2883: The Action Habit: Put Everything Into the First Step by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits

[00:00:00] ServiceNow unterstützt Ihre Business Transformation mit der KI-Plattform. Alle reden über KI, aber die KI ist nur so leistungsfähig wie die Plattform, auf der sie aufbaut. Lassen Sie die KI arbeiten – für alle! Beseitigen Sie Reibung und Frustration Ihrer Mitarbeiter und nutzen Sie das volle Potenzial Ihrer Entwickler. Mit intelligenten Tools für Ihren Service, um Kunden zu begeistern – all das auf einer einzigen Plattform. Deshalb funktioniert die Welt mit ServiceNow. Mehr auf servicenow.de slash AI4People

[00:00:30] Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:54] So, press play on good sleep tonight because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. This is Optimal Health Daily, the action habit. Put everything into the first step by Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net. And I'm Dr. Neal, your very own personal narrator.

[00:01:20] Welcome to a Thursday edition of Optimal Health Daily. Remember, this is one of a few shows where we read to you from blogs for free so that you don't have to read them yourself. Except on Fridays, that's where I answer your questions. All right, and with that, let's get right to today's post as we optimize your life. The action habit. Put everything into the first step by Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net.

[00:01:49] The things that stop us from taking action are all too familiar. Feeling overwhelmed, fear, not knowing where to start, and a habit of procrastinating and doing easier things. It's easy to get into a mode of inaction, but building the action habit can be a lot more difficult. The reason is that the feedback loops in our lives are set up the wrong way.

[00:02:12] It's easier to put things off than to act. It's easier to seek comfort than to push into discomfort, fear, and stress. So how do we start taking action in our lives? Changing fundamental health and productivity habits. Getting out and looking for a job. Putting our creativity out there in the world. And taking steps to finally work on that project you've been wanting to start. The answer lies in a simple method for creating the action habit.

[00:02:38] Pick one positive action. Make it tiny and easy. Set up positive feedback. Put everything you have into it and repeat. This might sound too simplistic and you might be tempted to skip this and go listen to something else. This is a mistake. Try this method and see if you can create the action habit today. Pick one positive action. Yes, I know that you have a thousand things you want to do in all areas of your life.

[00:03:08] But thinking about all the things you need to do can be stressful and overwhelming and lead to inaction. You can't do it all right now. Instead, focus on something you can do right now. But how do you choose among all the things you want to do? Try this. 1. Make a list of the main things you want to do. Feel free to make a second list of the smaller tasks and errands you need to get to as well. Don't get stuck on this step.

[00:03:36] If you're overwhelmed by this, just think of the biggest things you need to get done. 2. Mark the top three things on your list. What feel most important to you right now? If you can't decide, ask someone else to decide for you. And 3. Pick the number one thing in your top three. If it's too hard to choose, make a random choice. It's better to make a slightly less than optimal choice than to get stuck in indecision.

[00:04:04] Once you have your number one thing you want to get done, let's say, write a book or get in shape, then you need to pick one small action you can get done on this project in the next few minutes. What about the other projects or tasks on your list? You'll get to those later. But worrying about everything all at once is counterproductive. Pick one thing on the list and get moving with it. After that, you can re-evaluate and pick the next thing on your list to get moving on.

[00:04:31] In this way, you're getting in the habit of taking action rather than getting stuck. Make it tiny and easy. Now that you have something you want to focus on, ask yourself, what tiny action can I take right now? For write a book, it could be as simple as open a document and write down a few ideas. For get in shape, you might choose something like go out for a short walk

[00:04:57] or do a few push-ups or send an email to my sister to go for a run tomorrow. You don't have to do the whole project right now. Just one tiny step. Once you get into the action habit, you'll be able to do the other steps later. But for now, just focus on one tiny step. This is how you create the habit. Make it as ridiculously easy as possible so that you can't really say no. Are you tempted to put it off? Then make it even easier.

[00:05:26] 30 seconds of working out is so easy that anyone can do that. 30 seconds of working out is not going to get you in shape, but the action habit is about removing barriers and just getting moving. Set up positive feedback. If you get one or two people into an accountability team, you'll make it much more likely that you'll succeed. That's because with accountability, you get negative feedback for not doing the actions, a bit of embarrassment, and positive feedback for doing the actions,

[00:05:55] like a bit of pride in your accomplishment. It's simple. Ask one or two friends to be on your team. This is as easy as sending an email or text. Tell each other what tiny steps you're going to do today towards important long-term goals. And check in at the end of the day or when you're done with your three tiny actions. If you'd rather not have a team, then simply put up a list on your wall or somewhere very visible of your top three tiny actions for this morning

[00:06:25] and allow yourself to check them off once they're done. It feels so rewarding to be able to check them off. Positive feedback means you're going to enjoy taking the tiny actions rather than seeking comfort in putting them off. Put your entire being into it. Once you have your accountability set up and a tiny action chosen, then it's time to take action. Now, put your entire self into starting the action. All you have to do is start.

[00:06:54] Act as if your life depends on it. Act as if nothing were more important than keeping your word to yourself. Act as if this one tiny action were the entire universe. All you have to do is get moving. Open a document. Start an email. Write one item on a list. Put on your running shoes. Devote yourself single-mindedly to starting this tiny movement. Repeat to create the habit. Doing your first tiny action is amazing.

[00:07:24] Now, focus your entire being on the next tiny action. This is how you create the action habit. By doing it repeatedly. If you've taken a tiny action on an important project, congratulate yourself. Check it off your list. Report it to your accountability team. Feel gratitude that you got moving. Now ask yourself, what is the next small step you can take on this project? Can you take that next small step right now?

[00:07:52] One small step at a time, you're getting some momentum on this project. Or perhaps there's nothing else you can do right now. Look at your top three list and see if there's another project you can take a tiny action on right now. If not, then maybe one of your other important items. Or maybe you take action on your other smaller tasks. Although, don't let yourself use this as a way to put off the hard stuff. Do the hard stuff first if you can. But you need to get on to the small stuff sometimes.

[00:08:20] The trick is, you're turning the hard stuff into the small easy stuff. Just repeat this method, re-evaluating your list once a day or so, taking tiny actions all day long with breaks in between. This is how you form the action habit. And it will be incredible. You just listened to the post titled, The Action Habit. Put Everything Into The First Step. By Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net.

[00:08:50] And I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. Okay, so on another episode. I quoted from a book I recently listened to by K. Anders Ericsson and Robert Poole called Peak. Peak. The book is all about how to properly set goals and become the best version of yourself. The book is based on 30 years of research that Dr. Ericsson conducted. And sure enough, the behaviors the authors of this book discussed

[00:09:16] very much agree with what today's author, Leo Babauta, talked about. We're learning that if you want to start a new habit, but are having difficulty with that very first step, you know, starting, just commit to taking five minutes to perform the behavior. Or even two and a half minutes. Or as Leo said, even just 30 seconds. Now, doesn't sound like a five minute or 30 second commitment will lead to any results. And they won't right away. But the key is, it will get us started.

[00:09:46] And I'll let you in on a little secret. Even if we commit to just 30 seconds or even five minutes, usually after we get started, we tend to stick to it for much longer. It was just that first step of getting started that was holding us back all along. All right, that'll wrap up today's episode. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for being a subscriber or follower of the show. I hope you have a great rest of your day. And I'll see you back here tomorrow for another Friday Q&A

[00:10:16] and where your optimal life awaits.