Even a never-do-the-same-thing-twice-Gemini can build habits
I'm a Gemini. And while I don't always like to over-generalize, we Gemini's can change our minds and pivot as quickly as you can say "wait, what?" Throughout my life, I have liked hot, then I have like cold. I have liked milk chocolate, then I have liked white chocolate. I have liked going to bed early, and then I have liked going to bed late. As soon as I tell someone what my preference is for something, no sooner have I already changed my mind, even in the same conversation. It's truly unbelievable at times. I don't even remember that I used to have a different preference, that's how much it changes.
So why do I bring that up? Well I started down the path of Atomic Habits (by James Clear) back in the Fall of 2021, and the advice there is to work on your habit each day. If you work on the same habit every day, that means you are doing the same thing every day. Seems pretty straight forward, but is it doable for a Gemini? I like to give things a try before I know one way or the other. My assumption was that I would get tired of the thing within a few weeks and just abandon my whole plan.
But here I am, it's almost April, and I am still doing the same habits that I started back in the Fall and I'm enjoying it! I have found some variety within the habit itself, but overall, I am still doing those things. I have stuck with it!
So what changed? I am definitely seeing the value in having a plan and sticking to it. If you have a plan, then you don't have to come up with your plan that day. The people around you know what to expect too. So there is less negotiating on how things are going down because it's not new. There is always a little bit of room for creativity with my plans too, I can tweak some small things about it to keep it fresh! I also know when I have slotted in things, so my mind is at ease not having to think about when I am going to schedule something. On days when things get a little derailed at work with customer requests, I still know what the general structure of my day will be and can make it happen.
I have to be honest though. Many of my habits are not daily ones. I ramped up pretty slowly and I must admit that with the exception of flossing, I under-commit to what I can do. I think about what's possible, and then knock it down a notch or two. For instance, I could probably manage to run 5 times a week, most weeks. But there are those weeks at times where maybe I get sick for a day or two or I am feeling run-down. And I didn't want to mostly achieve my habit plan, I wanted to always hit or succeed my plan. So I planned to run 3 times a week. And guess what, I haven't missed a week yet since I started. Even the run itself, I only run 15 minutes. Could I do more? Absolutely. But I know I will have days when a 30 minute run is just not possible, and in the winter when the days are short, I know it's going to be hard enough to get any run in because it's dark when I get home from work. So again, I keep it shorter than what I know I can do. What I have learned, is that getting my reps in is important. And sticking with it. Because over time, my runs will add up. But if I did longer runs more frequently, and didn't stick with it, I wouldn't be able to say that I now have 30 runs under my belt since even just the start of the year and another 30 from the Fall!
I have learned through this experiment of habit building that even a never-do-the-same-thing-twice Gemini like myself is still a creature of habit. I am taking action on auto-pilot all the time. I had formerly seen myself as making decisions with intention and thoughtfulness. Sometimes that's true, but the majority of my day I am on autopilot. From my coffee in the morning, to the time I leave for work, to picking up my kids, to getting dinner on the table. There is a definite cadence that consistently controls me and my day. So my habits are now folded into the other actions I take on autopilot, I don't think much about it, I just get to do it and enjoy it.