Effectively Achieving Improved Habits

Effectively achieving improved habits isn’t a small task, but often a daunting one.

You’ve made a goal. You’re finally going to address that goal by developing some new habits. You know the one. You’ve been talking about doing this for a long time now, and you feel good because now you have a deadline. You’ve got this handled.

Or do you?

Breaking old habits is a positive decision toward change

Whether you’re trying to break an old habit or instill a new one, the thought has always been that if you make a positive decision toward change, that’s already half the battle. But more often than not, these lofty goals fall by the wayside in fairly short order. Why?

The problem with goal-setting is that we’re focusing on the wrong goal or set of habits that need to be modified. You also need to establish why the goal is important. By finding our motivation for accomplishing that goal, the new habits will be a lot easier to achieve. We say we want to lose 25 pounds by swimsuit season or to stop smoking by Christmas. But without a plan in place, or real motivation, nothing is going to happen.

Change is slow, but possible

Change is slow. Having a tracking and reward system in place will help you see and more importantly feel your progress. The start of any new habit is tough, but each day leads to each new week and the process becomes easier.

What most people fail to do is create a plan, a road map for getting there.

So, what can you do?

Breaking down goals into small tasks will make each habit more achievable

1. Break down the goal into small tasks. Our goal is to lose 25 pounds, but how are you going to do it? You are not great at regular exercise and sticking to a diet. Whatever your goal, figure out the steps you need to get there. You will also need to decide why you want to do it.

After establishing your why, start with a Goal and decide what the tasks are to get there are. If you want to lose weight, the tasks may be walking around the block three days a week or eliminating the nightly bowl of ice cream. Craft more tasks then you will ever do so you have choices. Set your goal to do two of the tasks. You will find this to be easier to accomplish because you have the power to decide which tasks to do and not to do.

Scheduling and time blocking will help you master your habits

2. Put those tasks on a schedule. Now that you know what the tasks are for your goal, how are you going to make them fall into place? If you’re planning on going to the gym every week, changing your eating habits one meal at a time, or whatever your new habit is, then time block it on your calendar to allow for things associated with your habit like going to the grocery store. For any new habit to form, you have to do it consistently for about 30 days. Oh, and just do it. The difference it will make in your life are worth the small sacrifice of sticking to a planning schedule to accomplish it.

Make the Tracking of your tasks fun

3. Track your Progress. Remember those sticker charts we had as children? They work on adults too. Mark your calendar or chart so you can see at a glance when you’re making progress as they are incredibly rewarding. Remember to reward yourself for each day and week with achievement. I used tea and cookies as a small reward and a pedicure for the weekly performance reward. After a while, not only did I have the habit, but I didn’t need the reward to do it.

Life is a journey not a destination

4. Don’t worry about the end date. Maybe progress might not be as fast as you’d like. The fact that you’re making progress means you’re heading in the right direction. Keep going and do not give up!

You can change habits with time and effort. It’s more about the journey more than the destination. Make a solid plan and whatever your goal, you’ll get there!

About the Author

Cindy Bishop is just like you choosing the real estate business to build a career and earn a living. Along the way, she found better ways to achieve sales success by developing habits and methods that worked to create income consistency. Cindy’s real estate business wasn’t unlike yours with door knocking, sphere marketing, and of course, holding open houses. Learning better communication skills allowed her to become a top producing agent.
You can too!

Check out her book on MICROHABITS…

Making it Happen with Uncommon MICROHABITS