juarezlowe

I am writing this for all the procrastinators and perfectionists out there (you know who you are). It’s past the middle of the year. Many New Year resolutions about getting fit, eating right, etc are probably out the window.

This post is dedicated to three women I know. One is an artist in the South of France – yes life is tough. Another is a kitchen artiste who comes up with vegetarian food even a carnivore like me loves. Lastly it’s my wife, who takes amazing photos (among other things).

This year they have embarked on a daily commitment. Floating Lemons does a drawing a day, Delectable does a recipe a day and my wife does a picture a day (sometimes more) with a snappy witty paragraph to accompany it.

What does this do? It forces them to practice. If they are perfectionists, they have to get it out every day. It’s great practice and discipline. Why do they do this? Floating Lemons hones her drawing skills and forces her to draw one drawing a day. Delectable pushes herself to come up with different vegetarian recipes – sometimes based on limited ingredients. My wife has to post a photo a day, regardless of whether it passes her quality control.

How does this apply to the corporate world? If you want to improve yourself, then set yourself a target and try to practice on a regular scheduled basis. You don’t need to do it every day. For my column in live and inspire, I have to submit my articles every 2 weeks. Over time, I hope my writing skills will improve.

If you want to move careers, you may want to do one job application a day. Set aside 30 minutes for it. Chose the company you want and tailor your resume to it. If you want to learn more about negotiation, read an article a day and then graduate to books. Set yourself every Monday to assess your progress. Even more powerful, tell your friends what you are doing and have them be your coach.

Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, it is starting this process that is the most difficult. Don’t worry if you fall off track. Get back on the wagon.

Key takeaways to starting a new habit a day at a time:

1. Do something you like. Do it on a regular basis – e.g. daily or weekly or bi-weekly.

2. Do declare it to your friends and enlist them to coach you on a weekly basis

3. Assess your performance weekly.

Using these techniques will help you develop your skills further and stay on track to success. In the words of Charles Noble “First we make our habits and then our habits make us”.