How many ads have you heard lately promoting the “New Year – New You”? We’re taught to crave dramatic overhauls, instant gratification, and “get rich quick” results.
In reality, however, our ultimate success typically stems from small habits implemented consistently over time.
Though perhaps not as exciting as the overnight reinvention, building a series of small, positive habits into your work provides greater benefits: your efforts are realistic and your results are sustainable.
If your new year involves new habits, here are 3 tips to help you stick with them:
- Schedule your habit. Whether you resolve to send more gratitude cards to clients or add a brisk walk into your workday, decide in advance when you’ll do it. Ideally shoot for the same time each day, but if that’s not realistic, pull out your planner Sunday evening and give your new habit a time slot each day that week.
- Be clear on the “Why.” What’s the point of your new habit? What results do you expect to see? Why does that matter to you? Get specific here. Your why-power is more important than your will-power!
- Track your success. Speaking to a leadership institute last week, I told the group I believe we’re all second-graders at heart: those gold foil stars that we loved seeing on our assignments can motivate us just as much now as they did then! Create a simple chart, purchase a pack of foil stars, and track your new habit every day for the next month.
The trickiest part of developing new habits is, of course, the “stick-with-it-ness.” Decide in advance how to handle a setback, as well as how you will reward yourself for success along the way. Having your plan in place will liberate you to focus on the actual implementing.
What healthy work habits will you develop in 2013? Share your ideas below or on our Facebook page!