Juggle, swim, make the bed! How these readers forged new habits. (2024)

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How it’s going

Palmer said he was inspired to pick up juggling after reading Winston Churchill’s “Painting as a Pastime,” in which he argued that deep relaxation does not come from doing nothing but from doing something completely different with intense concentration. He now juggles daily for a few minutes.

The biggest challenge

He said his “pace of learning” was “glacial,” and it was hard to keep going when there was a lack of visible progress. He got there by doing a little bit every day, rather than trying to master the skill overnight. “Plodding on relentlessly and not giving up despite the frustration of not improving immediately” has been key, he said.

How it’s going

When Pieper brought Curzon Dax home three years ago, the horse wouldn’t canter (the gait between a trot and a gallop). Dax, 7, had been punished in the past for cantering while pulling a cart. Pieper spoke to a sports psychologist to overcome her fears and found a trainer for Dax. Today, Dax can “decently canter,” and Pieper said she hopes to enter dressage competitions in the fall.

The biggest challenge

Progress was slow. In March, Pieper was elated when Dax briefly cantered but then realized Dax was actually just playfully biting the butt of the horse in front of him. Pieper reminded herself that recovery is not a race. “We needed to take things slow because he has trauma,” Pieper said.

How it’s going

Plunkett’s Spanish-speaking in-laws recently moved to the United States from Argentina, and he wants to effortlessly communicate with them and his wife. By completing his lesson first thing in the morning, Plunkett is moving closer to free-flowing Spanish conversations. His 6-year-old daughter often joins him for a lesson, and his wife and her parents have noticed his efforts.

The biggest challenge

Plunkett struggled to squeeze in his daily online Spanish lesson during a busy workday. Showing up daily for his Spanish lesson requires perseverance and a positive attitude. “You’re not always in the mood,” he said. “But you just need to show up, and give it your best effort.”

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How it’s going

Holleran realized she had been wearing black, white and beige on repeat. “Sad beige was not fun to me,” she said. Now, Holleran takes five minutes in the evening to lay out her outfit for the next day. At a spring job fair, she considered donning a beige, white and black combination, but opted for a red and pink floral T-shirt instead.

The biggest challenge

Incorporating color into her outfits added a logistical challenge — it took a little longer to get dressed for the day. Holleran also has to continually battle the “false idea” that wearing color means you are drawing attention to yourself and that neutrals appear more professional than expressive colors, she said. “Color is fun and can show personality,” she said. “I want to wear clothes that reflect my fun energy.”

How it’s going

McCafferty wants to “be hot” when she attends her childhood friend’s wedding in October. For McCafferty, being “hot” meant wanting to feel confident in any situation. Becoming “hot” taught McCafferty that she had been speaking to herself in a negative way. “My friends would never talk to me the way I talk to myself sometimes,” she said. The transformation also involves being more mindful about what she eats, working out and playing pickleball. McCafferty said she still has work to do, but she is already “feeling like a hottie.”

The biggest challenge

There are books, online guides and fitness coaches that can help you lose weight, but there’s a lot less guidance out there about how to “feel really good about yourself and be mentally hotter,” McCafferty said. “Whether it’s a meeting at work, a busy restaurant or a party where I don’t know anyone, being hot means that I own the room and don’t stress about what others are thinking about me.”

How it’s going

Lowman was always running late and needed something in her life to change. She decided making her bed each morning would give her a few minutes to stop and think. The five minutes or less it takes to tuck in the comforter, place the pillows just so and flatten it all out has helped her quiet her always-running mind. She’s even started getting up to go to the gym around 4 a.m. — just months after telling herself she was not a morning person.

The biggest challenge

Sometimes she forgets or she’s five minutes late and can’t take the time. “I saw this Japanese word the other day, ‘kaizen,’ and it means making small improvements every day as small progress is better than no progress,” she said.

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How it’s going

The two graduate students decided to make the national dish of as many countries as they could. They researched multiple articles and recipes and made a spreadsheet of every country’s dish, such as harira, Morocco’s national soup. Guennouni, who is Moroccan, got the recipe from her mother. “It makes me think that there are all these similarities between my family, and all these other cultures that are so far away,” Guennouni said.

The biggest challenge

The hardest part has been finding the time to not only cook the dishes, but research where to buy the ingredients. Shopping, cooking and eating together helped keep them accountable. “I enjoy doing it,” Armstrong said. “That’s a big part.”

How it’s going:

Mouw recently moved to Omaha from a small town in Iowa where “every place felt comfortable.” She wanted at least one place where she was known by the community, so she opted for her neighborhood dive bar: The Neighber’s. The first time she walked in, everyone turned to look at her, as if to ask “Who are you?” For Mouw, this was a sign that she had chosen the bar well.

The biggest challenge

Mouw doesn’t want to increase her overall alcohol consumption, so she now avoids alcohol at other social gatherings during the week. Another challenge: Getting “hit on” by strangers at the bar makes her “uncomfortable.” Her ultimate goal: “When I walk in, the other regulars turn and greet me, and the bartender who I know by name slides me a beer.” It hasn’t happened yet, but she’s committed. “I want it bad enough, so I will keep trying,” she said.

How it’s going

Schroeder and his wife were interested in the “fun and companionable” aspects of wine. His goal wasn’t to drink more, but to consume wine with intention and with friends. In the last few months, he has begun to relish the feeling created by combining a good bottle of wine with company.

The biggest challenge

Some weeks Schroeder did not enjoy drinking. “It’s that 'brain wrapped in cotton' feeling,” he wrote. Another challenge with becoming a wine connoisseur is feeling pressured to finish the bottle before it oxidizes. “When I think of drinking wine [and enjoying it], I never picture myself alone,” he said. “Food and friends are fun. Food and friends and wine is a celebration!”

