We all have bad habits that hold us back in our business and personal lives. But habits don’t have to be permanent. And if you’re serious about changing your ways, don’t be intimidated by thinking it’s a matter of willpower (in case you don’t think you’ve got it). It’s more about simply replacing your bad habits with new, better habits.

First, choose just one habit you want to change. You don’t want to bite off more than you can chew. The habit can and often will be a habit of omission – for instance, you often lost your access key card, miss appointment or neglect your paperwork.

Next, tell yourself how you’re going to replace your habit. Tell others. The more of your colleagues who know you’re trying to change your habit, the easier it will be. Write it down.

Every day, take a few minutes to think about the habit you are changing, and repeat to yourself (out loud, if you’ve got some privacy) your commitment to change your ways. You can also use this time to actually undertake the replacement habit. For instance, if you’ve resolved to improve your filing of paperwork so it becomes a regular process, doing this on a daily basis at a regularly scheduled time is ideal. If the problem was missed meetings, then taking a few minutes to check your calendar at the beginning of every day just before your prioritized tasks is essential.

Remind your colleagues about your habit change so they can help keep you on the right path.

Consistency is key. In 30 days, you can replace your bad habits with better ones. Remember, it’s not about willpower. It’s about routines.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

Tags: 30 days to change a habit, beginning, business, calendars, change, changing bad habits, commitment, habits, Linda Chu, new, organizing blog, Professional Organizer Vancouver, professional organizers in canada, speaker on productivity & organization

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 12:10 am and is filed under Blog, Get Out of Your Own Way, Linda Chu-Organization & Productivity, Productivity & Organization, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.