Time Management Tips Tuesdays Getting Started: Work Towards Setting Good Habits

Good habits help you embrace the joy of practice and reduce stress. There are lots of great places to learn about how you can work on developing good habits. We recommend:
- Nora Rock, The Mysterious Magic of Routines, LAWPRO Magazine
- James Clear, Atomic Habits
- Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit
Stretch Each Day to Compound Your Gains
Atomic Habits focuses on how small changes can have incredible lasting results. Clear supports starting with a small change, and then looking to improve on that change each day. This simple approach makes it easy to start and continue efforts. The focus is on continuous improvement rather than a particular end state. The habit formation strengthens over time and leads to exponential growth.
There are lots of ways to build by following this approach. For example, you might want to run a marathon, but that might feel daunting. But under the atomic habits, the focus isn’t on the end result- it’s on starting and then building on that start. So, on day one, I might go for a one minute jog. The next day, I might try for two minutes. And the next day, three minutes, etc. By focusing on incremental changes, and compounding benefits, we can get great results.
Embrace Habit Loops
The Power of Habit focuses on how we can develop good habits by focusing on cues, routines, and rewards. Positive habit loops can make work easier, more productive and more rewarding.
Celebrate Your Wins
We can foster positivity in our practices by celebrating wins big and small. It’s always great to find our moments to celebrate our even small professional achievements. Get in the habit of celebrating your accomplishments! And keep a win list running that you can look back on with pride. It will help you see your progress, and help you push through on harder days.
Next week we’ll share some productivity tips based on neuroscience. Subscribe to the avoidaclaim.com blog to have the post emailed right to you.
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