How to master good routines to become more productive at work in 2023

As we know humans are creatures of habit. To manage the everyday demands effectively and more easily in our lives, we like to build routines – especially at the start of a new year.

Most of us recognize that by developing good habits and making them permanent routines, we can accomplish amazing things. But why do we have such a hard time adopting good habits?

There are a number of explanations out there but, unfortunately, many of them are total myths. When you’re trying to build a new routine, it’s important you see through these unhelpful myths to build strong practices to help you become more productive in work this year.

Myth 1: Developing habits takes a specific number of days

The ’21-Day Rule’ is one example of a commonly accepted saying that is in fact based on a myth, with no grounding in reality. The belief commonly states it takes a magical 21 days of practice to form a habit, although the exact number varies, depending on who you listen to, often ranging anywhere from 28 to 60 days. This variation is a good first sign that the information isn’t credible.

It appears this myth seems to have likely begun with a misreading of Dr. Maxwell Maltz, who conducted extensive research on self-image. Although his findings did not establish that the development of good habits is attached to any specific timetable, he has been attributed with the idea regardless.

The 21-Day Rule is simple and easy to remember, and certainly, three weeks of daily practice on a worthwhile habit can be helpful. However, the reality is that people form new habits in their own time, for their own reasons.

So instead of trying to nail an achievement in work by a specific calendar date, look into the best ways to sustain a habit on a daily basis, and adapt it to your particular needs.

You’ll find that the timetable takes care of itself. Regardless of how you build better habits, you can use the right productivity and organization app to help you stick with your new plan, including setting due dates, priorities, and reminders.

Myth 2: Missing just one day can derail your whole plan

Regular practice is important for building healthy habits, much more so than setting a timetable or schedule. The more you can stick to healthy habits, the easier they become to maintain, until the point they’re ingrained into your regular routine.

However, this has given rise to another popular myth: if for some reason you miss a day here and there, it’s supposedly a disaster. But that simply isn’t true.

Sometimes known as the ‘Don’t Break the Chain’ method, this idea denotes that you must ensure you spend at least some amount of time each day on your new habit – consistency is key.

It’s often attributed to the comedian Jerry Seinfeld but is also connected to the names of a number of famous people. When your behavior is inconsistent, habits are very difficult to maintain. However, rest and recuperation are just as important; forcing yourself to engage in an activity despite fatigue or mental overload can lead to burnout.

Don’t criticize yourself if you miss a day or need to take a pause. Just keep track of how often you do so and apply the information to become more consistent.

A habit template tracker is a brilliant tool to help you monitor your consistency and progress, while maintaining some balance and taking breaks when you need to. This allows you to set your own pace and stick at your routine without burning out.

Myth 3: All new habits must work towards something bigger

Goals are important, especially when it comes to building habits but don’t make them your end-all. A habit is a practice, not an achievement, thus a good habit doesn’t just end when you reach a goal. It’s an ongoing process. Not leading to any grand end; the benefits lie in the journey itself.

Set smaller, practical goals that represent the steps you need to undertake to help you mark your progress. What steps will you need to take each day? What constitutes successfully practicing your habit? What kinds of milestones will you use to measure your progress? You should answer these questions as practically as you can to help your efforts to build good habits.

A good tip here is to try breaking your habit-forming into chunks to work towards it in incremental steps. Write down your steps and set deadlines for completion so you know what you need to accomplish each day and why.

Myth 4: You should replace old habits with new ones

It’s easy to assume that building up a good habit starts by identifying and replacing a bad one. For example, someone who wants to become more focussed at work might say that they need to stop checking social media regularly first.

That’s helpful, sure, but the two aren’t necessarily related. You can stop spending too much time on social media but if you improve your habits at work, it won’t necessarily result in an improvement.

Don’t connect the two in your mind or think that starting a good habit means breaking an old one. Just start it, and address and overcome the bad habits on their own.

Starting a new habit is much more difficult without a plan to follow and a system to gauge it in practical terms. With a system in place, it’s so much easier to build the habits from the start, plus a good plan will cushion you when you slip up.

Ultimately, by understanding some of the common myths that exist around forming new habits you can better decide what not to do, and what to do, to make positive changes to your routines to become more productive in work this year. Good planning and regular practice will get you there.

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