Attach five minutes of relationship work to something you already do every day, like your first coffee, so the old habit triggers the new one.
The idea
I almost never leave the house without my phone, wallet and keys, because filling my pockets is tied to walking out the door. You can tie relationship work to a moment the same way. Pick something you already do every day and attach the new habit right before or after it. Notice the shrink: from an hour-long block down to five minutes. Getting started is the hard part. Once you've started, you'll often keep going.
How to do it
Write down your daily anchors: waking up, feeding the pet, walking into the office, first email check, first coffee, lunch, packing up, walking in the door at home.
Pick one you never skip.
Memorize one line: "After I ________, I'll give my network five minutes."
Use the same anchor every day, and don't change it mid-week, even if it's hard.
Post the sentence by your desk.
Example
The newsletter's current version: while the coffee brews, pull up your list of key relationships and scan it like you'd scroll Netflix. Ask two questions: who do I want to reach out to today, and who do I have something to share with? A name will grab you. Send one message. Done. Before your first coffee also works, because then the coffee becomes the reward. In a newsletter I used the pushup version: I shower every day, so right before the shower is when I do pushups.
Watch out for
Picking an anchor you dread. If you hate folding laundry, don't hang your new habit on it.
Growing the five minutes into a project. Five minutes is probably all you need. The hard part is doing it again tomorrow.
Cue, Routine, Reward: Make relationship work a habit with a reliable trigger, an easy routine and an immediate reward, so you do it without deciding to.
Browse Your Relationships Like Netflix: On a fixed daily trigger, scan your list of key people, ask who you want to reach or have something for, and send one message.
The Recurring Calendar Appointment: Pick a regular time based on your energy and calendar gaps, make it a recurring appointment, and defend it.