Tuesday Travel Tip: Get Set Up Right Away

Current housing, all set up and ready to go

When I arrive in a new place, I unpack and set everything up right away. I find that if I don't do it in my first day or two, I don't ever really settle in. I also establish certain habits that I maintain throughout my time there. For example, if I don't do yoga on my first or second morning in a place, I struggle to do yoga the entire time I am there. Apparently this is the same with other behaviors among college students as they arrive for the freshman year. A recent article in the Washington Post reported on research around why college students attend (or don't attend) church during their years on campus. "Whether they also find time for church during their first two weeks on campus will set the mold for the rest of their college years, according to new research."

When you change locations or make another change is the best time to integrate a new habit in your life. It occurs to me that when you start a habit without another major change, you actually have to unlearn whatever you are accustomed to doing at that time of day or in that place. College students may get very attached to Sunday morning brunch and feel like they are missing something if they go to church, instead of finding a way to do both. People who want to exercise may need to give up on a TV show, something that wouldn't feel like a sacrifice if they had never gotten invested in the first place.

Starting a new habit without a change certainly isn't impossible. It's just good to be aware of the forces that are working for you and against you.

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