As we ring in the new year, most of us can’t help but take stock of ourselves and our lives. In some cases, this manifests as a formal list of New Year’s resolutions. In others, it results in a general sense of how we would like to do better. Either way, when we find ourselves pausing (even for a moment) to consider who we are and who we want to be, we are winning. In that vulnerability, we become willing to make small changes that ultimately transform our health and happiness. These changes happen in the habits of our daily lives. They are things like going to bed twenty minutes earlier, snacking on apples instead of chips, prioritizing a walk with a friend, or writing a daily gratitude list. They may be easy enough to do today but the real magic happens when we do them consistently day after day, week after week. It’s the consistency piece where most of us lose track of our ideals. In this article I will outline four simple tools to help us get consistent. Research shows that it takes about 66 days for a new habit to become automatic.(1) In other words, we only have to work hard for a couple of months and then our desired action becomes instinctual.
The first suggestion, as outlined in Atomic Habits by James Clear, is that we answer two questions about our new behavior: when and where are we going to do it? (2) If this seems like a trivial exercise, just try to pin yourself down for five minutes in your daily life and see how essential it becomes to carve out the time and space in advance. For example, if you are aiming to develop a daily meditation practice, you might decide that immediately after you drop your children at school but before you walk into your office or home is best. (Yes, it’s okay to sit in your car and meditate if that is your protected space- I’ve been there!)
Secondly, set yourself up for success! By that I mean to add or reduce friction in order to make your new behavior the easy choice. For example, when I was trying to get more sleep, I invested in lightbulbs that automatically dim and turn off at a specified time. Now, it takes more work to walk around turning lights back on than to just listen to my body and go to bed; this is adding friction. When I was focused on trying to eat a greater variety of whole foods, I bought mason jars for my fridge. Now I chop my veggies in advance so they are easier to grab when I’m in a hurry; this is reducing friction.
Third, use your current routine to cue your new habit. This is called habit stacking. You want to perform your new behavior along with something you do every day. For example, a written gratitude practice takes about two minutes to complete and can change the experience of your entire day (and life.) I was never consistent with this until I stacked it with my morning tea. Now as I have my tea, I write down 3-5 things going well in my life (and teach my brain to look for the good things the rest of the day.) Or how about taking a five minute walk every day after lunch? If you’ve struggled to get enough movement in, stacking a walk with a meal means you're more likely to remember it plus you get the added benefit of avoiding a spike in blood sugar. (3)
Finally, get your head right. (This applies to anything you want to accomplish.) In order to be successful, you need to believe that you are capable. Sit with your resolution. Own it. Visualize it. Feel the feelings of work and accomplishment. Let’s say you want to run a half-marathon this year. Register for a race now and start mentally walking yourself through the process from buying new sneakers, to short training runs, to longer runs. Feel how proud you will be the day you complete it (even though it is many months away.) Whatever your goal is, set a very clear intention on where you want to go and what you need to do to get there. See it in your mind first and before you know it, you will be living your way there!
References:
1. Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: Tiny changes, remarkable results : an easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
2. Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674
3. Buffey, A. J., Herring, M. P., Langley, C. K., Donnelly, A. E., & Carson, B. P. (2022). The acute effects of interrupting prolonged sitting time in adults with standing and light-intensity walking on biomarkers of cardiometabolic health in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 52(8), 1765–1787. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01649-4