How do we change our habits?

Last week’s post about New Year’s Resolutions has prompted a deep-dive into the topic of habits, what they are, who’s got something to say about them and how they can be changed, particularly where it helps us thrive better at work.

What exactly are habits?

Habits are ‘just the way I do things’. Simply put, a habit is an impulse to act, is natural, even automatic, and mostly but not always results in an action. In day-to-day life, a habit is something we’ve become mentally used to doing, an action no longer at the forefront of our attention.

One of my favourite writers on coaching, James Flaherty explains the process of habit formation: “We learned to do everything that we do. In the process of learning we found a comfortable way for ourselves to accomplish a desired outcome.” And after experimentation “we practised what we decided to do again and again until we were able to do the task without having to stop and think about it.” [1]

One of the key features of a habit is that we perform the action without it being at the forefront of our attention and without it involving much effort.

This helps us to see why it’s so hard to change habits; they get embedded into our subconscious wiring and they feel easy to do; so just telling yourself or someone else to change habit x or habit y is unlikely to work.

So where do routines fit in?

A routine is a behaviour that also involves consistent action, but unlike a habit, it requires conscious thought and effort. New routines especially can feel challenging to start and keep because they require mental attention and neuroscience tells us that the brain prefers the easier route! When it comes to changing a habit, it turns out that new routines though are our friend.

Who’s got something to say about habits and routines?

Just about every book on management and leadership has something to say about these practices and how to harness their positive aspects for a better life and for success at work. One of the best selling business books in history, Stephen Covey’s ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’[2] continues to be read and to inspire even though now 30 years old.

One of Covey’s insights was that we each have the ability to choose how we will respond to a given stimulus or situation: ‘Before we act we should act in our minds first’. His entire book is then devoted to coaching us on the steps needed to break the automatic response of ineffective habits and build towards the habits and mindsets he observed in highly effective people.

A more contemporary writer specialising in habits and behaviour is Dr Benjamin Gardner at King’s College London. It’s well worth reading his blog “Getting into the habit: Applying the science of habit formation to the real world” to be found at practicalpsychology.com. He suggests that it takes anywhere between 6–10 weeks to change a habit, but that signs of change can show much earlier, once we begin consciously to adopt different routines.

What about habits and routines at work?

So, having delved into research old and new, here are some questions for reflection and self-coaching.

Individual: What steps can I take to become more self aware of the impact of my own habits and routines at work? Are there particular practices that are helping my performance that I want to follow more consistently? Are there others that sap my energy and need to change? What one new routine would make a difference?

Useful sources of data — appraisal and 360 feedback

Team: Where might we be stuck or in a rut? Are there particular meetings or set-pieces that are no longer serving a useful purpose? And in the meetings we do have, what habits of chairing or speaking might be getting in the way of making the most of everyone’s contribution? What one new routine would kick start a change for the better?

Useful sources of data — 1–1 conversations with team members

Our organisation: What habitual requirements do we place on customers or service users that might no longer be needed?

Useful sources of data — customer feedback & complaints

All of these questions touch on issues that today’s leaders and managers bring to coaching; coaches can provide the space, time and non-judgmental support to help anyone at work see through the sustained changes they want and need to make. Conscious, consistent action seems to be key, so it’s fitting to end with the words of Gandhi “Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny”.

[1] Flaherty, James Coaching, Evoking Excellence in Others London: Routledge, 2011.

[2] Covey, Stephen The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People London: Simon & Schuster, 1989