A break doesn’t have to break the habit

The other day I was discussing systems and habits with a friend. He has used the systems and habits approach to improvement for years to better himself.

He was heading out of town for vacation and worried that his routines would fall apart with the time away. He asked me if I found that these breaks from the systems we create mean that he has to start over.

I told him that has not been my experience. In fact, breaks tend to be a good thing. I find it easy to get back to the routines after taking time off. But the key is that the routine has to already be engrained. If it is new, it could mean struggle to get back to it. If it has been there for months, it comes back naturally.

This is why building the habit and being consistent is so important. It helps to engrain the actions, so they stick. They become solid, yet flexible. They don’t become rigid and brittle.

Let’s look at a few examples. In 2019, I had surgery. I was discouraged at the length of time I had to avoid physical activity, including all exercise. It was difficult, at first, to avoid working out. Over time, it became easier. After about 6 weeks, I was told I could resume light exercise. Jumping back into my routine felt natural. It was normal. I didn’t have to rebuild habits, I had to pick them back up. But these habits were engrained over years and years of consistent reinforcement.

At work, we rely on cross-training our employees. We are a small company so we need to have backup in case someone gets sick or takes time off. In these instances, we get to see how doing the same role each day engrains the steps. When someone steps in to cover for someone, they don’t have that same routine and it takes them a little time to get back into the swing of things. If someone spent significant time training, even if they haven’t done it in months, they tend to pick it back up faster than someone who learned the process but didn't spend as much time doing it.

To keep breaks from ruining the hard work we put in to build a habit, we have to make sure we have engrained them into our lifestyle. If we have, we can take time away. Those few days away mean nothing when we get back to an old habit. But they can mean everything if we haven’t been able to build the habit, first.

Instead of worrying whether a break will interfere with your work, focus on being as consistent as possible prior to the break. This will assure that you don’t get pulled away from your routine and instead simply push pause for bit.

The break from our routine also helps to verify how engrained it is in our lifestyle. If we step away and come back easily, we know that we have a solid habit. If, after a break, we find it very difficult to get back it, we know we have more work to do to develop the system.

Don’t look at breaks as the end of a habit or routine. Instead build up the habit through consistency as much as possible. Then use the break as a measuring stick. This will help to determine how far you have come to design these new systems in your life.