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How it’s going

Sanford discovered the restorative powers of swimming after a lengthy illness in 2022. “It became a spiritual and powerful meditative practice for me,” he said. After he suffered a concussion last year, he made a resolution to work up the strength to swim in the open sea. He did his first “wild swim” in the Chesapeake in February. It felt like his brain fog lifted almost immediately, and he feels better every time he goes.

The biggest challenge

He originally hoped to swim every other day, but that was difficult. So he listened to what his body needed and just tried to go as often as he could. He also began journaling every week, which helped keep him accountable. “As soon as I submerge myself, there’s just this feeling of mental clarity that feels really good,” he said.

How it’s going

Johnson had previously tried to run 100 miles a month — about 25 miles a week — but injuries kept him from doing so. He told his friends about the resolution and feels the accountability has helped him lace up his shoes no matter what. More than 500 miles in, he said he’s developed an appreciation for every small hill and every traffic light in his neighborhood.

The biggest challenge

He’s overcome ankle injuries and a bruised heel but has stayed on track so far. He often feels his age, and is constantly looking for an excuse not to run. Setting out before the sunrise makes the heat a little more bearable. “The real challenge is the Texas heat,” he said.

How it’s going

Deardorff sets an alarm on her phone for 6 p.m. every day. If she hasn’t yet worked out, she stops what she’s doing and looks up a 15-minute yoga, cardio or other exercise. “It doesn’t have to be a big endeavor, but just some movement makes a huge difference,” she said.

The biggest challenge

Layers of accountability also helped. She bought a $150-per-month gym membership, told friends and her husband about her plans and worked with a trainer virtually. The easiest days were the ones she had signed up for a workout class or went to the gym. But when she didn’t, she’d get busy with work and before she knew it, she needed to start getting ready for bed. “Sure, there are days I’m tired and would rather skip even the short stint,” she said. “But I tell myself, ‘Come on, 15 minutes will be over in a flash!’ And it is.”

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How it’s going

Slade used to spend hours a day on Facebook. She overcame the fear of missing out on Facebook by reminding herself how scrolling used to make her feel: lazy, self-conscious and like she was wasting her time. Six months into the year, she uses Facebook only to check the pages of the local horse association and her town, so she knows what’s going on. She’s more patient, reads more and spends more time with her husband.

The biggest challenge

“When someone asks, ‘Did you see this on Facebook?’” she said. “The people I really care about know about my life. I realized I don’t need to post everything anymore.”

How it’s going

She placed a Post-it Note on her mirror that says, “Take more photos.” She found a class on Instagram to help her improve, and has taken photos of wild horses, a time lapse of a flower opening and workers at an auto repair shop on break. “It is as much an introspective journey as it is to find my voice, through my camera,” she said.

The biggest challenge

Work often got in the way — running a business with dozens of employees is more than a full-time job. And some weeks she feels like she’s not good enough. “Am I not able to do this? To take a worthy photograph?” she wrote one week. Now, she intuitively understands what settings to use. “It feels nice, like old pajamas,” she said.

How it’s going

O’ Neill was so inspired by the book “Bliss More: How to Succeed in Meditation Without Really Trying” by Light Watkins, that she’s now reading it for the third time. She looks forward to meditating and has rarely missed a day. She said it has helped her to let go of her impatience and expand her perspective on life.

The biggest challenge

She put pressure on herself to sit still in a traditional position. But she realized that rubbing her eye or scratching an itch during a session was okay. “You don’t have to sit up straight, you don’t have to bend your legs,” she said. “Just get comfortable like you’re about to binge Netflix.”

How it’s going

Ebrahimi has always wanted to write more. But with a 2-year-old, there was never time. She decided this year to wake up early and write for 30 minutes. Being kind to herself has been key, she said. If she wrote only once a week or even every few weeks, she reminded herself that she was still successfully completing her resolution.

The biggest challenge

She realized she wouldn’t be able to write unless she woke up around 5 a.m., when no one else was up. If she was too tired, she gave herself permission to skip it. “It sparked that creativity in me that got dulled,” she said.

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How it’s going

Boone often scrolled TikTok and saw an outfit she loved and bought it. “I was addicted to shopping, and the dopamine it brought,” she said. She told friends about her resolution and created a Substack where she feels accountable to her roughly 100 subscribers. She’s cut down her monthly shopping expenses by hundreds of dollars on her way to paying down more than $1,000 in credit card debt. Boone said her spending habits kicked into high gear again after learning a family member had terminal cancer, but that today she has reached a “homeostasis” on her spending.

The biggest challenge

Every time she scrolled through social media, Boone said she felt “triggered” to spend. She asked herself why she wanted to shop so much. “It was when I was lonely,” she said. Now she uses the extra time to hang out with friends or go to yoga with her partner, which made her feel more fulfilled than shopping ever did.

How it’s going

Rollins noticed how much time she was spending browsing and shopping online. “I was wasting hours of my day,” she said. Her resolution has helped Rollins recognize how unsatisfied she is in her job, and she is taking steps to improve her work life.

The biggest challenge

She began using the language app Duolingo to work on her Italian whenever she felt bored. “To drop a bad habit, you have to pick up a good one,” she said. “Your brain needs to create new pathways.”

How it’s going

Carpenter realized she was spending on impulse purchases and wanted to become a more conscious spender. Talking honestly with friends about her financial situation has helped her balance social fun with finances and reduce the shame associated with being in debt. Carpenter expects to have paid off more than half her credit card debt by the end of the year.

The biggest challenge

Carpenter said she is constantly looking to balance having fun with her friends while still staying on track for her financial goals. “I can still go out and enjoy myself,” she said. “I just need to find things that are cheaper to do.”