What starts as cobwebs and ends up as cables? What comprises the sum total of our personalities? What is formed unconsciously but must be changed consciously?

The answer: our habits.

What percentage of what we do is by habit? Is it 25 percent? 50 percent? 75 percent? 90 percent? Or more?

The answer: more than most people think! One author writes that nearly 98 percent of what we do is by habit. When I first read that, I was so discouraged, thinking that I was doomed to continue my life as is unless I began to consciously change some habits.

The good news is that not all our habits are bad ones. Some are good, but it seems that we're much more aware of and perturbed by the bad ones.

What are some of your bad habits? At work, do you handle paper over and over without taking action? Do you put off unpleasant tasks? Do you leave your desk a mess at the end of the day? Are you habitually late for appointments and meetings?

At home, do you waste time watching TV? Do you fail to get enough sleep? Do you leave things out instead of putting them away? Do you put off exercising? Do you eat too much junk food? Do you spend too much and save too little?

People speak of being slaves to habit. If so, how can we gain freedom?

  Here is time-management expert Harold Taylor's three-step plan to change habits:

1. Become aware of the present habit. Sensitize yourself to notice each time you do the bad habit.

2. Act out the new behavior.

3. Persist until the new behavior is formed (at least 21 days).

Here are three additional steps:

1. Tie the new behavior to an action. For example, to stop myself from snacking all evening, I brush my teeth promptly after dinner. Should I snack thereafter, I'll have to brush all over again.

2. Have a visual reminder of your new habit. Place a post-it or sign where you will see it daily, such as on the refrigerator door, on your bathroom mirror, or at your desk. Otherwise, out of sight is out of mind.

3. Have a way to visually track your consistency. When I first began walking for exercise, a friend told me she put a star on her wall calendar each day she walked. She was a schoolteacher, and I thought that's something children would do. But I tried it, and it really worked! Each day I saw the stars. I knew what they stood for, and I wanted to add more.

If you desire to change your life in a positive way, I encourage you to identify some bad habits you want changed. Then, pick one to work on.

Be consistent and persistent. As professional speaker Gary Yamamoto of Arizona says, “;Be a Jedi knight—Just every day do it!”;

There are 11 more months this year. If we focus on changing one habit a month, we can have 11 new good habits by the end of the year. How will that change your life?

See you in three weeks!