Shake the Automatic to Get What You Want

If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got. You most likely know these famous words from Henry Ford. It’s common sense and yet, we keep doing the same things over and over. We build routines based on what works at some point, but later we forget to ask, “Are they still working for me?”

I bet you have a dream to be someone you are currently not, to experience something you haven’t yet gotten a chance to. We all have aspirations. But way too often we end up in a hamster wheel of habits, spinning faster and faster, not realizing we are not getting any closer to that dreamy destination.

Routines and habits are great, because they can make us more efficient, disciplined, and focused. But they can also restrict us if we are not aware of them. For example, I always had a habit of checking my e-mail first thing in the morning. My reason was to learn what was going on, and who needed what from me. Then I would choose what to do with my day. I was working with the logic that I would never miss anything urgent, so people could depend on me.

But as time went on, I realized I was always in a reactive mode. The tasks were choosing me more than I was choosing them. I would jump on actions that I could do right away to get immediate satisfaction from responding to people’s e-mail with something they wanted, because it was easy to do. But I never seemed to have time for projects I wanted to do – something bigger, like creating a proposal for changing some processes that would make life easier for the whole team. Even if I had time later in the day, I would not have the energy after hours filled with sprints and erratic attempts to multitask.

I needed to shake that routine. I knew that I was the most relaxed and ready for some focused thinking early in the morning; therefore, I decided not to check the e-mail until I did something I really wanted to do for at least half an hour. Like writing this blog. I made a plan last night that that’s the most important thing for me today, and that’s what I’m doing now. Only after that I’ll go and see what the world wants from me.

Changing habits can be very uncomfortable. After all, the habits are what we get used to and they become a part of us. But maybe you can shake them just a little bit. Notice today what routines you’ve developed over time. Are they still working for you? Are they moving you the right direction? Try to tweak them for a while and see if what happens. You know you can always get back on the wheel if you want to.