Piling Habits Too High?

My friend tossed my coat on the back of a wooden bench in her foyer.

Timber-r-r-r-r!

In slow motion, the bench tipped backward and fell to the floor with a muted thud.

What? It didn’t land with a mighty crash?

Nope.

It was a soft landing because it was piled high with puffy coats, ski bibs, backpacks, and snowboard bags. This was the catch-all spot for the winter gear of her three teenage boys.

“Time for a bigger bench,” said my friend cheerfully.

The scene reminded me of our work habits… and how we tend to pile them on top of each other to get through the day.

We’ve talked about how important it is to introduce new habits by building them on top of other good habits. This concept is called “anchor habits.”

The idea is that the existing habits remind us and spark us to do the new habit. Stimulus initiates response.

And so the cycle goes.

Anchoring habits is a great concept — and it works.

However, if you are anchoring all your habits to only one cue, it can be too much… and the whole system can come crashing (or quietly thudding) down.

Therefore, my question is:

Are you piling your habits onto an already-overwhelmed anchor habit?

The most common scenario I see is when salespeople anchor all of our habits to the CLOCK.

At such-and-such time THIS will happen.

Stimulus: Calendar App bings and a reminder pops up
Response: Research time.

Stimulus: Calendar App bings and a reminder pops up
Response: Go to a meeting.

Stimulus: Calendar App bings and a reminder pops up
Response: Make calls.

In this case, the clock is what pulls us through the day, from one task to the next.

This can be fine for just getting through the day, but a couple of unintended things can happen:

1. If we fall behind, we may think, “The day is messed up, so what’s the use trying to get caught up at this point.” Or, “I can’t take time to have lunch with a customer because I can’t fit it in to my schedule.”
2. Or, on days where an activity takes a big chunk of the day, it can be hard to get motivated to do SOME work in the remaining hours.

When we use our anchor habit to make excuses NOT to do something, it’s time to find a different anchor that can handle the load.

We need an anchor habit that can support our:
            Personal goals
                        Work targets
                                    Big picture priorities.
 
If you think you need a stronger anchor habit (or to add a new one), here’s a test.

Look at how your habits are connected.

• Do you have anchor habits that are rock solid and not easily disrupted by yourself or others?
• Are your good habits anchored to something sustainable, beyond this job and this environment?
• Do your anchor habits allow you to leverage time and opportunities?
• Do your anchor habits help you prioritize?
• Does your anchor fit your life’s purpose, your personal beliefs, and your values?

If not, maybe your anchor habit is like the wooden bench… ready to collapse because too much stuff is loaded on top.

Examining how our habits interconnect can help us create better systems for success.

Help your habits help you!

Lynn

P.S. Are habits helping you make incremental improvements toward greatness… or are they undermining your success? I help sales managers move the team’s dial toward success. Let’s talk: 315-751-0146.