"Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the science, derived from the principles of behavior, applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior."  -Cooper, Herron, and Heward (2007)

With that said, how can we use ABA to increase our productivity in our day to day lives?  The key here is the phrase "applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior."

So what are the "socially significant behaviors" that we need to increase in order to maximize our productivity? This is the first question we should ask, before we come up a productivity plan.  By first defining the behaviors we need to improve, we can then hone in on strategies to increase the occurrence of these behaviors in our everyday lives.

I recently completed this exercise myself at the start of the New Year, and my outline of my goals for my "12 Week Year" (see the blog post, "How to Plan for This Year's Goals").

First, I defined the behaviors I needed to increase (for me, they were: delegating, organizing my current systems, and creating engaging content).  Then I came up with a plan for each that included antecedent strategies to make these behaviors more likely to occur.  Some of these strategies included visual deadlines outlined on my 12WY spreadsheet, downloading and learning social media marketing tools to assist in creating engaging content, and developing task analyses for each of my systems so that I would be able to delegate to staff.

For each of these behaviors, reinforcement is built in to their performance.  By delegating and organizing my systems, I will have access to more time to spend doing more preferred activities in my businesses, or more personal time to meditate and read.  By creating engaging content, hopefully, I will be helping others develop, which for me is a major reinforcer!

Have additional strategies to use ABA to improve productivity?  Leave a comment below!

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