“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.”
James Clear
Developing good habits can be a game-changer in our personal and professional lives. Habits can create a positive ripple effect that can improve our health, happiness, and overall well-being. Let’s dive into why developing habits is so important and explore five ways to build good habits.
Why Developing Habits Is Important
Habits are powerful because they allow us to perform tasks without thinking about them consciously. Habits are like routines that our brains have already mapped out, and we don’t need to use mental energy to execute them. Developing good habits can help us become more efficient and effective in our daily lives.
Good habits can also create positive outcomes that compound over time. Every small step we take towards a goal builds on the progress we’ve made before. As Clear notes, “Habits are the path to achieving your goals, but they’re not a guarantee of success.” Good habits increase the likelihood of success, but it’s not a guarantee.
For example, if you want to become a better writer, writing for 30 minutes every day could be a good habit to develop. If you write 500 words every day, that’s 15,000 words in a month, which can translate into a book or several articles. That’s the power of compounding through habits.
Here are five ways to build good habits:
1. Start Small
Starting small is an essential aspect of building good habits. When we try to change too much too fast, we risk overwhelming ourselves, which can lead to giving up on the habit altogether. Instead, aim to make small changes that can build up over time.
For example, if you want to exercise more, don’t try to run a marathon on your first day. Start by taking a 10-minute walk around your block each day, and slowly increase the amount of time you spend exercising. This will make it easier to stick to the habit and eventually build up to more significant goals.
2. Make It Easy
Another way to make habits stick is to make them easy to do. This can mean breaking down a habit into smaller steps or removing any barriers that make the habit difficult to execute.
Clear suggests making your habits easy to do by reducing friction. For example, if you want to read more books, make sure you have a book with you at all times, so you can read whenever you have a few minutes. You could also remove social media apps from your phone if they distract you from reading.
3. Track Your Progress
Tracking your progress is crucial for building good habits. When you track your progress, you can see how far you’ve come, which can motivate you to keep going.
Clear suggests using a habit tracker to monitor your progress. A habit tracker can be a simple spreadsheet or a more elaborate app that helps you keep track of your habit over time. This can help you see patterns and adjust your habits as needed.
4. Make It Rewarding
Rewards can be an excellent motivator for building good habits. When we see rewards, our brains release dopamine, which can make us feel good and motivate us to repeat the behavior that led to the reward.
Clear suggests making your habits rewarding by finding something you enjoy doing and pairing it with the habit. For example, if you want to exercise more, you could pair your workout with listening to your favorite music or audiobook. This will make the habit more enjoyable and increase the likelihood of sticking to it.
5. Be Consistent
Consistency is the key to building good habits. When we do something repeatedly, it becomes part of our routine, and we don’t need to think about it consciously. Try focus on doing your new habit every day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. This helps you establish the habit and make it part of your routine.
And here is our deep dive into what we find the most intuitive way to build new habits…
Habit stacking! This is a technique developed by James Clear in his book “Atomic Habits,” that involves linking a new habit to an existing one. By doing so, it becomes easier to establish a new habit and incorporate it into your daily routine.
The idea behind habit stacking is that you can use an existing habit as a cue or trigger for a new habit. This helps you to associate the new habit with an established routine, making it easier to remember and complete.
Here’s an example of habit stacking: Let’s say you want to start doing more push-ups. You could link this new habit to an existing one, such as brushing your teeth. Every time you finish brushing your teeth, you could do 10 push-ups. By pairing these two habits, you’ll be more likely to remember to do your push-ups and to establish them as part of your daily routine.
Another example of habit stacking could be if you want to start reading more books. You could pair this new habit with an existing one, such as drinking your favourite morning coffee. Every morning, you could sit down with your coffee and read for 10 minutes. Over time, this habit will become associated with your morning routine, making it easier to remember and complete.
Habit stacking is a powerful technique because it leverages the power of cues and triggers. By linking a new habit to an existing one, you’re taking advantage of a habit that’s already established in your routine. This makes it easier to establish the new habit and incorporate it into your daily life.
When it comes to habit stacking, it’s important to choose the right existing habit to pair your new habit with. Look for a habit that you do consistently and that occurs at the same time each day. This will make it easier to establish the new habit and to remember to do it.
Now then, what new habits are you going to start today?
