“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.” 

― James Clear

It was May 2016. I had just finished my studies and landed a job in a corporate company. That was the first time I had free time in my life. No more assignments. No more exams. No more job searching. I moved to a new city and didn’t have any friends. I did something that changed my life forever.

Since I had so much free time in the evening, I thought I would just start working out. When I started working out, many other things happened. My energy levels improved. I started to eat healthily. My sleep got better. I didn’t feel lazy anymore. I felt better. I wasn’t trying to improve all these things. But, these things happened automatically.

I started looking for why this was happening. I got to know that there is a term for it – ‘keystone habit’.

What is a Keystone habit?

I first came across the word ‘keystone habit’ from the book “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg. In simple terms, a keystone habit is a habit of doing it, and other habits will follow.

Why have a Keystone habit?

“If I start one habit, the other habits happen automatically?”, I thought to myself. This sounded like a thanksgiving deal. Instead of focusing on improving my entire life, I can focus on a few habits and the others areas of my life improve automatically.

I was looking for those habits that will have a ripple effect.

Here are my top 5 keystone habits that had a significant impact on my life:

R – Reading

E – Exercising

M – Meditating

E – Eating well

S – Scribing (Writing)

  1. Reading

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” 

― Joseph Addison

Reading expands your mind. You start visualizing. Any problem that you’re facing is most likely faced by others and there is a solution written somewhere in a book. Reading changes your mindset. The major things I’ve learned since 2017 came through books. There is so much power in reading.

Reading is a meta-skill. If you know how to read, you can learn any other skill.

3 ways how reading impacted my life: less stress, more knowledge, and better focus.

2. Exercising

“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” 

― Gautama Buddha

There are a million benefits to exercising. It changes your mood, makes you feel good, and releases good hormones and chemicals.

3 ways exercising impacted my life: more energy, clear thinking, and high confidence.

3. Meditating

“The mind is definitely something that can be transformed, and meditation is a means to transform it.” 

― Dalai Lama” 

Meditation improves focus and concentration. Man’s problems arise due to the inability to sit in a room all by himself for 30 mins. Meditation brings clarity and focus to your mind and its power is underrated.

3 ways meditation impacted my life: clear thinking, calm mind, and less anxiety.

4. Eating Well

“Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are.” 

― Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

You are what you eat. Food can change your mood. Imagine how you feel after having a big burger, fries, and a large soda. It will be tempting in the short term but you will feel lethargic.

Food can totally change your mood.

You can see a sudden spike and drop in energy after eating junk. You feel lethargic. You don’t feel like doing anything.

My big take on food is to avoid both sugar and processed food. In other words, eat real food.

3 Ways eating well impacted my life: high energy, fewer mood swings, and better sleep.

5. Scribing (Writing)

“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.” 

― Isaac Asimov

Writing is the antidote to confusion. I thought writing is only for authors or bloggers but anyone can write. Writing brings so much clarity to your thoughts. You can also offload your brain by writing down your tasks so that you can spend your brain energy on being creative and solving problems, not thinking about your to-do lists.

Clear writing = clear thinking.

3 ways writing impacted my life: clear thinking, offloading brain, and less anxiety.

 

Key Takeaway: 

Try to focus on keystone habits. The beauty of keystone habits is that doing by one habit other habits happen almost automatically. And, keystone habits don’t take much time. Focus on developing one habit at a time and focus on the long term. Compounding is magical and the results are only delayed. Compounding will go nuts if you give it enough time.