Bonjour, this is Cyril from Work Smarter: Live Better. In this video, I want to share with you one very simple advice to form new habits.
Changing habits is both easy and hard. It’s easy because understanding what to do is easy. Most of us know what we should be doing. And if we don’t, once someone makes the suggestion we get it very quickly.
So that’s the easy part.
The hard part is you are fighting against years and years of doing the same thing the same way. Habits die hard. Fighting against your old habit to replace with a new habit is hard.
I had the pleasure a few months ago to attend to a great speech from a gentleman called James Clear. James Clear is the author of Atomic Habits. A great book and a really interesting guy.
Many golden nuggets in his speech but one really resonated with me. James called it the ‘commit to the first two minutes.’
For example, if you decide to go to the gym three times a week, on Monday Wednesday Friday early morning, put your alarm clock at the right time (5.30am…) and when it rings, just commit to the first two minutes. This means just commit to putting your jogging clothes and shoes on. That’s it.
If after this, you feel that you want to go to bed, well go back to bed.
Once awake it is easy to commit to this first step. And the interesting part is once you have taken the first step, once you are dressed, you will say to yourself ‘Now that I am dressed I might as well go.’
Same for some of your work habits. Doing a weekly plan is a crucial habit to master. But it can be a daunting task for some. So commit to the first two minutes. Every Friday morning when you get to the office, take your quarterly plan out and ask yourself what do I need to focus next week to progress it. And block a few time in your diary. That’s it. If after that you feel like going more in depth, well be my guest. But always commit to this first step which will take you two minutes.
This is this week, Work Smarter: Live Better tip. I hope you have enjoyed it.
Quick think I wanted to mention, I am planning my next round the world trip end of January, early February. I will be training and speaking in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Super excited about it. If there is anything I can help you with while I will be in your part of the world, drop me an email at cyril@wslb.com.au.
Have a great day.
A bientôt
Cyril
