Tag: “Habits”

In 1982, General Motors closed its plant in Fremont, California. It was GM’s worst factory: absenteeism routinely exceeded 20%, there were more than 800 pending union complaints, and wildcat strikes were almost routine. The cars coming out of that plant were of the lowest quality in the system. Toyota reopened it two years later as NUMMI, rehiring almost all of the same workers, including the former strike leaders. It used the same machinery. It manufactured similar cars. And in less than a year, the plant went on to have the best quality in GM. Absenteeism dropped to 2%.

The Golden Rule of Habit Transformation

You’re already getting into the habit of capturing everything that catches your attention. Instead of trying to remember things or letting them slip away, you’ve realized that getting them out of your head and putting them in a safe place (your notebook, your notes or to-do app, whatever) gives you a clearer view of your reality.

You’re in a meeting when you suddenly remember that you need to call the dentist. While driving home, you come up with a brilliant idea to improve that project you’ve been stuck with for weeks. During dinner, your partner mentions that you need to renew your car insurance before the end of the month.

Habits are simple choices we make at certain moments and, over time, we stop thinking about them even though we continue to do them. The sum of all our small daily choices determines, in the long term, who we are: how we eat, how we work, whether we exercise, how we relate to others. An infinite number of small details that have a huge impact on all aspects of our lives.