Issue link: http://digital.corporatepress.com/i/323271
44 | may/june 2014 | Facilities Manager the bookshelf MAKING HABITS, BREAKING HABITS: WHY WE DO THINGS, WHY WE DON'T, AND HOW TO MAKE ANY CHANGE STICK by Jeremy Dean, Da Capo Press, 2013, 228 pp., $15.99, softcover. E very year, many people make resolu- tions to change a habit or institute a new one. Other times of the year, devout people may choose to give up a habit for a limited time. Based on what Jeremy Dean describes in Making Habits, Break- ing Habits, it's easier to be devout than to really change. I picked up Dean's book shortly after the new year to see how successful I might be at my resolution for weight loss. To get to the point quickly, I should have read it on the treadmill, but that's not where I do my reading. In Making Habits, Breaking Habits, Dean, a psychologist and blogger on psychology, has divided the book into three areas: anatomy, daily, and chang- ing habits. The opening section begins with the physiological reasons of why living beings develop habits. Our pat- tern recognition skills, interest in being comfortable, and the automatic nature of patterns, are described in an interesting way that is accessible to the lay audience. The examples are somewhat disconcert- ing. After a winter of some significant driving accidents, it's both easy to under- stand how these accidents happen and why officials warn people about driving in bad weather. In fact, the officials really need to explain that it's not the weather driving their recommendation, but the driver's inability to change driving habits. The middle section presents examples of daily habits, why we have developed those habits, and how our lives are sim- pler as a result—sometimes too simple. At work, we develop habits designed to help us avoid typical mistakes and do things right at all times. However, those habits also work against us when special conditions occur and our habits prevent us from doing the right things. As a result, habits can sometimes cause more harm than good. Obviously, these are habits we need to break or change. The challenge is finding ways to accomplish that. Having made his points about habits, Dean then describes how to make and/ or break habits. Start with habits you enjoy either for individual reasons or with a group. Seems pretty simple. Probably the more important revelation is about claims by programs or systems to get you into a new habit in 21 days. They are false; the reality is that it takes humans almost three times that long to break or change a habit. All the more reason to do something you enjoy. Alter- natively, changes made in small steps are more lasting that big changes. So rather than focus on my big weight loss goal, I'm going to start with small steps that help me move toward my goal. As the summer approaches you might consider reading Making Habits, Breaking Habits, or developing your own reading habits. SUSTAINABILITY PLANNING GUIDEBOOK FOR TEAMS by Erik Foley, Penn State University, sustainability.psu.edu, 2014, 46 pp. free download: http://sustainability.psu. edu/sites/default/files/Sustainability Guidebook_final_feb19.pdf. T he great thing about working in education, even if not a direct sup- plier of education, is the opportunity to share freely and openly. We learn from ourselves and from each other. In early March, Pennsylvania State Univer- sity released its Sustainability Planning Guidebook for Teams, and presented it at the Smart and Sustainable Cam- Book Review Editor: Theodore J. Weidner, Ph.D., P.E., CEFP, AIA Materials that are not directly involved with educational facilities, or that are available in a non-traditional format, are fun to discover and present here. Two such examples are reviewed below. If you see something that might be of interest, but don't have time to review it yourself, please let me know and I'll try to review it for a future issue. In the mean- time, enjoy the warmer weather.