In this blog, I’m going to share 4 habits I’m quitting in 2022.

2021 was a growth year for me and I’m looking to bring that momentum into the new year.

For that to happen, there are some things I think I need to STOP doing.

Now usually, when we think about new years resolutions, we try to think of all the good habits we want to start doing.

Like going to the gym, eating more fruits and vegetables, going out for date night once a week with our spouses.

That’s all well and good, but I find there’s so much friction when it comes to starting new things. And often times, there’s just not enough space or time to add a new habit into the schedule. So in an attempt to level up for the new year without adding more onto my plate, I came up with 4 habits I absolutely need to stop doing in 2022.

If you stick around to the end of the post, I’ll share the habit I stopped doing 7 years ago that has paid massive dividends in all areas of my life.

Stop Sitting Down All Day

The first habit I want to stop doing in 2022 is sitting down all day.

Like most people, I spend a lot of time on my laptop during the day and I’m sitting down for all of it.

Not only that, but I’m sitting right here on this couch with my laptop on a TV Dinner Stand.

If there’s a word for the opposite of Ergonomic, that basically describes my setup, and my back is really paying for it.

I tweaked my back a few weeks ago for the second time this year while squatting my body weight and that’s just not OK.

Since then, I’ve missed a few gym sessions because I’m afraid of making the injury worse.

The other thing about sitting is I have really bad posture. So even if I had an awesome chair and desk, I tend to hunch over my keyboard.

I think the best solution for me is a standing desk setup where I can alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day.

Now that I have my camera, light, and microphone, all I need is a standing desk to attach them to.

Stop Doing Things Myself

The second habit I want to stop in 2022 is doing things in my business without creating a process document.

I have a virtual assistant that works alongside me for 20 hours per week and I’m trying to get her to full-time but I don’t have enough things for her to do.

The main reason I don’t have enough things for her to do is because I still do a lot of things myself.

There are SO many things I could hand-off to her if I just created a process document on how to do it.

So in 2022 and beyond, every time I do something in my business, I’m just going to turn on my screen recorder and talk through what I’m doing so my assistant can build a library of process documents that she can refer back to whenever I ask her to do something.

In the past month alone, I closed on 3 properties and I didn’t create a single process document. My excuse was I didn’t have time, but that’s ridiculous. Recording myself and talking through what I’m doing might add five or ten minutes to the task, at most.

I want to get to the point where after I’m done negotiating the price of a house, my VA completely takes over the transaction.

She reaches out to the attorney, home inspector, tank sweep vendor, lender, title company, creates the LLC, opens up a new business checking account, and then tells me where to send the money.

That’s sort of how I have it set up for the content creation. All I have to do is record the raw footage and she takes it from there. She edits it, publishes it, distributes it, chops it up and promotes it.

Stop Being a Screen Zombie

The third habit I want to stop doing in 2022 is passively watching TV or scrolling through my phone at night for hours on end.

By the time Luna goes to sleep around 7PM, Dia and I turn into zombie vegetables.

We put Luna down in her crib, walk to our bedroom, and throw ourselves onto the bed.

For the next 2-3 hours, we’re basically scrolling through our phones and watching Netflix.

There’s nothing wrong with unplugging your brain after a long day, but sometimes I feel guilty about the amount of time I’m “wasting” in a vegetative state. I think I’d feel less guilty if I did some productive things that barely require any attention like: stretching, folding laundry, recapping my day, planning the next day, or even organizing our bedroom, which always seems to be a mess.

More recently, I implemented a hard stop on screen time after 9pm. I put my phone away and pick up a book. I’m typically asleep by 930, which makes it really easy to wake up at 5.

  Stop Binge Eating at Night

The fourth habit I want to stop doing in 2022 is to stop binge eating at night.

This is kind of embarrassing to talk about because I always preach health and fitness, but I have a serious addiction to sugar, and it’s mainly a night-time thing.

I don’t really eat anything indulgent throughout the day.

I take my coffee black.

My breakfast is typically a turkey bacon egg and cheese burrito.

For lunch I’m eating fruit and yogurt.

For dinner we usually eat some protein and carb like a turkey bolognese or chicken and rice.

But then while we’re watching TV at night, I get this devil on my shoulder that’s just like, “GO EAT ALL OF THE SUGAR YOU CAN”

So I go to the kitchen and there’s always something there.

Sometimes its leftover candy from Halloween

Sometimes it’s Oreos. Sometimes its pie or cake Dia brings home from work.

Usually it’s some children’s cereal like fruity pebbles or cinnamon toast crunch that I bought while grocery shopping because it was on sale.

Again, there’s nothing really wrong with eating dessert, but I don’t like it because I feel like I’m not in control of the decision.

I feel like it’s a bad habit that I automatically execute every night without even thinking about it.

And then after I eat it, I feel guilty. And then if I go overboard with the amount, which is usually the case, my sleep sucks and it’s hard for me to wake up in the morning.

It’s just a downward spiral and it happens like every single night.

It’s kind of like when you drink too much one weekend and you’re like, never again.

And then the next weekend is even more lit.

So! Here’s my proposed solution:

I’m still going to eat dessert every night, but hear me out.

I’m going to limit myself to one of the following two items.

Chocolate-covered outshine bars or this healthy fudge bar from Costco.

These are less than 100 calories and they’re enough for me to get my fix.

I need to stop buying cereal on sale, which really means I need to stop going to ShopRite and continue shopping at Trader Joes and Costco.

I also need to tell Dia to stop bringing me the leftover desserts from work.

7 Years Sober

This whole idea of stopping 4 bad habits in 2022 was inspired by a decision I made 7 years ago, on December 28, 2014.

That day was special for 2 reasons.

First, December 28th is my wife’s birthday.

Second, 12/28/14 was the day my wife and I told my entire extended family we were getting married.

My parents were hosting a Christmas party at their house and immediately after the announcement my dad invited all of the guys to the basement bar and opened a bottle of Blue Label to commemorate the event.

Before I took my first sip, I looked down at the glass and thought, “this would make for a perfect last drink.” I thought I’d give up drinking for the first 3-6 months of 2015, but I ended up giving it up all together and never looked back.

Not drinking can be socially awkward, but the long-term benefits far outweigh the costs.

I’m hoping standing while I work, delegating repeatable tasks, staying productive while I veg out in front of a screen, and limiting my nightly sugar binge compound over the next 7 years as well.