I always put my tools away when I’m done using them. It’s so ingrained now and such a simple good habit that it seems impossible to me that there was a time when I didn’t do it, but there was such a time.
I once seduced a nun. Good times.
I always put my keys on the hook by the door as soon as I walk in so I don’t lose them. My husband is always losing his keys or wallet because he doesn’t put them in the same place every day.
Gym 6 days a week.
Wash dishes after dinner, don’t let them sit overnight.
Plan meals for the week and buy just what we need for those meals.
- Stuff that comes out with us (sunglasses, cellphones, purse, wallets, keys, etc.) always get put in the same place, a shelf by the front door. We spend very little time searching for these things.
- Flossing for me, too. I buy about four containers of floss and leave them everywhere I spend time in the evenings, so I can sit and watch the late news and floss my teeth before bed.
- When I started driving about 25 years ago, I decided that good habits were as easy to develop as bad habits, so I developed the habits of always shoulder-checking, signaling, using the right lane to make right turns (so you don’t block the driving lane), etc.
- Each January I sit down with my old calendar and update my new calendar with all the ongoing regular payments - pay days, mortgage payments, car payments, insurance payments, all that stuff. Each month when I flip over to the new page, the regular payments are all there for me to see at a glance.
- Get some form of exercise every day.
- Keep track of my calories every day (I’m not 100% on this - I tend to miss entering my evening snacking).
- Keep a glass of water at hand all the time. Instead of going for a snack, I have a sip of water.
When my teeth started to fall apart, I started flossing with mouthwash, which seems to have stemmed the tide. I don’t get yelled at during checkups any more.
We now cook to a meals list made up during the weekend, and do one shopping. We seldom do takeout, and we save money by planning meals to the specials.
At work, I write code for data analysis and for experiments. I’ve picked up the habit of opening a file in Emacs and do stream of consciousness documentation - not line by line, but the important stuff, like a sketch of a new algorithm or data structure, where the files are, and a trail of what I have tried for debugging. 98% of it I never look at again, but the 2% is really vital, especially when I have to modify some code six months later. The act of writing the problem often gives me ideas and often makes me see problem areas before I start coding. Just last Friday the act of writing down a question gave me an idea which I think is publishable. I strongly recommend it.
I felt like my parents never really pushed water, I was a big soda drinker growing up. Now I always go for water. Oh, and home made iced tea (with no sugar or lemon). It’s so incredibly cheap and adds some flavor.
I also when at the grocery store reward / punish myself based on my eating habits of the previous week. If I ate really healthy then i can buy water ice. Moderately unhealthy – a ridiculous amount of fruits and vegetables.
Responding to emails and phone calls. I always make sure I don’t forget to return the call if I miss it.
Making sure everything has a place in my house. My place is usually clean, but you have some things lying around, or buy something new, making sure everything has a place makes it so much easier if clutter builds up, or you are looking for something. If you can’t find a place, then I make room for it by tossing stuff. It makes life so incredibly easy.
I also run or exercise 4-5 days a week.
Back in college during my wrestling days, there was a kid on our team who was literally a fanatic. Our coach would always say “find a map” meaning find an older guy on the team and follow what they do. So I said I’ll follow him.
In 6 months, he literally broke me and brought me back stronger than ever. Were talking grueling 6 am practices along with an afternoon one as well. Can’t thank him enough he literally changed my life.
Other than that I try not to litter.
I brush my teeth right after dinner – if Mr Boozilu has dessert, I really have to want it to give up that “clean mouth” feeling. Otherwise, it’s easy to decline.
With my recent weight loss (almost 75 pounds, but who’s counting), I’m trying to add in a new good habit every few weeks, once I’ve mastered the last one. Most recent is making the bed every day. I’ve finally gotten to where I start to twitch if I go back up there after Mr. S has gotten up (I’m almost always the first one out of bed) and even think about leaving without making the bed. Even though no one ever sees it but us, it just seems much more peaceful, and the covers don’t get the chance to devolve into an unsleepable mess.
Next should probably be brushing/flossing more regularly.
Add me to the list of those who floss daily. My gums are happy 
I also keep my keys and my cell phone is specific pockets in my purse so I don’t have to dig for either, I always know exactly where they are.
I’d like to make my bed every day but most days when I leave there’s still someone sleeping in it and darned if I can talk him into making it.
but I do seem to have a long, long list of bad habits that I’d like to break. Guess that belongs in another thread.
backing up my hard drive. It has saved me more than once.
Sorry - your good habit might not be as good as you think - recommendation to wait an hour after eating to allow enamel to re-harden.
Wow - this is a good idea. Thanks!
Seconded. I am trying to adopt this habit with just about EVERY project that I work on. Whether I am doing legal research for a brief, or trying to figure out how to upload software to my web server, or figuring out taxes, or cooking, I try to have a document (usually a google document) open where I just take notes on everything. Agree that most of it I never look at again, but (1) the act of writing itself is helpful I find and (2) you never know (at least I never know) which parts are going to be helpful/important later. Great thing about google docs, of course, is that it is easy and fast to search through them. So, for things that I think are likely to be important later, I try to throw in keywords in that section of the document:
Me on day 1 “Ok, two months from now when I’ve forgotten how to set up this router, what are the terms I’m likely to search on? I’m going to thrown some of them into this document”
Me on day 60 “Ok, what terms would I have used two months ago when I was setting this up?”
Me too. You’ve started the day on a good footing. I pay my bills the moment I get them … well, not now I’m not working, but they were all up to date when I lost my job.
Before I go to bed, I check the dishwasher to see if it’s full enough to run. Even if I could probably cram two or three more plates in, if it’s pretty full, I set it going before I settle in for a sleep. When I get up for the day, I make a cup of tea, and unload the dishwasher while the water is boiling. Generally it takes me no more than two minutes, and never longer than three. This way, we can load our dirty dishes directly into the washer, no excuses! It’s particularly handy when I’m cooking something that’s complicated and/or messy.
I have a whiteboard on the fridge, and I jot stuff down as I notice that our supply is low. The top part is for groceries, and the bottom part is for anything else we need, especially stuff from big box discount stores. So if I know that I am going to want picture hangers, then I’ll write it down. I used to be able to remember this sort of thing, but time and low blood sugar episodes have taken their toll, and I’ll get to Target and wonder what the hell I needed so badly last Tuesday.
I laughed.
I do this for documents/invoices I’ve worked on then filed (or are still working on) - I put sticky notes on everything, saying what I’ve done so far and what still needs to be done. Not only does it refresh my memory, but anyone else looking at it in the future will be able to see exactly what the story is.
Also, and this needs to be picked up by everyone who works in offices, I date and sign the notes I leave for other people. Nothing like coming in to work and having a note on your desk asking you something, but no name, so you have no idea who is looking for what. I just ignore those.
Huh, you blame your blood sugar? Hell, I don’t have diabetes. I blame a combination of the shockingly high fever I had twelve years ago, and old age. . .
I’m glad that was helpful. Along the same lines, we keep a book with important sites and passwords. Very useful if you want to check a site two years after you established a log in, and very useful when someone visits and wants to use our wireless network.