3 ways "Atomic Habits" can help you create more content
One of the most frequent questions I get is how to make time to do video consistently. You have great ideas and you know you need to be creating videos to grow your business, you just can’t get going.
It feels like the process from technology to messaging is just so overwhelming it keeps you from even starting. And then there’s so many daily distractions that make it really hard to get in the habit of creating content, much less recording a video.
That’s why I am going to focus on helping you implement what you’ve been learning here, to help you create content on a consistent basis.
I want to make sure you have skills and tools you need to be confident on video so you can grow your business, influence and authority.
In today's post we are going to talk about building the habits you need to develop to consistently create content that you can turn into videos.
In between seasons, one of the books I read was Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear. The whole time I was reading it all I could think was, wow, I can’t wait to share this book with you!
There is so much wisdom about how we form habits and they determine the trajectory of our lives.
Our outcomes are lagging measures of our habits, whether it’s our finances, our waistline, or the state of our home or office. James says: "Good habits make time your ally, bad habits makes time you enemy."
He also says to forget about setting goals to get better results, focus on your systems instead. To reach your goals, you need to have the right systems in place to reach them. And if you think about constantly creating content, it really relies on having good systems in place.
Reading Atomic Habits also took that feeling away for me that in order to make a change in my life I’d have to go through the 66 days of will power and focus. It was a practical guide to looking at my habits and systems and where I could make improvements to reach my goals.
James offers some simpler and easier ways to build new habits to move toward the person you want to be and the life you want to live.
Please note, this is a SUPER abbreviated version of what he teaches in the book, and I highly recommend you give it a read to get the full benefit.
Today, I'm going to focus on three key takeaways I’d like you to think about when you start to feel overwhelmed with creating content or any other part of your business.
So if you’re ready, let’s dive in.
Takeaway #1- our habits, good or bad determine the trajectory of our lives and success
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James says not to focus so much on the results you are getting right now, but the trajectory you’re on.
The series of behaviors and habits you consistently exhibit are more important the the goals you set and are a bigger determinant of where you will end up.
He suggest we ask ourselves: who do you want to become as a result of the way you are living your life everyday? Are you intentional about your financial, physical, spiritual habits?
If you are, then you are far more likely to be satisfied with where you are headed in life. If you’re not, then making some changes to your habits is in order.
And the good news is, while it requires discipline, it’s not impossible to create new habits.
James says: “The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.”
I love that. Think about it, if you focus on who you want to become, then looking at what you are doing everyday is a great way to evaluate what’s working and what changes you need to make to become that person.
You become your habits and every habit or action, decision informs who you are. Your success or lack of it in all areas of life all come from the daily actions you take and decisions you make.
James sums it up nicely: “Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs, and to upgrade and expand your identity.”
Takeaway #2 to make the changes you desire, you will need to figure out where your habits are getting in your way.
What is standing between who you are and who you want to become?
Whether it’s allowing yourself to be constantly distracted (our world is full of them) or you have tried to make changes and aren’t seeing the results you want, it’s good to understand what makes a habit, why they are hard to change and the easiest way to build a new one.
James defines a habit as a behavior you’ve repeated so many times, it’s become automatic. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a content creation habit that was automatic?
He says “changing our habits is challenging for two reasons: (1) we try to change the wrong thing and (2) we try to change our habits in the wrong way.”
That got my attention. What does trying to change the wrong thing mean? He says that we often focus on changing our goals thinking it will change us instead of looking at the systems we have in place in our lives.
For instance if your goal is to make a certain amount in a year or lose a certain amount of weight and you rely simply on will power to make it happen, there’s a good chance you’ll be in the same place you were when you started. And that’s super frustrating and can lead to a downward spiral of even worse performance.
He says it’s our systems that we need to change, not our goals. It’s the way we are set up to achieve our goals and the environment we live and work in that will make the difference.
If you change the systems that support your goals, you are more likely to reach the goals you set through the tiny habits you build into your daily life.
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this, I’m kind of a productivity nerd and I’m always looking for a more efficient way of getting things done. It was more the way James breaks down what habits are and how we have a lot more control over them than we may think.
So first, let’s look at what makes up a habit and then an easier way of creating a new one. That will start to help us improve the systems we have in place in our lives to achieve our goals and develop into the person we want to become.
We form habits so we can solve the day to day problems in life using as little energy and effort as possible. If you look at the anatomy of a habit, it’s basically a four step feedback loop. Cue, craving, response and reward.
First, there’s a cue, something that triggers the habit and signals your brain, which then creates a craving, That’s followed by a reaction (what you do in response to the craving) and your reward - what you get as a result of your response.