Routine and Mini Habits, Perfect Partners – Lay Aside Every Weight

There are pairs that just go together, former procrastinators.  Lock and key, hammer and nails, needle and thread.  Neither item in these pairs can fulfill its purpose without the other. Sending a needle through fabric without thread accomplishes nothing.  Trying to push a limp thread without the needle gets you nowhere.  These pairs work together.

Sometimes we procrastinate by default because we’re trying to act with one member of a pair.  We try to “work in” a class or scripture memory.  Since that’s not successful, we put off trying.

Routine and mini habits are perfect partners, a pair that functions together and keeps us from procrastinating.

Stephen Guise, author of Mini Habits,  says a mini habit is a VERY small positive behavior that you force yourself to do every day.  He calls them “stupid small” steps.  Do one push up, read 2 pages, write 50 words.

Why so small?  One reason we procrastinate is because we set goals too high for ourselves.  We feel the weight of the requirement we set and we tire out.  Practicing piano for 30 minutes or walking two miles is too much.  “Play one scale” or “walk across the yard” is “stupid small” but gets us going.  It’s so small it takes very little will power to do it and to be faithful over the long haul.

A writer friend started a mini habit of sitting at the computer and opening her work page.  That’s it.  She succeeds when she clicks on her page.

Pair a mini habit with routine.  Use a time on the clock (at 8 pm read two pages) or tie it to an activity (get in bed, review one Bible verse.) The requirement is small, you are faithful, results get bigger.  If you choose to read more or review more, fine.  But you succeed simply when you read two pages or review one verse.

Doing a little bit consistently over time yields greater results than pouring a lot of time and energy into something on occasion.  Plus, we gain the advantage of forming a positive habit.

What mini habit will you put in your routine?