Now well into April, it’s most certainly spring for those of us in the northern hemisphere. Spring weather is a welcomed relief from the cold wintery gloom, and we’re being greeted with many spring holidays such as Easter, Passover, and Ramadan. Spring is also a time when many who set out on fantastic New Year’s resolutions, begin to hit the point of challenge, disinterest, and simply fall off the wagon. But about a month ago, a lot of us experienced the change to Daylight Saving Time, where our clocks “spring forward” an hour and we enjoy longer evenings of sunshine (hopefully). Springing forward doesn’t only hold itself to this highly debated semi-annual changing of clocks thought. 

Over the past few weeks, many of my conversations have included requests for insight and guidance or open discussion about creating progress against goals. Many times, these conversations turn into beautifully described and explained tactics, intelligent and intentional frameworks, and very impressive “life hacks”. But I might suggest, it’s not so complicated, and comes down to nothing more than getting started and being 1% better each day. Insert the 2 minute rule. 

Growing up competing in several athletic sports, my stepdad used to repeat consistently “the hardest part of going for a run is tying your shoes and stepping out the door.” Many of us have also hear that “the heaviest weight at the gym, is the front door.” Both commonly shared sentiments point to the fact that starting something is the key. The 2-minute rule is nothing more than, if we want to dramatically improve or transform something in our lives, we must break it down into incredibly small bites. For example, if we want to read a book (which, especially for non-readers can feel daunting), commit to reading 1 page. This 2-minute commitment is something everyone has the fortitude to complete. Then we commit to another 2-minutes the next day until a habit is formed. We are all products of the habits, not the willpower we hope drives us through the day. 

But how do we choose, and then break down the habits we want to form? Here are some ideas: 

Dream Big – Habits are the boring parts of accomplishing impressive things on a regular basis. Losing a tremendous amount of body weight or earning an impressive educational degree or certificate is commonly accomplished through eating a consistent diet of well balanced and portion-controlled meals + exercise or by studying for a few hours every night over the course of a couple years. But it all starts dreaming big about the accomplishments we seek. If we start at the habits, they normally are hard to stack up to something exciting but if we start with the exciting part, we can keep our eye on the prize and consistently dream about where we’re going. Until one day we’re there! I recommend reading “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg if you are eager to learn more. 

Talk it out – Talking with trusted partners, professionally or personally, is another great way to break down our dreams and goals into basic habits. It’s also a great way to create social accountability and to create a support system around what we’re chasing. Just think about the last time we described a big challenge or opportunity to a friend, and they replied, “Can’t you just do XYZ every day?” That’s the power of an outside perspective that is unattached to the outcome helping us simplify and execute. Find a friend or coworker and hash it out together. 

Plan accordingly – Planning (and then honoring that plan) is a biggie. This is what helps us avoid days or weeks going by without ever taking the first step. Now, we can get super fancy with planning our days and weeks to create healthy habits carefully and effectively (and I’m not undermining the impressive work and content that exists around this) but keeping things simple is a great way to get going, so in that spirit here are a few ideas:

Habits, both good and bad, have incredible impacts on the outcomes we feel each day, week, and month. From sleep to diet, to professional performance and meeting success, our habits are likely the cause for many of the experiences we have each day. Choosing the habits that we keep and those we shed is a very powerful thing. Power we each hold 😊 

Share your hacks to creating great habits and breaking bad ones in the comments below!