"That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard."

So said one of our associates to me during our company’s annual December get-together. We asked each of our team members which new habit they focused on over the current year and what resulted from the habit. 

I responded, “Here’s one of my habits: when I return home each night, I change from my business clothes and simultaneously prep my clothes for the next day. When I wake up the next day, I don’t have to think about my clothing. If I’m running late the next morning, my clothes are ready and it’s one less distraction to consider.”

That's when one of our associates told me it was the weirdest thing they'd ever heard.

I know, preparing my clothes for the next day sounds like a small, and maybe weird, habit to focus on. But changes in small habits lead to other new habits which leads to a changed life. That’s one of the ideas from “The Power of Habits” by Charles Duhigg. 

Although the “The Power of Habits” was written in 2012, the book’s documented science on how habits can be changed are still relevant for everyone.

For example, the book begins with a woman whose life was upended by a divorce. And she had bad habits: she smoked, she drank too much, and she had anger issues. 

However, she decided to make one, small shift in perception: she had to give up smoking to accomplish her new goal of traversing the Egyptian desert the following year. 

So, she replaced one bad habit – smoking - with a good habit - jogging. Jogging changed how she ate. How she ate changed how she slept and how she saved money and planned for the future, etc. 

And this led to an exciting result: after she formed her new good habits, medical researchers studied her brain and concluded that one set of neurological patterns – her previous bad habits – were replaced by a new set of neurological patterns – the good habits.

Her new habits literally changed her brain. 

Here’s another small habit I’ve implemented that utilizes the use of cues (one part of the habit loop): I keep a workout bag with all workout clothing packed in my vehicle. Whenever I’m on the road, I have no excuses not to hit a gym. The workout bag is my “cue” which is the first of three ways to implement new habits in your life. 

The formula for new habits is simple: institute a cue (the gym bag), develop the routine (workout in the mornings before breakfast), and have a reward (better sleep, a crave for endorphins, more energy). 

You probably have a cue that’s interrupted your reading of this book review: a “ping” from your smart phone alerting you to a text or email. At this moment, you want to check your text message or email because your brain is now “anticipating the momentary distraction that opening a text or email provides”. Until you check your phone or laptop for the alert, you’ll be antsy.

However, momentarily turn off all alerts – the cues - and you’ll be productive. 

Is there anything in the book to help your businesses, too? Yes, check out the story of how P&G developed a market for Febreze by instituting cues; read how Claude Hopkins, the Pepsodent ad man, influenced everyone in the USA to develop toothbrushing habits; why Tony Dungy, former coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, didn’t want his team to create new habits, he wanted them to change their old habits by changing their routines; and many more examples. 

Here’s your tip for the month; read the book and then set a reminder on your smart phone – a cue - to read it again in three months. You’ll be glad you developed the habit to review the “The Power of Habit” at least twice per year. 

For more, see The Power of Habit webpage.