Building effective habits (edition 1) - 2024

Did you know that when engaged in a habit, good or bad, or brain activity reduces and feel less mental effort. When engaged in a bad habit, this reduced mental effort triggers less resistance to the routine faulting our self-discipline. However, likewise when engaged in a good habit, the tasks feels less difficult to start and requires less effort to perform. Research has shown that you are 2x to 3x more likely to stick with your habits if you make a specific plan for when, where, and how you will perform the behaviour.

In this workshop we will explore the science of building or changing habits and put theory into practice. You will be asked to perform a self-assessment diary study as pre-work to the workshop, so that in the workshop you can start working on changing your undesired habits to desired habits. Also during the workshop we will plan out the creation of a new habit, and use scientifically proven approach to grow your efficacy with creating an effective habit.

For full disclosure, building an effective habit is not a magical wand. While the methodology is proven to work, in the end it is still you who will have to stick the landing, and make it work.

The training will be a live training, where you will be putting theoretical models in practice, starting on your own to-do list and agenda. The focus is on your expectations, your questions and your needs. You will be doing the work, via individual exercises, small group exercises and action planning.

This training is an extension of (part of) the 'Personal time management' training, so if you followed that training in the past, it is better not to register for this workshop again.

Learning outcomes

After having attended this workshop, you will be able to...

• understand what habits are,
• know how to build an effective habit,
• know how to hack an existing habit.

Competences

An important part of preparing for any further professional step is becoming (more) aware of the competences you have developed and/or want to develop. In the current workshop, the following competences from the UHasselt competency overview are actively dealt with:

• personal effectiveness:
  • self-development
  • self-confidence
• task-orientedness:
  
  • organisation and coordination
  • progress monitoring
  • result-orientedness

For whom?

• PhD students & postdocs
• 16 places available

When and where?

• April 17, 2024 - 13:00-17:00
• Location: campus Diepenbeek, building D, room A6

Preparation?

Before the training, participants will be asked to share their learning objectives for the training which will be checked at each relevant chapter of the training, to ensure they have been answered. Participants will need to identify an existing habit that they would want to change and start recording in a simple diary when does the habit take place? What triggered it?

Registration?

• Registration is closed.
• As places are limited, registering does not automatically imply that you will be able to participate. You will be notified by email after the registration deadline has passed.
• Please cancel your registration at least one week in advance in case you cannot make it (cf. cancellation & no-show policy).

Acknowledged as?

• DS BSH: category 'research management & communication skills' - workshop on general research skills
• DS HLS: category 'transferable skills' - compulsory elective course
• DS ST: category 'research management' - course aimed at developing general research skills