HABITS
Whether good, bad, unusual or annoying, research suggests that our habits make up 40-50% of our actions on any given day, so when talking productivity, our habits, particularly the positive kind, are a key component.
A habit is defined as being “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.”
Now, we can break down that definition into two categories: our tendencies and our practices. Our tendencies are the things we are more inclined to do without thinking, whereas our practices take a little bit more work.
For example: A person habitually biting their nails when nervous is a tendency, whereas the (mostly) universal practice of brushing one’s teeth isn’t; it’s habitual, but you still have to remember to do it. Regardless of either, however, both our tendencies and practices should be pretty hard to quit if we are to truly define them as habits.
What positive habits will contribute to your productivity?
The first step is to identify and track the positive habits you are already doing that increase productivity. You can make a list, a chart or whatever works for you to pinpoint what’s working and to keep doing it. This also links nicely to out blog about the importance of celebrating accomplishments which you can read about here.
Identifying good habits will also help to wean out those bad habits.
Breaking the habit
Breaking habits can be hard. That’s the point. The tragic beauty of a habit is that is supposed to be hard to break. Hard, but not impossible.
Avoid those tempting situations. If you’re a person that has a habit of sleeping in, why not set your alarm across the room to avoid the temptation of hitting snooze.
Fill the gap. If habits take up 40-50% of our daily actions, getting rid of one of them is going to leave a huge hole. So, before deciding to break a particular habit, know what you’re going to do in its absence.
Say it out loud. Tell people. Voicing your intentions makes your mission all the more real and holds you accountable. It also provides an opportunity to enlist support. Breaking a habit doesn’t have to be a solo quest. You might need some help, so don’t be afraid to ask for it.
Be kind and reward yourself for those little victories.
How could you ensure your positive habits are maintained?
So, you’ve identified those positive habits and you’ve started the process of breaking the bad ones. Now, how do you keep it up?
New habits take time to form and there is a level of patience, discipline and mental willpower that is needed to keep them going.
One tip would be to schedule them in to your day. Just like brushing your teeth in the morning and before bed, giving these new habits a specific time in the day will help build momentum and allow them to fully settle. Another tip would be consistency. Doing something one-or-twice at 100% is going have little-to-no effect, whereas doing something consistently, even at 50%, is going to make a different. It doesn’t have to be perfect (see our blog on perfectionism here) it just has to be regular.
Finally, an oldie-but-a-goodie: Spaced Repetition — it’s a concept first described in 1885 by German psychologist, Herman Ebbinghaus, and is technique used to fully embed new habits by spacing them out over a specific period of time.
Check out this video to discover more!
Enjoyed this article? Want to read more? Check out the O&B blog HERE.
HABITS
Whether good, bad, unusual or annoying, research suggests that our habits make up 40-50% of our actions on any given day, so when talking productivity, our habits, particularly the positive kind, are a key component.
A habit is defined as being “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.”
Now, we can break down that definition into two categories: our tendencies and our practices. Our tendencies are the things we are more inclined to do without thinking, whereas our practices take a little bit more work.
For example: A person habitually biting their nails when nervous is a tendency, whereas the (mostly) universal practice of brushing one’s teeth isn’t; it’s habitual, but you still have to remember to do it. Regardless of either, however, both our tendencies and practices should be pretty hard to quit if we are to truly define them as habits.
What positive habits will contribute to your productivity?
The first step is to identify and track the positive habits you are already doing that increase productivity. You can make a list, a chart or whatever works for you to pinpoint what’s working and to keep doing it. This also links nicely to out blog about the importance of celebrating accomplishments which you can read about here.
Identifying good habits will also help to wean out those bad habits.
Breaking the habit
Breaking habits can be hard. That’s the point. The tragic beauty of a habit is that is supposed to be hard to break. Hard, but not impossible.
Avoid those tempting situations. If you’re a person that has a habit of sleeping in, why not set your alarm across the room to avoid the temptation of hitting snooze.
Fill the gap. If habits take up 40-50% of our daily actions, getting rid of one of them is going to leave a huge hole. So, before deciding to break a particular habit, know what you’re going to do in its absence.
Say it out loud. Tell people. Voicing your intentions makes your mission all the more real and holds you accountable. It also provides an opportunity to enlist support. Breaking a habit doesn’t have to be a solo quest. You might need some help, so don’t be afraid to ask for it.
Be kind and reward yourself for those little victories.
How could you ensure your positive habits are maintained?
So, you’ve identified those positive habits and you’ve started the process of breaking the bad ones. Now, how do you keep it up?
New habits take time to form and there is a level of patience, discipline and mental willpower that is needed to keep them going.
One tip would be to schedule them in to your day. Just like brushing your teeth in the morning and before bed, giving these new habits a specific time in the day will help build momentum and allow them to fully settle. Another tip would be consistency. Doing something one-or-twice at 100% is going have little-to-no effect, whereas doing something consistently, even at 50%, is going to make a different. It doesn’t have to be perfect (see our blog on perfectionism here) it just has to be regular.
Finally, an oldie-but-a-goodie: Spaced Repetition — it’s a concept first described in 1885 by German psychologist, Herman Ebbinghaus, and is technique used to fully embed new habits by spacing them out over a specific period of time.
Check out this video to discover more!
Enjoyed this article? Want to read more? Check out the O&B blog HERE.