My Favorite Systems for Establishing New Habits

Right after the New Year everyone gets excited about productivity and their goals and by this time in the year it might be all for naught. If you’re struggling with your goals then I want to share 3 of my favorite systems for keeping a new habit once you’ve set the goal.

System #1 : Post-It Note explosion

It’s no secret that I am a big fan of the Post-It note, so I use them whenever I can to track my ideas, write down goals or track progress.

For example, back in November when I was writing the content for my new book, I used Post-it notes on my office door to track how many words I was writing every day.

Here’s another example:

Where you put your notes is also important. If your goal is around hygiene, maybe the Post-its go on your bathroom mirror. If you have goals in the kitchen, put them on your fridge. Be sure to place the Post-its where you’re going to see the reminder, so you can take action!

As you’re using them to track a habit repeat to yourself every day “don’t break the chain”, because if you break the habit then your count starts over at 1! So your first challenge is to start, the second is not to quit.

System #2 Use Technology to your advantage

I don’t know many people who don’t have their smartphone in hand or pocket most of the day, so use that access to find a great app where you can track your progress. I use one called Productivity Tracker but there are tons of great versions that allow you to put in your goals, frequency and then check things off!

If you’re not a fan of writing things down and have limited time, then this is a great option!

Hint: set a pop up reminder to log into the app or move it to your home screen so you don’t forget to use it!

System #3 Add Goals to Your Calendar

We all create time for things that are important. After all, we wouldn’t necessarily skip a client appointment because we didn’t feel like talking. So why do we skip the things we say we want to do? It’s usually because we don’t create the time.

This is the perfect opportunity to break down your goal, so if you say you want to blog more often put time on your calendar to come up with post ideas, time to draft the article, and time to format and post it on the blog. Be specific!

If you’re creating a new recipe book, then you’re going to need to schedule time to test recipes, to write the copy and recipes down, and time to photograph the finished creation. If you simply put “write book” on your calendar then you won’t get far.

I’ve found that it helps to see yourself achieving the goal along the way – don’t pretend you’re already there and skip the hard work but imagine how awesome it’s going to feel. And break the goal down into smaller goals along the way that are more easily achievable. Instead of going for a marathon right away, start with running a 5k. Instead of closing 100 clients in a year, focus on closing 2 this week.

Right now you should have the most natural energy for your goal, so use some of that excitement to create your plan on how you’ll establish good habits to reach your goal.