How to get rid of bad habits at work

How does the habit

An important feature of any habit is an unconscious repetition. A vicious circle of unconscious automatic actions.

As noted by Charles Duhigg (Charles Duhigg) in his book "force of habit"A vicious circle of action is almost always the same pattern. We have a habit of stimulus (trigger) that it is launching the brain and translates to automatic mode; action - constant repetition of anything; reward - a pleasant sensation, which makes again and again to this pattern.

Let us examine this scheme harmful working habits - frequently checking email or social networks.

• Stimulus: you have completed the task, and decide what to do next. In this break you start checking email.
• Act: you are viewing e-mail and read all letters that you have come, even if they are not related to work.
• reward: you will feel the satisfaction of having finished to perform multiple tasks, such as responding to email a friend, watched video in social networks, in a review of the order, which has recently received.

The problem is that all these things are not relevant to the job, you're just wasting your time, and task list It remains untouched.

Over time, this circle - the incentive effect, the award - it becomes automatic. And the habit is formed.

Remuneration is accompanied by the release of dopamine, so you have formed dependency checking email, and no articles on productivity will not affect the finished habit.

How to get rid of the habit

Interest in acting

To bring the habit of automatic mode, it is necessary to pay attention to all the components of the pattern: stimulus, action and reward. Interested in his habit, disassemble it into parts and feel every moment: why do you want to do it, what you are experiencing in the process of action and what you like with the result.

It is this approach to dealing with the habits described in his speech at the TED conference psychiatrist Judson Brewer (Judson Brewer).

What if, instead of fighting with them, you just really are interested in what is happening at the moment? Brewer cites the example of smoking. When people are focused on the act of smoking, were interested in the fact that they feel in the tightening time, they realized that there were no pleasant feelings do not. One of the participants of the experiment called the direct experience of the nasty smoke, the taste of cigarettes seemed to her chemical and very unpleasant. Judging by the statistics of the experiment, the concentration in the habit helps to get rid of it.

Try to keep track of what you experience when you execute pulls habitual action, such as check email. Maybe it makes you feel productive?

"A lot of things that we do during the day, provide us with a sense of efficiency, which it is impossible to resist, "- says Laura Vanderkam (Laura Vanderkam), author of" The Book of Lost time. "

But the fact that you are constantly checking email, does not help you to better cope with the work, it simply provides a false sense of employment.

Realizing that the habit does not give you anything, you can change it. And for that you need a new beneficial effects, which will replace unnecessary.

substitution actions

It will be easier to turn into a useful habit, if you leave an incentive and a reward, but replace the action itself. Let us examine the same email verification example.

You finish one task and start thinking what to do next. This stimulus. Instead of checking email, you close all the tabs that can distract you, and get to the next task in the list. This action. In the end, you finish important tasks quickly and feel productive. This is the reward.

So you do not destroy the habit, but simply change the action and instead wasted time getting really productive day.

Why it is necessary to eradicate bad habits

Getting rid of bad habits at work, you change your life in general. Positive changes in one area lead to changes in other spheres of life. For example, ceasing to check email at work, you can do more, and frees up space for sports. Or eradicating the habit of checking email and social networks, you begin to communicate more with family, find time for meditation, less nervous and sleep better.

And this applies not only to individuals but also to organizations. For example, when Paul O'Neill (Paul O'Neill) led Alcola company, he chose the first priority the safety of workers. Focusing on the fight against established habits Alcola made one of the most productive and successful companies in the production of aluminum.

Choose one habit a week and watch with interest for her. Try changing one habitual action within the company, such as the method of hiring staff or meetings, and after a while you will see how it will affect the organization as a whole.

Realizing that habits can be changed, you will get the freedom to remake them in their own way. And having received authority over the habits that can change lives for the better.