We’re already at the end of week 7 of the New Year. How did all of your New Year resolutions go? Are you still on plan? I would imagine that for many, the challenges of every day have already got in the way. How many of the things that were going to make all the difference to you have already gone by the wayside?
It’s perfectly normal. The New Year starts with such promise. We’re relaxed, we’ve had time to think. We’ve even had some time to plan. Then everything picks up with breakneck speed and it’s so easy to fall back in to old habits.
What changes did you make?
Have a think back to those first few weeks of January. What were the changes you started to make? How did they work for you? Did you see any improvements? Now that you’re back to doing things the same way you always did, how’s that going?
If things were different when you were still practicing those resolutions, work out what it was that was different. Did it make life easier for you? Did you feel more in control of things? Were you more productive? Were you getting out of the office earlier?
What are you going to improve?
Think about the three things that you did that made the most difference. Pick one and decide to do it again. And make that decision every single day, until it becomes a habit that you do automatically. Give yourself 6 weeks and then pick another one.
And in the meantime, have a think about why you stopped that habit. What got in the way?
Once you know what stopped you, you can actually put other strategies in place to free yourself from blockages, sabotaging behaviour, poor time management etc – whatever it was that got in the way in the first place.
Want to be more successful?
At ActionCOACH we have a saying which is “The more you learn, the more you earn”. Whatever challenge you’re facing, you’re not the first one to face it, and someone’s going to have written a book about how to power through it to be successful.
If it’s lack of time, try reading “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod. See if changing your morning routine can change the rest of your day, and your life.
If you procrastinate, try “Eat that Frog” by Brian Tracey. Straightforward advice about getting things done.
What about if you feel like your team is just too reliant on you, and you spend all your time doing their jobs? Try “Turn That Ship Around” by L David Markham, and start getting your team to think like leaders rather than followers.
And if you’re not a reader? (Brian Tracey will probably have something to say about that in “No Excuses”) – Audiobooks are a great alternative. Or look for the summary version.
Just make sure you don’t keep doing the same unproductive thing over and over again, because all that leads to is the same results. Find a way that works, and do that over and over again instead, and you’ll soon see those results improve.
