The Power of Your Habits
I often get asked how I manage to do it all - and believe me, I don't.
But I managed to do a lot.
The answer is habits.
The things I get done are usually the ones where I found a habit of doing them. Habits make you accountable. You don't question doing things, you just do them.
And then there are things, I have not found a habit for. And I struggle to get them done without delay.
(If you recently wrote me an email, you may still be waiting for an answer. Not because you won't get one, but because I am far behind on replying to emails due to a lack of a habit for my email answering that works for me. I promise to get better.)
How to establish habits:
A wise man once told me the way to start a habit is not to start it with a full plan but by showing up every day.
His example was: To start a habit of working out, you don't need a perfect workout that you do from now on every day.
The best way to start forming a habit of working out every day is to sit on your gym mat every day for a couple of minutes. Sitting is enough for a start. It is easy to do and there are no excuses for not doing it.
Building the habit is important - not the perfect workout plan.
Once you have established a habit you can start making it harder by adding some exercises to your daily habit.
Let's translate this to forming a habit for Twitter:
I started my habit by opening Twitter every day and reading some tweets from my niche.
After a while, I started sending a tweet when I had an idea. Soon that turned into at least one tweet per day.
When this felt "normal" I started commenting on a tweet every day.
When you build your habit for your recurring/daily tasks this way, you stop questioning your activity and forgetting about it. Consistency then is not a challenge but a habit.
There is another benefit of this habit-building process: You are so used to doing it, that it becomes much less time-consuming and you will experience fewer distractions.
I also use habits to overcome writer's block or get things done that I struggle with.
I make it a habit to work on it for an hour per day. If I only write one paragraph or even one sentence in that time, that is ok. I still got closer to finishing it.
Habits are an important part of being consistent and getting things done.
They also help me with self-discipline and breaking patterns that I don't like.
I use habits to structure my work day and have a much better overview of what I achieve every day.
Not all habits need to be work-related. I also integrate habits into my daily life to make sure I include breaks - like taking my dog for a walk in the forest every morning.
Are you using habits in your daily life?
Best,
Susanna
https://twitter.com/dreckbaerfrau
BIO: I am a Blogger and Marketing Specialist who specializes in organic traffic generation for blogs and websites. I have been an active part of the content marketing and social media marketing community for almost 10 years. I have been named a Content Marketing and Twitter Marketing influencer multiple times.
At the center of my work are topics like traffic generation, Twitter marketing, social media and content marketing, and blogging. I help entrepreneurs, business owners, and bloggers to succeed. I am all about practical experience and teaching what has worked for me with this blog and The Social Ms blog, my former business, and various clients.
Originally, I am a mathematician, I hold a Ph.D. in mathematics from the Free University of Berlin and have worked as a management consultant for several years.
Blogging allows me to split my time between the city of Berlin and the mountains of the Bavarian Forest. In my spare time, I hike with friends and dogs.
I am here to help (and have fun)