Welcome to the Emotional Connectivity Podcast of Talent Management Academy!
„Routines – are you still struggling with habits?”
This is a question that I have asked myself. There are certain comments or manners of people triggering a thought like “you’re a pain in my neck” and I’ve asked myself why this happens in certain situations. After Rolf’s last week podcast giving you insights to the subjective perception of time I am going to build bridges today to the subjective perception of routines.
I don’t know about you, but for me routines ring a bell of repeated actions, bad habits and dry procedures including lack of flexibility. According to the principle “that’s the way it is, we always did it like this, this is normal and that’s the way how to do this”. Obviously this phenomenon is linked to habits and what I particularly dislike is when it comes to certain compulsivity. It’s exactly that kind of trigger preceding as for example the noise when short messages or emails come in on your smartphone. Stimulus – reaction and in a minute the eternal loop has been started that you cannot escape from apparently.
Maybe there is a loophole after all? In how far routines are good for something and how can I distinguish between good and bad ones? Again it’s all about self-observation – what about you? Are you more a routine fan or are you struggling in vain with “bad habits”? All I say is eating chips in front of TV or checking short messages or emails promptly on receipt, although you are sitting at the table for lunch with your family…
Benefits of routines are for example that you save time and your brain has to perform less. In daily business a great thing because it helps you to easily structure your day and you have to make decisions less consciously. If you want to set up a new routine, you need self-discipline in any case and you should know what motivates you and what’s in for you.
As for me personally, I am actually going to establish a new routine. When I get up in the morning, I write down every thought that is circulating through my mind. I am exploring new creative ways and this procedure helps to start my daily flow. The positive for me is that I am intrinsically motivated in terms of my wish to make the difference – nobody forces me into the new routine – and I am aware of my personal why and how it makes sense for me personally. To establish useful routines for making a habit of it means to go on step by step and to remind you of every day.
And here’s my conclusion: Observe your environment and find out what kind of routines there are. What could be useful for you that you could “copy and paste” or learn from? What kind of routines makes sense for you? According to the principle “is that good for you or can you get rid of“…
Have fun!