How to Manage Habits to Achieve Success in Any Endeavor Without Superhuman Effort (Mini-Course)

This is the first post in a mini-course on how to learn to manage for easy goal achievement, and why it's important for you to know about this Manage Habits Course

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Why Habits Are Important for Productivity
3. Willpower and Its Limitations
4. Managing Habits and Their Impact on Your Life
5. Defining Near-Term Goals and Transforming Them into Habits
6. Assignment

Introduction

For me, life in the modern world is like a quote from "Through the Looking-Glass": "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" Every day you need to learn and try something new. And for me, there's nothing more frightening than constantly performing routine actions through sheer force of will.

For example, laying out the same magazine using a template that hasn't changed for many years. Or the daily editing of several programs using the same template, which have been running for more than 7 years in a row.

To realize your own dreams and achieve goals, you need to expand your knowledge and skills in different directions. I really like the expression that there's nothing complicated in the world - it's just a matter of time. That's why I constantly repeat: the main thing is consistency and practice. Expand your knowledge and skills to realize dreams and achieve goals. Let's learn to turn routine actions that have to be done through willpower into habits and hand them over to "autopilot". And also form the necessary habits for comfortable development with minimal effort.

This course is dedicated to forming exactly such habits. They are the foundation of a fundamental routine that will help you make progress in long-term goals in any area: career, relationships, quality of life, personal development, etc.

And most importantly, why you should pay attention to this topic and approach its study seriously - the ability to manage habits is a meta-skill. It's a primary skill that helps us form both "soft" and "hard" skills.

Why Habits Are Important for Productivity

Develop habits to increase productivity and achieve results.

For example, Leo Tolstoy had a strict daily routine and a habit of writing every day. This allowed him to focus on his work and achieve outstanding results in literature. The habit of writing helped him create masterpieces such as "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina".

Benjamin Franklin developed a system of habits that he followed daily. He allocated time for self-development, reading, physical activity, and public service. His habit of daily self-improvement helped him become a successful scientist, politician, and entrepreneur.

Michael Phelps is known for his routine, which included early morning training sessions and a strict diet. His habit of constant training led him to become a multiple Olympic swimming champion.

Form habits and routines in accordance with your conscious goals.

Willpower and Its Limitations

If you're wondering why habits are so important and why I'm paying so much attention to this, because you might think that we control ourselves with our consciousness and direct ourselves to work, or in other words, that we have willpower and we use it to achieve results, then yes:

An important part of our personality is willpower. But it's a consumable resource. Under ideal conditions, we wake up in the morning with a full "jug" of willpower, which we use throughout the day. In non-ideal conditions - increased stress, lack of sleep, etc. - we wake up with an incomplete "jug", which is depleted faster.

Now, why habit is more important than willpower in development. Willpower is not expended on habitual actions. Therefore, it's more beneficial to invest effort in forming a habit so that you don't have to spend willpower on learning later. And even in the absence of willpower, regardless of the reasons, the power of habit will allow you to constantly develop.

Managing Habits and Their Impact on Your Life

When you consciously take control of managing habits, your life changes to "before" and "after". You also reduce the possibility of falling into destructive behavior patterns, reduce levels of fatigue and procrastination.

Research confirms that forming habits indeed reduces the expenditure of willpower. For example, studies conducted at the University of Southern California (USC) under the leadership of Professor Wendy Wood showed that people with established beneficial habits spend less effort on performing routine tasks. These habits become automatic and don't require conscious application of willpower, which allows it to be saved for more complex and creative tasks.

In particular, Wood and her colleagues' study found that about 43% of people's daily actions are performed automatically, without conscious control, thanks to habits. This proves that habits play a key role in reducing the load on willpower and increasing the efficiency of performing everyday tasks To break unhealthy habits, stop obsessing over willpower — why routines matter more than conscious choices, How Are Habits Formed? The Psychology of Habit Formation.

For more detailed information, you can familiarize yourself with the research of Wendy Wood and her laboratory at USC, as well as publications on habits and willpower on websites such as PositivePsychology.com.

Defining Near-Term Goals and Transforming Them into Habits

Define near-term goals for effective work in this course. Then break them down into smaller parts that you can turn into habits. I'll write more about how to do this in the following articles.

If you're unsure about your goals or have too many, this course will help you focus and achieve success. I'll be very happy if you join this course, decide to define your goals, and start forming new habits.

Let's begin!

Assignment "List of Habits"

This assignment will help us "orient ourselves in space" and "set the first checkpoints" for clear work going forward.

Observe yourself and your actions. Record in a convenient format (in a notebook with a pen or in notes on your phone) those that you consider a "habit".

These can be daily actions (washing up and brushing teeth in the morning).

As well as actions that you regularly perform, but not every day (for example, a laundry evening on a certain day of the week and at a certain time).

As always, I invite you to share your opinion in the comments
With love 😽 🤗 😘
K