For the last few months, we have been talking about productivity.  While I hope that you have found some of the concepts useful, I’m not really interested in mental assent. The goal is that you take action. Unfortunately, bad habits often block our best intentions.
A Review
For the sake of argument, let’s  assume that you found one of the following ideas to be useful:
- Utilizing the power of focus
- Recognizing that the grass is greener—when you water it
- Focusing on fewer activities
- Using a calendar rather than a to-do list
- Managing your morning routine
- Measuring that which you are trying to manage
- Preparing for interruptions
- Changing early morning routines
- Solidifying daily habits
- Identifying prerequisites to productivity
- Reviewing daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals
- Focusing on specific, clear priorities
- Understanding when it is appropriate for life to be out of balance
Intentions vs. Habits
Let’s say that you determined that you needed to be more productive. So, you narrowed your focus to “Do that thing which, if completed, will bring the greatest results in your life.” You identified your two most important priorities, but you decided that to really accomplish these objectives, you needed to manage your morning. To manage your morning, you determined that you must eat well and exercise regularly.
So, you started out with a great deal of enthusiasm with your new diet and exercise program. Day one was fantastic. You walked three miles and you ate kale. You didn’t even know what kale tasted like before day one. But, that is when you began to stall. This is not uncommon. According to Jon Acuff, author of Start and Finish, the first day is not the problem. “Day two is the hardest day and where we see the most drop off.”[1]
What is happening? Your habits are overriding your intentions. Warren Buffett said, “The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”[2] This insight is powerful. Habits often form without our notice and then they operate without our will.
Likewise, William James, the father of psychology wrote,
Could the young but realize how soon they will become mere walking bundles of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while in the plastic state. We are spinning our own fates, good or evil, and never to be undone. Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its never so little scar.[3]
The point is simple. Habits form subtly. If we do not pay attention to them, before we know it, we will be overwhelmed by them.
The good news is that you can change habits. The bad news is that it takes effort—a lot of effort. Over time, habits become strong, but in the early days, they are frail. For example, in one post, I discussed a change to my morning routine. I got up early, exercised before the kids were up, and I found it invigorating. But the habit did not stick. I admitted:
I haven’t conducted this new morning routine consistently. The week that I worked at my church’s VBS and the weeks that relatives were in town were washed out by the extra activity, I was amazed how easy it was to break a new habit (more about that in a future lesson).[4]
This is part one of that future lesson.
Let me also add that I have been eating right for most of the summer. In fact, I lost roughly 15 pounds since I stopped exercising every morning. That sounds bizarre, but it all has to do with habit. I will explain how this happened in the next lesson.
What About You?
Are you aware of your habits? What habits have you acquired that have inhibited your productivity? What do you plan to do about it?
References
[1] Acuff, as cited in Baker, T. (2018). Â The 1% rule: How to fall in love with the process and achieve your wildest dreams. Archangel Ink. Kindle Edition. (p. 55).
[2] James, W. (1890.2007). Principles of Psychology (Vol 1). New York: Cosimo, Inc. (p. 127)
[3]Buffett, M. & Clark, D. (2006) The Tao of Warren Buffett: Warren Buffett’s Words of Wisdom: Quotations and Interpretations to Help Guide You to Billionaire Wealth and Enlightened Business Management. Scribner; New York. (p. 16). Note: Buffett attributes this to Bertrand Russell, but his is probably a restatement of a quote by Samuel Johnson.
[4] Gerdes, D. (2018). Good Morning. Retrieved from https://www.daringerdes.com/good-morning/
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Dr. Darin Gerdes is a tenured Professor of Management in the College of Business at Charleston Southern University.
All ideas expressed on www.daringerdes.com are his own.
This post was originally created for Great Business Networking (GBN), a networking organization for business professionals where Dr. Gerdes is the Director of Education.
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