Recently, I read a book entitled "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" by Charles Duhigg. The book is about the science of habit formation. Whether we're aware of it or not, the way we create and modify our habits affects all aspects of our lives, including work.
We live our lives greatly through habit. We need habits or routines in order to give our brain a bit of a break. Imagine if we got up in the morning and didn't have a routine for getting ready for work. For instance, after reading the book I discovered that I actually put my first sock on my left foot each morning. I do it instinctively as somewhere I formed that habit. Imagine the stress on one's brain if we had to figure out each morning among other things which foot to put the first sock on?
Duhigg writes that there is a three-step process involved in forming a habit called the habit loop. First, the "Cue" is the trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode. Using my sock example, the cue would be waking up in the morning. Next is the "Routine." I am sure all of us pretty much have some sort of routine in getting ready for work. Finally, there is the "Reward," which in this case (you can cough now) is being ready to leave for work.
We need habits. We have good habits and we have bad habits. We never forget habits. You don't forget the steps involved in driving if you go away for a two-week ocean cruise. We can modify and change habits. We can do that by working on one or more of the steps in the habit loop (Cue-Routine-Reward).
By understanding how habits work we can bring about change in our work lives. For example, if you want to be more accessible you could make it a habit to walk around the office once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The Cue could be the time of day. The Routine would be walking around. The Reward would be being more accessible to those in the office.
This is the season for "summer reading," which often means mysteries, romances, and other light page-turners. This summah, as we say in Maine, use the habit loop to try to read something new. Duhigg's book was named one of the best books of the year by both the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, and it's a good personal development read.
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