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Dear Friends and Clients,

Julie wanted more control over her life. It seemed like all her time revolved around the needs of other people, particularly those of her boss and clients. She felt out of shape, disorganized and tired of living in a messy house. But she couldn’t seem to find the time or energy to change things.

Julie tended to blame other people for the chaos in her life. But as we talked about her daily routines, she began to notice that her own habits were part of the problem. For example, after a long and stressful day at work, she often grabbed some junk food and collapsed in front of the TV. In the morning, after staying up late watching talk shows, she would feel less organized than ever.

After keeping a log of her daily routines, Julie decided that she wanted her coaching experience to support the creation of some new habits. She started by building bedtime rituals that helped her to manage stress and sleep better. And then she very slowly built the habit of doing a little yoga every day.

While Julie has not made progress toward all her goals, she is optimistic about the possibility of change. She has learned that she can change the habits that shape her daily life, and her future. Most exciting, she has found that when she is building new habits in one area of her life, she becomes more innovative and energetic in other areas.

Our habits define much of what we do and even who we are. As I’ll discuss in this issue, one way we can attract change in our lives is to notice our current habits and build new ones.

Warm Wishes, Bev

Create Change in Your Life
One Habit At a Time

February 17, 2009 * Number 98

If we want to attract change to our lives, a good way to get started is to invest energy in building new, positive habits. It seems that when we step out of the familiar and concentrate on new ways of doing even small things, we can change our lives on many levels.

A habit is a routine behavior that we perform frequently and typically unconsciously. Researchers have found that as we consciously work on creating new habits, we create new neural pathways, and even new brain cells. And by stepping outside our comfort zone and building new patterns in one sphere of our life, we can stimulate creativity and innovation throughout our activities.

Are there patterns in your daily work or broader life that you would like to change? As you look at your routines, can you spot potential habits that might make you healthier or more productive? If you are thinking about creating a new habit, consider these tips:

Start small. Even if you want to make big changes, you might be more successful if you don’t try to do everything at once. Consider a small change that would move you in the right direction, master it, and then move on to the next step. For example, if you want to spend less time obsessing about your email, you might try starting each day with 30 minutes when you focus on the biggest challenge of the day, and don’t even think about opening your mail program.
Be precise. As you start to build a new habit, be clear about the behavior that you want to adopt. For example, instead of just thinking that you want to keep a neater desk, determine to spend the last five minutes of each day bringing some order to your desktop. It helps if you write down a succinct statement describing the habit you intend to form.
Commit to a time period. A key to creating a habit is to repeat the behavior many times, to allow your brain to build a new path. Some “experts” say that it takes about 21 days to build a habit, but others say the process can vary considerably. You might commit yourself to consciously working on the habit for three weeks, and then assess your progress.
Think about it often. Interestingly, you can reinforce the new path not only by performing the behavior, but also by thinking about it. As often as possible, remind yourself of your new habit and imagine that you are performing it.
Find triggers. When you’re building a habit, a “trigger” can stimulate the behavior that you want to learn. It might take the form of a note, a string around your finger, or anything else that reminds you of the behavior that you want to turn into an unconscious routine. For example, if you are committed to cleaning your desk at the end of each day, put a note on your door or briefcase reminding yourself to tidy up before you leave the office.
Anticipate obstacles. Develop a plan for what you’re going to do when life interferes with your commitment to perform the new behavior. In the case of the desk cleaning example, if you foresee that the day is going to end in a frantic rush, take a few minutes to clean your desk at lunchtime, and spend just seconds re-arranging things before you rush out at the end of the day.
Reinforce it. Whether you are managing your staff or your own routines, keep in mind that positive reinforcement is a powerful force in changing behavior. Reward yourself when you stick to your commitments – even telling yourself “good job” can be effective. And recruit your friends and colleagues to join your support team.

Want more ideas for enhancing your productivity? In addition to providing executive coaching, Bev is available to speak about a broad range of issues related to your work life. Visit her website at www.ClearWaysConsulting.com or email to Bev directly. Bev is associated with Executive Coaching & Consulting Associates.

Bev’s Tips for a Better Work Life is published on the first and third Tuesday of each month by Beverly E. Jones of ClearWays Consulting, LLC. Bev is a lawyer and former executive who now coaches accomplished executives and other professionals to bring new direction, energy and enjoyment to their work lives.

All rights in all media reserved. However, the content of Bev’s Tips for a Better Work Life may be forwarded in full without special permission on the condition that (1) it is for non-profit use and (2) full attribution and copyright notice are given. For other uses please contact Bev Jones.

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