Here are another five proven and simple ways to build your daily activity habit to deliver those new year ambitions. (If you missed the first five, you’ll find them here.)
- Remind Yourself To Do It
Introduce some kind of physical reminder that’s going to prompt you to do your activity. You might get an old-fashioned phone and sit it in the middle of your desk if it’s prospecting calls you have to make. You might have a photograph of your team in a frame on our desk if you need to remember to catch them doing things right. You might put your gym bag on the passenger seat of your car the night before if exercise is your daily activity. You might have a fruit bowl next to the kettle if it’s better nutrition. Get creative and find a physical trigger for your activity.
- Why Are Doing This Anyway?
It’s good to remind ourselves why we’re putting ourselves through this pain. And it can be painful. (Well, actually it’s often the thought of doing it that’s the painful bit! Once we get going it’s usually okay.) List out the future benefits of doing what you’re doing – and the consequences of not doing it. Rewrite your why list periodically. The more things and the more important things you’ve got on your benefits list the more fuel you’ll have for keeping going. If you can’t think of any good reasons for doing what you’re doing then stop. You’re wasting your time.
- Remove Temptations
List out the hazards that may distract you or knock you off course. It could be gossipy conversations in the brew room; your negative mates at the pub Facebook or TikTok; something good on television. Rather than trying to ramp up your willpower to resist these temptations simply avoid them. Don’t go in the brew room. Don’t go to the pub. Or perhaps get some new mates. Turn off your social media notifications and bury the icons deep in a folder. Hide the remote control or cut the plug off the television. Again, think and plan ahead and get a little creative.
- Tell The Story of How You Crashed and Burned
It’s New Year’s Eve 2023 and you’re sharing with your family and friends all the reasons (and excuses) that resulted in you not keeping this year’s new year’s resolutions. Once you’ve created you list of reasons for failure, for each item (i) think of ways to reduce the likelihood of that thing happening and (ii) decide what’ll you’ll do if it does happen. Going through this mental exercise will increase the chance of you overcoming the obstacles that will appear. It’s sometimes good to think negatively. I don’t know why but real life is set up as a mixture of ups and downs.
- Get Some Support
Two is better than one. Our commitment to someone else can often be stronger than our commitment to ourselves. If you know your pal is waiting for you at the end of the road on a dark, wet, windy, cold January night you’re more likely to keep your commitment to run 5kms that evening. Find someone who’ll encourage your and support you – but not let you off; someone who’ll hold you accountable and tell you how it is.
Here’s to making 2023 an adventurous and progressive year.
Mark Dyble is a seasoned Business Coach and author of Your Guide to Building a Successful Business.