#515 Building Habits

If you are like me, you have that one thing that you always put off, it's something that has to get done. But there is always something else more important that gets in the way. It is time to break the cycle of guilt associated with never getting to the things that are important.  You need to commit to making that thing a habit and do it every single day. And one of the best ways to make something a habit is to really understand how habits work. It is a three-part process. There's a trigger something that sets off the behavior. The action itself, and then the reward. For me, the habit I wanted to build was making five phone calls every day. So I put a reminder on my phone as the trigger.  Then I committed to taking the action when I got the reminder, not just hitting the snooze button and continuing with whatever else I was going at the moment. And the most important part is the reward.  When I'm done with my calls I go for a walk. That's my positive reward for making that behavior part of my routine. What is a habit you need to build? If you enjoyed this marketing minute, be sure to look for More than a Few Words, wherever you listen to podcasts.