We all have habits in our lives; some we conscientiously think about and others that happen without much thought because we’ve been doing them for so long. 

Maybe you never skip a workout, even if it’s extremely early in the morning or brutally cold outside. Maybe you pride yourself on always meeting deadlines at work or even just cooking a healthy meal at home for dinner. Those are good habits. They help you to be productive and make the most of your time each day. Remember, we define productivity as “achieving desired results”, so if your goals are to have an active, healthy lifestyle and to be successful at work, good habits can help you get there. 

Bad habits are the other side of the coin, and unfortunately it is just as easy to create bad habits as it is to create good habits. If you sleep in and always miss that great workout class, if you use the weather as an excuse not to work out, or if you are consistently and persistently behind at work. Habits like procrastination, being disorganized, or multitasking can get in the way of your productivity and steal time from your day. 

Reframing Habits to be More Productive

While new habits tend to be difficult to begin, it can be just as hard to break or reframe old habits. In fact, experts say you can’t get rid of a bad habit, but you can change it.

Every habit can be broken into three components: a cue, a routine, and a reward. By identifying all three, we can create a new routine that offers the same reward. This can be especially helpful at work where a number of bad habits can get in the way of a productive day.

For instance, if you tend to respond to emails as they hit your inbox, you’re likely wasting valuable time since these never-ending checks distract you from whatever you were working on. Instead, you can turn off email notifications, close email apps, and create a new routine where you check your email in chunks two or three times a day. Rather than concentrate on breaking your old bad habit, you can focus your attention on cultivating a new, more productive habit.

Knowing there are two sides of every coin, what are some habits that make you feel productive? How can you reframe your “bad” habits and improve your productivity? This infographic from Quill.com offers some ideas. If we can help bring productive habits into your life or work, please contact us – we’d love to be a resource to you.

How to reframe bad habits to boost your productivity Infographic by Quill and Tiffany Jersey.