I recently listened to a podcast where James Clear (bestselling author of Atomic Habits) was the guest. He was talking about New Year’s Resolutions and how they flat-out don’t work.
(If you already gave up on yours, you don’t need to raise your hand…😉)
But he said building habits DOES work, and there are keys to setting a new habit successfully. One key is to feel rewarded, and often that is by seeing the progress toward your goal.
But what if the thing you’re working on is slooooow progress that isn’t visible until you have already established the habit?? Like, losing weight, for instance.
Try a GOAL TRACKER! Simply mark off the days that you do “the thing” and visually see your accomplishments stacking up. So, even when you don’t see the difference or progress you’re striving for from day-to-day, you’ll still see yourself achieving your goal.
One of my goals for this year is to walk my dogs for at least 20 minutes every day. It sounds super easy to do, but I live in Minnesota, and sometimes thinking about how much my face will hurt when I go out in the winter makes staying in sound WAY better. But, they’re active labs and they need the exercise. There is no “progress” to see here. No reward (other than happy dogs.)
So, I track it. I feel better seeing those “x”s line up and I know I am doing something I told myself I would do. I’m keeping my promise to myself… AND to Sadie and Lily.
You can too! Download my free 2020 On Task Goal Tracker now and get tracking!
If you want to listen to the podcast (and you do – it’s a good one), it’s Entreleadership podcast #356.
