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I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. Neither do I subscribe to crash diets, or the absurdly remote notion that anyone can look like Beyonce after giving birth. Basically, anything that involves drastically changing anything, from abandoning our beloved carbs to losing baby weight, is pure BS (excuse my French).
According to Maxwell Maltz’s “Psychocybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living out of Life” book, it takes about 21 days to form a new habit.
Work habits, like any other habit, are hard to change. Like pregnancy weight or addiction to carbs, they didn’t just happen. They were lovingly cultivated over years of work and career-building, and are as much part of us as those love handles we keep denying…Changing, modifying or altering them in any way requires time, patience and occasional chocolate treats:
1. Be (brutally) honest! It all starts with the truth. Acknowledge what works and what does not work in the way you approach your career. Make a list of the “does” and “does not work”, and be honest, brutally honest!
2. Start at your own pace! While some of us have incredible (and annoying) willpower, the rest of us mortals go at our own pace. Wait at least three weeks before you start assessing results, and forgive yourself for not being as consistent as you’d wish! It’s a process!
3. Change one habit at a time! For all of you multi-taskers out there, take a moment and breathe! You can’t force change, so tackle it consistently, one habit at a time. Whether it’s speaking up in meetings, or being more thorough in your work, limit yourself to one habit at a time!
How do you manage to change your work habits?
The Corporate Sis.
