Excited for your New Year’s resolution but afraid you’ll fall off again? Before you give up, learn why your plans didn’t work in the past and how you can supercharge your way to the finish line in just 12 weeks!
I’m not going lie to you, building productive habits didn’t always come natural to me.
Like anyone else, I’m highly capable of visualizing myself with everything I’ve ever dreamt of but, when it comes to putting things in motion daily, there was something I was missing.
Have you ever wanted something so much but fell short of your goal? Or what’s worse, has anyone ever told you that the reason you didn’t achieve it was because you didn’t want it badly enough?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this from others’ experiences over the years or how infuriating it makes me when I hear it on my own journey.
The truth of the matter is, you can want something bad enough and STILL not obtain it if you don’t know how to get it or where to start.
In this post, I’m going to help you learn where to start and the most important things you can do, and use, to form productive habits that produce lasting results.
THE SECRET TO CREATING PRODUCTIVE HABITS
OVERVIEW:
I. A clear and specific Why
II. A detailed and strategic plan
III. Stopgaps for potential failures
WHAT’S THE SECRET?
After starting and stopping many times, I believe that I finally found the key to accomplishing anything I want.
What is it?
Well, it starts with your Why and ends with outsmarting you of the past.
Ok, let me explain.
If, after some years, you’re trying to accomplish a goal that requires a complete shift of life as you know it, you will likely struggle. And, if you do not have a specific plan of action and aren’t staring your Why in the face daily, then I can almost guarantee that you will fail.
And that may happen a few times, not because you don’t want it badly enough, but because you’re ill-prepared to handle the beast.
In order to win this fight for your goals and the life of your dreams, you have to be brutally honest and aware of the beast you’ve had some help in creating – aka, yourself.
WHERE SHOULD I START?
OBJECTIVE # 1: A CLEAR AND SPECIFIC WHY
The first thing I recommend is getting clear on your reasons for wanting your dream or to accomplish a particular goal.
And it’s not enough for it to just sound good.
Your Why has to be so emotional that the thought of never attaining it elicits an emotional response strong enough to bring you to tears.
To start, take some time alone to think about why this dream or goal matters so much to you.
This step is so important because one of the main reasons many people fail over and over again is because their motive for changing is not strong enough to keep them disciplined during rough spots in the journey.
So, make sure you’re going deep to discover why you want what you want for every single goal you have.
WHAT ARE PRODUCTIVE HABITS AND WHY DO I NEED THEM?
Productive habits are the second half of the equation and known as actions or routines that help you achieve your goals and improve your overall productivity.
In terms of self-improvement, I like to think of them as the consistent and accountable efforts, and mindset, required to guarantee goal achievement.
The reason these are important is because without them, your plans will likely lack the structure, resources, stop gaps, and oversight needed to outsmart the ways you’ve done things for years.
A few benefits of establishing productive habits are:
- Goal achievement
- Time management
- Increased efficiency
- Improved mental and physical health
- Personal and professional growth & fulfillment
Ask Yourself This Question: Which productive habits are necessary to complete your goal?
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OBJECTIVE #2: A DETAILED AND STRATEGIC PLAN
When it comes to productivity and building lasting habits, there are a number of resources available to help you build a strategic plan for goal achievement.
The top 3 tools that I recommend using are completely free and are great resources to house your plan, checklists, your Whys, help you stay on track, and so much more!
Once you’ve identified your Whys, and the productive habits necessary for achieving them, utilize these free resources to take consistent and measurable action daily.
- Notes App – I recommend using this free app to document and keep track of a checklist of the following:
- Your vision for the year.
- Your top 3 goals and their Whys.
- The critical 3-4 productive habits that need to be done daily to accomplish each goal.
- Areas where you are susceptible to failure and how you can overcome them with advanced planning. Don’t skip this one!
- Google Calendar – In a world of constant consumption, it is imperative to know where every moment of your time is spent. This is another reason many people don’t achieve their goals. They either don’t know where their time went, or they simply believe that they don’t have time to make their dreams a reality.
