For context, read my monthly habits reviews’ first, second, and third installments. As noted in all three, I keep track of the W-L record for each habit each month. If I meet the habit goal for the day, I earn a win, and if I don’t, I lose. Each month is a new season. The number in parentheses is the W-L percentage in the thousands digit because that’s how all sports display it in their standings.

My overall record for October was 246-2 (.991). I’m not perfect.

In early November, I started to keep track of my habits with the Awesome Habits app. I don’t plan on writing a review for November and December, but I may write quarterly reviews starting in 2023.

This article is being published late because my writing habit escaped me. Writing is now a monthly habit—my goal is 31 hours. The context that follows is as of the middle of November.

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October Habits

Caffeine 31-0 (1.000)

Goal: Don’t consume caffeinated drinks.

Thoughts: Outside of chocolate, I didn’t store caffeinated coffee or tea in my apartment. I stocked up on Swiss Water decaf coffee from Fresh Roasted Coffee and herbal tea from Tazo. Because I live in Miami, I make homemade cold brew coffee and cold brew tea. When I craved kombucha, I walked to Fresh Market to buy the only one made from herbal tea.

Chores 31-0 (1.000)

Goal: Complete one big chore or two small chores.

Thoughts: I enjoy doing chores—especially while paying attention to the task at hand or listening to Jack Johnson or similar music—so completing this daily was easy. This is the only habit I’m not keeping track of in November.

Journal 31-0 (1.000)

Goal: Journal one sentence.

Thoughts: Journaling daily was easy because I’ve been experiencing daily headaches since August 10.

Meditate 30-1 (.967)

Goal: Meditate for 15 minutes within one hour of waking up.

Thoughts: On one fateful morning, I meditated for 12 minutes and then forgot that my goal was to meditate for 15 minutes each morning. Oops.

Read 31-0 (1.000)

Goal: Read at least five pages in a book.

Thoughts: When you’re reading books that are intriguing, entertaining, educational, fun, or fill your curiosity, it’s almost impossible to miss a day. In October, I finished reading three books: 80/20 Running, Where the Crawdads Sing, and Tell No One.

Spanish 31-0 (1.000)

Goal: Study Spanish.

Thoughts: I’m slowly re-learning Spanish, but that’s better than not learning it while living in Miami. I want to learn a second language. Spanish makes sense because I studied it for one year in high school and college (starting from scratch), and now I live in Miami. I’m still glued to Duolingo, but this is better than not studying Spanish at all. Every minute counts.

Sleep 30-1 (.967)

Goal: Lay in bed for 8 hours.

Thoughts: On the evening of October 21, I ventured out to Wynwood in Miami to find Waldo. I found 62 Waldos and Wendas at Gramps only to realize that I, too, was Waldo. We made our way to Crusoe before dancing the night away at Shots. I departed just after 11 pm, started sleeping at 12:30 am, and woke up at 7:19 am. I was in bed for 7 hours and 2 minutes. Instead of lying in bed for another 58 minutes, I greeted the day to ruin my perfect record for the month.

Write 31-0 (1.000)

Goal: Write within one hour of waking up.

Thoughts: I was relieved when November struck. Writing daily, let alone within one hour of waking up, is not for me during this chapter of my life. I completed this habit daily because of my desire to write; it became the priority.

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November Habits

I intended to keep track of five habits for November. On November 2, I stopped keeping track—my headaches were (and still are) too consistent and intense.

The 5 habits

1. Bike for 15 minutes.
2. Don’t consume caffeinated drinks.
3. Journal one sentence.
4. Study Spanish.
5. Do yoga for 15 minutes.

On November 19, I discovered the Awesome Habits app and started to keep track of seven habits the next day. These are the habits with the minimum threshold in parenthesis:

1. Journal (1 session)
2. Spanish (1 session)
3. Read (1 session)
4. Yoga (15 minutes)
5. Meditate (20 minutes)
6. Sleep (7.5 hours)
7. Walking + Running (3 miles)

After reviewing the lists of habits above, I created an eighth daily habit: don’t consume caffeinated drinks. In November thus far, I’ve enjoyed caffeinated coffee three times and a caffeinated kombucha once (I’ll also be enjoying one today). I’ve likely ditched my daily caffeinated coffee habit for good. That wasn’t the plan, but I’ll take it.

I also have one weekly habit I’m keeping track of as of today: writing for two hours. In the future, I may update the minimum threshold to three hours.

I’ve used a lot of habit apps in the past, but Awesome Habits is by far the best for what I want in a habits app. If this continues to be true for the rest of November and December, I’ll write about my experience and how I use it. So far, it’s a game-changer.

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