16 habit building ideas [career and relationship]

We continue with a series of habits examples in areas that are of importance to all of us. In the previous article we elaborated on the areas of Health and Finance, and now it’s time for Career and Relationship.

We are to show you a series of habits models that we have found to work and that can support our goals in order to achieve our dreams with ease. There is no one-size-fits-all habit, so anyone can find one to try.

Job, career, mission

No matter what we name it, the greater part of our day is spent in it. That is why it is important for us to have working habits in this area and thus to achieve more.

While preparing the material, we made a list, but we also looked it up on the Internet. We were amazed to find out how many examples of “habits” in professional life are being figured out, while they are nothing more but skills. The latest are “be positive”, “don’t get into conflicts”, “be organized”, “be proactive”, “communicate effectively”, “be productive” and many more. These are actually the results of some useful habits, not themselves.

“People find it difficult to define habits, and perhaps this prevents them from building them. We are looking for the action which we consciously decide to be repeated regularly, with the idea that over time it will become automated.”

Here is our list:

# 1 Rewrite one page a day

This works extremely well. We have seen people who have been below average in their field reaching the top, thanks to this habit.

Here is the recipe: you rewrite one page every day, or you take a certain time to rewrite a text. Of course, you are not copying Instagram statuses, but something that is important to your career.

If you are an engineer – guides, regulations, solutions of complex problems. If you are an advertising copywriter – you copy the best sales letters. This is the way the achievers learn.

“The strength of this habit lies in the connection between the brain and the hand.”

Mechanical transcription of text aims to embed in your mind basic principles, models that affect your perception until eventually you start applying them. Especially at the beginning of your career, it really helps a lot.

# 2 Planning the day (Niki)

If you, like us, are the type of person for whom it is important to keep the work situation under control, instead of putting out fires all day, this habit can impress you a lot.

Nikki likes to plan his most important tasks early in the morning. He goes through the communication channels to check for something that is of importance, and uses software to mark priorities.

He has inherited this habit from the schooldays, where they handed out sheets with a schedule for the day. To this day, he finds it particularly effective – he manages to follow his own schedule, to do everything important, and often many other minor tasks.

# 3 Every night 3 things for the next day (Ivan)

Ivan also plans his day, with some differences.

First, he plans from the night before. This allows his brain to work at night and sometimes finds solutions to some cases in a natural way.

Second, he makes his plans not only for the most important tasks of the day, but for the set of three things that currently “take out” of him the greater part of his energy. When someone expects something from him, or has a tedious but irrevocable administrative task, it acts as an anchor and does not leave him alone. Therefore, once he gets rid of this type of commitments for the day, Ivan manages to finish everything that is a priority for him.

# 4 Read 30 minutes a day

For Ivan, things in his career started with great speed the moment he got into the habit of reading every day. That made the big difference.

“Many people think that learning ends with graduation. They replace daily intensive reading with daily… absolutely nothing, in the strong belief they would learn from practice.”

Yes, experience contributes to our professional growth, but nothing can surpass the conscious enrichment with current information in our field. It can be on an existing problem, or on the work process itself.

What’s more, reading non-career-related texts, including classic literature, is evolving and worth building as a conscious habit. By broadening our horizons and our general culture, we become better at everything.

#5 5-minutes-a-day online courses

Watch video tutorials every day a little and imperceptibly you will have advanced so much that you will be surprised. If you get used to receiving important information for your work or career development, even a small amount of time, but regularly, will pay off.

Everyone has 5 minutes.

Think about it – you have a lot more for all the other things that waste your time. Which brings us to the next point.

# 6 Turn off your social networks

The biggest enemy of productivity is the aimless browsing in social networks. The truth is that it robs us, distracts us, hinders our careers and, in fact, everything else. As has been said before, the physical environment, no less than the social one, can support or sabotage our goals. It is important to surround ourselves with supporters and eliminate the obstacles that hinder us.

The habit we can build in this regard is to replace Facebook time with time for something useful. Reading, video tutorials, writing – the choice is yours.

#7 30 minutes earlier in the office – morning work ritual

We’ve all seen colleagues rush through the door, panting (or even after) 9:00, muttering something about traffic and parking spaces; throw bags and laptops, then run to the coffee machine. The day can start with unnecessary stress if you are not on time.

A very useful habit, in our opinion, is to go to the office earlier to have the opportunity for your own productivity ritual.

It can include a quick overview of the tasks for the day, or planning if you haven’t already done so. You can read something that will set you up or help you get in rhythm. Or you can just do a task that would otherwise bother you and prevent you from working.

