How to Develop Time-Saving Habits
I’ve recently been making a habit…of studying habits.
(Okay, not really. It’s probably more accurate to say I’ve been binging an unhealthy amount of content around the power habits. But let’s go with it.)
I’ve long been a fan of ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear (the habit-building gospel focused on making small changes to create big transformations in your life). And I more recently discovered ‘Better Than Before’ by Gretchen Rubins.
Both books explore the various methods and concepts behind how we as humans build habits and how we can use this knowledge to build good habits as well as break bad ones.
During this habit binge, I, of course, began to wonder how habits can both help and hinder how we approach and leverage our time to shape the lives we want.
Habits are routine behaviors that we perform almost automatically. So habits can help free up mental energy and streamline tasks to accomplish more in less time. That sounds to me like an excellent recipe to intelligently control how we spend our time and how productive we can be!
Good Habits
What defines a “good” habit?
According to ‘Better Than Before’, good habits are the actions you want to take forever. They are actions you don’t need to regularly revisit to decide if you want to continue to take them. So, good habits can help eliminate the need for self-control.
I would also argue that a “good” habit is one that allows you to multi-task. Wait…did she just say “multi-task”? But! There’s no such thing! Fair enough… But this is what I mean:
Habits can help streamline your daily routine by becoming second nature. This means you can perform a habit without needing to think about it. So you can start to pair activities together. Think of brushing your teeth while pouring a cup of tea (a sneak peek into my morning routine.) A little multi-tasking in a short two-minute window. No extra mental space required.
(A word of caution: In ‘Better Than Before’, Gretchen makes an interesting observation: habits can make you numb and make time fly. So, while I love the need for less mental space, be sure this is serving you and not just numbing you to life.)
By integrating positive habits into our daily routines, we can improve productivity, reduce stress, and create more time for the things that truly matter to us.
Below are a few examples of good habits that could benefit your time management and productivity. These may get a nice green CHECK if you’ve already incorporated them into your schedule. Or they could serve as inspiration for the remainder of this article
Waking up early (or at least waking up at the time you committed to)
Practicing mindfulness to reduce stress
Scheduling regular exercise or self-care time
Consistently reviewing daily plans
Reading books or articles for continued learning or for personal growth
Sticking to a consistent sleep schedule to stop being so damn exhausted all the time
Showing gratitude and expressing appreciation for others (and yourself!)
Fulfilling commitments to yourself
Habits and Goals
You may be starting to see the benefits of good habits. But how do you know which habits you even want to build?
When we get into the world of habits, you’ll probably hear plenty of the overplayed “exercise more” or “go to bed early”. I did even cite a version of those above. But, a generic habit may not be the most beneficial for you to focus your energy on.
The first step to deciding where to focus your habit-building efforts is to evaluate your goals.
Since this is a blog all about time management, productivity, and eliminating anxiety and overwhelm, I think it’s safe to assume you may have goals related to those topics. Some of these goals may sound familiar:
Spend more meaningful time with friends and family
Feel happier and less anxious
Find a fulfilling hobby
Love your job
Take more vacations
Once you’ve had a chance to understand your goals, you can start to lay out the habits you’d like to have to get you there. Remember, habits are those actions that you would want to take forever.
Let’s break one of the above goals down: “Feel happier and less anxious.”
There are a few habits that could get you there:
Journal daily
Listen to podcasts on mindfulness and mental health
Take daily “me time” to find little bits of joy
Replace negative self-talk with self-compassionate thoughts
Leverage the natural stress relief of regular exercise (yep, slipped this one in yet again, but now that it’s tied to a goal, it will give your “why” more meaning)
Your goals can give you a roadmap for which habits are the most worth your time.
Habits and Routine
Consistency plays a crucial role in habit-building.
So creating a routine can help to build new habits.
And this is when your time management and scheduling practice can really come into play.
You can use your trusty calendar and pre-planned schedule to create and manage a desired routine.
Choose specific times during your day to perform your new habit and make it a non-negotiable. This will help remind you to practice the habit and the more you stick to a consistent schedule, the more automatic the habit will become.
Here are a few examples to get your creative habit-building juices flowing:
Schedule time each day to journal (whether it’s 5 minutes or 30 minutes). Adding this habit to the calendar will help you not “accidentally forget” from day to day as it will be a consistent reminder.
Schedule the number of hours you want to work/when you will leave the office to make sure you have time at the end of the day for other things you want to pursue, or for that precious “me time”. When you are in the habit of leaving at 5 PM, the days of working until 6, 7, 8, or even 9 PM will seem like a strange alternate reality.
Schedule a consistent time for working out. After a few days or weeks with this habit, your day will feel not quite right when you don’t log your post-work workout to clear your head.
Make Habit Building Easier
So you’re in. You know your goals, you know the habits you need to build to get you closer to those goals, and you’re building a routine with all those good habits incorporated.
But you’re having trouble sticking to the habits.
Luckily, our friends James and Gretchen have some advice.
Make good habits convenient and/or remove the obstacles
Want to build a habit of journaling? Keep your journal on your desk with a pen in easy reach.
Want to build a habit of reducing negative self-talk? Keep a few sticky notes on your desk with better thoughts to think about yourself.
See progress in day-to-day wins
Keep a record of your habit-building journey to track your progress. This could be as simple as crossing off a calendar each day you successfully complete your new habit. Visualizing your progress and seeing streaks of repeated success can help you maintain motivation and creates a sense of accomplishment along the way.
Start small, choose one habit to build momentum
Want to wake up earlier to avoid the early morning rush? Choose just one day per week you’ll wake up 30 minutes earlier than normal. After a few weeks, choose two days. The smaller the habit, the easier it is to get started. The more momentum you get, the easier it is to keep going.
Make the habit attractive
This one is my favorite. Pair a new habit with something you enjoy. I love to save my favorite TV show to watch during my least favorite exercise. (I’m a recovering cardio addict and no longer much of a fan of the treadmill slog.) So I save my best Netflix guilty pleasure for treadmill days. It helps me keep the habit of regular cardio with less dread in sticking with it.
Try “Habit Stacking”
Habit stacking involves linking a new habit to an existing one by creating a "trigger." For example, before taking your lunch break (existing habit), you can commit to doing 5 minutes of stretching (new habit). Pairing your new habit with an already-established routine makes it easier for your brain to remember and adopt the new behavior.
I believe by analyzing our current habits and identifying areas for improvement, we can get better at making intentional changes to optimize our use of time. We can also start to eliminate counterproductive habits that unnecessarily consume our time.
Habits can ensure that you dedicate time to important activities. And a good time management practice can make new habits easier to adhere to. I love the serendipity!
But remember, building a habit is not always a smooth journey, and slip-ups are bound to happen. Instead of being too hard on yourself when you miss a day or face obstacles, practice some self-compassion. Treat any setbacks as learning opportunities and get back on track without dwelling on negativity or guilt.
Speaking of habits! I have a few you can try out now. These tried and true habits can help you on a goal many of us have: stop feeling so damn overwhelmed!
Check out this free cheat sheet to stop feeling overwhelmed in under 5 minutes, so you can get back to the peaceful, calm, and badass She Boss you were always meant to be!
