5 Steps to Breaking Bad Work Habits

We all have our own bad habits at the office. Maybe it’s gossiping or complaining. Or binge eating or nail-biting. Or checking e-mail incessantly.

Whatever the habit, we’d be happier without it. To break and replace those tendencies, follow these simple five steps:

Step 1: Identify your bad office habits

Routine makes us feel safe, but don’t hide under the umbrella of familiarity for too long. The problem with habits is that we let them control us. Our subconscious kicks in and tendencies take over—without us even thinking about them.

Monitor yourself for a full week as you go through average work days. Jot down any potential habits in a job journal. Whether it's an arbitrary ritual like tapping your toe three times before you enter the building or sipping on an afternoon diet soda, include it on the list. The point here isn’t to nab every habit and routine, but to find a starting point.

Read more of my blog entry at U.S. News & World Report.

Comments

[Laurie]

For me I find the worst habit is email by far :-(. The best way to combat this has been to not run my email program at all. When its running, or in background mode it is far too easy to check it. However if I have to boot it up to check things, then its a lot easier to not do it. I tried going 30 days without checking my email, but that didn't work (even though I have had a lot of success with that for other habits). That is probably because some of the time I actually do need to get notified when an email comes in.

[Moriene]

Thanks for sharing the information about breaking bad habits everyone of us are having good or bad habits but we are not accepting them once we accept them then only we can remove them.