A little while ago a participant on a programme recommended Atomic Habits by James Clear – it piqued my curiosity, so I bought it, dived into it, and loved it.

I’ve used some of his tips to shift some personal habits… I realised that I’ve not been eating enough fruit, and in particular with working from home so much, there is the opportunity to have some fruit every day when I break for lunch. However, my routine was to break for lunch, go into the kitchen, open the fridge and make something that I fancied… and I’m not proud to admit… I hardly ever chose to have some fruit… because it was rarely what I wanted (or craved) in that moment.

Using some of James Clear’s tips on changing habits, I developed an ‘implementation intention’:

“When I go into the kitchen for the first time in the morning, I will get out my lunch tray and put some fruit on it.”

This is very small action, but in the month since I started – 100% success… one or two portions of fruit every lunch time!!

I know this is not a huge achievement, but it highlights how a small shift can make a difference to changing habits.

I shared this story with the group when I delivered my first face to face programme in more than 2 years. It was towards the end of the 2-day workshop, as we moved into planning application and commitments for next steps. Shortly afterwards, as I listened in to the table groups discussing their plans, I was particularly gratified when I heard someone say:

“That sounds really good – but what is the apple on the tray that will ensure you do it?”

With continued uncertainty of the future, and the high pace of change, we all need to be able to adapt, and changing habits is central to this. 

So, in whatever aspect of your life you recognise the need to adapt and make changes to habits – what is your apple on the tray?