This week at Wundamail HQ, we’re focusing on how you can create good habits that last. Whether this is taking it step-by-step with micro-habits or identifying your bad habits and trying to lessen them, it all adds up. So, we’ve scoured the internet for the most useful articles on the subject - enjoy!
Click To Read: How to Form Good Habits in Your Personal & Business Life on Forbes
In this article, Ajay Pattani from Perfect Search Media, goes into the behavioural psychology angle of creating better habits that will benefit you not only at work, but also at home. By breaking down the process into three easy to understand steps, and drawing on his own experiences of using this framework, Pattani offers some practical insight into how to create lasting habitual change, rather than just the theoretical angle.
Pattani also gives examples not just from his home life, but how he transferred the model into his business and made effective behavioural change within his own company. Here, the breakdown of habitual change into the three smaller steps, is demonstrated to work on a number of levels.
Click To Read: Habits Come From What We Do, Not What We Want To Do on Big Think
This useful, multimedia article features video input from a number of different sources to give a more rounded view on creating lasting habits. The article unpacks a study that claims the repetition is the most effective way to make a permanent change to our habits.
As well as explaining the results of the study, they offer an alternative view that advocates a reward system over the repetitive mode of building habits. The scientific study aspect of this article allows for more debate to be shared and gives the reader a couple of informed options to takeaway, when trying to form new, good habits.
Click To Read: Good Habits Make Good Managers on Chief Learning Officer
In this article, Lauren Bidwell from SAP SuccessFactors uses a psychological study that she and her team have been working, to share unique insights into the correlation between good habits and good managers. By using the parameters of consistency, simplicity, comfort and reward, Bidwell demonstrates the value of each factor and the links between the four categories to create a holistic approach to embedding good habits on a long term basis.
In addition to this, Bidwell also includes some statistical data, surrounding the average time it takes to form a lasting good habit and some misconceptions about building habits. She uses this to as a framework for her coaching methodology - a way of habit building that is grounded in team management.
Click To Read: How to Break Bad Habits by Creating Good Habits on Entresource
This article by Nate McCallister demonstrates how it can often be easier and more affect to create new habits than spend your energy trying to correct and improve bad habits. To illustrate this, he draws on the psychological study of “The White Bear”, wherein participants were asked to not think about a white bear for five minutes, which of course, they ironically failed to do.
He uses this example to explain how by focusing your energy and time on not doing something (i.e. whatever your bad habit might be), you’re inevitably going to end up thinking about it more, and naturally going to want to do it. This is where he rationalises and sets out his framework for creating better habits, instead of altering old, negative ones.
