It’s becoming a Val Thinks tradition to get retrospective as a new year beckons. In 2021, I reflected on the events that had made that year a momentous one (moving to Ho Chi Minh City and its Covid-19 lockdown). In 2022, I looked back at my entire life to see the parts of myself I’d left behind (an exercise I highly recommend). In 2023, I reviewed how I had spent my time to identify the activities that mattered (writing, of course, came first).
This year I’m recognising the habits that saved me in 2024. A lot happened this year, when does it not, and I owe my sanity to these three habits I’ve embraced for life.
Let’s begin.
Exercise
The most important thing I do in life, the one habit I will not sacrifice for anything, is exercise.
Long-time readers will know that regular exercise has been my lifelong struggle. I have been—in an effortful but fruitless period spanning a decade—a failed runner, a failed yoga practitioner, a failed spinner, a failed dancer, a failed gym goer. I would try something new, persist for a few months, not enjoy it, then give up. It wasn’t until my move to Ho Chi Minh City in 2021 that I finally became someone who exercised regularly, and enjoyed it.
Credit for this breakthrough goes to my former personal trainer Sarai, now UK-based certified health coach, who came to train me at my tiny, ill-equipped apartment gym for three months. I’d wake up at 5am to make our 6am sessions and, though I didn’t fall in love with strength training as Sarai predicted I would, at the end of our time together I was capable enough to begin attending group classes at a boutique gym.
I signed up for a one-week trial, and straight away discovered how unfit I was. In my first class, the trainer first had to remove the 5kg weight plates from the barbell I was failing to deadlift, and when I couldn’t shift even the naked 15kg bar, suggested I use dumbbells instead. But I was convinced I was on the right path—this was going to be my workout—so I bought a one-year unlimited membership and kept going three times a week, each session lifting that little bit heavier and liking it that little bit more.
It’s three and a half years later and I now love my gym, to the point where I miss it achingly when I travel—Sarai was right, after all. Today, I can deadlift 3RM 57.5kg. It’s not easy, but I can do it. And when we run out of drinking water at home, I can transport two 19-litre bottles from the basement to our 5th floor apartment.1 It’s not easy, but I can manage.
I am the strongest I’ve ever been. My body is the leanest it’s ever been. And my neck pains—formerly a frequent occurrence—have vanished.
But it’s not just strength, appearance, and health that make exercise dear to me. I owe to this beloved habit an unmatched clarity of mind, as well as boosts of energy that have powered me through countless troubles. When I’m stressed, or low, or merely confused, exercise is guaranteed to—if not give me the answers I seek (which it often does)—then at least help me feel refreshed and able to tackle my issues.
Exercise is, by far, my number one habit for life. I wouldn’t sacrifice it for anything—not my partner, my family, my work, whatever else is competing for my attention.
If you don’t already work out, I strongly urge you to start. Health is wealth, exercise your best investment, and as long as you do it correctly (warm-up, stretching, posture, etc.), there are zero downsides.
Go for a walk. Join a dance class. Learn yoga. Whatever it is you fancy. And don’t give up. It took me a decade to find the exercise that works. Once I did, it saved my life.
Let exercise save yours too.
Mood journaling
The second habit I’m determined to practice for life is mood journaling, which originated seven years back as regular journaling when a bright pink five-year diary in a souvenir shop in Japan caught my eye. I impulse-bought it, and for five years wrote daily entries in the tiny space allotted, loving every minute.
I loved the five-year diary because the limited space meant I had to carefully choose what to document for posterity. Do I remember the good, the bad, or a bit of both? This daily decision bolstered my belief that we can always choose what to pay attention to, that we can find glimmers of joy even on darkest days, if we think to look.
But more important than this realisation was the fact that, usually, by the end of each day when I was writing in the diary, the problems that had seemed insurmountable during the day no longer felt like a big deal. My problems are fleeting, my five-year diary taught me—a lesson I endlessly cherished.
So when I ran out of pages in my pink diary in 2021, I didn’t want to abandon this habit that had given me so much. I began searching for another five-year diary and immediately discovered this was not readily available outside that one souvenir shop in Japan. So I changed track: I travel so much, maybe a digital diary will suit me better.
My research of digital alternatives introduced me to Daylio, which describes itself as a “Self-Care Bullet Journal with Goals, Mood Diary & Happiness Tracker.” Several reviews had mentioned it as a solid journaling app, and I was intrigued by the mood tracking aspect. I installed the app on my phone in 2022, and to this day I record my moods, activities, and thoughts in it daily, sometimes several times a day.
Though I have my doubts on the accuracy of self-mood tracking, the utility of the practice has been immense. Two years of mood tracking have revolutionised my ability to name my feelings. I’m no longer great, good, bad, or really bad. I am now ecstatic, grateful, energised, refreshed, anxious, stressed, depressed, etc. My list of moods in the app is long and ever-growing. Every few months I want to record an emotion I haven’t reported before—whenever this happens, I rejoice in the expanding breadth of my emotional literacy.
What’s more, Daylio’s linking of moods to activities has helped me associate what I do with how I feel. I tend to feel X when I do Y, is an invaluable piece of information that helps me do more of what makes me happy. Writing makes me feel inspired, I should write more. Not exercising lowers my mood, I shouldn’t skip workouts.
Mood tracking has helped me be more self-aware and double down on what’s good for me. It’s my second habit for life. I highly recommend you try it out.
Making space
Exercise and mood journaling are both activities I fill my time with. My third habit for life, however, is the opposite—it’s making time to do nothing.
I’ve before extolled the virtues of making space—of taking a few days off, going on a long walk without listening to a podcast or audiobook or music, meditating, staring blankly out the window, whiling away an afternoon at a café. I’ve written at length about how, without fail, the space I make gives me the perspective, insight, and inspiration that I wouldn’t otherwise realise I need.
Whenever I feel overwhelmed—be it with work or life—I stop. If only for an hour.
As productivity-obsessed as I am, I usually struggle to not feel guilty, to not label myself lazy or bad employee. But I do my best to let go of that guilt, and each time I disconnect from work, writing, or my subtitles translation hobby, I am reminded of why it’s crucial for me to make that space—I always return motivated, full of ideas, eyes open to the mistakes I had been on the verge of making.
Space is my third habit for life. And on that note, I’m announcing three weeks off Val Thinks to enjoy Christmas and New Year with my partner and make the space I need to return with writing worthy of your time. I will be back in your inbox on Friday 10th January, 2025. I wish you the happiest of holidays.
What do you think?
There’s nothing quite as special as crowd-sourced wisdom:
What are your habits for life?
While you’re at it, what do you think of my trinity? Please hit “reply” or leave a comment—I read every response and I’d love to hear from you. If you want, share this post with someone with amazing habits so we can all learn from them.
Until Friday 10th… Stay thoughtful, and Happy New Year,
Val
Photo by Cathryn Lavery on Unsplash
Not up the stairs. We have a lift.
Fantastic takeaways Val! Exercise is a renewed commitment for me in 2025, as is journaling. I also want to get back to weekly reviews of the journal entries to pick up on the patterns of the week, as that makes yearly reviews like yours so valuable and actionable. Thank you for the inspiration as always!