Have you Started to Crush 2023 or Need to Reset?
Sixty days ago, Flower Clique hosted a webinar called "Crush the First 60 Days of 2023," all about building better habits. This week Vonda and Lori grade their own homework — over Lori's breakfast, which is itself one of the new habits. The episode opens with a confession, ends with a reset button, and in between offers three practical habit-building tools any flower shop owner can put to work by Monday.
Accountability makes habits stick
Lori's new habit is eating an actual breakfast — a big deal for a coffee-through-lunch person. Guided by her daughter, a registered dietitian, she and two coworkers formed a group text where they trade breakfast photos and cheer each other on. That's the real lesson: with any habit you're trying to create, you have to have accountability. Vonda adds the encouraging math — about 28 days makes a habit — and a story about a 100-year-old who credited his longevity to one thing: starting every day with breakfast.
The webinar's first commitment was a vocabulary swap: say "opportunity" instead of "challenge." Sixty days in, it's stuck — members have sent photos of bulletin boards with "challenge" crossed out, and in every shop talk since, someone catches the room mid-sentence with a gentle "no — opportunity." It sounds small, but the hosts swear by the psychology: challenge feels heavy; opportunity feels light and open.
Habit stacking: attach the new to the automatic
The three techniques come from James Clear's bestseller Atomic Habits. The first is habit stacking — bolting a new behavior onto one you already do. Vonda's stack: after every shower, wipe down the glass, since she's already standing there and hates cleaning the shower later. (Lori's upgrade, courtesy of her husband: count squats while you squeegee. Seventeen and counting.) Lori stacks 16 ounces of water onto her morning coffee ritual — she drinks the water while the pot brews — and on gym mornings, puts her shoes on the moment she gets up. She'd been doing that one so consistently she forgot it was ever a goal, which is exactly what a habit looks like.
Temptation bundling: pair the yucky with the yummy
Technique two pairs a task you avoid with a treat you love. For shop owners, the webinar's example was tracking cost of goods sold every Monday — take your coffee and some chocolate into the office and get it done. Lori bundles the treadmill with 1980s heavy metal (other florists have since confessed they do the same). Vonda bundles her monthly expense report — the credit card breakdown that feeds a correct P&L — with coffee, a favorite snack, a note on the door, and a firm rule: no answering Slack for half an hour. The result surprised her: the report balances more often when she isn't distracted, which means no redoing it. One florist's version of the door note: "Don't interrupt me unless there's blood."
The two-minute rule — or make it 30 seconds
The third tool says if something takes two minutes or less, do it now. Vonda actually runs a tighter version she learned years ago from Janet of A Canvas Florist: the 30-second rule. Rinse the coffee cup and put it away; finish the water bottle and recycle it. Lori's favorite variation came from a 15-second TikTok: "Don't put it down — put it up." She also uses the rule for accountability, spending a few minutes every Sunday booking her YMCA classes into her calendar so she can't schedule meetings over her workouts.
And when you slip? The webinar's "three-time rule" applies: give yourself grace twice, but don't miss a third time — that's how you avoid the downward spiral. Progress over perfection. As the closing slide said, get just 1% better each day and you end up 37 times better by the end of the year.
Key takeaways
- Build in accountability — a group text, a coach, or weekly check-ins — because habits rarely survive alone.
- Stack new habits onto existing ones: after X (something you already do), I will do Y.
- Bundle dreaded tasks like COGS tracking or expense reports with a treat, a closed door, and notifications off.
- If it takes 30 seconds, do it now — and put things up, not down.
- Behind on your 2023 goals? Hit the reset button, go back to January, and start again — two months late still beats never.