Change a Habit, Change Your Life
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
—Jim Rohn
Jane paused thoughtfully over her coffee as we discussed time-saving habits. “I’d like to make all of these mine,” she said, “but I don’t know where to start.” She listed the areas that were bogging her down—such as excess time on the computer, paper clutter, e-mail, and life in general. “When does catch-up time show up?” she asked. “I’d like to take a week off and get organized.”
“I understand,” I replied. “But you can’t do it all at once. You can do it, however, by focusing on acquiring one habit during each of the four seasons.” I showed her the chart below:
| Jan.-March | April-June | July-Sept. | Oct.-Dec. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Being on Time | Limiting Computer Time | Completing Projects | Cutting Paper Clutter |
“Oh, that’s good,” she replied. “I dream of walking out the door of an organized home in the morning, being on time, arriving at work to a clear desk, and having every-thing prepared for the day. And to think I could come home knowing what’s for dinner? That would be the frosting on the cake. Is it possible?”
Yes, it’s possible. But you have to know how to change your habits. A flurry of motivated efforts won’t keep your paper piles clear once and for all any more than three nights of sit-ups would permanently flatten your stomach. Habits bend to follow the path of least resistance. Unless we shake them up and make some thoughtful choices, we’ll maintain the good and bad habits we have today, making it more difficult to change in the future.
The results of good habits show up right away. Those of bad habits take longer to appear—but their consequences are greater.
How Much Time Can a Good Habit Save?
If you can tighten up just one habit to save five or ten minutes a day, the effect over the long term would be outstanding. For example:
| Daily | Weekly | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 35 minutes | 2 hours, 20 minutes | 30 hours |
| 10 minutes | l hour, 10 minutes | 4 hours, 40 minutes | 60 hours |
| 15 minutes | l hour, 45 minutes | 7 hours | 84 hours |
| 20 minutes | 2 hours, 20 minutes | 9 hours, 20 minutes | 112 hours |
We’d all like to have an extra 112 hours sitting in a lump sum at the end of the year. Instead, it shows up as a cushion of time in your daily life. The time is there. We just have to figure out how to keep it from slipping away.
Create Good Habits, Drop the Old
According to Webster’s dictionary, a habit is “a pattern of action that is acquired and has become so automatic that it is difficult to break.” Many of us know it takes twenty-one days of consistent practice to form a new habit. That can take anywhere from three weeks to three months. Beyond that time frame, it will not stick!
A habit, good or bad, can save us time each day. Keeping your car keys in one spot, leaving at the same time for work, and going to bed at the same time each night are successful time habits that will keep you healthy and in good spirits. Putting money away in savings each month will ensure a lovely retirement. Time spent on good habits multiplies the same way.
If you are losing twenty minutes a day in some area of your life because of a poor habit, it’s time to turn things around and replace it with a good habit.
How Can You Change a Habit?
You will change when your desire to change is greater than your desire to remain the same. It comes down to despising the pain more than the effort to make the change. Having a clear picture of what you want will catapult you forward toward tremendous success.
Write your desired changes as personal affirmations. Say them often enough, and soon they will become habits. Here are some examples of our seven time-saving habits:
1. “I arrive calmly and on time for my appointments.”
2. “I save time by using two-minute pickups.”
3. “I get off my computer at normal closing time each day.”
4. “I power through my paperwork with confidence and clarity.”
5. “I clean up clutter because I love the look of clean surfaces.”
6. “I confirm appointments and line up items each night.”
7. “I successfully change one habit at a time and enjoy the freedom it brings.”
The Anatomy of a Realistic Twenty-one Times to Change a Habit
Anything that is measurable is changeable. Start by creating a chart with a spot for each of the twenty-one days. There are four levels to the process of creating a new habit by repeating it twenty-one times:
1–4 TIMES OF DOING A TASK—“I could do it if I just tried harder.” Then old habits kick in with stress and time pressures. Keep going anyway.
5–10 TIMES—“I recognize the obstacles to doing it successfully.” Then old habits kick in again and you feel like a failure. Just keep going.
11–15 TIMES—“I need to revisit my desired goal and focus on success.” Old habits try to thwart you, but now you are determined. Keep going.
16–21 TIMES—“The goal is in sight, I know why I want it, and it is worth pushing through to success.” You did it! Celebrate and enjoy your new habit.
HABIT CHANGE: COMPUTER TIME DOWN TO THIRTY-SIX HOURS A WEEK
Then do it another twenty-one times to ensure permanent success. The best way to maintain a new habit is to strive for a “no-exceptions policy.” Keep at it every day.
Habit Change: On-Time to Places 21 Times
Number the places from 1-21 you are on time until you reach your goal of 21. You will feel good and people will respect you more.
What Makes a New Habit?
To make a new habit—one that is practiced routinely and automatically and is difficult to break—you need to work through a sequence:
Step #1: Identify which habit you are going to change.
Step #2. Recognize what the bad habit is costing you.
Step #3. Picture yourself accomplishing the new habit.
Step #4. Set a time to begin.
Step #5. Find a measurable accountability system or person.
Step #6. Recognize your weak point and find a way through it.
Step #7. Practice the new habit twenty-one times in succession.
Once you change one habit, you now have the power to change other time habits. Dr. Ray Strand, founder of HealthyLifestyles.com, says, “If you do something for three months, you change your focus. But if you do something for fifteen months, you change your life.” Turn a habit into a lasting lifestyle behavior that you can depend on.
It’s Your Time
Change a Habit, Change Your Life (Time-Saving Habit #7)
Review your own time-saving habits and overcome the difficult ones.
Three of My Best Time Habits
1. _____________________________________
2. _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________
Three of My Time Habits to Improve
1. _____________________________________
2. _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________
Watch your thoughts; they become your words.
Watch your words; they become your actions.
Watch your actions; they become your habits.
Watch your habits; they become your character.
Watch your character, for it will become your destiny.
—Frank Outlaw