Like brushing your teeth

As human beings, we always have areas that could use some growth and improvement, and so we set goals for ourselves. Some goals seem to frequently show up on "New Year's resolution" lists such as losing weight or spending more time in prayer and Bible study. Some people avoid making resolutions because they know that most people abandon their goals only a few days or weeks into the new year. I still write a list of goals at the start of each year, and many times I modify the list throughout the year. For years I have been specific with my goals, but it was only in the last year or so that I discovered the benefit of attaching the goal to another activity that is already a part of my daily routine. Maybe this seems too rigid, but think about it, if your preschoolers didn't have a specific time of day when they brushed their teeth, they probably would forget to brush their teeth most days. When we get into a routine of brushing our teeth when we first get up or after we eat breakfast or before bed, then it becomes easy to remember to do so. For example, I wanted to read chapter books to my young children, but many days it didn't actually happen. When I started keeping a book near the kitchen table and began reading to the kids during lunch, a new habit was established. We don't forget to eat lunch, and now we rarely forget to read another chapter or two of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or whatever book we are currently enjoying. If I have a new goal, such as working with my children on their Bible memory verses every day instead of cramming them in the day of AWANA, then I try to plan exactly when we will do it every day. Planning to do things before, during, or after a particular meal seems to be very helpful because we never forget to eat!