Identify existing behaviours • 2 min
Psychologists at the University of Southern California (USC) performed a behavioural study which showed that over 40% of daily activities carried out by the participants were enacted habitually while they were thinking about something else.
Introduction
As leaders within your organisation, it is crucial to support your workforce in identifying and embedding work habits that contribute positively to overall productivity and well-being. However, it can be challenging to implement new habits without first understanding the current patterns of behaviour within the organisation.
Today, we’ll explore how to raise awareness around existing behaviours among your employees. This is an important first step before we look to create new habits.
List out existing habits
Encourage your employees to start by listing out their daily habits.
What routines have become ingrained in their day-to-day work life?
It might look like something as follows:
Wake up
Check phone
Brush teeth
Take a shower
Get dressed
Check phone
Have a coffee
Eat breakfast
Commute to work
Listen to podcast
Turn on laptop
Open up calendar to check schedule
Check emails
And so on...
Identify a new habit
Once your employees recognise their current routines, consider which new habits could be valuable to their productivity. For instance, if improved time management and prioritisation are organisational goals, introduce a simple, impactful habit such as a "Top Three Non-Negotiable Tasks" list.
This list could be written each morning immediately after employees turn on their computers, before they become distracted by other activities such as checking schedules or emails.
By placing this new habit between two established behaviours, employees are more likely to adopt it consistently.
Here’s an example:
Turn on laptop
NEW HABIT: Write "Top Three Non-Negotiable Tasks" list
Review calendar and check schedule
Encouraging this small behavioural adjustment can help your employees focus on high-priority tasks from the start of the day.
Key takeaways
Raising awareness of existing behavioural patterns will increase the likelihood of successfully embedding new, productive habits across your organisation.
Guide employees to start by listing routines that are ingrained in their day-to-day work life.
Encourage starting with an easy habit and embedding it early in the day, before obvious distractions arise.
Think big, act small
Begin with a comprehensive list of current daily habits. Then, identify one new behaviour that aligns with your organisational goals and encourage employees to adopt it into their routine.
Next time, we’ll explore "habit stacking"—the concept of adding a new behaviour on top of an established one for smoother integration.
Content sources
Atomic Habits, James Clear
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Habits in everyday life: Thought, emotion, and action, Wendy Wood, Jeffrey Quinn, and Deborah Kashy
PositivePsychology.com, How Are Habits Formed? The Psychology of Behavioural Change
Society for Personality and Social Psychology, How we form habits, change existing ones, Wendy Wood
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