I got a note recently from a Get Momentum member…He said, “I need some help in breaking a habit I don’t like…”

Well, knowing a bit about the human condition and our propensity and need for “closuring open loops,” I can appreciate how people want to break a habit.

However, over more than 20 years of studying how “change” happens, I’m a bigger fan of “building” than I am of “breaking.”

Build: establish and develop (a business, relationship, or situation) over a period of time

Break: separate or cause to separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain

Just in the definitions you can see why I like to build more than break.

Building is the iterative approach.

Breaking is the hopeful approach.

When we build something, we give ourselves time. We get to practice patience, development and constant improvement.

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When we break something, we have one shot. One day. One moment in time to “Stop” doing something. And, what I believe - having written a couple of books, publishing hundreds of articles, and leading thousands of workshops - is that we have a better chance of sustaining change when we give ourselves the chance to make micro-changes over a period of time.

So, let’s take this apart, and see what you could do this week to make moves toward building a new habit - one that might “replace” a habit that you’ve got going that you’d like to break…

Step 1: Identify a habit that you’d like to build. The best recommendation I could make is to pick one that is in direct completion to the one you’d like to break.
Ie: BREAK: Eating sugary junk food in the mid-afternoon.
BUILD: Eat a sweet, protein-rich snack and go for a 7+ minute walk outside.

Step 2: Write a paragraph (or more) of what the “Ideal” is for you building that habit.

Step 3: Read that paragraph THREE times each day. (Write it on a small note card; carry it in your wallet or purse. Read it when you purchase something; when you get to the office; when you finish your work day.)

Step 4: Ask one person to help you stay accountable to “tomorrow’s” experience. Today, call someone and ask, “Tomorrow I need to eat a snack and take a short walk at about 2:30pm. Will ya call, text, or email me to remind me to do it?” If they support you…They’ll support you!

Step 5: Celebrate the wins. (Forget the losses.) In a week, I recommend you go for “more times than time.” That is, I’d rather do something 5 times for 7+ minutes than twice for 20 minutes each. Why? Easy: the more I do something, the easier it is to do that thing more.

Step 6: Check in with yourself in about a month. I’m not suggesting it will take that long to turn this new “activity” in to a habit. What I do know, however, is that if I check in with myself about once a month, that’s 12 checkins per year. If things are NOT going the way I want, I have 12 times to pivot. If things ARE going the way I want, it creates 12 mini-celebrations.

Flying across the country a while back, my seat mate and I talked about an article in the New Yorker about Steve Jobs, Jony Ives and the work that goes in to making beautiful - and functional  - design.

I would say it comes back to (or down to) what I’d call: Masterful Time Management.

If you’re on track to make something big happen, then you’ll have to manage yourself. To do THAT, you’ll need a plan.

Work Smarter, Think Bigger and Learn to Accomplish More in Less Time

Chances are you’ve made a to-do list.

You’ve spent time cleaning the desk, maybe even bought a new notebook.

Perhaps you’ve blocked time on your calendar, and even activated an “Out of Office” message that automatically responds as people email you.

I can almost hear you say, “NOW I’m ready to be productive.” (Tell me all that is familiar…right?)

So, ask Oprah prompted her readers in a recent issue, “What’s changing???”

Since we started studying, practicing, writing and speaking about #Productivity (beginning, really in 1995), Jodi and I have come to the conclusion that any time things are hard, they are that way because we made them so.

In fact, at one point we installed a “quote board” on the wall. (Ok, it wasn’t really a board, and we didn’t really install anything; I put a big sticky note on the wall of our hallway in our apartment.)

There, we wrote down the “sayings” we wanted to stop saying. I remember a few of them to this day:

“I just don’t have enough time.”

“I have too much to do.”

“We’ve got to find a better way to do this.”

There were more, a lot more. And, over the past (almost) 16 years that we’ve been married AND working together, we have figured out what TO say more and more. Here are two of the EASY things I do to work SMART and think BIGGER. Let me know if you would add a third…

One Step:

Pick the five BIG things you’re going to put on hold for at least one week. I can only begin to share with you how powerful this is. Here’s how I do it, find what might work for you…

I keep a “Master Projects” list in Evernote. Midweek, every week, I review that inventory and update what I want to move on this week. I then move things around - some things go to the bottom of the list and some are deleted alltogether. My intention is find AT LEAST 5 things that I can put off or delete. This allows me to dedicate more of my waking time to just the highest priorities I’ve set for the week and weekend.

