛑Mindless eating
🛑Watching news

I'm still not perfect on each, but I've made tremendous progress

Habits I'm currently working on:

⭕️More intensity in my workouts — I don’t break a sweat often enough
⭕️Meal planning
⭕️Being present — My mind constantly wanders to the past/future when I should be focused on living in the moment

There are two books that have helped me immensely with habit building:

1⃣ Atomic Habits by @JamesClear

2⃣The Power of Habit by @cduhigg

Both are excellent reads