Distraction-Proof® Advisor Ideas

For the last month we’ve been inundated with articles promoting how to successfully approach New Year resolutions, steps to improve time management and efficiency, and challenging statistics about how we need to think differently.

What if you skipped making any New Year resolutions this year? You’d be in great company.

Some of the world’s highest achievers woke up on January 1st with no New Year resolutions or plans for major changes in their life – and they’ll certainly make history this year as they intentionally do not change a single habit, pursue new ideas, nor chase any new trend. They don’t want to change anything; they’re determined to simply repeat what they were doing last year.

Because it’s working for them. (Keep reading to find out who these achievers are and why they aren’t changing a thing.)

While seeking ways to nix bad habits that are holding you back can be helpful, even more powerful is a commitment to focus on repeating the activities you’ve already been doing that you know will result in success. Change for the sake of change isn’t growth; don’t jump to equate doing something new with progress.

Who are those high achievers who aren’t changing a thing this January? They are the athletes who will compete in Rio at this year’s Olympics, some of whom will become household names, cementing their names among the greatest the world has ever seen. One of the keys to their success is that they spent time considering and selecting the core activities they believe will propel them to success and then committed to stick to them. They created a routine that works for them, and they don’t change it.

This recently dawned on one of my coaching clients who committed to making some big changes in his business last year. He has now spent months diligently committed to his process and is starting to see great results. During our end-of-year review together, he was looking ahead to 2016 and said, “I guess I just need to keep doing the same thing I’ve been doing, over and over. There’s nothing to change.”

What habits do you need to ensure don’t change this year?

What is working well for you? Has it been an intentional commitment to setting yourself up to quickly get to productive work each day by clearing your desk the night before and listing the first three activities you’ll do the next morning? Is systematizing your client contact process allowing you to reach more people in a shorter time period? Is nurturing relationships with select centers of influence boosting your referrals? Continue doing those activities that are working well.

Notice the benefits. Noticing the positive impact the practices you’ve committed to are having on your business can be a great way to motivate yourself to keep going on your current path, especially when you start to feel an itch to change for change’s sake. Are you avoiding the stress of being in reaction mode and enjoying feeling more in control of your business? Do you experience less worry because you know your client service process means no one will slip through the cracks and you have time to focus on clients’ individual situations more closely? Is your forward-planning for meetings making those times more productive?

If you do make changes, keep them to a minimum. Psychological studies have identified a process called “goal shielding,” in which your brain works to protect you against distractions that may deter you from achieving your goal, even another goal. That’s why you’re much more likely to be successful if you concentrate on making only one major change at a time, rather than going after a long list of New Year resolutions (none of which are likely to be accomplished). You only have so much band-width and self-control, so use it wisely by focusing it to establish one new habit at a time.

I hope your year is off to a great start.

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