Harnessing The Positive Power of Habits

By Bonnie Boots

Habit is one of the most powerful forces you can arm yourself with as you battle for success If you read the January issue of The Internet Wizards Magazine, you saw an example of the that power in action.

On January 1^st, my energy was lagging and my spirits were dragging. Not, you understand, from over celebrating the New Year the night before, but simply from working too many hours for too long a time.

I’d started the winter season overscheduled with work commitments. I then proceeded to pack that schedule tighter with all the extra things we do during the holidays.

I got through it, but barely. When 2008 rolled in and the fireworks went off, I wasn’t there to yell “Yahoo!” I was deep under the covers, desperately trying to catch some extra Z’s so I could stumble back to work the next day.

When I did, and looked at my work calendar, all I could say was, “Ugh!”

It was time to start putting a magazine together, and I just didn’t feel like doing it.

And honestly, there was no reason I had to. The earth wouldn’t stop spinning if I missed distributing my free magazine for one month. And I desperately needed some down time to recuperate from overwork. So I decided that just this one time, I would let it go.

But then something happened.

I normally release the magazine on the 10^th of each month. On January 7^th, I started to feel a little anxious. My inner voice started telling me I had to put out an issue. I told that voice, kindly but firmly, that it should shut up. I’d made a decision for good reasons, and I was sticking to it.

On January 8^th, I was deep in other projects when I began to have an overwhelming impulse to work on the magazine. And late that evening, unable to resist the urge, I shuffled my entire schedule so I could set everything else aside except the magazine.

On January 10^th the new issue came out, and no one but me knew that its production was purely due to the power of habit.

I trained myself, when I was a new writer, to never miss deadlines. I’d noticed that many writers ignore them, so by developing this trait in myself, I could offer magazine editors a special inducement for giving me assignments—the assurance that they would have my article on time, no ifs, ands, butts or excuses.

That work habit served me well, as editors passed my name around and carried me with them from publication to publication.

Years later, I cannot ignore a deadline even when it’s self-imposed, even when all logic says it is flexible. And that is a very good habit to have, because creative work often starts out in the high heat of inspiration. Inspiration sparks energy and we find ourselves filled with motivation. Motivation is what gets you started.

But habit is what keeps you going.

The start of a project is always the most exciting phase. The start is full of potential and possibility. But when you hit the middle, which is mostly full of work, excitement and motivation can fade. What happens next is determined entirely by habit.

Charles Dickens was an incredibly prolific writer. He was quoted as saying “I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.”

Cultivating good work habits is especially important for people who are self-employed. Because no one stands over you, making you accountable, you are entirely at the mercy of your work habits.

If you are in the habit of giving up, you will. If you’re in the habit of slacking off, you will. And if you are in the habit of demanding that you meet your goals and commitments, that you strive for excellence, deliver quality, achieve success, you will.

 
About the Author

Bonnie Boots publishes The Internet Wizards Magazine and the companion The Internet Wizards Blog to teach self-employed people and small businesses owners how to leverage the internet for advertising, marketing and promoting their business. To stay in touch with her, type your name and email into the subscriber box in the left column of this page. You'll be glad you did!