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Planning as a keystone habit

What are the things you do every morning, without fail, to start the day well?

You may already do things like making a good cup of coffee and taking time to enjoy it in the garden, stretching and breathing or maybe some yoga, having a shower or just making a cup of good coffee.

These keystone habits are the things we do every morning that set us up for the day ahead. And you may already spend a little time thinking about how you are going to navigate your day as it unfolds, so we would like to invite you to make planning your day a keystone habit, at least for the duration of the course. You may even find that it sticks, once you have spent some intentional time doing it, and as your practice becomes more regular, your planning will start to feel like second nature.

We can start developing this new keystone habit by spending just five minutes thinking it through. Imagine your day ahead like a road that stretches out to the horizon. Some things in the distance might not be entirely clear, but you’ve probably got a good sense overall of where you’re headed. Ask yourself:

  • Where am I going today? Are there places I will be to where I’m more likely to drink in ways that I don’t want to? Are there opportunities to practise being mindful about drinking?
  • When will I be in those places? Are there points in my day that might be tricky for me? Can I make alternative plans?
  • Who will I be with? Are there people I’ll see who will encourage me to drink in ways I don’t want to? Or people who can support me to be mindful about drinking?
  • What will I drink? Are there opportunities to seek out alternatives? What can I do to ensure today ends well?

The four questions can become a powerful planning tool to help you identify the places, points and people you’ll encounter in the day ahead. By looking ahead, you can prepare for any difficulties you might meet, and make the best of opportunities to act with intention.

We can also use them to our advantage when we’re looking at the events and occasions we have coming up over the holiday period.