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Have you ever felt like you’re going nowhere? That even if you work hard and get things done, you’re still stuck in a rut. Then it’s probably time for some introspection and an examination of your working habits.
Your habits either make or break you. So, you need to check if you have the right habits- good habits- in place in order to succeed.
Good work habits are essential for anyone with a goal to achieve. Positive habits boost your productivity and satisfaction. Additionally, it allows you to have better relationships with your colleagues and business partners.
What are habits
Habits are the thoughts, actions, or activities that you do without much thought. They are the routine tasks that are completed without the active involvement of the brain.
This disengagement enables the brain to work more efficiently. It can then devote its attention to important tasks. And decision-making processes without having to expend energy on these habits.
Indeed, with habits accounting for 40% of your daily actions, it is prudent to cultivate good habits. So that you do not overburden yourself with routine tasks. And miss out on opportunities to do more and achieve more.
How do habits form
Despite the fact that you believe your behaviors are inherent and natural to you, they are simply habits. Habits include everything from brushing your teeth to nail-biting and even stress eating.
As it turns out, your brain is hardwired to form habits. It’s a natural inclination to conserve energy. So that you can focus your attention on more pressing matters.
So how do habits form? According to experts, the more we do something, the more that something gets etched in the brain. With repetition, it forms a neural pattern that will no longer involve the active mind but rather gets shifted to the habit loop.
This habit loop, which is discussed in James Clear’s book Atomic Habits, has four stages:
- Cue
- Craving
- Response
- Reward
Cue
A cue is a signal or a prompt to do or begin something. The cue is the trigger in the habit loop that reminds the brain of specific behavior that needs to be initiated.
When your senses become aware of the cue, it will result in craving.
Craving
Cravings are the feelings that accompany an action. These feelings or desires are the motivators that drive you to perform the behavior. Because it elicits a desire in you that you must satisfy.
For example, watching television fulfills your desire for entertainment. Scrolling social media provides you with pleasure. Same with eating a doughnut.
Because craving is based on feelings and emotions, our reactions to different cues will vary. This is why a nonsmoker will not crave smoking when he sees a cigarette, because he does not derive pleasure from it in the same way that a smoker does.
Response
Immediately following the craving, is the response. This is your actual habit, which can take the form of a thought or an action.
The response or reaction will be determined by your motivation or the amount of friction that the behavior will encounter. Additionally, the response will also depend on your ability to perform the action.
For example, if you want to wake up early but don’t have a compelling reason or motivation to do so. You won’t be able to establish the habit.
Reward
Finally, there is the reward that follows the response. This is the prize for successfully completing the behavior. This is the factor that helps to keep the habit going.
Just like sex and eating are naturally pleasurable for the purpose of reproduction and sustenance, the chase of the reward also serves two things:
- Satisfaction, and
- Learning.
First, being rewarded provides you with satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment, and warm feelings.
And second, rewards enable you to recall important actions for future reference. Because the brain is capable of detecting actions that can provide you with gratification.
So, after it detects the cue that will eventually lead to the reward and the cycle is repeated enough times, you have formed a habit.
Why are work habits important?
Alright, so now that we are familiar with how habits are formed. We then move forward to the importance of habits. And how habits can help at work.
“All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits”
– William James
This quote from philosopher William James sums up the importance of habits. And that is, our habits have the greatest influence on our actions.
The good news however is that you can develop habits to help you achieve your goals in your professional and personal life.
Cultivating good habits at work or in your business is important for the following reasons:
- Improves productivity and quality of work
- Improves communication
- Promotes a good working relationship
- Promotes respect
- Improves self-esteem
- Provides focus and clarity
- Promotes efficiency
What are good work habits?
Developing good working habits places you in the company of highly successful people. So here are a few of the practices they swear by. Examine them to see if there are any habits you should add, replace, or continue to work on.
- Organization- a habit that most highly successful people often mention. It involves a wide range of qualities including planning as well as establishing priorities and goals.
