sjsmith.com.au - blog

Create Good To Break Bad

Breaking Bad Habits

I used to be a size 20 (at the moment I'm a 10 to 12).  Although this was about 8 years ago people still ask me how I did it.  How I did it is no secret.  I did what all of the current experts tell you to do.  Eat better food, eat regularly, do more exercise! Amazing right! Not really. The key to losing the weight and keeping it off is in making small changes that you do everyday - forever!  I never used to eat breakfast and sometimes would skip lunch too. Getting into the habit of eating breakfast was tough for me so I needed to find a way to make it routine.  I've always loved having breakfast in bed so I decided that if I could have breakfast in bed everyday maybe I wouldn't find it such a chore.  So that's what I do.  Every morning I get up, get myself a coffee and some breakfast and go back to bed.  I have breakfast and read the paper, cuddle my dog and I may even do a bit of work on my tablet. Then I get up, happy to start the day.  For me it wasn't about stopping a bad habit but about starting a good one.

You can use the same tactics in improving your business.  I used to be a bit erratic about managing our accounts. It got done but only when payments came in or if there was a large purchase to be accounted for.  Now it's the second thing I do every Monday. The first is to make a to-do list. By making it routine and at a specific time I don't have to think about when I need to do it or if I feel like doing it. It just gets done on Monday morning.  This also means that I have a clear idea at the start of every week about cashflow, debtors and payments due.  By making good habits part of your routine you can not only free your mind for other things but you can streamline your systems.  I occasionally make payments on other days but most weeks I only need to do it on a Monday.  For me good habits also bring good karma.  If I want to be paid on time I have be a good player myself.  By having a good paying habit that's  scheduled regularly it becomes automatic.  By making good habits automatic you can soon crowd out bad habits. That's the real secret!

Till next time,

Sarah-Jane X