So we start the year full of resolutions; new goals; new habits. Tick. It's now the third week of January, work is back in full steam, and holidays are a distant memory. The change we want to make is getting harder.
It's okay to admit this. To say it out loud, even to say it to another person.
I want to go to the gym more in 2019 BUT I haven't been once yet.
OR
I was going to declutter over the holidays BUT I only got as far as the wardrobe before going back to work
OR
I plan on putting a proposal to my boss about changing my role this year BUT I keep avoiding it
OR
any one of a gazillion other examples of goals, new habits or changes we want to make.
For me, it is re-organising my office. Towards the end of last year, my office became a dumping ground for things I needed to ‘sort out’ and books … lots of new books. What might seem like an admin or tidying up exercise actually means more to me. This project is about setting my workspace up to be a high energy space for my writing, thinking, and creating. It is also going to be the scene for a new video based series. This project gives me the opportunity to do some strategic thinking about what I’ve been working on, what ideas and projects are important to me moving forward and the environment I need to do my best work. As it turns out, I’ve started the new year and my office is still looking chaotic. The books have been breeding, I’m certain. As my calendar fills up and I’m getting busier, this project feels difficult, time consuming and messy. I have to wonder when I’m going to start (let alone finish).
It's okay to talk about this because it happens to us all. It is a universal truth that change is hard. Even the most goal oriented among us have, at some point, failed to start, or see through, a change or goal.
"But I don't want to fail on this?", I hear you say. Me, too. I get it. The change we want to make is too important not to start, and moreso, not to finish. It’s important to remind ourselves of why we want the change in the first place. When we are struggling to start, or to keep up the momentum of change, we often start to question the change. “Well it was a dumb idea to think I could fit exercise into my busy schedule…” Instead you need to remind yourself why you want to exercise more. How your life will be improved by making this change. Returning to our why helps us regain the motivation we felt when we decided to change.
What else can you do if you find yourself at this juncture? There's lots of things you can do but the most important thing is to get moving.
To get moving, you need to narrow down your goal to the smallest viable change. What is the one thing you could change today that would start you on your goal journey? What one thing could you do today that will help you build this new habit?
If it's going to the gym, it may be diarising the day and time of your first gym session. If your diary looks impossible, it may be finding the one thing you can delegate to give you time to go to the gym. If your diary IS impossible to change, it may be using the stairs instead of the lift until your diary opens up. One thing.
My one thing in my office is to sort one extra thing every time I go in there. Before I turn the computer on or start any work. Just sort out one file. Or make space for one of the books. One thing.
Find the smallest change possible. Then the next smallest change possible. Then the next. This creates momentum and you will start to make progress. Every bit of momentum and progress makes it harder to stop or change direction. To keep the engine of momentum going, you keep coming back to the smallest viable change. Identify it, then do it. Before you know it, you've achieved that goal, or created a new habit.
The change we want to make is too important. Every small change we make contributes exponentially to something much bigger. Changing one thing today to help you exercise more takes you ever so closer to being the father who has the energy to run around with his children. Changing one thing today to give you the courage and confidence to speak to your boss about your role takes you ever so closer to finding work that is meaningful, rather than resigning from the company. For me, changing one thing today to re-organise my office takes me ever so closer to creating the sanctuary for writing and developing exciting new products for my clients.
Imagine looking back in one year, or five years, on the culmination of each smallest viable change you have made. Starting today. So, what is the smallest viable change you can make? I challenge you to CHANGE ONE THING today. What will it be?