The Power of Consistency

Today I launched the Incremental Health podcast! It wasn't as easy as I had hoped, but I made it work and am pretty proud of the result. It's not perfect, but it represents me in my imperfection.

In the inaugural podcast, I chose to talk about consistency as I know it's one of the recipes for my (relative) success. Consistency is what allowed me to finish a double degree while working two jobs (one full-time and one part-time); consistency allowed me to write a book while managing multiple high-priority and high-profile projects; consistency is what has helped me keep an autoimmune condition largely at bay for what my rheumatologist believes is at least 2 decades.

As Anthony Robbins says, “It is not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It is what we do consistently”. One salad does not make us slim any more than one piece of cake makes us unhealthy. What matters is what we do and how we show up day after day, year after year. We are, after all, the sum of our collective habits.

Why does consistency matter?

1. Consistency creates momentum

2. Consistent actions have a compound effect

3. Consistency builds trust

4. Consistency trumps motivation

5. The power of repetition to achieve goals

How to build consistency

• Know yourself

• Plan for success

• Set yourself up to win

• Start small

• Add more

• Reset

Where to start

Let's work through an example to give you a guide as to how to start building consistency. Imagine you want to lose weight, a good place to start is focusing on sleep hygiene. The reason for this is threefold

• Sleep controls hunger hormones. Sleep-deprived adults have higher levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone compared to those who get 7-9 hours of sleep a night

• Poor sleep is also associated with increased stress and glucose intolerance which affects fat metabolism

• With better sleep, you will be more likely to be able to exercise consistently and safely

Using the steps outlined earlier, you could work on sleep consistency by

1. Knowing yourself. Start by asking yourself a set of questions, such as

• What time do I normally go to bed?

• What time do I need to get up to meet my obligations?

• How much sleep am I getting?

• Is it enough? (depending on the individual, adults need 7-9 hours a night)

• What wakes me at night?

• What time do I need to go to bed to allow me 7-9 hours of sleep a night and still get up at the time I need to meet my obligations?

2. Plan for success

• Ensure you don’t make arrangements (meetings, social engagements, sporting commitments) that will impact your sleep plan

• Make changes to your bedroom – perhaps you need to invest in blackout curtains, heavier or lighter bed coverings (depending on the season), a new pillow, an eye mask or earplugs

3. Set yourself up to win

• Set an alarm for 30 minutes prior to your sleep time

• Establish a sleep routine

• Cup of herbal tea

• Warm shower

• Guided meditation – there are plenty of free options available on Spotify or YouTube and some are as short as 5 minutes

• If you are prone to use your phone at night, put it in another room and use an alarm clock to wake you in the morning

4. Start small

• If you are only getting 4 hours of sleep a night and want to move to 7 and this seems overwhelming, set up a sleep routine that works for you and add 15 minutes a night until you get to the desired duration

• You know yourself better than anyone else, it is important that you set realistic goals and build success on success. Proving to yourself over time that you are committing to change will be more rewarding and an overall positive experience

5. Add more

• When you are ready, start to add more to your routine

• Using the sleep example, maybe you’ll get an induction mat and spend 15 minutes on it before you start meditation or perhaps a short slow-flow yoga sequence prior to your shower or maybe you want to read for half an hour before going to sleep

• It’s easy to anchor new habits to existing habits. So link something new to something you are already doing e.g. moisturise your hands after you brush your teeth

6. Reset

• Remember that no one is perfect

• If you aim for progression, you will improve over time

• When you have a day where you didn’t meet your targets, take a deep breath

• Be kind to yourself

• Acknowledge that this is a small blip

• Reassure yourself that you can try again tomorrow/later in the day

• Remind yourself of a time when you have overcome a setback – YOU GOT THIS!

• Start again. There is no shame in making a mistake; it is how we pick ourselves up again that matters