TIN #031 - Networking Not Working? Get Smaller
How the Tiny Habits method will make you a better networker
Good Morning đ - Greg here.
Happy Saturday to everyone whoâs being easy to help this week.
Last week, I shared five books that will make you a better networker.
This week, Iâm sharing a method for building habits.
I wrote about building a networking habit back in TIN #007 - How To Build A Networking Habit.
Today, I want to dig deeper into Tiny Habits, why it works, and how to build your own networking habit.
Combine this method with networking and youâll become an everyday networker.
This issue takes less than 4 minutes to read.
What is Tiny Habits?
Habits are an integral part of our lives, helping us stay organized and productive.
However, creating and sticking to habits can be difficult.
Fortunately, Dr. B.J. Fogg, director of Stanford Universityâs Behavior Design Lab, has developed a unique and effective approach to creating habits called the Tiny Habits approach.
The Tiny Habits approach is based on the idea that habits should be small and achievable.
Rather than setting large and intimidating goals, Fogg suggests setting tiny goals.
The whole idea of Tiny Habits is based on the Fogg Behavior Model.
I created a video to explain this model, if you want to learn more:
Through the Tiny Habits approach, you can create the building blocks of sustainable habits with minimal effort.
The process of creating a Tiny Habit starts with an Anchor Moment (also called a Prompt in the video).
An Anchor Moment is something you do on a regular basis, such as brushing your teeth or brewing a cup of coffee.
After youâve identified your Anchor Moment, you can then add a Tiny Behavior immediately after it.
This Tiny Behavior should be something small, such as stretching for a few seconds or drinking a glass of water.
Finally, there is a Celebration. This is your reward for doing the Tiny Behavior.
The idea behind this approach is to create a habit loop, which is a cycle of behavior that is repeated until it becomes a habit.
I stumbled on this method years ago. I took the 5-day habit challenge and saw immediate results. I was so interested in the concept, I became a certified Habits Coach.
While I no longer coach people on Tiny Habits, I still use the method for myself and for my networking coaching clients.
Creating a Tiny Networking Habit
Hereâs how to create a Tiny Habit for networking.
In Tiny Habits, we create Habit Recipes.
I explained it above, but let me break it down into its parts.
A Habit Recipe has three parts:
Anchor Moment
Tiny Behavior
Celebration
Anchor Moments
This is something you already do every day with very little thought or as part of your biological processes.
Think brushing your teeth or going to the bathroom.
The idea is that after one of these things happens, youâll do the Tiny Behavior.
The Tiny Behavior is âanchoredâ to the thing that happens automatically.
For me, I always start my laptop in the morning. I open my email and LinkedIn.
These are things I almost always do in the morning.
I use these Anchor Moments as the start of my Habit Recipe.
I tell myself, âAfter I open LinkedIn, I will ...â The ââŠâ is going to be the habit you want to form.
I know the Anchor Moment of starting LinkedIn will happen, so I know I can tie my Tiny Behavior to that action.
The next step is to fill in the blank after the Anchor Moment with a Tiny Behavior.
Tiny Behaviors
The cornerstone of the Tiny Habits approach is to make the action you want to turn into a habit tinier.
Tiny actions help overcome any lack of motivation for doing the action.
The example Fogg frequently gives is the habit of flossing your teeth.
He explains that when you want to create this habit, instead of saying youâre going to floss your teeth, tell yourself youâre going to floss one tooth.
That's it, just one tooth.
Most people believe they can floss one tooth.
In fact, it sounds ridiculous to say you canât floss one tooth.
The act is so tiny it's almost impossible not to do it.
Once youâve flossed one tooth, you realize you can floss more teeth, and youâll floss all of your teeth.
When it comes to networking, your Tiny Behaviors almost always need to get smaller.
In our Habit Recipe for networking, here are some Tiny Behaviors you can try:
Instead of contacting ten dormant ties, contact one
Instead of sending LinkedIn messages to ten people, send one
Instead of having five voice-to-voice conversations this week, have one
Instead of trying to think of seven ways to help someone else, think of one
The key is to make the behavior so tiny it sounds ridiculous to not do it.
In my Tiny Habit Recipe for networking, now I have:
âAfter I open LinkedIn, I will send one LinkedIn message, then I Celebrate.â
Celebration
In my experience as a Tiny Habits coach, Celebration is the most important and most neglected part of the Tiny Habit Recipe.
The reason we Celebrate after doing the Tiny Behavior is it ties the behavior to a positive feeling.
Your brain wants to do things that feel good.
When you do something that feels good, your brain releases dopamine. The dopamine is the reward your brain craves.
Because it craves it, it remembers what you did to cause the good feeling.
In this case, itâs your Tiny Behavior.
The reward tells your brain to do that behavior again.
The next time your Anchor Moment occurs, your brain will want to do the Tiny Behavior in order to get the reward.
Of course, you need to practice your Tiny Habit Recipe, but the Celebration is the key to creating the habit loop that makes the Tiny Behavior automatic.
People ask, âWhat do I do to celebrate?â
It doesnât have to be a lot.
Sometimes, you can say, âLetâs go!â or pump your first, or give yourself a high five.
Anything that is a celebration of the Tiny Behavior will give your brain that positive feeling it craves to do the Tiny Behavior again.
It sounds kinda woo-woo which is why people skip that part of the recipe, but it is the key to making the Tiny Behavior automatic.
If youâre reading this newsletter, you probably want to get better at networking. If you want to get better at it, you need to create a habit so that you will keep networking almost every day.
Learning how to create habits and combining it with your networking activity is an awesome way to grow a vibrant, professional network.
Have a great week!