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  • Writer's pictureJohn Clapham

What on earth is a Habit Builder and why use one?

Updated: Aug 12


Photo by AlphaTradeZone

Habit Builders help work towards goals and get things done by providing an engaging way to visualise, assess and celebrate progress.  Those ‘things’ can be minuscule or massive, thoughts or deeds, the appeal of the Habit Builder is that it is highly customisable and readily tailored to the owner’s style. 


The technique appears simple but when applied with discipline, reflection and perhaps a little backup from a coach, it can be transformational.

 

This post introduces Habit Builders, and is followed by a guide to using Habit Builders and tips for successful habit building.  If all you want is a printable copy of our Habit Builder, you’re welcome, here it is.


Not just for physical fitness

When coaching I’ve found habit building a successful way to support smart professionals wanting to improve performance and invest in themselves. Habit building provides a flexible, personal approach tailored to the owner’s situation and aspirations.


I note that there are often two sorts of desired habit, which I’ll describe as direct and indirect. Direct habits are clearly related to an goal. For example in leadership, habits like making time to think strategically or managing emotion in certain situations. Indirect habits may appear tangential but support direct habits and their likelihood of success. Often these habits target areas like health, energy and blending different aspects of life. Sleep and recharging are classic examples, enabling improved performance and work towards goals.




At first glance Habit Builders look like a checklist of activities to be ticked off when complete, similar to children’s reward charts, but there’s much more than just keeping score.  Used with consideration and dedication the Habit Builder can be transformational, the clue is in the word ‘habit’.  Habitual behaviour helps us do those desirable things with less effort, energy and attention.  You’ll recognise this in the skills you’ve learnt like talking or cycling. These were effortful to start with and are easier now, you may even be able to do both at once, that’s because they are embedded in you as collections of habits.

There are also habits we recognise as less welcome.  None of these just happen, habits are built through time and repetition, not just repetition of the activity but of the cue and a subsequent reward for performing the habit.


That’s where a habit builder helps, its focus is the repetition of small activities contributing to a larger goal.  Sometimes these habits appear tangential but they are the foundations on which to build.  For instance, being better at work and feeling less stressed is benefited by habits like healthy eating, regular breaks and sleep routines. 


The goal of reducing procrastination might be supported by habits like breaking down tasks, managing distractions and dare I say...drinking less coffee.


These larger goals and supporting activities are often shaped during coaching sessions, and the thinkers I work with have found Habit Builders a productive way to provide motivation, and a little self-accountability, between sessions.  Creating habits takes time and work, one research paper indicates anything between 18 to 254 days [1] so it’s valuable to have a way to view progress, indulge in a little gloating, or give yourself a pep talk. 

 

Personally, I prefer the term ‘builder’ because it emphasises that this is a tool for change, for purposeful development and fitness. This compared to potentially passive ‘tracking’, building is more deliberate and purposeful, inspires other contributing activities and recognises the effort required.  Despite its simplicity, significant sustainable personal change can start here.


Closing Thoughts

Habit Trackers are frequently associated with physical behaviours, such as ‘Go for a 30 minute run’, when coaching I’ve found them equally successful with thoughts, and less tangible areas like ‘Focus on X‘, reduction of irritability or even smiling.  We may also develop traits like resilience by developing habits known to promote it, such as gratitude exercises. Part of the art is creating a balanced suite of target habits, contributing to short and long term goals, covering mental and physical aspects and spanning different aspects of life.

Habit Builders are quite intuitive but for the best results, the next post describes how to use a Habit Builder and get the most from your investment.

 

References

Ref 1 Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674.

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