Blog 17:  Reap what you sow.  How little things can make a big difference . . . finding and embedding the little habits that can have compounding results – PART 2

rising stairway reflecting poster of small habits big changes one step at a time

©Rachel Lance

In this series we are trying to help you identify the micro habits you can implement in your personal and professional life that will realise significant impact.  Part 1 ended by encouraging you to reflect on your targeted outcomes.  i hope you have gained clarity with this.  If your target is clear, then you have done the ground work for effective habit development. 

The next step is to identify the small habits which, done consistently and regularly, will reap significant results.  Without understanding your situation and desired outcomes, it is difficult to suggest habits.  However, following are examples of caddied individuals who have realized significant results through outcome clarity and habit implementation:

Situation & desired outcomeHabits implementedResults
Professional realizing life was out of control and deadlines not being metArriving at work 30 minutes early each day to provide quiet and focussed time before others arrivedRelationships changed positively, feeling on top of work, gain of confidence, night sleep patterns better, feeling more in control & deadlines met
After an operation to have a knee replacement, a patient has a wound infection and the knee had to be replacedConsistent twice daily at home physio with weekly visits to the therapistPhysio claims the patient won the ‘grand final’ of outcomes after being in a dire situation
Sales rep wants to improve resultsUnderstanding he lands one sale from every 10 calls, the rep decides to shift from 10 calls a day to 20 and get mentoring to improve his conversion rate from 10 to 20%A four-fold increase in sales just my making two changes to his rhythm.  
Principal wants to build trust and improve quality of teaching within the schoolAims to complete 1 000 five minute class visits a year, broken down to 26 visits a weekTrust raised, Principal is visible in the school, has acute awareness of quality of teaching standards and teacher professional development based on observations
Woman wants to lose 10kgCreates a daily calorie log and sets calorie targetsLoses 10kg and maintains weight threshold
Your life caddy wanting to give away intellectual capital and help others, expand the caddying platform of assistanceBlog delivered online every WednesdayHere you are reading this blog and getting help, demand for caddying increasing, people growing, subscribers increasing

You can see in each of these examples, the person shifted the focus from the outcome to small habits they could implement in their daily routine.  Some of these actions are so small, they would appear insignificant.  But the compounding impact of these habits over time resulted in significant wins.  Now it’s your turn . . .

Look at your outcomes and backward map to identify small habits done regularly that will make a significant difference.  In caddying groups, we get members to share their outcomes while the rest of us brainstorm possible habits.  The result is each person ends up with a suite of habits that can be assessed for effectiveness. 

This is what we’re trying to achieve. Consistent implenmentations of the habits will help you find your 1% improvement each day and the graph . . .

graph showing 1% better versus worse a day

©Samuel T Davies

Now just before we leave habits, make sure you set realistic expectations.  Maintain a balanced life.  You don’t want to overload with habits, just target a few that will drive those outcomes you are looking for. What are the little things that will make a big difference?

If you want to dive deeper into habits, Samuel T Davies provides a good summary of Atomic Habits here.

Which brings us to a critical step in the process – regular monitoring.  We need to build a cadence of accountability in your rhythm.  We’ll make that the focus in PART 3.  But if you can discipline yourself in these steps of clarifying outcomes, linking to a routine of habits and developing a cadence of accountability, you’ll gain this kind of breakthrough:

diagram illustrating benefit of Collins disciplined people, thought & action

©Strategic Discipline Blog

But it all starts with sowing:

  • Sowing through a commitment to being disciplined (be hungry)
  • Sowing through developing clear, measureable outcomes (be focussed)
  • Sowing through a commitment to implanting a rhythm of habits (be determined)
  • Sowing through monitoring the implementation of those habits (be honest with yourself) . . . and we’ll address that next week in PART 3

So for now, work on implementing those habits.

Your life caddy

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