Auto Pilot

Up to 40% of the actions we take are by conscious decision. That means that, for most of our day, we function on autopilot. Since we all have habits that need to be adjusted or changed, we would benefit from correcting the habits that are automatic.

Auto Habits

It’s hard to believe that most our daily activity is driven by our automatic habits—actions we have adopted over the months and years. Some of them are good, like brushing your teeth or saying thank you.

However, there are a number of habits that have developed over the years that should be questioned. For instance, work habits might include an inconsistent start time for your day, eating lunch at your desk, or allowing distractions to take you away of the work at hand. Personal habits might include your snack choices that are bad for you, not hydrating throughout the day, or avoiding a daily walk. Changing your autopilot habits is rarely easy, but necessary.

Change Auto Habits

We are often told that in order to change, we need to have more self-control. And when we fail, it is because we aren’t disciplined enough. However, there may be more to making changes in our lives than sheer self-control.

More recent research suggests that that putting ourselves in the right situations is more important than gathering enough discipline to do something differently. It makes sense. As an example, if you are restricting your food or beverage intake, you shouldn’t watch the game at the local tavern.

This technique of creating situations for change may be more important than mustering up enough self-control to make changes. If you turn your phone off and out of sight, you are less likely to be distracted by it. If you have a water bottle at your desk, you are more likely to hydrate instead of snacking. If you have a habit of saying yes too quickly to requests, you would benefit by developing a habit of delaying a response for an hour or a day to get a better perspective.

Your Auto Habits

You know automatic habits you have that you have accumulated over the years. Which ones would you benefit from changing in some way to increase your professionalism and your satisfaction with yourself and your work? You deserve the best and your auto-habits are one way to get there.