Atomic BD habits – week two:
make it obvious
Last week we talked about identity. This week is more practical. Borderline bossy, in fact.
Because even if you know the kind of professional you want to be, most BD still fails for one very simple reason: it relies on memory, spare time and good intentions. Three things that do not survive a busy diary.
One of the most useful ideas in Atomic Habits by James Clear is that habits don’t happen because we care. They happen because something prompts them.
If the cue isn’t obvious, the habit doesn’t fire. End of.
#1. If your BD system relies on memory, it’s already broken
Most professionals don’t forget to do BD. They just never get reminded at the right moment. If your BD system relies on:
- “I’ll remember”
- “I’ll come back to it”
- “When I get five minutes”
- “I’ll do it later this week”
…it’s already dead.
Atomic habits start with obvious cues. Not elegant ones. Not clever ones. Just unavoidable ones.
Examples:
- A recurring calendar nudge
- A Post-it stuck directly on your screen
- A daily alarm on your phone that simply says “BD”
- Or, going forwards, a Legal Engine agent that calls you every Monday at 08:00 and intelligently discusses with you what BD you’re doing this week
The goal isn’t beauty. It’s interruption. If it doesn’t slightly irritate you, it’s probably not obvious enough.
Action this week:
Create one BD trigger that physically interrupts your day. If you can ignore it without effort, redesign it.
#2. Habit stacking
One of Clear’s most practical ideas is habit stacking.
The logic is simple: instead of trying to create brand new habits from scratch, you attach a new behaviour to something you already do automatically.
The existing habit becomes the cue. No extra thinking required.
For BD, this is a game changer.
Examples:
- Every time you make a coffee → like or comment on one LinkedIn post
- On your morning commute → read the FT or your favourite industry publication and send one relevant article to a client or target
- Once a week when you go out to buy lunch → invite someone from another practice area to join you, learn what they’re working on, and spot opportunities for collaboration or cross-selling
- After a client meeting → send one follow-up before doing anything else
You’re not adding more to your day. You’re using habits you already have as the trigger for BD.
BD stops being a separate task and starts becoming part of how you work.
Action this week:
Choose one existing routine and define the BD action that will always follow it.
#3. “Do more BD” is not a task
“Do more BD this week” sounds sensible. It is also completely useless.
Good habits fire when the next step is clear and specific. Bad habits hide behind vagueness.
Compare:
- “Do more BD this week”
with: - “Comment on Sarah’s LinkedIn post”
- “Nudge pitch X”
- “Email James to ask one question”
- “Send article Y to client Z”
One creates friction. The others remove it. If a task requires thinking about what to do, it’s already too vague. Your brain will postpone it until “later”.
Action this week:
Take one BD task you’ve been avoiding and rewrite it so it describes exactly what action you will take.
Next week
Why consistency beats intensity, how to lower the bar without lowering standards, and why the smallest BD actions are often the ones that quietly compound the fastest.
No heroics.
No reinvention.
Just making the right things obvious, then letting repetition do the heavy lifting.
We’re building a team of voice enabled AI assistants to support you with BD activities and allow you to spend more time being human. Interested? We’d love to chat.
