I have let myself get out of the habit of writing as the impacts of the pandemic turned so much of my everyday routine upside down. In January 2020 I was attending meetings around the JPMorgan healthcare conference, and in February 2020 I was in India working with a longtime client team. In March, my kids were trying to learn remotely and all of us were locked down. As much as it is clear the pandemic is not over, I have been back to India this year and next week I am attending my first in-person conference since the lockdowns started at HLTH 2022 in Las Vegas.

I am taking this opportunity to work to renew other good habits like writing more frequently and staying better in touch with colleagues in my network. It is hard for me (and probably everyone) to give life back to a habit once it has been lost. I was talking to a new connection last week. As I was describing some of how I got started doing independent consulting seven years ago, I realized how important writing is to me on many levels. I am taking the opportunity to get back into the habit as I develop my 90-day goals.

I scheduled time on my calendar for a day and time every week when I know I will have the energy to write. For me, that means morning not evening. And on a day when I have fewer standing meetings that will otherwise occupy my mind. I also have found myself working to develop topics about which to write while I run in the morning as a way to leverage this alone time towards being prepared to write.

I also plan to start small. Building a habit is not about becoming an entirely different person overnight. I plan to start writing for thirty minutes to an hour once per week. I will work on being consistent rather than forcing myself to write volumes. When I become consistent in my writing I will be able to stretch to longer sessions, and even the consistency itself will add more productivity to my writing as I do it regularly.

I have also found that staying in touch with colleagues in my network is a habit I have let fall by the wayside. There have been times when I have been better at staying in touch with the people with whom I have worked. I often think to myself how I aspire to stay in touch with colleagues only to have the next project or emergency distract me from taking action. I will also put this action on my calendar - reaching out to a few people each week. I plan to stay better organized and more consistent.

The most important lesson is the best time to rekindle a habit is today. Keeping an eye on your priorities, schedule time for those things that are important. What habits do you want to revive? What tactics do you employ to build back those habits?

And, if you are going to HLTH 2022 drop me a message, I would love to see you in person!