🛠️ Refining Your Daily Habits with Your Values

🎯 This Week’s Focus

Routines shape our lives more than we realize. The way we start our mornings, structure our workdays, or even wind down at night determines not just our productivity but our overall wellbeing. The key to lasting fulfillment isn’t just about doing more, it’s about doing what matters most.

Much like decluttering a home, reassessing and refining our routines allows us to clear out what no longer serves us and create space for habits that truly align with our values. Marie Kondo’s philosophy of keeping only what sparks joy applies just as much to our schedules as it does to our closets. The most fulfilling routines are those that create energy rather than drain it, allowing us to make steady progress toward the life we want.

💭 Here are a few exploratory questions to guide your thoughts before we dive in:

• What daily habits energize you, and which ones do you find yourself resisting and delaying?

• Are your routines reinforcing your personal values, or just running on autopilot?

• What small tweaks could make your day feel more fulfilling?

🔎 Looking ahead, this week we’ll discuss how to:

• Reassess your current routines and identify what’s working (and what’s not).

• Refine habits to align better with your values and priorities.

• Sustain meaningful routines by making them easier, more rewarding, and adaptable over time.

💼 Career

Rethinking Work Routines Through Design Thinking & Continuous Improvement

It’s tempting to operate on autopilot in our careers completing tasks the same way we first learned them, without questioning if there’s a better approach. Whether it’s the way you structure meetings, create reports, or even define strategic programs, failing to reassess can lead to stagnation.

Progress doesn’t come from just working hard because productivity isn’t strictly proportional to your level of effort. Applying design thinking and continuous improvement methodologies can help us periodically evaluate workflows and drive productivity to make sure that we’re maximizing our time and energy. Lean Six Sigma principles emphasize eliminating inefficiencies and reducing friction, whether on a micro-level (improving how you organize daily tasks) or a macro-level (restructuring team workflows or business strategies). By stepping back and asking, “Is there a better way?”, you open the door for innovation and efficiency.

✅ Key Takeaway: Productivity can be increased exponentially when you shift your focus from how much effort you’re putting in and start thinking about refining how work gets done.

🚀 Quick Win: The Process Audit

• Identify one work task you do repeatedly.

• Ask yourself: “Am I doing this the most effective way? Could automation, templates, or a different approach improve results?”

• Experiment with one small change this week and track the impact.

📚 Essential Reading: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries – A guide to applying continuous improvement in any work environment.

💝 Relationships

Decluttering Social Circles & Prioritizing Meaningful Connection

As we grow older and take on more responsibilities, it becomes harder to make time for relationships. The best way to ensure we’re nurturing the right ones is by applying Marie Kondo’s philosophy to our social lives: “Which relationships spark joy?”

Evaluate how you spend your social time: Are there connections that feel obligatory or draining rather than enriching? Shifting focus to those who genuinely bring you joy allows you to make the most of your limited time.

Beyond choosing who to spend time with, how we spend time together matters. Instead of defaulting to “catch-up” conversations, try experience-based interactions—hiking, cooking a meal together, attending an event. This fosters richer, more meaningful memories and keeps relationships dynamic rather than transactional.

✅ Key Takeaway: Curate your social circle with intention, and make every interaction count.

🚀 Quick Win: The Experience Swap

• Replace one “catch-up coffee” with a shared experience this week.

• Before you part ways, make sure to calendar the next time you plan on getting together!

📚 Essential Reading: The Power of Moments by Chip Heath & Dan Heath – How to create more meaningful interactions.

🧘 Wellbeing

Building Awareness: Are Your Routines Helping or Hindering You?

Wellbeing is deeply personal. Too often, we assume it has to look a certain way (e.g., meditation, journaling, hitting the gym). But what works for someone else may not be what works for you.

Instead of forcing yourself into habits that don’t fit, take this opportunity to reassess what actually makes you feel good. Which habits have been genuinely effective in supporting your mental, physical, and emotional health? Which ones feel like a struggle or don’t yield results? The best routines aren’t imposed, instead they evolve naturally through trial and reflection.

✅ Key Takeaway: Find your version of wellbeing by tuning into what truly makes you feel your best.

🚀 Quick Win: The Wellbeing Audit

• List 3 habits you’ve been trying to build this year.

• Which ones feel energizing? Which feel forced?

• Adjust accordingly—double down on what’s working, and let go of what’s not.

📚 Essential Reading: Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin – A deep exploration of how different personality types build habits and how to create lasting, fulfilling routines based on self-awareness.

💰 Finances

Mindful Spending For Your Rich Life

Money should be a tool for creating lasting joy, not just momentary gratification. Instead of mindlessly spending, define what truly adds value to your life. Recall Ramit Sethi’s concept of a Rich Life that encourages spending lavishly on what you love while cutting ruthlessly on what you don’t.