- Relaxation- an important habit to develop as it allows the mind and body to regain strength and focus.
- Not procrastinating- successful have developed the habit of taking that first step. Even if they are not ready or things are not perfect. They know that things get done in the action, not perfection.
- Healthy living- this habit has had the greatest impact on the lives of successful people.
- Positive thinking– this, according to most successful people is one of the foundations of their success.
- Connecting- successful people surround themselves with like-minded individuals who will lead them to the right opportunities.
- Frugality- is not being cheap. It is about being wise with resources, a habit that successful people effectively developed.
- Waking up early- another good working habit that is shared by most successful people. Waking up early means more time for productivity and goal achievement.
- Generosity- has a lot of benefits and so is no wonder that it is also a habit that successful people commonly share.
- Reading- unsurprising, given the plethora of benefits that reading can provide.
How to effectively develop good working habits
Admittedly, replacing bad bad habits is not easy. This is because you are going against something that is already well established. When this happens, your brain interprets it as a threat and so resorts to resistance.
To avoid this, here are 3 steps you can do to effectively develop good working habits:
Start small
So in order to “trick” the brain into developing or replacing the habit is to start small. Starting small will allow you to begin with the habit without triggering your brain’s fight or flight response.
For example, when you want to have a healthy lifestyle, you can start first with healthy eating. And you can break it down further by adding a small fruit to one of your meals. Then having one meal with more vegetables, and so on.
Once you have healthy eating down pat, you can then move on to getting some exercise.
Experts say that it takes anywhere between 18 days to 254 days for a habit to form. And this number depends on the habit that is being developed.
So, an added benefit to starting small is that it may take less time for you to establish good tiny habits. Additionally, this will give you the momentum and self-confidence to continue.
Be consistent
Another factor in habit formation is the repetition of the action. The constant repetition of action strengthens the connection of the neural pathway in your brain. Thus forming the habit.
So to effectively develop a good habit for work, start small and repeat it with consistency.
“I accumulated small but consistent habits that ultimately led to results that were unimaginable when I started.”
– James Clear
Set up a reward system
In order for you to strengthen the habit, you need a good reward system. The reward should allow you to feel a positive emotion or satisfaction each time you do the habit.
For example, to reward yourself for organizing your workplace, you could spend an extra 5 minutes on social media. Or give yourself permission to watch one short YouTube video. Make it rewarding enough so that you will stick with the habit.
However, keep in mind that the reward should be in line with your objectives. Your reward for a healthy meal, for example, should not be a doughnut. Consider getting a massage after completing a week of eating healthy meals. Or how about a spa day if you complete one month?
Do something you enjoy that will not interfere with the good habit you are attempting to establish.
Summary
In summary, 40% of your daily actions are based on habits, it is thus beneficial for you to develop good working habits.
According to James Clear in his book Atomic Habits, habit formation starts with a cue. This will lead to a craving that triggers the response or the habit. The performance of the habit will give an emotional reward which makes the habit desirable and worth repeating. Thus forming the habit loop.
Because our actions are mostly influenced by our habits, it’s a good thing that habits- good habits- can be developed. And these good habits will provide numerous benefits in your professional and personal life.
Developing good working habits will place you in the company of successful people who swear by the habits that allowed them to succeed in life.
So if you are raring to improve yourself at work, there are three steps for you to effectively develop good working habits. These are:
- Start small
- Be consistent, and
- Set up a reward system that aligns with your goals
Please share your thoughts or ideas about How To Develop Good Working Habits in the comments below. If you liked this article, you might be interested in these articles about effective habits for a happy life, change, and starting over:
Top 10 Reasons Why Change Is Difficult
How To Start Over Even When You Feel Old
9 Effective Habits For A Happy Life
29 Quotes To Make Change A Little Easier
43 Quotes To Inspire You To Start Over Today
Outside reference:
How To Start New Habits That Actually Stick
10 Habits of Successful People
How Long Does It Really Take To Form A Habit?
