Good or bad, our habits rule our lives, personally and professionally.
For example, at work, checking emails too often can be distracting because it can derail us from our planned activities for the day. It is easy to get into our bad habits because it takes no thought or effort. But it can be distracting from our loftier goals.
Establishing positive habits takes thought and effort. Changing our routine and having the discipline to focus on projects is difficult because there is no immediate satisfaction. Becoming distracted by emails may feel more productive because we are responding to something, but we often get off track with our daily tasks.
Our Frenemy, Basal Ganglia
Our brain has some components that help us with good habits AND bad habits. The basal ganglia are a group of structures located deep in the mind that automate our repetitive behaviors. They come in handy when we are driving, making coffee, getting dressed, etc. The downside is that they also automate and program our negative behaviors.
Our More Demanding Friend, Prefrontal Cortex
Our other helpmate is our prefrontal cortex, but it requires us to think about consequences as we are making decisions. If we are getting ready to check emails, we have to think about the reason we should resist it. That is when it is easy for our frenemy basal ganglia to take over, and we automatically go to the natural activity that gives us immediate satisfaction.
While our Basal Ganglia is always ready to roll, using our prefrontal cortex takes willpower, and using our willpower makes us tired. It gets more challenging as the day goes on.
When we are thinking about simple things like what to wear or what to eat for breakfast, it uses up some of our thinking energy. Experts recommend simplifying our morning routine by having clothes picked out in advance and breakfast readily available to save up our prefrontal cortex for the day.
Catch 22
The good news is that we can enhance our use of our prefrontal cortex if we practice using it. However, practicing this can be a bit of a catch 22. It is crucial to get plenty of sleep, exercise, and eat a healthy diet to increase our prefrontal cortex power. Those health habits are where we typically fall short, and changing those habits requires a robust prefrontal cortex. Perhaps we should start there.
Resolution - Mini Habits
According to Stephen Guise, in his book Mini Habits, instead of making lofty goals that are more difficult to achieve, we need to start making changes gradually.
Create and track mini habits that we know we can easily adhere to and go for a 100% success rate. In time, we will have established new patterns and have a better chance of success by building upon them. The best news is that, by doing this, we can increase our prefrontal cortex capabilities and will-power to improve everything that we do.
I have taken the first step and downloaded a Habit Tracker App. Who knew there was such a thing?
