Benefits of habit “Stop giving undeliverable promises”

✓ You will maintain trust of people around you
✓ You will learn to manage your time better
✓ You will appear more professional
✓ You will be honest with yourself
✓ Reduce the guilt and things you need to remember

First step:

Stop 1 empty promise today

Progress:

1. Today, whenever the opportunity arises, consciously stop yourself from promising something you know you cannot deliver. If you do it often, manage at least once per day and keep it up for a week.
2. Next week, work to stop yourself from giving empty promises twice.
3. Keep increasing, until you consciously, and then later unconsciously, stop yourself from promising anything you cannot deliver.

Helpful tips to make it a habit:

✓ Trigger your mind. While it’s hard to plan empty promises, try to come up with a physical trigger so you can stop yourself. A stress ball or a clenched fist might be a good place to start.
✓ Let the app help. Set a reminder on this app to ring every morning. It will signal the end to undeliverable promises.
✓ Reward yourself. Once you’ve gone a month without dishing out a single empty promise, reward yourself by planning and delivering a trip somewhere you haven’t been before. Long or short, it’s the goal of realizing it that matters.

Tips for beginners:

✓ Observe yourself. Your first goal should be to observe when and why you promise things you can’t deliver. Is it pressure you feel? Or do you feel the need to impress? Or maybe you just don’t think about it when saying yes? Try figuring it out and see when it’s the most likely you will give an empty promise.
✓ Write it all down. Whenever you promise something to someone, try putting it down in a notebook. Not only will this help you remember (and maybe even deliver) what you promised, it will also give you an insight into what you tend to promise and in retrospect – how far off is the delivery.