When Life Gets Busy, Focus on a Few Key Habits

Extreme life events can be stressful — and lead to confusion as to where to focus your priorities. Whether it’s changing jobs, taking care of a sick parent, relocating, or facing a diagnosis, disruptions in life can make it difficult to maintain moment-by-moment focus and well-being, much less think months or years in the future. Daily or weekly habits aligned with your long-term goals can keep you on track even when it’s hard to think ahead, and they can add stability in an otherwise unsteady time. These habits, important at any time, are essential in our busiest and most chaotic periods. So what do these habits look like? The first step in maintaining regular habits is to articulate and track them. When setting habits, we’ve found the most critical are clustered in four key areas: personal reflection, professional reflection, building and maintaining relationships, and physical and mental health.