Mark Conner Soul Food

Soul Food Episode 25 – Routines

Hi friends. Welcome to this week’s edition of Soul Food.

Did you know that billionaire, Richard Branson, wears the same brand of jeans and a white shirt every day because it simplifies his packing when traveling?

Even former American president Barack Obama wears only grey and blue suits. Why? To reduce decisions about what to wear or eat, so he has the energy to focus on the other important decisions he faces every day.

In his excellent book No-Fail Habits, Michael Hyatt says that one of the keys to improved effectiveness is “implementing a system of strong habits that structure your day, allowing you to automate your most important activities and make you more productive in less time.” 

He goes on to say that, “By making some decisions a matter of routine, you free yourself to focus on your highest priorities without neglecting other responsibilities.” 

Self-automation is the process of putting some of your daily decisions and actions on autopilot, so they happen without conscious thought. This allows you to manage important details of your life while freeing mental headspace to focus on other priorities”

In many ways, each day is like a new flight. As the pilot of your own life, if you can automate some of your basic daily routines, it will free you to focus on what is most important with less effort. By learning to make fewer decisions every day, you can actually accomplish much more while doing less.

Each of us has at least four daily rituals or routines – (1) our morning routine, (2) our work start-up routine, (3) our work shut-down routine, and (4) our evening routine.

Take the time to notice what you are already doing.

  • What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? What do you do after that?
  • What do you do first when you start work? Then what? Then what?
  • What do you do once you’ve decided to stop working for the day? Then what?
  • What’s the last thing you do before you fall asleep? What comes before that? And before that?

Once you’ve observed what you are already doing, intentionally re-engineer these routines so they work for you.

Willpower only works to a certain point when it comes to change. In fact, most of us experience ‘decision fatigue’ which gradually saps our energy as a day unfolds. Establishing automated routines saves us from having to make too many decisions each day.

One of the reasons we have so many creative ideas in the shower is partly because it is a self-automated environment. We turn the water on, shampoo our hair, and wash – without hardly thinking about it. That frees your brain up to think about something else. 

Let’s summarise our main points:

  1. You can improve your daily effectiveness by automating your most important activities. 
  2. Each of us has at least four daily rituals or routines – our morning routine, our work start-up routine, our work shut-down routine, and our evening routine. Take the time to identify what works and what doesn’t, then re-engineer them for your benefit.
  3. Establishing helpful automated routines saves us from having to make too many decisions each day.

That’s all for today. See you next week. 

You can watch a video of this episode on the Soul Food with Mark Conner YouTube channel.

Mark Conner Soul Food

Soul Food Episode 24 – Habits

Hi friends. Welcome to this week’s edition of Soul Food.

It’s been said that “It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting.”

Life is made up of habits – things we do regularly, often without even being aware of them. Habits are what we repeatedly do. It’s true. “We make our habits, then our habits make us.” 

Good habits include things like exercising regularly, being grateful, paying your bills on time, and showing respect for others. 

Bad habits include thinking negatively, interrupting people when they are talking, not cleaning up your mess, or gossiping about other people.

Our habits will either break us or make us. We become what we repeatedly do. 

Thankfully, we are stronger than our habits. We can change them. It’s not always easy, but it is possible. 

When it comes to our habits, there is something neuroscientists call ‘the habit loop’. It operates all the time, whether we are aware of it or now. The four elements in the habit loop are (1) the trigger (or cue), (2) the response (or behaviour), (3) the reward, and then (4) repetition. Yes, it takes time for a habit to be formed – anywhere from 21 days to 3 months. 

It’s worth taking the time to reflect on your current habits.

  1. What is the activation trigger or cue for your behaviour?
  2. What is your response – the actual behaviour you engage in?
  3. What is the reward? Why are you motivated to engage in this habit – what intrinsic or extrinsic benefit or reward is there for you?
  4. What is the repetition? When and how often do you engage in this habit?

If you simply make a change to any step in this process, you can change your habits.

For instance, if you want to stop the habit of engaging in social media last thing at night before you go to sleep, leave your phone in a different room and have a book by your bed instead. 

Or if you want to have some ‘quiet time’ each morning before checking your email, to meditate, be still or read something inspirational, turn your computer or devices off each night and prepare your space for those morning moments. 

You can also apply this process to any new habits you would like to form. 

It could be as simple as laying out your exercise clothes last thing at night so when you get up in the morning you are prompted to engage in your exercise routine. Then after you finish your exercise, you might reward yourself with your favourite smoothie to start the day. Repeat this enough times and it will be an established healthy habit in your life.

Let’s summarise our main points:

  1. Life is made up of habits – things we do regularly, often without even being aware of them. 
  2. Our habits make or break us. We become what we repeatedly do. 
  3. Habits can be changed. 
  4. Experiment with tweaking ‘the habit loop’ to change, edit, or adjust your habits. 

That’s all for today. See you next week. 

You can watch the video of this episode on the Soul Food YouTube channel.