Everyone has things they want to achieve in life. Major achievements, as well as less complex items litter our to-do lists. But, many of those things remain un-done.
To reach the goals we want, we must remember to not only set goals, but to add new, or subtract old behaviors that will support the goal.
If your goal is getting to work on time, then continue to stay up late talking with your peeps is hardly going to inspire you to get moving in the morning.
If your goal is to become a lawyer, for instance, not hitting the books will eventually sink that ship.
If you want to run a marathon, then you should be running regularly.
Every goal must have support!
That support is built into place by the habits and the routines we choose.
How do I set the right routine?
- Assess you daily routine? Which parts are helping you, and which parts are hindering you? Be brutally honest.
- Look for daily habits. Habits that you can practice every single day are much easier to put into place and keep than those that are less frequent. Need to get your exercise in early? Pack you gym the night before. Get your special workout shoes, weight gloves, written routines, water, lucky towel, iPod, and headphone ready. Lay your running clothes out and leave you shoes by the door.
- Keep it simple. The more complex the task, the less likely you are to stick with it. If you really do need to implement a complex habit, start with a simpler version and then add more complexity on to it later. Break your tasks down into simpler steps, and add as you achieve the smaller successes. Tired of looking unprepared at meetings. Add checking your briefcase just before you leave the office, and just before you close it at night for good. What do I need to read? What do I need to research further? What do I need to be prepared to talk about?
- Be specific. It is not enough to just specify what you are going to do. Your written goals should always include the how, when, and where as well. Time is always a critical element when establishing a new routine. Be sure to specify a precise period of time in which you wish to implement the new actions. Set a deadline! Saying or writing something like, “I’m going to exercise 1 hour per day” is insufficient. “I’m going to swim from 6-7 am, Monday through Friday at the YMCA” is much more focused. This has enough detail to be quite clear about what you want to accomplish and includes the how, the when and the where.
- Be ready for setbacks. There will always be obstacles to instilling new behaviors. Try to figure out and be prepared for these possibilities ahead of time so that you can eliminate them as quickly as possible.
- Enlist the aid of others. For example, one of the biggest obstacles for most of people is time interference. Maybe your family does not usually leave you alone for 30 minutes every night so that you can think, meditate, write, read, set things up for tomorrow, or whatever it is you want to do toward your goal. Simply let them know ahead of time that you need be a short undisturbed period of time. Let the people around you know what you are trying to accomplish. Enlist their aid. It would be great if you could all do it together, but not if that will be a hindrance.
Having routines in place may initially sound like a huge task. It isn’t. It will take you some time to assess what you do every day. The ways to may your day better will become apparent.
Add one new routine at a time until it becomes exactly that. A routine.
Once an routine becomes a habit, you will begin to do it automatically, without having to make the decision to do it each time. In other words, you will automatically move forward, day after day, toward achieving your goal until you finally reach it.
Routines will free your mind up for more complex tasks, or even for pleasurable things. You won’t have a long sleepless night wondering if your files are ready to go. You won’t have to scramble around the house using some of your workout time searching for your car keys. These are simple examples, but routines give us space to breath and to think and to be.