28 days

28 days that’s the minimum time it takes to change a habit.  Let’s say you decided this year you were going to leave your desk tidy every night, or your email filed or you’d take the stairs instead of the lift.  Then this month you’ll have noticed that each time you came to make that change there was some conscious talk going on.  Maybe you stuck it on your to do list so you wouldn’t forget.  As we know the thing about habits is they’re unconscious - we don’t have to think about doing them, we just do.  How many of us with a full drivers license still chant mirror, signal , maneuver - but there was a time when we did.  Before anything becomes a habit we have to consciously repeat it until it becomes second nature.  Typically it takes 4-6 weeks to change one habit for another. 

There are lots of reasons for new years resolutions or goals to end up in the bin right about now.  This happens to be one of them.  Notice the examples I gave are daily activities, so we could say it’s a minimum of 28 days or 28 repetitions before your new habit is embedded.  Many people give up too soon, looking for the easy, fast, minimal action required option to get their end result.  So as you go through the change just keep reminding yourself of the benefits or pleasure from the new habit once it’s embedded.  If you want it enough 28 repetitions before it becomes your new way of life seems pretty quick to me, of course you have to want it enough.

New Year Resolutions

Traditionally at some point this month there is a habit of setting new resolutions or goals for the coming year.  In many cases these can end up in the bin before the month is out.  Changing habits tends to require discipline and will power amongst a few other things. 

So let me suggest something a bit different.  By all means think about what you want to achieve this year and before you commence, have a right good chuck out.  Your wardrobe, desk, filing cabinets and garage are always easy places to start, you can move on to your mind later.  Even if you don’t normally set goals or you’re not sure what you want 2008 to be, have a real good throw out. 

For me nothing beats a good de-clutter to free up space for the new stuff to arrive.