Turn your solo networking block into a recurring session with one or two people doing the same work, because you'll keep promises to them.
The idea
Investing in your network lives permanently on the "should do" list, and when "should" becomes "didn't" we feel bad and quit. We tried time blocking, distraction management and habit loops. The best solution I've found to build any new habit is to not do it alone. For better or worse, you'll let yourself down a hundred times before you let someone else down. In my coaching we tested this with an accountability budget (members prepaid an amount and earned it back as they completed tasks): completion was 70.63% with it, 44.77% without.
How to do it
Find one or two people who also want to take their relationships seriously.
Convert your recurring calendar block into a recurring meeting with them, weekly or more.
During the session, do the work side by side: text an old contact, plan a dinner, book a few meetings.
Have someone ask you the same questions every week. Mine: "Who have you met recently? What's our next move?"
If you need more teeth, put money on it.
Example
For three years, my accountability coach asked me every Friday whether I'd updated my CRM and made a new connection. Today my executive assistant asks "Who have you met recently?" three times a week.
Watch out for
Don't let guilt over past misses stop you. Nobody is angry that you haven't talked to them, and you can pick back up at any time.
Who, Not How: Solve consistency by finding a person (an assistant, an accountability partner, a cohort) instead of another method.
The Recurring Calendar Appointment: Pick a regular time based on your energy and calendar gaps, make it a recurring appointment, and defend it.
Falling Off the Wagon: When you lapse, give yourself grace, drop the backlog, and restart right away with one tiny action, like a single email.
The Three Consistency Blockers: Consistency breaks from too much of something, not enough of something, or a bad memory of how it felt last time. Name yours, then name the interruption.