Earlier appearance has advantages in another respect.

# 8 5 minutes earlier in meetings

One of the habits of successful people is to go slightly earlier for business meetings. The benefits are multiple.

First, you get inner peace. You are not frustrated and distracted by your possible delay – how it will affect your performance and the opinion of others about you. You have the peace of mind that things are under control. You can focus on the essence of the conversation.

Second, you have the time and opportunity to check the environment in advance in the situation. To feel at home, to sit comfortably and prepare your materials, and if you are going to present – to test your technique.

Last but not least, if you come earlier, you may hear information that you would otherwise miss, and thus get more confident

# 9 Dress for success

You’ve probably heard the theory that we should dress not for the work we have, but for the one we want. Far beyond the realm of Halloween costumes, here’s the following:

If you get used to thinking of clothes and appearance as a means of conveying a message, this will help you decide how to dress. Every morning while making this choice in front of the wardrobe, you can do this exercise.

Which piece of clothing says “I take this job seriously”? Which accessory says “I want to be listened to, not distracted by eccentric details about me”? Which combination suggests “Am I  here for my professional qualities”?

When you make it a habit to dress appropriately for your surroundings and work, you get self-confident.

# 10 Weekly goal review

“The truth is that if we want to achieve any goals, we must not allow ourselves to forget them. That is why one of the basic rules of our system is the weekly review of goals, best if you can do it with your goal buddy.”

The same goes for our career development goals. If we consciously sit down with a notebook and pencil every week and remember what we are trying to achieve in the long run, what is our vision for our career or mission, it will certainly help us a lot to keep an eye on our direction. To make the right decisions and to be aware when making sharp turns.

A lot can be said about work, but let’s move on to the second important area of life – relationships.

Relationship

This is another area that most people have a vision for. How they want to develop their relationship with family, friends, partner.

At first glance, it may seem that everything happens in an intuitive and natural way – we are as we are, and the people next to us have chosen us, love us and everything should go smoothly.

But we would say that this is only on the surface. In fact, actions that we consciously turn into habits are the ones that will make the big difference between “grey everyday life” and a life full of harmony and understanding. Here are some personal examples:

# 11 Always say “thank you”

It is no coincidence that “thank you” is one of the “magic words” we are first taught as children.

There is something very strong and special about being grateful. To relatives, friends, colleagues, even people who were not actually expected to do something. When we say it, it changes the picture and makes the other person smile.

“Getting away from the idea that people owe us something in some way, and expressing gratitude for their contribution to our lives is so easy and helps so much in the relationship!”

# 12 Diary with gratitude

We have discussed before how the habit of expressing conscious gratitude within yourself redirects your energy to positivity and constructivity.

It can be a habit, for example, every night to remember the three good things that happened to you during the day and which you are grateful for, and to share them with your loved ones. Or write in your diary as part of your morning ritual whom and what you are grateful for.

One cannot be both grateful and angry. We can choose the first and set a wonderful tone for the day.

# 13 Weekly walk

According to Ivan, this is a habit that “fills the tank” in the relationship with your partner.

Whether it’s a trip in the mountains, a walk in the city streets or just in the nearby park, the time outside with your loved one is invaluable because it brings a breath of fresh air and sets you up for more pleasant and leisure conversations.

# 14 Date night

Americans have a special day of the week to “date” their partner.

Even if you have a crazy life,  a number of children and have been married for 20 years, you can still have a “date”. This is a habit that Nikki and his wife have learned.

Every week they go out together, for example, in a nice restaurant to be alone and spend pleasant time as a couple.

# 15 Sending and welcoming ritual

In some homes, people enter and leave without others even noticing.

But how big the difference is when you have the habit of parting with a family member in the morning with a kiss and a wish for a nice and successful day! And in the evening to gather again with joy and excitement, as if you have not seen each other for weeks.

This is something that Niki can confirm, for whom the rituals of sending and welcoming loved ones have become a wonderful way to maintain a warm relationship.

Even when you pick up the phone to remind your spouse to buy yogurt, do it with a smile and a kind tone, because every gesture matters.

# 16 Friday games / movies or other family activities

Some families love board games, others puzzles, or movie marathons. Anything that involves the whole family and is enjoyable and fun will work.

When built as a special ritual, even something small like sitting in front of a nice movie with freshly made popcorn can be a pleasant cohesive experience.

Tell us which of your habits you find useful

There are so many things you can do to be successful in your career and satisfied with your relationship. We can’t list everything, but we hope you’ve taken an idea to test. We will be happy to learn your habits as well. Thanks and see you soon!

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