7 steps to getting going with the things you let slip

I don’t know about you, but every January I set a few intentions for the year. I’m always reluctant to call them New Year’s Resolutions, as that term seems to carry so much baggage these days, as if there’s a built-in get-out-clause come February 1st. Anyway, on my list of new habits is always, every year, without fail, …’I will read more’.

I usually have two books on the go. Something work-related – a leadership piece, a coaching tome, even the latest self-help paperback. And something purely for pleasure – usually a good character study, or a page-turning thriller mystery.

The reading for pleasure usually plods along just fine, a bit here and there, during train journeys, on a rainy Sunday afternoon, before bed, etc. I’m happy with this. I don’t feel any pressure to increase that, necessarily.

The reading for work is where I hit a sticking point. I love receiving recommendations for books and have shelves full of great works (some already read, some not yet), as well as an excel file listing all the books people have suggested over the years. But I can easily allow weeks to go by with barely even picking up my latest read. As a result, I’ve been getting through maybe four work-related books a year – hardly the one-book-per-month habit I envisage for myself.

The thing is, I want to read around the subjects that influence my work. I want to gain new ideas and approaches to try out in coaching. I want to learn different techniques for managing my own life and for growing in confidence. What could I do to create some momentum here?

So, here’s what I did. And I share this in the hope that it might spur you on to take a similar approach to an activity you keep putting off.

1. Understand the ‘why’

As a coach, I know that if you’re not fully invested in the reason for your chosen action, it’ll soon get replaced by something more compelling.

For me my ‘why’ is… to increase my leadership knowledge, improve my coaching skills, and feel inspired by experts in the field, and if I’m honest, there’s an achiever in me that just loves completing a challenge!

2. Determine the measure of success

When setting yourself a challenge, the sweet spot is something that’s beyond your usual modus operandi but still within reach. Often described as the ‘flow state’.

My target… one work-related book per month, starting in January 2024. 

3. Take the first step

Sometimes it can be helpful to start small, pick an easy early win. Other times, it’s more motivating to pick the thing that’s causing you the most pain (eat that frog!). I went with the latter – a book I’d planned to read in advance of a leadership programme I was supporting in October and which, by December, was still only a quarter read.

First step, chose my January book… The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes & Posner. 

4. Break it down

Look at the timeframe you’ve set for this milestone. What will need to happen between now and your deadline to ensure you reach it? That might mean looking at the tasks you’ll need to accomplish and setting aside realistic time for them. It might mean looking to others for support. It might mean creating the environment within which you can be successful.

So, I… counted the number of pages in the book, divided that by the number of weekdays in the month (I gave myself the weekends for pleasure reading), and so arrived at a set number of pages to read per day. 

5. Get accountable

Tell someone what you’re doing. Ask them to check in with you. Even buddy up and tackle a challenge together.

Adorably (proud mum moment coming up!)… my 8-year-old son asked me what I was doing and decided he wanted to do it too. He’d been sitting on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for months and decided he wanted to finish it by the end of July (he’s on four pages per day and is currently ahead of schedule 😊). 

6. Check on progress

Mid-way through your challenge, check in with how it’s going. Are you on track? Was the goal indeed realistic or does it need tweaking? What keeps getting in the way, if anything?

For me this meant… recalculating the numbers of pages remaining in the chapter and dividing it by the number of weekdays left in the month, giving me a new daily page target (sometimes higher, sometimes lower than initially calculated). 

7. Celebrate success

Hopefully, this approach does indeed work. In which case, be sure to celebrate! Share it with your buddy, treat yourself to something, bask in the pleasure of finally nailing this! Of course, you may slip, in which case, get back on the horse and canter on (without beating yourself up!).

I’ve celebrated by… sharing my monthly literary accomplishments with my little boy and watching him delight in his own progress. 

So, here we are, part-way through the fifth month of the year and I’m on book five, having already smashed my usual annual reading achievement!

Now, to apply this to writing more regular blog posts!

If you follow these 7 steps with a habit you want to make stick, I’d love to know how you get on.

For now, I’m off to the garden with a cup of tea and my 12 daily pages.