Creating a new habit is never easy. It requires real discipline to adhere to a new routine.
What isn’t obvious is how frequently the routine needs to be repeated before a habit is formed. New behaviors that don’t occur daily seldom become habits.
The human brain is hard-wired to create new connections. When a behavior is repeated regularly, especially in the same environment, the brain gradually encodes it as a routine action.
Daily repetition strengthens the neural pathways that make new behaviors automatic and effortless.
The research confirms that doing anything new once a day for a week is far superior to doing something new seven times in one day once a week.
Daily repetition enhances motivation, reinforces memory and learning, and encourages quick error correction.
Over time, regularly performing a new behavior decreases reliance on conscious effort and increases the likelihood of automatic execution. Repeated actions soon become ingrained in the brain circuitry, making them second nature.
The opportunity set for repeating behaviors in the workplace can present a unique challenge in adopting new habits.
For instance, if a leader is trying to show up differently in meetings and make a new habit of asking questions rather than giving answers, it appears they must wait for the next meeting to repeat the new behavior.
Of course, this isn’t the case, but it encourages leaders to dodge the repetition they need to acquire the new routine.
When the opportunity set to apply the new behavior appears limited, it is up to the habit-maker to find other avenues and practice options. Additional opportunities for daily practice typically exist outside of the workplace.
The example of asking more questions in meetings makes this fairly obvious. The leader could apply the new behavior in any meeting, gathering, or conversation, including at the dinner table, in order to complete their daily repetition. The same is true for most other new behaviors.
What is critical for inculcating a new habit is the daily repetition. Multiple times per day is an advantage, but the daily cadence is what allows the brain to create distinct neural pathways leading to an ingrained habit.
While doing anything new every day is a challenge for most people, it is the essential work of habit-building and can’t be missed.
The only practice leaders want to avoid is the habit of making excuses as to why they can’t do the new behavior at least once a day. That’s a habit worth breaking.
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