You’ve made a lot of choices today, haven’t you? Or perhaps not. What if you were responding not with reasoned choices, but predictably with habitual responses to various triggers?
In The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg, he states, “Most of the choices we make each day may feel like the products of well-considered decision making, but they’re not. They’re habits. “
Here are four habits to consider in helping you feel more productive and happy as you navigate your day.
1. Read (and Watch) Less
Too many of us respond to many cues – waiting, walking, riding the elevator, and so on – with the same routine: checking news, social media and videos on our phones. Chunks of information that distract us and are temporarily interesting. But not necessarily beneficial.
Others binge-watch streaming services in response to relational stress or even time of day. A multi-hour distraction that keeps our mind off our circumstances.
Duhigg further explains that we can’t eradicate habits, but we can replace them. That starts with identifying the trigger that starts a routine.
What we need to do is replace these routines with healthier versions. Three ideas follow.
2. Read More
One habit to explore is to read more books, with plots, and characters, and heroes and villains. Or topics stretching your soft skills such as leadership and empathy.
Healthline documents several benefits for readers, including strengthening your brain, increasing your ability to empathize, and reducing stress.
You’ve heard “Leaders are readers”. They aren’t referring to the bite-size chunks of info consumed in an Uber ride. With the Kindle app you have access to your books in every instance you would glance at your phone. Or listen to Audible as you run on the treadmill.
3. Laugh
In the times we are in (pandemic, political divisions, social unrest and on and on) it’s easy to avoid laughter. As if laughter would signal you think all is well. But it doesn’t, and we all need laughter now more than ever. (Not the cynical and critical kind you find on late-night TV.)
The Mayo Clinic published an article detailing benefits of laugher. They write, “A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn’t just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body.”
How to get started? First, give yourself permission. Then regularly spend time with people that make you laugh. And return the favor by sharing something humorous with others.
4. Ponder
Our frenetic pace is at war with our ability to think deeply (or widely). We value activity over achievement . Your long term goals won’t come to you while you scroll through Instagram (despite all the posts detailing how living out of a van is a nirvana we should all aspire to).
Calm your thoughts. Consider starting with 10 minutes of meditation, followed by exploring topics of interest. Think not just what is, but what could be. This can also include personal reflection: where are you today, and what do you want tomorrow to look like?
You might find it beneficial to keep a journal close. Either to jot down ideas as they occur, or to quickly log and forget a distracting thought (e.g. I need to start the laundry). The most important thing to do is schedule time. You must put something on the calendar to avoid procrastinating.
You Got This!
Habits take time to replace, but you can do it. As Duhigg suggests, “Rather, to change a habit, you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine.”
It’s the new routines I’m advocating for you to discover. Commit to spending quality time reading, thinking and laughing. Schedule the time necessary and be committed. Soon the habits you create will be the ones your closest friends admire the most.
Leave a Reply