How to build productive ‘habits’

Mentee – Why is it that I always set a routine and for few days I stick to it very well but then it just goes off and I am back to square one.

Me – Are you trying to build a habit that you want to stick to?

Mentee – Yes of course! Every time I try to build a new habit, some work, some don’t and the ones that are built, sometimes it’s difficult to maintain as well. How can I build effective and productive habits?

This is a common series of questions about lifestyle, work and everyone is trying to create a system of habits. There are innumerable books written on it and I myself have been following this pattern for quite a long time. Building habits.

In all these, there is an invisible catch which hardly anyone anywhere has written down and that’s why many people don’t know. Something that’s of utmost importance in overall aspect.

It’s the difference between the automatic habitual pattern and conscious habit.

Simple example is when you brush your teeth in the morning, you are in an auto-mode, even with your sleepy eyes you can do the same. That does not require you to be alert and fully awake and conscious.

Now imagine if you are trying to build different habit patterns which are fully automatic, your entire life will be like that of a robot!

The difference is the conscious way of doing things – be it your regular exercise, having food on time, taking time out for yourself, your work, your person time with your loved ones, your hobbies, anything that you do consciously with full alert and attention, do you think you require a robotic auto-mode for that?

Not at all!

And most importantly when you do these ‘habits’ consciously, you are not just operating from a higher level of involvement but also you are enjoying it fully because you are conscious about it.

Now when you do the same thing, there is no emotion invested or attention involved as such and that’s why slowly these routine become monotonous and majority of the people ‘fall out of the habits or routine’.

So next time you try to build a ‘habit’, try instead developing conscious process of doing the activities with total involvement.

Because easiest way to be efficient, productive and useful is to be involved in what you do totally.