All of us can admit to a poor work habit that holds us back.
This post originally appeared on theHelp Scout blog.
A habit, wrote B.R.
What weve learned more recently is that habitswhether personal, organizational, or societalare a subconscious loop.
Therewardis the satisfaction I get from feeling productive by checking off a number of tasks.
The cue and reward become intertwined until a powerful sense of anticipation and craving emerges.
Eventually… a habit is born.
It seems no number of well-meaning articles I read about how context-switching kills productivity!
can counteract the neurological trench this habit has carved deep into my basal ganglia.
No doubt youve felt captive to some habit thats holding you back, too.
So how do you fix it?
When youre mindful in moments subject to automation, the follow-through is no longer a foregone conclusion.
I gave curiosity a shot.
There was the notification-checking dopamine, for sure, and a healthy dose of FOMO, too.
But the primary reason I thoughtlessly pinball from tool to tool?
Im tricking myself into believing Im being productive.
Doing a lot does not mean youre doing anything important.
But I needed a replacement routine.
Thats the rule, Duhigg writes.
Almost any behavior can be transformed if the cue and the reward stay the same.
What a liberating formula!
Now when I complete one to-do and the whats next?
The reward is the same: the satisfaction of feeling productive.
Except now, its actual productivity, versus laziness dressed up in a convincing Halloween costume.
What might happen if you chose one bad habit and spent a week or so getting curious about it?
How might those initial shifts set off positive chain reactions?
Once you understand that habits can change, Duhigg writes, you have the freedomand the responsibilityto remake them.
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Top image bySolar22(Shutterstock).
