Changing Behaviour: Small changes add up

I’m not a big fan of New Years resolutions, I think they end up being something you do for January and then forget about. But I have lots of things I want to do, too many to have just 1 resolution for the year so I was quite interested when I read The Power of Less: Changing Behaviour with Leo Babauta on fourhourworkweek.com. The post features several excerpts from The Power of Less and in Chapter 5 Leo suggests that to develop long-lasting habits we should focus on just one habit at a time so you can focus all your energy on that and to do so for at least a month to give that new habit time to settle in.

At first each target should be quite easy to achieve that way you will find that you are reaching your goal which in-turn creates the habit of succeeding. It should also be something measurable; for example to eat 5 pieces of fruit and veg a day, or to exercise for 20 minutes a day. Then by being consistent and doing it at the same time each day as well as checking daily you increase your chances of making this habit change stick.

There are even “12 key habits to start with”

1. Set your 3 MITs (Most Important Tasks) each morning.
2. Single-task. When you work on a task, don’t switch to other tasks.
3. Process your inbox to empty.
4. Check email just twice a day.
5. Exercise 5-10 minutes a day.
6. Work while disconnected, with no distractions.
7. Follow a morning routine.
8. Eat more fruits and veggies every day.
9. Keep your desk decluttered.
10. Say no to commitments and requests that aren’t on your Short List (See Chapter 16, on the Simple Life).
11. Declutter your house for 15 minutes a day.
12. Stick to a 5-sentence limit for emails.

This sounds like something I can get behind and so have decided to follow this advice, though I will swap in some of our other habits that make more sense to me. I encourage you to read Tim’s post and or the book and let me know how you get on and what habits you adopt.