Big goals look impossible from a full calendar. They get reached through small habits that survive the busy weeks, and that's where most executives lose.
In 2020, Forbes asked its Coaches Council for the best hacks to form new habits when you're busy. The full panel had 15 answers. On this page I kept the 3 that I still use in executive development work, and I added what I've seen since.
Accountability is the habit that carries all the others. Hold yourself accountable and involve others. Who are your trusted advisers, and how can you bring them in? Schedule regular check-ins and ask to be held to account. Goals get reached far more often once accountability is in place.
Origin: Teresa Ray
A new habit is a deliberate disruption of yourself, and disruption is hard. One of my former superiors taught me to keep moving every day. Make one change. If a big one is too much, make a small one. If you can move a metre, do that. If not, an inch. If that's too much, a millimetre.
Origin: Chuen Chuen Yeo, ACESENCE
Set each day and each week with an intention. Decide how you'll spend your time, for what has to get done and for what matters most to you. Post reminders where you'll see them during the day. The intention you set in the morning is the habit you keep by evening.
Origin: Jacqueline Ashley, WorkLifeHealth.design
The busy executives I coach usually fail on design. A habit that needs a free hour dies in week 2. A habit that takes 10 minutes and sits before an existing routine survives the quarter.
Two more things I've seen hold: Tie the habit to a person, because a standing appointment with someone beats a reminder on the phone. And measure one number only. The moment you track five things, you track none.
Whether hacks are the right word, I doubt it. The habits that last in executive development are boring: Same time, same place, same tiny step. The hack is to accept that.
Further reading on hofmann.coach: 12 ways business leaders make more proactive decisions · Resilience at work: How to stay resilient after setbacks · Executive Coaching Zurich
Note: The 3 hacks come from the Forbes Coaches Council expert panel "15 Smart Hacks For Forming Good Habits When You're Busy", published 5 August 2020, which collected 15 answers in total. My reading of the 3 is mine, and it isn't a quote of my colleagues' wording. The section after them is my own addition.
Cristian Hofmann is an executive coach in Zurich and Schaffhausen (MAS Coaching & Supervision BSO, Forbes contributor). Over more than 20 years he has coached more than 1,500 leaders: CEOs, executive boards and leadership teams in Switzerland, with measurably agreed goals and, on request, pay-for-results. More about Cristian Hofmann.
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more