Impulse spending often comes from habitual or emotional triggers rather than intentional choices. When we make purchases out of boredom, stress, or social pressure, we accumulate things that don’t necessarily align with what we truly value. The key to financial fulfillment is redirecting spending toward experiences and investments that create deep, lasting satisfaction—whether that’s travel, education, high-quality essentials, or meaningful gifts for loved ones.

Another approach to financial mindfulness is setting “joy budgets” where you allocate funds to the things that genuinely enhance your life. Rather than arbitrarily saving or restricting spending, this approach ensures that money is working for you, not just sitting in an account or disappearing into unmemorable expenses.

✅ Key Takeaway: When you spend with intention, your money fuels happiness—not regret.

🚀 Quick Win: The Values-Based Budget

• Identify one category where you can cut expenses without sacrificing joy.

• Redirect those funds toward something that genuinely excites you.

• Keep a simple spending journal for a week and reflect on whether each purchase contributed to long-term joy or just momentary gratification.

📚 Essential Reading: Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending by Elizabeth Dunn & Michael Norton – A research-backed guide to spending in ways that maximize happiness and fulfillment.

🎨 Hobbies & Interests

Making Space for Passion & Play

Hobbies often take a backseat to work and responsibilities, but they are essential for personal fulfillment. Rather than squeezing them in, design your week to prioritize creativity and play. If you find yourself struggling to make time for hobbies, start by simplifying access. If you want to read more, keep a book where you’ll see it. If you want to paint, have your supplies set up and ready to go. Making the process easier removes friction and helps turn hobbies into sustainable habits.

Another way to increase engagement in hobbies is to connect them with social interactions. Joining a community or group related to your interests not only increases accountability but also deepens enjoyment. Whether it's a writing circle, a recreational sports league, or a photography club, sharing creative pursuits makes them more fulfilling and helps sustain long-term engagement.

✅ Key Takeaway: Prioritize time for hobbies the same way you would any other commitment—your joy is worth it.

🚀 Quick Win: The Hobby Commitment

• Block one hour this week for something purely enjoyable (e.g., reading, music, art, anything that sparks joy, etc.).

• Set a simple goal: Complete a small project, try a new technique, or revisit an old favorite activity.

• Track how you feel before and after—are you more energized, creative, or relaxed?

📚 Essential Reading: The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp – A guide to making creativity a daily practice.

🗂 Life Administration

Simplifying Daily Logistics for More Mental Space

Life admin tasks can be overwhelming. Many small daily tasks consume mental bandwidth that could be better spent on high-value activities. One way to simplify is by implementing a weekly life admin session where you set aside a dedicated time block to handle bills, scheduling, and household tasks all at once rather than scattered throughout the week. This minimizes mental clutter and prevents small tasks from accumulating into overwhelming to-do lists.

Another approach is to outsource or automate tasks. Whether it’s grocery delivery, a laundry service, or automating bill payments, reducing manual work frees up time and mental energy. When considering whether to outsource, ask yourself: “Is this something I enjoy or something I’d happily trade for more time elsewhere?”

For essential tasks that can’t be eliminated, creating streamlined systems makes them easier to manage. Meal prepping, using cleaning schedules, and setting up digital reminders reduce the effort required to stay on top of life admin without it feeling like an endless cycle of chores.

✅ Key Takeaway: Simplifying everyday tasks frees up energy for what really matters.

🚀 Quick Win: The Streamline Strategy

• Pick one life admin task to automate or outsource this week.

• Create a simple weekly or monthly checklist to batch admin tasks and reduce scattered effort.

• Experiment with a minimalist approach—eliminate unnecessary commitments and streamline daily responsibilities.

📚 Essential Reading: Essentialism by Greg McKeown – How to focus only on what truly matters and simplify decision-making.

📝 This Week’s Challenge

🎯 Goal: Shift from Outcome-Based Thinking to Experimentation

This week, take some time to reflect and consider how much satisfaction or joy you feel in each of the life areas (scale of 1-10).

💭 Consider what might be informing the score you gave for each life area
💭 Identify one habit/process that you can refine (or eliminate) that will increase the satisfaction you feel

At the end of the week, reflect: How has the change in habit affected your energy and mood? How might this same approach be applied to other aspects of your life?

📅 Next Week’s Preview

Next week, we’ll dive into the science behind gratitude, explore daily practices to cultivate it, and discuss how appreciation can shift your mindset toward greater fulfillment. Get ready to discover how small, intentional acts of gratitude can have a lasting impact on your well-being and success.

Like what you’re reading?

💬 In the spirit of continuous improvement, we’re also going to look for opportunities to refine our content so that it’s delivering the most value for you! If there’s anything you’d like to see, drop a comment and share your thoughts!

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About Kevin

Kevin Earl Tan helps people to design their lives through evidence-based coaching and systems thinking. He is pursuing his International Coaching Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach (ACC) certification. Kevin combines academic insights from his Masters in Human Resources from the University of Southern California along with practical application from 10+ years in change management and leadership to make behavior change simple and approachable.