According to behavioral science, habits are formed by associating cues, routines, and rewards. Simple behaviors like drinking water first thing in the morning or sleeping earlier can form habits in as little as 21 days.
Remind yourself that slip-ups may occur, and when they do, focus on reestablishing a healthy habit.
Make it a habit.
Your mindset plays a critical role in whether habits stick. Some behaviors become second nature, like brushing your teeth before bed or driving the same route to work every day; other habits require more work forming, such as exercising regularly or meditating daily.
Establishing new habits takes patience and self-compassion. Studies have shown that it may take between 18 and 254 days for any behavior to become part of one’s routine, depending on individual and environmental factors. Breaking this process down into smaller steps may prove helpful.
If you want to begin meditation but find it overwhelming to sit still for an hour every day, start off small—even 10 minutes each day is enough! Doing this will lay the groundwork for long-term success, which will eventually lead to longer meditation sessions.
Habits can be either beneficial or detrimental and often stem from a desire to solve an issue. Whether it’s seeing something you desire or feeling pain that requires relief, your behavior becomes designed to meet this craving. Forming lasting habits may take effort but is well worth the time investment.
You must select behaviors that reflect your lifestyle and values while remaining realistic. For example, starting by walking several times each week instead of running a marathon next month is more achievable and rewarding—the more satisfied you feel after a behavior, the greater its likelihood of recurrence!
Make it fun.
An upbeat mindset can transform everyday tasks into enjoyable, stimulating, engaging adventures, adding greater satisfaction and pleasure to everyday activities. Unfortunately, however, too often, fun is associated with self-sacrifice and boredom; recent research indicates that looking for lighter moments may solve this trend.
Fun is relaxing the rules and enjoying an unstructured, playful experience without restrictions. Fun can also include feeling connected with others through social activities. Price suggests finding ways to incorporate more fun into your life in ways that reflect who you are as an individual; for example, introverted people might benefit from getting involved with hobbies that involve social interaction, like volunteering; physical exercise enthusiasts might consider signing up for classes like SoulCycle or pole dancing that feel more like play than exercises.
Habit stacking, which combines new behaviors with things you already do regularly, can also help. For instance, if you want to start exercising more often but find it tedious or daunting, why combine it with listening to your favorite music or podcast? Doing this will create a more enjoyable and engaging experience, helping ensure you continue with this new habit over time.
The fun doesn’t need to be costly or time-consuming – all it takes is adding an icebreaker or game at the beginning of meetings or using tools that enable teams to compete over points and achievements. The key is finding strategies that fit your team while ensuring activities stay manageable over time – asking employees for suggestions regularly may help this along!
Make it manageable.
Long-term behavior change takes enormous effort, and breaking free of bad habits may feel impossible. But with some simple strategies, making the journey much smoother can become achievable.
Start Small
Break a large habit into more minor, manageable behaviors and start with them. Instead of trying to run five miles each day, try starting by simply putting on your running shoes each morning. This method, popularized by BJ Fogg in his book Tiny Habits, makes the desired behavior seem less intimidating and more accessible. Plus, starting small and adding it to existing routines increases its likelihood of sticking!
Make a Specific Action Plan Develop a comprehensive action plan detailing how and when you intend to engage in your new behavior and set achievable goals to reach them. This step is critical to creating sustainable habits. Pair your new behavior with something you enjoy to make it more rewarding and ensure it sticks.
Establish a Support System
Enlist the aid of friends or family to hold you accountable and encourage your fitness journey. They can act as both motivators and coaches by offering feedback and help along the way.
Establish a way of rewarding yourself for adopting your desired behavior. Incentive and rewards can be powerful tools in changing behavior, but they should only serve as external motivation—not as replacements for intrinsic motivators. Also, remember to celebrate successes regularly, reinforcing desired behavior and making it more likely to stick.
Make it a priority.
Make any change you desire a priority, which will become part of your routine more quickly. Of course, this will be challenging; for instance, if you want to floss every morning or exercise more frequently, your schedule may need to change temporarily for that goal to become reality – and that’s okay!
Focusing on a few priorities and being willing to sacrifice other activities may help. For example, if reading is one of your key priorities for bedtime reading time, turning off notifications on your phone or removing other sources of distraction may help ensure enough reading time can be had.
As with any project, establishing a comprehensive plan can help keep you on the right path and maintain momentum through periods of resistance. Wendy Wood and BJ Fogg have researched habit formation extensively, uncovering effective strategies for making change last over time. These experts suggest starting small, celebrating successes along the way, and anchoring new behaviors into existing routines; such systems-first approaches can make a significant difference when applied to workplace initiatives and make lasting behavioral changes happen.
Research also supports that pairing habits with activities you enjoy increases your odds of success. For instance, pairing listening to your favorite tunes during workouts with 10 minutes of meditation or regular jogging can make these more enjoyable experiences. That being said, keep some “emergency reserves” available just in case life throws something unexpected at you, such as sacrificing daily meditation sessions or weekend brunch dates due to tax season preparation or coaching children’s sports teams.
Make it a reward.
Rewarding the behavior you want to develop can make it more likely to stick. This could involve something as simple as crossing something off a to-do list or as complex as going out for dinner with friends; even playing fetch with your pet can be rewarding and offer great ways to relax and recharge!
Chaining can be an easy and effective way to implement new behaviors into your daily routine, from flossing daily to making coffee in the morning or taking an evening run. Implementation should become simpler by associating any desired new behavior with the existing chain.
Setting bigger goals can also be a great way to motivate yourself. For instance, setting yourself the goal of running a marathon might mean setting daily mileage targets of two miles for training purposes as small rewards for keeping on your journey toward your long-term objective. Being aware of the progress towards your end goal and having something tangible to look forward to can keep motivation at bay and keep going when motivation wanes.
Do you Want to Read More Before Bed, Participate in More Exercise, or Develop Healthier Money Management Systems? Research-backed strategies can make lasting change easier and smoother. Find your ‘why,’ and take small and consistent steps forward; over time, tiny hinges will open wide doors to transformational change.
