AP 755: Habits That Are Helping || Why Habits Matter During Hard Times and 3 that are Helping Me Right Now

About Progress

Cloud10

Health & Fitness, Education, Mental Health, Self-improvement

4.9 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 February 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Life can feel overwhelmingly chaotic, and I've often found myself needing help to navigate through it. During these tumultuous times, I've learned that small, consistent habits are crucial. By embracing habits that are personal, seasonal, and flexible, I can help myself feel more grounded and less overwhelmed. Recently, my life has been filled with professional demands like editing a book and preparing for a conference, all while managing the complexities of family life. To cope, I've been playing the piano more often—it's a soothing escape that helps me reset my mind. I've also focused on maintaining strict boundaries with my time, like adhering to a rhythm schedule for work and home. Weekends are for unwinding with family, not for catching up on work tasks. By prioritizing rest and personal interests, I can show up as my best self, not in spite of challenges, but because of them. Here to Stay Drive: Join the ⁠Supporters Club⁠ to keep About Progress around + participate in a whole month of special prizes. A little from many makes this work sustainable! Get your Sticky Habit Rainstorm printable HERE Complementary past episode to listen to: https://www.aboutprogress.com/blog/4-habits-that-are-helping-me-show-up; https://www.aboutprogress.com/blog/habits-that-are-helping-me-show-up-right-now; https://www.aboutprogress.com/blog/take-back-your-weekends; https://www.aboutprogress.com/blog/an-alternative-to-block-scheduling Book Launch Committee: aboutprogress.com/bookcommittee Sign up as a Supporter to get access to our private, premium, ad-free podcast, More Personal. Episodes air each Friday! Leave a rating and review Check out my ⁠workshops⁠! Follow About Progress on YOUTUBE! Book Launch Committee Full Show Notes Transform your space now. Go to https://www.quince.com/monica for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns; Get organized, refreshed, and back on track this new year for WAY less. Head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home; Join Masterclass for 15% off at masterclass.com/progress Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Life is hard, and I need help.
0:03.0	Having some small and consistent habits that support me to feel like myself is a small way I know I can help myself.
0:10.1	It's a small way to help me despair a little less, a small way to insert some choice and some control in a chaotic world, and a small way to help me feel like I'm doing something and that something might
0:22.6	just be everything.
0:29.2	Hi, I'm Monica Packer and you're listening to About Progress, where we are about progress
0:34.7	made practical.
0:38.8	I'm just going to cut right to it.
0:41.9	The world feels on fire right now.
0:45.2	Thanks to current events, coupled with approaching a personally extra busy season,
0:50.9	I have to admit that I have been struggling to keep up with day-to-day tasks.
0:56.4	From work to home, everything feels either trivial at best or meaningless at worse.
1:03.6	I know my predicament is shared by so many of you, whether you are moving through a survival
1:09.7	season thanks to perhaps some unforeseen
1:12.2	circumstances, or you're facing major decisions, life shifts, or struggles within your family
1:18.8	and or finances, or you're simply a human living on this earth, and life is allowed to be hard
1:27.4	for no big reason at all. It's in these kinds of
1:31.4	times that habits rightfully feel like the bottom of any priority list. And I get that. I feel it too.
1:39.8	But I have to remind myself that our habits matter, not despite these hard times, but especially
1:46.8	within these hard times. Because when life gets tough, we need people who are able to show up
1:54.1	and show up as themselves. At their core, habits are about how we care for and support ourselves.
2:02.9	Habits aren't about metrics, shoulds, balls, and chains.
2:07.5	Habits are helpers.
	...

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