Sometimes we subconsciously adopt bad habits. We do it in our personal life, as well as in our business. We become comfortable in our daily routines without realizing that some of our bad habits can harm us. They can harm our relationships and even harm the profitability of our business.
Whether you’re ignoring voice mails or not completely listening to your colleagues (or family members), your personal habits can take away from your success.
First, become conscious of your automatic actions. Changing your behavior is difficult. To make effective decisions based on experience rather than routine, you must identify the actions you do subconsciously. Create a list of habits you do automatically during the day. Do you leave for work or an appointment at the last minute, causing you to rush and stress in traffic? Do you work on quick, easy-to-accomplish tasks that are lower priority and put off the important ones?
Second, be realistic about the consequences of those habits. By recognizing the repercussions of a bad habit on your family or your job, you can create a powerful motive to change.
Next, strengthen your resolve to stop the automatic behaviors. Use your willpower to catch yourself when you’re engaging in negative behaviors, stop immediately, then take action. Analyze the situation and create a positive action-step response. In other words, replace that old habit with a new one.
Finally, focus on the benefits of changing a bad habit. What will changing this behavior actually do for you personally? You have to find the motivation to readjust your mind-set. If the motivation is not strong enough – if you don’t want to badly enough – it won’t work. Reinforce your new behavior by rewarding any small success. AND forgive yourself when you have a setback. Be patient because it takes time to create new habits. Focus on the long-term payoffs and continually reinforce the behaviors that will improve your productivity and your life.