How to Change Bad Work Habits.

When we wake in the morning, without thought we usually do the same thing each day. This is a habit. Habit is the way in which we react to our world. Do you have habits and behaviors at work that are not productive? “Bad” habits can be changed with a little effort on your behalf.

1. Define the behaviour you want to change and make this very specific. If you have a clear and measurable goal it makes planning a path to change easier. A goal might be that you want to reach 20% of your weekly sales target by the end of each day. You would begin planning steps to help you attain that goal. An examination of your past habits will show you some new work processes to introduce.

2. Old habits can be comforting and change can be uncomfortable. Perhaps you’re unhappy with your current sales figures but the feeling of fear surrounding the changes you need to make can be enough to hold you back. The desire to change must be greater than the anxiety caused by the thought of change. You must want to embrace the new goal or you will stumble at the first hurdle.

3. Next devise your plan to change work habits and modify your own behaviors. Look at where you have been “wasting” time when you were unconsciously working from habit and where you might best utilise that “found” time. This may relate to the way you respond to emails (which can sometimes be very intrusive) or even how you set up your office for ease of using office equipment.

4. Now stick with your action plan day by day, after a period of time, this way of working will become your new habitual way of working. You are breaking one unproductive habit and replacing it with a more productive habit.

5. If you sometimes find yourself reverting to the old habit, just re-evaluate what’s happening. This can provide you with a chance to identify barriers or motivational factors. It can lead to a fine-tuning of the new behaviour  so you continue to develop ever better working habits.

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