3 Keystone Habits
This week’s reading of Habits of the Household covered a concept that I really appreciated being explicitly defined in the book: the concept of implementing keystone habits.
“A keystone habit is one that supports a lot of other good habits.”
Exercise is a classic example of a keystone habit. In The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, author Charles Duhigg outlines how studies have consistently revealed that participants who were asked to exercise, even as little as once a week, without prompting started to eat better, sleep more, smoke less, and so on. Habits of the Household author Justin Whitmel Earley expands upon this, citing well-studied wisdom (from Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Journal of Adolescent Health, and Journal of Adolescence) for examples of household keystone habits such as sitting down at the table together as a family for meals each day. Numerous studies in these journals have linked family meals to positive family outcomes, like better academics and reduced drug and alcohol abuse. These are researched keystone habits that when you do them, they make a lot of other smaller habits fall into rhythm much easier.
I have long-sought out opportunities to implement powerful keystone habits throughout my life – both personally and professionally. As a business leader, here are three keystone habits I currently commit to that help lead myself, my teams, and my businesses more effectively.
Monday morning planning: I always first seek to lead myself with a strong and steady start to my work week. Every Monday morning, I sit down and organize – in writing – my plan for the week ahead. And that plan for the week always begins by listing out my PRIORITY tasks. These are the three most important and impactful tasks I must complete for the week, and they always make their way onto my actual schedule. In this example, the keystone habit is the act of proactive planning and protecting time for the most important tasks on my schedule; but the smaller resulting rhythms are that I make the most of my time throughout the entire week by spending it on things that are my biggest objectives. I set myself up for maximum productivity with this organization.
2. The daily team huddle: Our team keystone habit is what we call “the morning standup” (or team huddle). Our team assembles daily to execute a 15-minute meeting where we all report the number of conversations we had the day prior, discuss any challenges that have come up that may necessitate another teammate’s attention, and align on the top priority for the day. Again, this keystone habit produces a smaller rhythm that gets the team organized and focused on the priority, and ensures that everyone’s time is used most effectively.
3. Monthly review of financial statements: At the company level, it is absolutely imperative that you build the habit of reviewing your company Profit and Loss Statement and Balance Sheet monthly. I do this monthly for every single one of my businesses – it forces me to look for symptoms of sickness that may be present in each business. This keystone habit produces the rhythm of addressing problems proactively, rather than reactively (and obviously aids in resolving a symptom of sickness before it festers into a fatal poison).
To be a STEADY LEADER every single day, we must wake up ready to lead ourselves, lead our teams, and lead our businesses. The execution of keystone habits doesn’t have to be complicated or profound. The underlying power of keystone habits is in their ability to multiply the positive outcomes in our daily, monthly and even life-long rhythms.
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Written by Schuyler Williamson
REALTOR. Leader. Veteran. Business Owner. Investor.
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God Bless!
~ Schuyler Williamson