When an activity become a habit, it becomes automatic; you do it without thinking about it. Eventually, through repetition, you get better at it and you get better results.
That’s true of the exercise habit, the reading habit, and the marketing habit.
In James Clear’s recent article, The Scientific Argument for Mastering One Thing at a Time, he offers some observations about developing new habits, based on research:
1. You are 2x to 3x more likely to follow through with a habit if you make a specific plan for when, where, and how you are going to implement it. This is known as an implementation intention.
2. You should focus entirely on one habit. Research has found that implementation intentions do not work if you try to improve multiple habits at the same time.
3. Research has shown that any given habit becomes more automatic with more practice. On average, it takes at least two months for new habits to become automatic behaviors.
Conclusion: it’s best to focus on one specific habit, work on it until you master it, and make it an automatic part of your daily life. Then, repeat the process for the next habit.
I have long preached the value of working on marketing every day for 15 minutes. I’ve said that you should schedule those minutes in your calendar as an appointment and keep that appointment. I’ve said, “you can use that time to do anything related to marketing, even if you’re only reading about it or thinking and making notesâ€.
But Clear suggests that you have a specific plan for working on your new habit. Is doing “anything related to marketing†specific enough?
When you are first establishing the habit, I think it is. Blocking out the time and doing something every day is the new habit. Being able to do anything gives you the flexibility to be bad before you get good.
Once the 15-minute habit is firmly a part of your routine, however, your plan should become more specific.
If you want to develop the habit of finding and reaching out to professionals with whom you can network, for example, work on that during your 15 minutes.
And only that.
Clear’s other points tell us to work on one new habit only, for at least two months. Once you have established your new habit, you can move onto others.
When I committed to writing daily emails, I wasn’t sure I could do it. Now it is automatic. It’s a part of me. I don’t have to think about it, I just do it.
My new habit has paid me many dividends, so, once you have developed your 15-minute marketing habit, if you’re looking for another habit to work on, you might want to work on writing.
Marketing is easier when you know The Formula