Another Step:

Count down the time you have until the next milestone. When I’m home, in Ojai, California, I have a section of the whiteboard in my office with the “days until I travel” box. Each morning, I count down the days (or, sometimes hours!) until I hit the road.

This makes it SUPER easy for me to decide what can wait. Once I do that, I get to focus on exactly what it is I have to DO.

Give it a shot. What can YOU focus on today, to the exclusion of everything else?

Can you keep working at this super-fast pace?

Are you accepting the quality of sleep you’re getting and the way you’re eating?

5 years from now, what will the results be if you continue taking care of your body, mind and spirit the way you’re currently treating yourself?

Big questions…I know.

Between now and May 31st, I will spend 30/56 days away from home, meeting with clients and staying in hotels and resorts around the world.

Oh, and 5 days from today, Jodi and I will take a life-long dream vacation. We’re going to visit

The Galapagos Islands

Why am I telling you this?

Because there are things that continue to challenge me personally AND professionally:

• My entire life, I’ve had to work to work out.
• I’ve had to focus on eating healthy.
• I’ve have to make “a big deal” about choosing wellness.

Every. Single. Day.

And now, over the next THREE MONTHS:

• 30 days away from home = 132 meals in restaurants
• 30 nights in hotels = inconsistent access to health clubs/gyms
• That is about 54% of my time will be “on the road.”I’m not writing to brag.

I’m writing to tell you the Momentum THEME of the month is:

Leadership and the Wellness Advantage

Join us today. Click here, Get Momentum…

As a leader, you have demands on your schedule and may not have time for all the healthy habits you know are good for you.

I know that taking care of yourself and your health is the best way to ensure that you are able to give your best to your work and your loved ones.

Over the past 15 years I have: 

• Maintained a loving relationship with my wife Jodi,
• Started 2 companies,
• Published 3 books,
• Spoken at conferences in 3 countries,
• Advised companies in more than 20 countries,
• Visited 43 of the 50 United States,
• Completed 6 half-Ironman distance races,
• Won a 5-mile running race, in Homer, Alaska,
• Taken 30-day sabbaticals from work 3 times (in the past 7 years!)
• …and more.

Like the flight attendant says, “Please put your oxygen mask on first, so you can help others with theirs…”

During this month, you will Get Momentum in your life by identifying what it means to you to be WELL.

Join us today. Click here, Get Momentum…

What does HEALTHY LIFESTYLE mean to you?

There are 3 components to this month’s theme

The WELLNESS Advantage:

1. Momentum Module

Here you’ll read through just a few of the most powerful suggestions we know to build changing habits and building new routines. You’ll create a vision of a healthier, “well” self, experiment with a few new practices, and build your Wellness Team.

2. Master Class

Join us on March 18th, 10:15am or 5:15pm PST. During this 45-minute class, you’ll learn the best practices for tracking new and desired behaviors, how to create your own Health and Wellness experiments more effectively, and focus on the benefits that wellness brings to your leadership role.

3. Momentum Coaching Call

As a member of Get Momentum, you can schedule a 10-minute or a 60-minute call with one of your coaches. You’ll complete a “meeting agenda” and schedule your Momentum Coaching call.

We’ll be scheduling these calls from March 16-31. This is your opportunity to get some personal time to talk about YOU as a “Well Leader.”

We look forward to a great month of focusing on basic care skills. What we eat and drink… how and when we move… who we surround ourselves with and what other input we allow in.

Are you interested in the curriculum for this month’s THEME?

The Month at a Glance

There are FOUR main areas you’ll address [aka: improve] over the course of this month.

Week 1: To begin the month, you will practice a most important aspect of changing habits: Track your choices. Here’s a good motto for the month, “If I track it, I can change it.” Here are some tools and techniques people use to track their wellness.

Week 2: We’ll guide you to create a vision of a healthier, “well” self. Drafting “Ideal Days” for the next few months and reviewing others’ experiences along the path of improved wellness, you’ll solidify goals toward being an effective and influential leader.

Week 3: We’ll offer up different “Five Day Experiments” you can choose to test. Each is designed to address a specific area of overall wellness: Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual. Identify - and begin experimenting with - healthy routines and habits.

Week 4: If you want to go far AND you want to make change last and fast, go together. Make 2015 the year you build your “Wellness Team;” a support group for all the areas leaders need to improve in over time. If you want to learn how to influence others, practice what it means to be influenced.

Choose your advisors before you need them.

This is one of the best ways to make productive and effective change that we know.

We hope you’ll join us today. Click here, Get Momentum…