You have probably read a lot of tips on how developing the right habits will help you increase your productivity and effectiveness. But when do your habits just become routine? When do you know if you are in a rut?
I had a mentor that taught me that we improve our effectiveness by solving problems, or challenges we face. In fact, he said that we sometimes need to create a problem just so we can see opportunity that we wouldn’t otherwise recognize.
That is why I think it is important to occasionally take a break from our habits. We will be able to evaluate from a different perspective what our day could become.
For some of you this may sound crazy. We spend our life building habits. But when you look closely, habits sometimes morph into routine actions. We begin to separate the reason for the habit from the habit itself. If we can step back and reconnect with the why, we may see better opportunities.
For example, the way we use technology drives many of our habits. But as technology advances, we may not be able to take advantage of the change, if we are not able to break our habits.
Another example is not taking advantage of the variety of ways to achieve our purpose. There are unlimited methods that can be employed in exercise, diet, project implementation, relationship building, etc. But if we are stuck in certain habits, our results will never reach our potential.
Good habits lead to good results. Don’t throw away habits for a life of chaos. But to see more opportunity, occasionally we need a break.