How to be consistent- 10 actionable tips

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A common challenge that most is how to be consistent. How to be consistent in your goals, How to be consistent in workouts, How to be consistent in studies in short how to be consistent in life is something that most struggle. With many things to do we often lose our focus on things that matter and lose consistency. In this post, I am sharing tips that help you not only to start being consistent but help you stay consistent.

It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently

― Anthony Robbins

What is being consistent?

Being consistent is doing things regularly or doing things repeatedly in the same way over and over again. It is not just the behavior of doing things but at times it is also the way it is done. If you get up at 7 am every day you are consistent in waking up at a time. If you make a report in a particular way such as the formatting and the data representation, you are consistent in the way you make the report.

Why should you be consistent?

Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.

Dwayne Johnson

Many successful people attribute their success to being consistent in life. The reason is that as simple as being consistent feels it has immense power to bring transformation. Here are a few reasons why you should consider being consistent.

• It builds momentum
• It builds disciple
• It makes work feel easier for you
• It helps you stay focused and avoid distractions

When I started this website, I was working full-time and felt like I would never be able to do it. But just spending 1 hour every day consistently for 2 years has helped me reach here.

What makes you inconsistent

Although consistency you know consistency is one of the best ways to make life better. It’s often difficult to stay consistent. Here are a few reasons that make you inconsistent in life.

• Distraction
• Procrastination
• Unclear vision
• Lack of motivation

10 Tips to make you consistent and help you stay consistent

Here are a few tips to make you consistent in life and help you stay consistent. It is one thing to get started with something but it is a new level to make efforts to stay consistent. Hence below are tips to develop consistency are divided into 2 parts. The first is to help you get started with being consistent and the second is to help you stay consistent and not give up.

How to start with being consistent

Here are a few tips to help you get started in your journey to be consistent.

Tip 1: Have a clear what and why

You need to be clear on the end result that you wish to achieve. Your goal should be well-defined and practical to achieve. When you set an unrealistic expectation you will not be able to stick to it. Also, it is best to define a timeline. It helps you be aware of the time available and stay consistent.

You must have a why – the reason you want to achieve the result you are looking for. The Why is the best motivational force that will help you keep going forward even in times when you don’t feel like doing things. If you are aiming to be consistent with your studies your why can be getting the dream job, getting admission to your favorite university, or making good money.

A deep thought to know your why will not only keep you driven but also help you make wise choices to achieve the desired result. When I started this blog my why was to build something of my own that I built from scratch and that will allow me to quit my job to spend my time the way I like it.

Tip 2: Start small

Be it new year goals or the start of a new chapter in our life. We start with excitement and a huge boost of motivation to make things happen and achieve our goals but as this phase passes in a few days we find it difficult to keep going.

We also plan things to happen in a very idealistic way with no hurdles and overestimate our abilities. It is common to happen it’s called the planning fallacy. But the fact is that our mind and routine, body need time to get adjusted to new things, and small steps will make it easier.

Do not start with a big ambition to be consistent. Make a small start and gradually build over it to be consistent. If you wish to do 30-minute workouts every day start with 10 minutes every day and after a few days increase the time. When you do not start small you get overwhelmed and quit. Small actions are powerful too as James Clear says “If you get one percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done“.

When I started this website I would hear others publishing 15 posts a month, I thought I would do too. But it was not possible to do so as a beginner with a full-time job I felt demotivated and burnout. So I did just what I could do just 1 post in a week and was able to be consistent with it.

Tip 3: Don’t wait for perfect time

When you want to do something consistently do not wait for the perfect moment. It will never arrive. Do not allow yourself to give an excuse of I will do it when I get time, you need to make time. You need to prioritize the things that you want to be consistent about.

Do not wait for a new year to make a resolution, plan today and start tomorrow. Waiting for the right time is just a form of procrastination. There is nothing like the right time. It is better to start small and imperfect now than doing something later. And as you may have experienced that later never arrives.

Tip 4: Make a Daily To-Do list

Make a daily to-do list to be consistent. With many things to do in a day, it is easy for you to slip on your goal to be consistent. Making a daily and prioritizing the things you want to be consistent with provides a clear roadmap for the day ahead, helping to manage time efficiently and stay consistent.

