5 Ideas to help make changes stick

It's obviously been a while since I posted... Nearly a month, in fact.  And thinking about my next post made me think... Writing approximately one blog post every week was my goal.  This would require a change in my behavior that was manageable, and one to which I was dedicated.  I saw the value and the purpose.  While these are clearly prerequisites to any change, I still couldn't make it stick for even three full months! 

It's hard to make changes stick, even if you're committed to changing.  It's hard to make organizational changes stick, even if they go really well for the first few months.

So what?

Here are FIVE IDEAS for helping you stick to changes in your life.  I'll work on these too.  Note that these are really addressing personal change, but the principles can be applied to organizational change too.

1) Start small.  Recognize progress, not perfection, and build on your successes.

(In my case perhaps just once a month should have been my first goal).

2) Schedule the time.  Until a habit is stuck, it's hard to remember to make time for it.  Likely your schedule was full before you made the change.  So put time in your calendar, and stick to your new schedule.

(Everyone who's seen my Google calendar knows I schedule everything... But until today, not blog posts.)

3) Recognize the loss.  With any change, you're likely to give something up.  Time, money, comfort, sleep - whatever it is, it's hard to lose.  So take the time to mourn the loss - it's ok to be cranky about it for a while!

4) Get a cheerleader.  Even if it's not someone who's doing the change with you, having someone to remind you, celebrate successes, and help you get back on your feet will do wonders.  A cheerleader can help keep you motivated, structured, and hold you accountable.

5) Reflect & Celebrate! Take time at regular intervals (daily, weekly, whatever works for you) to ask yourself, "How am I doing?  If I didn't reach my goals, why?  What challenges was I able to overcome, and what do I see potentially coming up?"  And when you reach your goal, take time to celebrate it.