- Working on a schedule will quickly show you exactly where your time is spent and the time guzzlers you need to be aware of.
- Schedule everything from work blocks to dentist appointments and dedicated time to work on your dreams.
- Alarm Clock / Phone Timer – These typically come standard on most phones and are incredibly helpful for keeping you alert and in the zone all day.
- Before you start a productive habit, get in the routine of setting and starting your timer, or alarm clock, for the duration of the task.
- This will help you stay on track and bring awareness about whether certain goals need more or less time and effort.
HOW DO YOU FAIL?
OBJECTIVE #3: STOP GAPS AND POTENTIAL FAILURES
One of the best ways to get ahead of your old habits and routines is to examine them closely.
If you find yourself with a lack of results year over year, then you may consider looking at where and how you’ve failed in the past to understand what impacts your focus and ability to be consistent.
Start by asking yourself questions like the following:
Where do I lack discipline? What causes me to get off track and leave my productive tasks undone? Which settings trigger me as it relates to my goals? What are some alternative options I can use, either physically, emotionally, or mentally, when I feel triggered?
This part of the process is huge because it requires you to be honest about your failures and put stop gaps in place for when those difficult situations arise.
Stopgaps are your backup plan when your ability to complete productive habits is challenged. They can be anything including certain food, phrases, environments, accountability partners, or reading your Whys in a vulnerable moment.
Identify a potential area of failure for each goal and assign it a stopgap.
WHAT ARE SOME PRODUCTIVE HABITS I CAN BUILD AT HOME?
- Make your bed every morning
- Get dressed before 8am
- Move your body for 20 – 30 minutes
- Set the tone of the day with 5 meditative minutes
- Keep your phone on airplane / DND mode until 8am
- Eat a balanced diet and drink 1 gallon of water daily – and yes, you will use the bathroom a lot 😁
- Be unavailable for drama and send non-urgent calls to voicemail
- Refrain from checking social media for the first hour you’re awake
- Complete 5-10 minutes of light house work and/or straightening up daily
- Check the fridge inventory and place a grocery delivery or pick up order
- Plan every single day of your week:
- Assign specific times to wake up, which days you’ll be working out or working on your business, when’s laundry day, when is date night, when you’ll be doing self-care, the next date of your menstrual cycle, etc. Literally plan everything!
- Create time blocks to get goal-related things done:
- I’ve been using these blocks after reading, THE 12 WEEK YEAR, and here is my take on how they should be used:
- Strategic block: Schedule one early in your week, for 3 hours, to work on your business, not in it.
- Buffer blocks: Schedule these 1-2 times daily in 30-60-minute blocks. This is where you will complete lower-tiered activities like checking email, paying bills, and taking the chicken out the freezer for lunch.
- Breakout block: Schedule once per week. A 3-hour block designed to help prevent burnout and create more free time.
HOW CAN I BE PRODUCTIVE AT WORK?
Here are a few ways you can build productive habits at work, even if working remotely.
- Maximize ownership of your calendar:
- Regularly audit your behaviors and how others experience your personality:
- Work from a 90/20 Schedule:
- Work 90 minutes, break for 20.
- Take a nap, go for a walk, or even chat with a coworker. The idea is to give your brain a break from what you were doing previously.
- Try therapy & coaching:
- 1. You need to have a safe space to vent and offload without risking your job.
- 2. A therapist and/or coach can be someone you’re accountable to and help you put a specific plan in place with all things considered.
- 3. Sometimes you ARE the problem and it’s better to hear it from an expert who can help you improve, as opposed to hearing it from your boss as you’re being handed pink slips.
- Many employer-sponsored health plans give you and your dependents 12-15 sessions of therapy and coaching. Check your plan for details.
- Check your company policy for home office reimbursements:
- You may be eligible to purchase, and be reimbursed for, office equipment that can boost productivity such as Ergonomic chairs, desks, keyboards, and even a standing desk treadmill.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed the content and that you’re ready to put a SMART plan in place (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) to finally achieve your New Year’s resolutions faster and with more clarity than ever before.
Keep me posted!
Xx
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