By consistently referring to the list, it becomes easier to find completed tasks and move on to the next, you feel a sense of achievement that will boost you to keep going. Making a daily to-do list will let you incorporate the new tasks you want to be consistent make time to do it and help you cultivate consistency.

Here is the To-do list that I like to use and you may find helpful.

Tip 5: Reward yourself

When you start with a new practice you want to stay consistent with make sure to reward yourself. When you are consistent for a week celebrate your accomplishment. It helps to motivate you and maintain a positive mindset. Set small milestones and reward yourself for achieving them. The sense of achievement and progress makes it easier to stay committed in the long run.

Treat yourself to something special, be it a favorite indulgence, a day off, or even a small token of appreciation. The act of self-appreciation reinforces the idea that the effort you spend in being consistent will reward you with results.

How to stay consistent

Now that you have started your journey to be consistent the next challenge will be to keep going and not give up. Here are a few ways that will help you stay consistent.

Tip 6: Build routines to be consistent

A great way to be consistent with your goals is to build a routine around the goal. A routine is a set of things that we do each day, such as getting up in the morning and brushing our teeth. You don’t need to remind yourself to brush your teeth because it is part of your daily routine. Routines are very powerful and once you form a routine you keep following the routine without even realizing it.

So the thing or action that you want to be consistent about must be included in your daily routine. By creating a routine you create a structured framework that enables us to better manage our time and achieve our goals. So in order to stay consistent it is best to build a routine around the action you want to be consistent. I highly recommend including the actions you seek to be consistent to be included in your morning routine as getting through with important things right in the morning sets you in good motion. But in case you are not able to include that in the morning you can even try to make them part of your evening routine.

Here are my posts to help you build a routine:

5 steps to Build a morning routine before work that is best for you

Simple after work evening routine to keep you sane

50 Good morning routine ideas that suits everyone

Tip 7: Eliminate distractions to be consistent

A common reason to become inconsistent with your goals is getting distracted. You must identify things that distract you from being consistent. Once you have built a routine it is highly likely that you will be able to be consistent. But distractions can make you lose your focus and make you inconsistent. Hence if you find yourself still struggling to be consistent look out for things that are distracting you and try to find ways to limit distractions.

Distraction can be the phone notification that makes you lose focus and spend time over the phone or it can be from people or surroundings around you. Give careful thought to identifying them and limiting them.

Tip 8: Find an accountability partner to be consistent

If you are really struggling to be consistent you should look out for an accountability partner. Your accountability partner can be your partner, friend, or colleague. You may even look for accountability partners over social media groups. They as your own personal cheerleader, helping you stay on track and pushing you to reach your full potential. An accountability partner provides support and encouragement. They most importantly help you hold yourself responsible for your actions. They are there to celebrate your successes but also to gently nudge you back on track when you veer off course.

Tip 9: Track yourself and reflect monthly to be consistent

In order to be consistent you must track your performance. You should monitor how many days you are being consistent and how much of your effort is consistent. Then you should review this monthly to assess your consistency. In case you are not consistent you will be able is draw some conclusion by looking at the trend of the monthly data such as if you are inconsistent at weekends, or the start and end of the month, or some other specific time of the day. This will help you know you pattern that makes you inconsistent and make ways to be more consistent.

I love to use the habit tracker below it helps me keep track of all 12 months. It has daily, and weekly tracking for different goals, and most importantly it can be used for numeric goals such as sleeping 7 hours each day. Based on the set goals it automatically helps me identify if a goal is met by planting a cherry blossom tree.

Tip 10: Get better at time management to be consistent

A common challenge that most people find to stay consistent with their goals is not having enough time to do things. Initially, when you start with a task or practice to be consistent you are highly motivated and make it your priority. But over a period of time, it gets difficult to manage it with other things in life. Hence it is good to manage your time well and use time management techniques that best suit your needs. So that you can manage your time well and stay consistent.

Here are 20 Time Management Tips to Boost Productivity that you can use to stay consistent.

Conclusion

Consistency is the driving force that takes toward success. Whether it is meeting goals, or building habits consistency is the key and yet something most struggle with. The tips shared in its post will help you begin your journey to be consistent and also help you stay consistent. So get started with being consistent.

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