Back in the day, I’d consider myself to be “goal-oriented” and was proud of it. But the book Atomic Habits by James Clear (affiliate link) changed all that.
The problem with the way I used to approach goals was that once I had achieved the goal, I would stop doing the activities that got me there. I’d yo-yo back into my old modes of being. I’d run 4 times a week to train for a half-marathon. After the race was over, I wouldn’t run at all. I did the whole-30 and felt great for a while, then slipped back into my old eating habits. I have other examples but you get the point. Setting and achieving goals didn’t help me change into who I wanted to be. But do you know what does? Habits. Yes, habits (and one other thing I’ll talk about later).
A habit is something you do without even thinking. Good or bad, they make up who you are. Changing bad habits into good ones can change who you are to who you want to be. *mind blown*
The other thing you need for long-lasting change is to know who you want to be. I’m sorry that had to be said but sometimes you have to say the obvious. So, who do you want to be? Once you can answer that you can adopt the habits of that type of person and eventually you will become that person. Simple.
Like most people in 2020, I found myself amid a global pandemic causing me to work from home for an extended period. A few weeks into working from home, I developed a sharp pain in my lower back. It turns out my stylish mid-century modern office chair is not suitable for extended sitting. Lunchtime was also a problem. In between meetings and “heads down” work, I didn’t have time to prepare a proper lunch. Hotdogs and chips saved me more times than is appropriate for an adult. I had more issues but you get the picture. I didn’t want to be who I was becoming, an unhealthy person.
Using the idea of adopting habits to affect change, I took control of the situation. I created and employed the habits of healthy work from home professionals. Now I stick to specific work hours, take lunch breaks, do a sitting ergonomics check regularly, and so on. I took control and changed my habits to have a healthier work from home experience.
Have you developed bad habits in your work from home life? Well, it’s not too late to turn things around. I’ve created a printable PDF habit tracker that’ll help you develop healthy work from home habits. You can add your habits or use the suggested ones in the template to get you started. Sign up today to get a discount when it is released.
Remember, goals don’t change who you are. You will fall back into the person you were before you reached that goal. Employing the habits of the person you want to be is the way to long-lasting positive change.
Click here and sign up to get a discount when my habit tracker template is released