ON ANCHOR HABITS
I was first introduced to the principle of compound interest by my social studies teacher in 12th grade. Compound interest is the interest you earn on interest. When carried out over extended periods of time, money grows exponentially. Our habits work very similar to the principle of compound interest. Actions when repeated routinely over time can have an exponential impact on our goals, either positively or negatively. Habits hold power.
Studies suggest that over 40% of our daily actions are done without conscious thought. Wendy Wood, a PHD psychologist at USC found that a stunning 43% of everyday actions are enacted habitually while people are thinking about something else (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 83, No. 6, 2002). Many, if not most of our actions stem from our habits. From a brain science perspective this makes a lot of sense. When we routinely do things over and over the neuropathways tied to our actions become more efficient, requiring less neuro energy to complete. As the action becomes more routine, doing different actions in the same context becomes relatively more difficult, making changing habits challenging. During her research, Wood and her students observed that a changing one’s mind/intention about their habits is not as effective as changing the environment/context for which habits are generally cued (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol 48. No. 2, 2012).
For example, let’s say you always feel late and stressed when you arrive at work and you realize this is because the first thing you do upon waking up is check your phone. A simple time check inevitably leads to an early morning “death scroll.” You scramble to recover the lost 30 minutes and fly out the door vowing to change your ways. Having a strong intention to change is important. Turning it into action is more important. Here are some example of actions you could take to create a foothold to change your early morning habit of phone scrolling.
Step 1: Move your phone (environment change) - keep it in place that forces you to behave differently upon waking
Step 2: Insert a replacement behavior (cue change)- choose something simple and positive such as upon waking do a 2 minute stretch routine followed by a 3 minute meditation
Step 3: Set a personal limit of when you can check your phone and for how long - (ie. after getting dressed and eating breakfast until I have to be on the road by X TIME).
Step 4: Be aware of tricky thoughts justifying breaking your new routine and counteract them -this is natural and this where you flex your discipline muscle.
Step 5: The old habit will fade when the benefit you derive from your new routine crowds out your old routine. STAY WITH IT. FLEX YOUR DISCPLINE MUSCLE. This is when it’s important to behave according to your goals and not your feelings.
ASK THIS QUESTION:
What habits take over when you are low on energy? Poor habits can lead us away from our goals when we go on autopilot, but ANCHOR habits keep us moving forward even when we don’t feel like it. Work to identify 1-3 positive habits that sustain you when you are low on gas.
ANCHOR HABITS:
I refer to these as your ANCHOR HABITS. These are small, core routines that sustain your well-being and productivity each day. Without them you find yourself at the mercy of life’s events, drifting from your goals and losing energy. They are different from regular habits that help you complete ordinary tasks. ANCHOR HABITS keep you grounded and sustained. Here’s a list of my ANCHOR HABITS:
30 Minute Morning Prayer/Mediation (first 30 minutes of everyday)
30 - 60 Minutes of exercise (usually after morning prayer/meditation)
8 Glasses of water
Lights Out by 10:30
I’m working on adding the following, but they haven’t rooted enough to call them an EVERYDAY.
Make an intentional connection with 1 person I care about each day
Complete one DIFFERENCE MAKER task each day
START HERE:
If you are having a hard time identifying your EVERYDAYS start by brainstorming one small, doable activity that if you completed it everyday would have a significant and positive impact on your energy, mindset, and wellbeing. Perhaps it is an activity that could replace a habit that is currently having a negative impact on your life. Or perhaps it’s a new activity that aligns closely to your life values or goals.
Start Small - 5 minutes a day is enough to gain a foothold
Make a PACT Goal- PURPOSEFUL, ACTIONABLE, CONTINUOUS, TRACKABLE
Prioritize - start or end your day with your ANCHOR HABIT to minimize the risk of it being crowded out by current habits
Go - don’t overthink it, just do it.
Track - monitor your progress and celebrate your small wins.
Sidestep Setbacks - the key is not perfection, it’s consistency. After a miss, the next attempt is the most important, start again and keep moving forward.